NorthEast Ohio Geoscience Education Outreach
Earth, Sun and You
Middle schoolers model Earth's revolution round the sun by walking a mini-globe around a lamp. You will assess whether or not they tilt and rotate the planet properly and that the revolution is counterclockwise. Discussion beforehand...
World Wildlife Fund
Land of the Midnight Sun
From days of 24 hour sunlight, to endless nights that last for days, the Arctic is a very unique place to live. Examine the seasonal changes that occur in the northern-most reaches of the globe and the impact they have on the plants and...
Purdue University
Sun Tracking System for a Solar Panel
Capture the Sun's rays as best as possible. An engaging STEM lesson teaches scholars about how Earth's tilt causes the path of the sun to change throughout the year. They create solar panel systems that move both horizontally and...
Curated OER
The Trip Around the Sun
Sixth graders investigate the relationship between the tilt of the Earth's axis and the seasons. In this earth science lesson plan, 6th graders sing the song "Why Do We Have Seasons" and use simulate the Earth's tilt by using their bodies.
Curated OER
Apparent Motion of the Sun
Demonstrate the path of the sun across the sky at different times of the year with an engaging science lesson. Learners use a series of questions and diagrams to examine the movement of the sun and appearance of the sky around their...
PBS
Seasons on Earth and Mars
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—Earth experiences them all! But what about Mars? Scholars compare the planets in terms of distance, tilt, and rotation during a lesson from PBS's Space series. Great visual models of Earth and Mars, plus...
Curated OER
Seasons Worksheet #2
A tilted Earth is shown in relation to the rays of light from the sun. Earth science superstars determine latitude, month, and time of day. They compare number of daylight hours for different points on Earth. The five multiple choice...
Curated OER
Earth's Tilt Creates Seasons
Students examine how the Earth's tilt creates the seasons. In this seasons lesson, students study a diagram that shows the rotation of the earth around the sun and how it tilts during the rotation. They answer 4 discussion questions and...
Curated OER
Seasons Worksheet #1
First, your earth science pupils determine what season is depicted in a diagram of the tilted Earth as it receives radiation from the sun. They answer multiple choice questions about occurrences at different points on Earth in the...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Longer Days, Shorter Nights
A lamp, four globes, and some signs taped around the room are all you need to set up a solar system simulation for teaching how Earth's tilted axis creates the seasons. (Sticky dots are also needed, but not mentioned in the materials...
NASA
Earth and Space—Climate and Seasons
Why does Earth have so many seasons? Learn about the importance and changes of our planet's climate with a series of learning activities, which focus on connecting seasons to past experiences, making scientific observations, and...
National Wildlife Federation
Summer Midnight Sun
Sunlight hours and climate have a clear connection. Young researchers collect data about the sunrise and sunset times in an Arctic climate as well as the average temperatures. They then graph their data to make connections between the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tilt of Earth's Axis and the Four Seasons
Geometry meets earth science as high schoolers investigate the cause and features of the four seasons. The effects of Earth's axis tilt features prominently, along with both the rotation of the earth about the axis and its orbit about...
Curated OER
Tilted Earth
What causes Earth's seasons? Find out through a series of anticipatory questions, an easy yet powerful activity representing the sun-Earth system, a diagram to label, and follow-up questions. Dispel the misconceptions about Earth being...
Curated OER
Modeling the Seasons
Junior geologists become the force that makes the world go around! With a lamp on the floor in the middle of the room to represent the sun, volunteers hold a globe, revolve, and rotate. Observers notice how the light hitting the globe...
Curated OER
Bill Nye Video: Earth's Seasons
In this earth's seasons worksheet, learners answer fill in the blank questions after seeing Bill Nye's video. Topics include the rotation of the earth around the sun, the tilt of the earth, the time zones and sunlight.
Scholastic
Study Jams! Seasons
Use this during the season of teaching about the seasons! As Earth revolves around the sun, its tilt causes the weather to change. The graphics in this presentation show how Earth's position in space has an effect on the angle of...
Curated OER
Motions and Their Effects
With a simple blackboard-style appearance, these slides list facts about the reason for the seasons, solstices, and equinoxes. It also touches on Kepler's first law of planetary motion. There are no pictures or graphics to help explain...
Curated OER
The Sun's Path
Starting with questions about the tilt of the Earth and apparent motion of the sun, a worksheet provides instructions on how to figure the paths of the Sun on certain dates. Learners answer three more questions, complete with details...
Curated OER
Earth's Movement in Space
Students explain how the Earth's tilt and rotation causes night and day. In this earth science lesson, students determine how seasonal changes are caused by Earth's revolution. They play a jeopardy team game at the end of the unit to...
It's About Time
How Do Earth's Orbital Variations Affect Climate?
How does Earth's orbit around the Sun affect climate? This third installment of a six-part series looks at how Earth's orbit affects the amount of insolation at locations on Earth involves different experiments used in conjunction...
Curated OER
The Reasons for the Seasons
Sixth graders conduct a controlled investigation to determine the length of the sun's shadow on a fixed object (i.e., flagpole, telephone pole, etc.) over a three-day period (one day in the fall, one in the winter, and one in the...
CK-12 Foundation
Seasons: Shadow Lengths
Before iPhones and calendars, how did humans determine the seasons of the year? Middle school scientists discover how to use shadows to determine the time of year in an enlightening interactive. Pupils manipulate the sun and examine the...
Curated OER
The Four Seasons - Earth's Axis
Students explain that it is the tilt of earth's axis that causes the seasons. They engage in a variety of activities, both teacher-led and on the computer, which enable them to further explain how the Earth's axis affects the seasons.