Anna Kingsbury

2B, 4B, 4C, 4D

What Causes the Seasons?

Grade: 5th
Materials: White board, projector, access to internet, enough laptops for each
group of 3-5 to have one, graph paper.
Standards: GLCE Earth Science, Earth Systems

E.ES.M.6 Seasons- Seasons result from annual variations in the intensity of

sunlight and length of day due to the tilt of the axis of the Earth relative to

the plane of its yearly orbit around the sun.

E.ES.05.61 Demonstrate and explain seasons using a model.

Objectives:

Student will be able to define and find altitude, azimuth, maximum altitude,

and time above and below horizon for the sun.

Student will be able to understand that these factors cause variations in the

intensity of sunlight and length of day, which causes the seasons.

Student will be able to explain, using these terms, why seasons occur.

Resources:

http://science.opposingviews.com/solar-altitude-23364.html
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6h.html
http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/animations/seasons_ecliptic.html

Science Background and Vocab:

Altitude: angle of the sun relative to the Earths horizon, measured in

degrees.
Azimuth: angle of the sun relative to north, progressing clockwise (eastward

direction) throughout 360 degrees.

Maximum Altitude: when the sun is directly overhead and has an altitude of
90 degrees.
At any moment, half of the Earth is in darkness, while the other half is lit up, and this

changes as the Earth rotates on its axis. This Earth also orbits the Sun in an elliptical
orbit, which causes its distance from the Sun to vary throughout the year, however this
does not cause the seasons. Because of the tilt of Earths axis, which remains pointing in
the same direction relative to the Sun, the intensity and duration of sunlight received by
certain locations on the planet changes- causing the seasons. This phenomenon is also
responsible for the equinoxes and solstices. The tilt causes the solar altitude to vary in
locations throughout the year thereby changing the amount of direct sunlight received

Anna Kingsbury
2B, 4B, 4C, 4D
by that location which causes the seasons. The more direct sunlight that in received on
average (generally the maximum altitude) during a time of the year the hotter that
location is going to be for that time frame. Therefore, during the Northern Hemispheres
winter, the Earth is tilted away from the Sun resulting in less direct sunlight. In its
summer, the Earth is tilted toward the Sun, causing more exposure to direct sunlight.
The Suns progression through the azimuth angles, altitude, and its time above and
below the horizon for any location, causes the daily warming and cooling of that location
on Earth through day and night. For example, just after solar noon is generally the
warmest time of day as that location was just receiving the most amount of direct
sunlight, and the day is cooler when the Sun is just rising or just setting. Consequently,
the longer the Sun is below the horizon during one day, the cooler it generally gets in
that location.

Anna Kingsbury
2B, 4B, 4C, 4D

Anna Kingsbury
2B, 4B, 4C, 4D
Engage: 10-15 minutes

Open up a class discussion with students about the causes of the seasons. Have some
student volunteers write or draw some of these explanations on the board.

Explore: 10-15 minutes

Introduce students to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Seasons and Ecliptic interactive

simulation (http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/animations/seasons_ecliptic.html) that
allows them to see the effects of direct sunlight on different areas of the Earth due to the

tilt of its axis.

Have students work in table groups for this activity. First, have students go to that
website and move the person on the globe in the upper right corner of the interactive up
to an observer latitude of 45 degrees N (where we are located on the globe). Then have
students explore the interactive by moving the Earth to different months and consider
the angle at which sunlight is received.

Explain: 15-20 minutes

After allowing students to explore the interactive, bring full class attention to the front of
the class and show YouTube video Seasons and the Sun: Crash Course Kids
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b25g4nZTHvM) which highlights that seasons are
caused by the tilt of the Earth and the resulting amount of direct sunlight that a part of
the plant receives. This video also eliminates the misconception that could be held by

the class that the Earths distance from the Sun causes the seasons.
During the video, pause before each new concept is introduced to make sure that the

content is clear and allow students to ask questions they might have.
Quickly define altitude and maximum altitude to students, and explain how this relates
to amount of direct sunlight received by a certain location by using the Seasons

Interactive to demonstrate using the projector at the front of the class.

After this, do a formative assessment by asking for some student volunteers to share
what they have learned about the cause of seasons, and how that is different from what
the class originally thought.

Elaborate: 20-30 minutes

After students have been able to learn the actual cause of the seasons, have them work
in groups to collect data about the Suns maximum altitude for different areas on the
globe (each group will be assigned a different lattitude). Students will collect one
maximum altitude for the first of each month from the Seasons Interactive and put this
information into a chart. Students will then have to create a line graph with the months
along the y axis and the altitudes along the x axis, and graph the data that they

collected.
Explain that the closer the maximum altitude is to 90 degrees, the higher the sun is in
the sky and therefore the more direct sunlight that location receives. This activity will

Anna Kingsbury
2B, 4B, 4C, 4D
allow students to reinforce the connection that the Suns altitude causes the amount of
direct sunlight received, which is caused by the tilt of Earths axis.
Evaluate: 10-15 minutes

To evaluate student understanding, have them draw a simple picture depicting orbit of
Earth around the Sun, including the tilt of Earth and arrows depicting rays of sunlight
(either direct or indirect), and to write a brief paragraph summarizing their conclusions
their picture and this phenomenon that causes the seasons.