Caitlin

Church
Lesson Plan
Reason for the Seasons
11/30/18

Reason for the Seasons

Objectives:
- Students will be able to explain why the seasons occur on Earth.
- Students will be able to explain why the common misconception around why
we have seasons is incorrect.
- Students will able to make a visual representation of the seasons through the
year.
- Students will understand that different places on Earth experience different
seasons at the same time.

Agenda:
- Introductory Questions (5 mins)
- Overview: Reason for the Seasons (15 mins)
- Model the Seasons (20 mins)
- City Comparison (5 mins)
- Exit Ticket (5 mins)

Lesson Plan:
Discuss the following questions with your neighbor:

1. What are the seasons like where we live?
2. Are the seasons the same in other parts of the world?

3. What do you think causes the seasons?

Common Misconception: Earth’s Orbit Around the Sun

Reason for the Seasons: Earth’s tilted Axis

Indirect and Direct Sunrays
• When sunlight strikes Earth's surface more directly, it is more intense.
• When sunlight strikes at a shallower angle, it is less intense because it
spreads over a larger area.

Direct or Indirect Flashlight Demonstration: have students take a flashlight and

experiment with holding the light at different angles above their desk.






Pulling it all together:

What are different seasons like?
• Summer: Longer days with more direct rays from the sun = more heating.

• Winter: Shorter days with less direct rays from the sun = less heating.

• Spring/Fall: Medium length days with medium direct rays from the sun = medium
heating.

Sun’s path in the Sky:

Show: Bill Nye Video on the Reason for the Seasons.

Model The Seasons:
In groups of three collect a foam ball, 2 push pins, and a flashlight.

Choose who will hold the foam ball that represents the earth and who will hold the
flashlight that represents the sun.

The third person should place a push pin in each hemisphere on the same side of the
earth, these will represent people.

The sun should stay stationary and pointed at the Earth. The Earth moves around
the sun in an elliptical orbit and tilted on its axis (to keep Earth tilted on its axis
keep the top dowel pointed to a fixed object in the room).

City Comparison:
Choose Different cities and ask students what seasons they are currently
experiencing in November and what season they would experience in June. Have a
map of the world, a globe, or Google earth ready to give students a visual of where
these countries and cities are located.


Exit Ticket:
If we were in Santiago, Chile, why would we be getting ready to wear flip flops
instead of our winter coats?