As Earth goes around the Sun, the direction away from the Sun changes. That changes the star fields facing the night side. A constellation is an officially named sky area; familiar patterns help us recognise it. Stars in a pattern need not be close together. Visibility also depends on latitude and time of night. Safety: No night outing, telescope, or Sun viewing. Stop: Stop indoors after the paper explanation. No night outing or live sky identification is required.

Materials: Paper; Pencil 1. Make three recognition labels: Orion—three close belt stars; Leo—a backward-question-mark pattern and a triangle; Cassiopeia—a W-shaped group of five bright stars. Draw simple reminder marks, not measured sky maps. Do not label the Big Dipper as a whole constellation; it is part of Ursa Major. 2. Draw the Sun in the centre of a page. Put Earth at four positions around it: December left, March below, June right, September above. At each Earth draw a short night-view arrow directly away from the Sun. All distances and angles are schematic. 3. Write these supplied Northern Hemisphere evening examples: Orion—winter evenings; Leo—spring evenings; Cygnus—summer evenings. Put their labels outside the December, March, and June arrows. Add: these examples are not exclusive seasons, and southern seasons differ. 4. Explain why the night arrows point towards different background regions even though the stars do not travel around Earth once a year. Name Orion, Leo and Cassiopeia from the recognition labels. Done: Complete four night arrows, three seasonal examples, and three named recognition reminders. Proof: Keep the paper orbit and labels. Note any constellation names or arrow directions the adult supplied. Stop: Stop indoors after the paper explanation. No night outing or live sky identification is required.