Year 5 Science – Term 3 (WA Curriculum): Earth's Place in Space - Cycles and Patterns

What this unit covers

In Term 3, Year 5 Science in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Earth's Place in Space - Cycles and Patterns”.

Students explore cyclic observable phenomena including day/night cycles, planetary movements, seasonal changes, and the apparent movement of celestial objects through hands-on investigations and observations.

Lesson sequence (8 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Investigating Earth's Rotation and the Day/Night Cycle
2. Tracking the Sun's Path Across Our Sky
3. Exploring Earth's Revolution Around the Sun
4. Discovering Why We Have Seasons
5. Observing the Moon's Changing Positions
6. Mapping Constellation Movements Through the Night
7. Comparing Planetary Movements in Our Solar System
8. Creating a Model of Earth's Cycles and Celestial Patterns

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 3

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 3 runs from Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September — 10 weeks for WA public schools. With 8 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.