Grades 3–5
How Long Is the Day?
Write the sunrise and sunset times once a week for six weeks, work out the hours of daylight and explain the change.
Science worksheet · Day and night
Nocturnal or Diurnal?
Sort ten animals into the ones awake at night and the ones awake in the day.
- Grade level
- Grades 1–3
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Topic
- Day and night
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Day and night, Earth’s rotation, Nocturnal animals
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Nocturnal animals sleep in the day and are awake at night. Diurnal animals are awake in the day and sleep at night, like most people.
- Write each animal in the right column.
- Nocturnal (awake at night)
- Diurnal (awake in the day)
- Big eyes help many nocturnal animals. Why do you think that is?
Words on this sheet
chickenowlbatraccoonfireflymotheagle
Teacher tip
Turn off the lights and play a few owl and cricket sounds.
How to use it
- Spin a globe in front of a lamp to show day and night.
- Turn the lights off and ask which animals would be awake now.
- Let partners compare answers and settle any differences with a book or a video.
Watch for
The sun doesn’t move around Earth. Earth spins.
Talk about it
- What do nocturnal animals need to see in the dark?
- What evidence helped you choose your answer?
Take it further
Track sunset times on the class calendar for a month.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More day and night worksheets
Grades 2–4
Earth Spins: Day and Night
Label the sun, Earth, day and night on the diagram, then fill in five sentences about Earth’s spin.
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