It's a quick and easy way to teach to more than one level in an 'impro' style, ie: this is a really good option when you have failed to properly plan for today (ahem).
We start with our headline question : Why is it autumn?
We don't know. I can't answer that and neither can the boys... on with our quest of questions.
Here's our hour as we found out lots of stuff and meandered towards the answer.
How do we know it's autumn at all?
<signs of autumn - nature, wildlife, migration, day/night length, weather>
How near are we to the sun?
<main planets, their order in relation to the sun, Greek gods>
What orbits us?
<moon, moon phases - a quick youTube video and an experiment with a ball and a torch>
Is everything in the universe perfect?
<circles, spheres, ellipses, axis>
What is the Earth's axis?
<sticking a chopstick through a clementine - angles, degrees on a protractor>
Where are we on the clementine?
<hemispheres, time zones, equator>
How long does it take us to go round the sun?
<orbits, leap years, sticking a giant apple on a chopstick>
What happens when we're tilted towards the sun?
<concentration of sun's rays, angle to the sun, equinox>
So it's autumn for us because we're in the northern hemisphere and our wonky axis means we're facing away from the sun.
Now we know.
Moon phases experiment : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz01pTvuMa0
Planets : Science Made Easy by Vorderman - worksheets
Why we have seasons : Woodlands Junior http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/seasons.htm
Twinkl : sun and moon resource pack
BBC equinoxes and defining autumn : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29014886
Clementine, apple, chopsticks, torch ....
