5 Ideas to Teach Why We Have Seasons

I’m pretty sure the first time I taught students about why we have seasons, I wasn’t even sure why we had them.  “You know, the Earth is tilted on its axis and it spins and uhhh… it goes around the sun.  Then it’s not as sunny during winter and it’s sunny during summer.  Right?”  Lesson over.

Since that very faulty “lesson”, I’ve found some MUCH more effective activities.

Also I want to share that I ALWAYS have to look at a diagram of the seasons or else I have the axis going the wrong way or backwards arrows or some nonsense. I am still working on my spatial skills. 🙂

We experience seasons on Earth because the Earth’s axis is tilted in relation to its orbit around the sun. This tilt causes the amount of sunlight and heat that the Earth receives to change throughout the year, resulting in the different seasons we experience.

During the summer months, the Earth is tilted towards the sun, causing the Northern Hemisphere to receive more direct sunlight and resulting in warmer temperatures. During the winter months, the Earth is tilted away from the sun, causing the Northern Hemisphere to receive less direct sunlight and resulting in colder temperatures.

Let’s look at 5 activities to clarify misconceptions about why we have seasons.

1. Engage Poll

2. Crash Course Kids

“Ever wonder why we have seasons? A lot of people think it’s because the Earth gets further away from the sun in winter, and closer in the summer. But, it’s actually more interesting than that. In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina talks about how the Earth’s tilt is responsible for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.”

See the video! Seasons in the Sun

3. Interactive Diagram

Students will make an interactive diagram to show what causes seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. The detailed teacher instructions will help your students work through building the Interactive Diagram together, teaching as you go!

See it on TpT! Seasons Interactive Diagram

4. Read Aloud

I love doing a read aloud of The Reasons for the Seasons to provide a bit more info and discussion points for students.

5. Seasons Digital Inquiry

In Google Classroom, students independently combine information from multiple sources to explain why Earth experiences seasons. You’ll love this no-prep, differentiated resource!

See it on TpT! Seasons Digital Inquiry

I hope your lessons about the seasons goes much better than my first lesson went. Happy teaching!

Standards

TEKS 4.8C collect and analyze data to identify sequences and predict patterns of change in shadows, seasons, and the observable appearance of the Moon over time

NGSS MS-ESS1-1 Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons