Learning Map
ScienceSpace Explorationusually ages 7–9

The Moon's Orbit

Know that the Moon orbits Earth approximately once a month, that it does not make its own light but reflects sunlight, and that its changing appearance (phases) is caused by how much of the sunlit side we can see from Earth

How to tell they’ve got it

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

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Try this together

Can your child explain why the Moon seems to change shape — that it’s always round but we only see the part lit up by the Sun?

Where this sits on the map

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

Builds on
Moon Phasesages 5–7Must have observed Moon phases before learning the causal explanation (reflected sunlight)
Earth's Spin & Orbitages 7–9Understanding orbits helps contextualise the Moon's orbit around Earth
The Moon's Orbitthis skill · ages 7–9
Unlocks
Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

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

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 2 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

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S2U08low confidenceScience · Foundation to Level 2 · Science Understanding strand
VC2S6U07low confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science Understanding 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

All Space Exploration skills →