Curated OER
Solstice and Equinox
Students identify the dates of the solstices and equinoxes and how they relate to the various seasons on Earth. After discussing how the solstice and equinox affect the seasons, students use their bodies to demonstrate the how each...
Yummy Math
Happy 14th B’ak’tun, the start of the next Great Mayan cycle
The ancient Mayans had a complex calendar and number system with a rich history. In fact, the date 12/21/2012 was the center of much controversy as to whether or not it was the end of time. It wasn't the end of time, but...
S2tem Centers SC
Seasons
Winter, spring, summer, and fall—take the learning of the seasons beyond the elementary level to the middle school classroom. Curious learners begin by watching videos about the seasons and the rotation of planet Earth. Then,...
Curated OER
What Causes Day and Night?
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...
Curated OER
The Ultimate Guide to December Holidays Around the World
For this holidays around the world worksheet, students answer short answer questions that are celebrated around the world. Students complete 10 short answer questions.
Curated OER
The Seasons
Discover the change of the seasons by modeling the Earth-Sun system. Learners model the orbit of the Earth around the sun and explore how and why the patterns of winter and summer occur.
Curated OER
Solstice And Equiniox Curriculum
Students engage in a lesson that investigates finding the dates of the solstices and equinoxes. They define the terms related to the concept and conduct research in order to explain the physical occurrences. They also relate to how the...
Curated OER
U.S. and Global Christmas Traditions
Sixth graders use Internet research to find out about holidays based on the winter solstice, Christmas, and Christmas traditions around the world. They create a PowerPoint presentation about what they learned.
Curated OER
Seasons' Journey: As the World Turns
Fourth graders explore the earth's revolution around the sun and the changes in weather that follow this motion.
Curated OER
Vocab-u-lous! Build a Fabulous Vocab: December Holidays
Find a celebration of winter holidays in a versatile and straightforward worksheet. Learners read a bank of holiday-themed words, including asceticism, solstice, and myrrh, and use context clues to place them in the...
Curated OER
Jeopardy - Earth Sciences
Questions about water, weather, geology, astronomy, and the scientific process make up this Jeopardy game. It is a pretty well-rounded set of slides, although you may want to be aware that a few of the questions are specific to the state...
Curated OER
December Celebrations
Students study customs of various winter holidays. In this holiday lesson plan, students read the book The Reasons for the Seasons and complete a winter glyph. Students use graphing software to create a chart of the holidays that are...
Curated OER
How Much Longer is the Day?
In this daylight hours worksheet, students use pictures given to write a number sentence and calculate the answers. This worksheet has 3 word problems.
Curated OER
What Causes the Seasons?
Third graders investigate why the seasons occur throughout the year. They read a traditional wisdom story pertaining to the seasons. They create their own wisdom stories about the seasons and act them out for the class.
Curated OER
Celebrating the Solstice and Equinox
Fourth graders graph the number of daylight hors throughout the year and examine why day length varies. They discover that seasonal changes and latitude on Earth affect the number of hours of daylight in each day. Students listen to...
Curated OER
From Light to Dark and Back
Experiment with light and dark in a series of interactive activities that lead up to reading and writing poetry. Class members have the opportunity to observe their feelings while sitting in the light and dark and to play with shadow...
Curated OER
Visiting the Arctic Circle
Students familiarize themselves with the Arctic Circle by locating it on a globe and wall map. They discuss they climate in the North Pole and the reasons for its low temperatures. They compare and contrast the climates of the Arctic...
Curated OER
The Celestial Sphere
Students are introduced to the celestial sphere, describing its apparent rotation and the special role of the pole star.
Curated OER
Length of the Day & the Seasons
Students answer questions for each of the graphs and record their answers on the Student Observation Sheet. They use the data they have collected, hypothesize which graph represents which month of the year using each graph. They then...
Curated OER
Christmas Lesson Plans
Students learn about the Christmas season through music, research, and other activities.
Curated OER
Tracking Sunrise and Sunset
Middle schoolers collect, record, and graph the sunrise and sunset times. They explain how the relationship between the tilt of Earth's axis and its yearly orbit around the sun produces the seasons.
Curated OER
Astronomy With a Stick
Students find the altitude of the Sun at 10 A.M., at solar noon, and at 2 P.M. by measuring the height of the gnomon and the length of the shadow at each time. They record the measurements in their notebooks for later conversion.
Curated OER
Stargazers and Skywatchers
Students are introduced to the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky and the way it changes in summer and winter.
Curated OER
Stargazers and Skywatchers
Students observe the daily motions of the sun and relate them to the functions of a sundial. They determine the locations of sunrises and sunsets and determine how the elevation of the sun effects temperature.