Seasons
Students will use a model of the earth to show how it revolves around the sun to help the students visualize the reason for the seasons. Many places on the earth experience four seasons: summer, autumn, winter, and spring. The seasons occur because of the tilt of the earth on its axis as it revolves around the sun. Because of the earth’s tilt, the surface of our planet is unevenly heated. Whenever one of the earth’s hemispheres is more positioned toward the sun it receives a greater amount of less spread out solar energy (light). In the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere the earth is actually farther from the sun than it is during winter. Many students have the misconception that summer occurs because the earth is closer to the sun.
This page contains lesson-specific ECSAPE Lesson Plans and complete, uncut video repository of the ESCAPE Earth Science Professional Development and actual Classroom Implementation. If you would like to access the interactive trainings for this lesson, you may enroll in our ESCAPE Online PD Course.
Background Content
Teacher Professional Development
Classroom Implementation
The following videos were filmed during lesson implementation by teachers in the Orange County Cohort. Please feel free to use these videos to better visualize how the lessons can look in an actual classroom setting. Note that we do not intend for you to try to recreate the lessons exactly as you see them here.
Click play to view each video. You may click on the four-arrow symbol to view the video in full screen.
1. Engage
2. Explain Part A
3. Explain Part B
4. Evaluate