Activity
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Seasons

For Students 7th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This site contains an animation showing how the seasons are produced by the tilt of Earth's rotating axis. Site also includes a short quiz over the topic of seasons.
Interactive
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Ballistics and Orbits Model

For Students 9th - 10th
Experience a simulation of ballistic trajectories in relationship to Earth's orbit. Java 1.5 or more recent is required.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Trb 3:1: Investigation 4: Day and Night

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
A lesson plan for third graders in which they learn about the rotation of the Earth on its axis and how this movement creates day and night. They also examine the orbit of the moon about the Earth and the Earth's orbit around the sun.
Activity
Other

Center for Science Education: Eye on the Sky: What Makes Day and Night?

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This activity will allow you to model day and night cycles. A rotating student holding a map (provided) models the earth. A lamp is used to model the sun. Numerous worksheets (pdf) and additional website resources are also provided.
Article
Cornell University

Cornell University: Astronomy: Eratosthenes

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn how Greek mathematician Eratosthenes used geometry to estimate the circumference of the Earth.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Day and Night

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this flipchart students will understand how the Earth rotates during a 24 hour period giving us day and night.
Activity
Math Is Fun

Math Is Fun: The Seasons

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn about the four seasons, when they occur in the northern and southern hemispheres, and why the seasons change as the Earth rotates around the Sun.
Website
NASA

Nasa: Heliophysics: New Science of the Sun Solar System Connection

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from NASA lists common and uncommon misconceptions about Sun-Earth Science. Site also provides links to activities and lesson plans as well as background reading.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Seasons

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this activity, students create a small model of the Earth using a styrofoam ball and a skewer. They then explore the relationship between the Earth and the Sun (a flashlight) to understand why it is hottest at the Equator, and why we...
Handout
University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin: Reasons for the Seasons

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief explanation of the Earth's rotation around the Sun and how it relates to the amount of sunlight the Earth receives, and to the seasons. Includes two questions for students to respond to.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Weather

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart discusses the weather, sun, earth, day, night, and rotation.
Unit Plan
University of Illinois

University of Illinois Extension: Tree House Weather Kids: What Causes the Season?

For Students 5th - 8th
Explore what causes the change of seasons on the Earth.
Graphic
Curated OER

Global Wind Pattern on the Earth Without an Ocean, Axiz Tilt, and Rotation.

For Students 9th - 10th
Global wind pattern on the earth without an ocean, axiz tilt, and rotation.
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: The Sun Is the Center of the Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
See what you know about the solar system by taking this brief interactive quiz and learning module.
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Sunspots on the Move

For Students K - 1st
The following videos show sunspots using wavelengths of light that the human eye cannot see. Watch sunspots emerging on the earth's surface, a sunspot moving across the earth's surface, and the rotation of the sun as a sunspot evolves...
Handout
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Kepler System Model

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Open Source Physics offers a file with a simulation of Kepler's theory of planetary motion, tested with the Earth rotating around the sun and another planet of the user's choosing. The download requires Java.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Glaciers, Water and Wind, Oh My!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This hands-on activity explores five different forms of erosion (chemical, water, wind, glacier and temperature). Students rotate through stations and model each type of erosion on rocks, soils and minerals. The students record their...
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Gyroscopic Effects: Vector Aspects of Angular Momentum

For Students 11th - 12th
From a chapter on Rotational Motion and Angular Momentum in a Physics textbook. This section of the chapter explains how to use the right-hand rule to determine direction for angular velocity, momentum, and torque. Also discusses the...
Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Giving Rise to the Jet Stream

For Students 9th - 10th
This interactive activity from NOVA Online uses animation and graphics to offer a detailed explanation of the jet stream. A thorough account is given of the role played by the Sun's heat and Earth's shape and rotation, among other factors.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Tracking the Sun: Observing the Path of the Sun Throughout the Year

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Over the course of the school year, students collect weekly data about the sun's position at a specific time of day, resulting in creating a figure "8" that shows the path of the sun called an analemma.
Lesson Plan
BioEd Online

Bio Ed Online: Sleep and Circadian Rhythms

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The following lessons help middle schoolers from grades 6-8 understand sleep and circadian rhythms. Lesson topics iinclude: day and night, seasons, sundails, clocks, sleep and sleep patterns and sleeping in space.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Trb 3:1 Investigation 6 Celestial Model

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders will gain an understanding of why stars appear to move across the night sky.
Handout
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Global Weather Machine

For Students 9th - 10th
In this illustrated essay from NOVA Online, explore the cyclical process of weather creation and the effects of El Nino on the global weather system.
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12 Exploration Series: Simulations: Physics: Clarke's Dream

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Learn about geosynchronous orbits and their use in satellite communication.

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