Why do we have four seasons? A series of questions about the Earth's orbit and its impact on seasons challenge Earth science students.The second page of the resource has nine multiple choice questions, such as "One year on Earth is one...

Students explain the reason for the changes in season. In this instructional activity examining the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, students use an applet to discover how the alignment of the Earth and the Sun cause the...

In this Earth worksheet, students review 13 terms associated with the Earth's rotation, revolution, and orbit. Students find the terms in a word search and then fill in the term next to its definition.

Students use a simple model of the Earth and Sun as seen from space to explore the sun's apparent movement across the sky over the course of a day and year. They consider the apparent direction of movement and changes in the sun's angle.

For this layer of the earth worksheet, students label and color each layer of the earth. Then students are asked to describe each layer below.

Young scientists examine why Earth has seasons and how its motion around the Sun causes them. Groups of learners are given a variety of balls, a bamboo stick, a marker, and a flashlight, then use the objects to demonstrate Earth's...

Students study the apparent motion of the Sun in the sky over the course of a day and a year, and analyze what causes seasons on Earth. They participate in a project that has both a science as well as an art component.

Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...

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...

Learners use satellite data to see how radiation budget relates to the ice that is present in the North.  In this energy lesson plan students correlate data to see a relationship. 

The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...

A diagram of Earth's path around the sun, including the position of the moon, is displayed at the top of the worksheet. Five multiple questions get astronomers to analyze the diagram considering what is going on in the solar system. Use...

Students identify how the tilt and position of the Earth causes the seasons. After a discussion of the seasons and when they begin. Using themselves as the objects in the universe, they role play how the rotational movement of the...

Students investigate a model of the tilt of the Earth in its relationship to the Sun during the different seasons of the year. They study the solstices and equinoxes, while determining how sunlight hits the Earth with different angles in...

Students discover how things grow and how they can take better care of the environment in this Earth Day lesson plan for the elementary classroom. The activity can be accomplished in one day and left in the sun until the "beans" begin...

Students consider the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. They view the first segment of Science Court video and use Timeliner software to construct a scale of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Exactly what do groundhogs know about weather? Not as much as your science students will after completing these lessons and activities that cover everything from the earth's rotation and the creation of shadows, to cloud...

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...

Young astronomers read an informational text passage and then answer questions based on what they read.

When exploring Mars, spacecrafts are exposed to 5-11 times more sunlight than when near Earth. Groups of pupils complete a hands-on activity to explore how distance and angle of the sun affect temperature. Through discussions, they then...

Students create an art project to be made into a laminated placemat to use during a classroom Thanksgiving feast. The instructional activity involves choosing at least three cutouts of elements of nature to glue onto a background page,...

Learners model the tilt of the Earth as it orbits the Sun. They explain the meaning and characteristics of solstices and equinoxes. They explain that sunlight hits the Earth at different angles at different locations over the course of...

Students examine images from space.  In this third from the Sun instructional activity, students examine images from, Landsat, the satellite launched by NASA in 1972.   

In this word search worksheet, students search for words related to the Earth, the sun and it's movements. Terms include seasons, features, and movements.