Different Stars in Summer and Winter, Read and Answer

Shine a flashlight across a dark yard or hallway, close and then far away, to show why distant stars look faint. On a clear night, look south together and find Orion in winter or Scorpius in summer.

Read why Ben sees Scorpius in July and Orion in January as Earth's night side faces new stars. A star map is a chart that shows where stars appear in the sky. The directions on the page read: Read the passage. Then, turn the page and answer the questions. On page 2: Circle the letter of the best answer for questions 1 to 3, and write the answers to questions 4 to 6 on the lines. The answer key covers the questions on page 2.

Yes, both. We made it for 5th Grade Earth and space, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with stars and the sun. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Because it is much closer. The sun is a medium star, and a star like Sirius gives off about 25 times as much light, but the sun is about 93 million miles away while the next closest star is about 25 trillion miles away. The farther a light is, the dimmer it looks.

At night your side of Earth faces away from the sun, out to space. As Earth orbits the sun, the night side faces different stars. In July Scorpius is in the night sky, and in January it is behind the sun, so Orion shows instead.

Yes. The sun is a huge ball of hot, glowing material that makes its own light, like every other star. It is about medium in size and brightness compared with other stars.

Yes. All five stars and the sun sheets have an answer key, with sample answers for the questions children answer in their own words.

5 printable worksheets, all free to preview. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 5th Grade students, roughly ages 10-11. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.

Yes. Each one shows the NGSS code it covers on its own page, so you can check the alignment yourself rather than taking our word for it.