Science Energyusually ages 5–6

Sunlight warms things up

Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth's surface, noticing that sunlight warms the ground, water, and objects

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Observe that surfaces in sunlight feel warmer than those in shade
Describe that sunlight provides warmth (heat energy) to Earth's surface
Compare temperatures of surfaces in sun vs shade using touch or a thermometer

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

Can your child feel the difference between a sunny pavement and a shady one, and explain that sunlight warms up surfaces it shines on?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Seasonal changesages 5–6Seasonal observation supports understanding sunlight warming effects

Sunlight warms things upthis skill · ages 5–6

Unlocks

Building shade from the sunages 5–6Must observe sunlight warming before designing a structure to reduce it

Sun-Driven Weather Systemsages 9–11Sun drives weather builds on curriculum sunlight warms Earth's surface

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S2U01low confidenceYear 2 · Science understanding

recognise Earth is a planet in the solar system and identify patterns in the changing position of the sun, moon, planets and stars in the sky

AC9S1U02low confidenceYear 1 · Science understanding

describe daily and seasonal changes in the environment and explore how these changes affect everyday life

AC9SFI02low confidenceFoundation · Science as a human endeavour

engage in investigations safely and make observations using their senses

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

ST1-SCI-01low confidenceScience and Technology K-6 · Stage 1

STE-SCI-01low confidenceScience and Technology K-6 · Early Stage 1

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S2I03low confidenceScience · Foundation to Level 2 · Science Inquiry strand

VC2S2U07low confidenceScience · Foundation to Level 2 · Science Understanding strand

VC2S2I05low confidenceScience · Foundation to Level 2 · Science Inquiry strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Building shade from the sunages 5–6 Naming types of energyages 7–9 Building a simple circuitages 8–9 Conductors and insulatorsages 8–9

All Energy skills →