As educators we are facilitators of knowledge (Koch, 2012).

If you tried to teach all that has been learned

in science- starting in preschool and continuing daily straight through to high school- you could make only
a small dent in the body of knowledge. Learning everything is simply impossible (Charlesworth & Lind,
2012) Charlesworth and Lind make a great point and this is why we need to scan through all the information
that is available to us and summarise what we feel is important for our students to learn, understand and
engage with, within our lessons in the short time given. Each lesson there is specific content and knowledge
that educators need to know and comprehend before they teach their class. Students rely on their educators
to provide them with the correct information in a fun and engaging way. We are human so mistakes can be
made and learning can always be done, but it is important to research and investigate the information for
ourselves before we teach a lesson so that we come across as confident educators even if we are unsure of a
particular topic.
The following information is the key scientific knowledge that is required for each lesson that is also found
on each lesson page.
Lesson one- Shadows are formed because light does not go around objects and light up areas behind
them. Light travels in straight lines (Skamp, 2012). Shadows are dark shapes created when an object
blocks out the light. Materials that block light are solid while materials that allow light to pass through
them are see-through (Charlesworth & Lind, 2012). The sun is a star that has heat and light travels on
average 149.6 million kms to reach earth and provide us with life and shadows (National Geographic,
2014).
Lesson Two- are specific for the location made in regards to the latitude. The sun appears to move
from the East to the West, it is the earth that moves (NASA, 2014). Due to the tilt in the axis of the
earth the sun dial needs to be aligned with the earth axis or this will upset the time over a longer
period of time (Charlesworth & Lind, 2012). To find the correct time need to use a gnomon to cast the
shadow as the shadow moves from west to east it gets shorter then at noon the sun moves west and
the shadow becomes longer which gives us our time (Skamp,2007). Daylight saving time affects the
sundial and to fix this you would need to add 4 minutes for each degree east (National Geographic,
2014).
Lesson Three- The Earths seasonal changes occur due to the Earths 23.5-degree tilt (NASA, 2014).
The tilt of the Earth is the reason why we have opposite seasons in the north and south hemispheres,
when it is summer in the southern hemisphere it is winter in the Northern. People who live closer to
the equator dont notice much of a seasonal change (Charlesworth & Lind, 2012). The Earth revolves
around the sun every year and the seasons change because of the changing angle of the suns rays on
the Earths surface at different times throughout the year (Skamp, 2012).
Lesson Four- Planets of the solar system including the importance of the sun in relation to shadows,
time and seasons (Skamp, 2007). The Earths axis and 23.5 degree tilt including the hemispheres and
equator and importance of these (NASA, 2014) The earths constant revolution, revolving at a tilt and
around the sun yearly hence the change from day to night, time, calendar day and seasons (Skamp,
2012) The sun is a star that provides us with heat and life, due to the close proximity to Earth
(National Geographic, 2014). The Sydney Observatory Museum is an astronomical observatory,
timekeeper, signal station and meteorology centre (Sydney Observatory, 2014).