Mix math and science by having students make models that depict this difference. Organize students into groups and ask them to work together to research the size of the Earth, the size of the sun and the distances between the two. Next, provide them with an assortment of supplies they could use to craft models, perhaps saving scraps and trash from lunch and allowing them to repurpose these items. Help students complete scale calculations and make models that represent this distance.
Make the task of making a model a sweet one by providing students with candies to use in their model creation. Purchase an assortment of candies along with frosting and thin wooden sticks, like those you would use to make kabobs. Provide students with the circumference of the Earth and the sun as well as the distance between the two. Challenge students to use these tasty tools to create a scale model that depicts this size and distance relationship.
Challenge students to compare this distance to the sizes of objects with which they are familiar. On index cards, write down objects that your students see often, such as school buses, football fields and candy bars. Pair students and give each pair one of these cards. Write the distance between the Earth and the moon on the board, and ask students to calculate how many of the objects on their cards it would take to fill this distance, reporting their findings to the class upon completion.
Allow your students to step into the spotlight by having them embody the Earth and the sun in an interactive modeling activity. Ask one student to act as the Earth and another as the sun. Using yard sticks or a measuring tape, measure a distance representative of the distance between these two bodies in a large open field or sizable outdoor play place. Have, for example, one foot equal 500,000 kilometers. Position the students this impressive distance apart, measuring enough distance to represent the appropriate relationship. Ask the students who viewed the display, as well as the ones who took part in it, to reflect upon the activity upon completion.