Why There Are Seasons
Teaching Guide
Students will be reading an informational text about seasons. Decide if you want to read it as a
group or have them read it individually, or both.
Two words in the text are in bold, "plane" and "orientation." Students should see and understand
definitions of these words prior to reading the text. Write the definitions for the students where they
can see them as they are reading the text. Have a brief discussion and check for understanding
before having them read the text. It would be beneficial if you have each of your students write the
words in their own original sentences.
Here are the words:
plane: a flat, two-dimensional surface. An object traveling on a plane would move in one direction
without moving at an angle. For example, an object moving on a plane could move straight ahead
without moving up or down.
orientation: the position of an object relative to its surroundings. When I am standing up, I am
oriented perpendicular to the ground and when I am laying down I am oriented parallel to the
ground.
Students will be completing an outline that has been partially filled in. After that, they will be
writing a summary of the text. You need to provide them the correct outline before they write their
summaries so that they can use the outline as they write. The completed one is in the answer key.
Have the outline displayed or on paper for them. Using the outline will make the activity less
frustrating for them and will show them how useful it is to organize main ideas into an outline or
web before writing in paragraph form.
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make
logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support
conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and
formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts
independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey
complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization,
and analysis of content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,
organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Other Ideas: You could have students write a "why story" ("pourquoi story") to creatively narrate
why there are seasons, why the sun stays still and Earth rotates around it, why the Earth rotates,
why there are clouds, or why it gets so hot, etc. Look it up on the internet for ideas and directions or
you can email me at [email protected] and I can give you a quick lesson.
Why There Are Seasons
By Katie Auer
Why does the sun stay up longer in the summer than in the winter? Why does the sun come
up later and set earlier in the winter than in the summer? In order to understand why summer days
are longer than winter days, you must understand that different parts of the Earth receive different
amounts of sunlight depending on how the Earth tilts toward or away from the sun as it moves
around the sun.
It is necessary to review some basics about the Earth. First of all, there is an imaginary line
that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through the center of the Earth called an axis. The
Earth spins around its axis. It takes 24 hours to make one complete rotation. Secondly, there is an
imaginary line that goes around the Earth called the equator that divides the Earth into the Northern
Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Thirdly, the Earth moves on a plane around the sun, or
in one constant direction straight ahead without moving up or down. This plane is specifically
called the ecliptic plane. It takes 365 1/4 days to make one complete orbit, or one complete trip
around the sun on the ecliptic plane. Finally, when you compare the orientation of the Earth to the
orientation of the ecliptic plane on which the Earth travels around the sun, the Earth is tilted at an
angle so that its axis is not straight up and down but is diagonal. See the diagram below.
Plane
Because the Earth moves around the sun, it sometimes tilts toward the sun and sometimes
tilts away from the sun depending on where it is on the ecliptic plane. This is what causes seasons.
For one fourth of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun. This causes the
Northern Hemisphere to receive more hours of sunlight each day. In the Northern Hemisphere, this
is the summer season. The summer season begins when the Northern Hemisphere receives sunlight
for the longest amount of time compared to all the other days of the year. This longest day of the
year is known as the summer solstice and occurs on June 20th or June 21st. After the summer
solstice, the Earth continues on its path gradually tilting more and more away from the sun; the
Northern Hemisphere gradually gets less and less sunlight. For one fourth of the year following the
summer solstice, the Earth's tilt is not pointed toward the sun nor away from the sun, but is in
between. This is the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Earth continues on its path around the sun. It continues to tilt more and more away from
the sun as it orbits the sun on the ecliptic plane. The days get shorter and shorter until the shortest
day of the year, known as the winter solstice. The winter solstice is on December 20th or 21st. Once
again, the Earth continues on its path and the Northern Hemisphere gradually tilts more and more
toward the sun. For one fourth of the year, the Earth's tilt in not pointed toward the sun nor away
from the sun, but is in between. This is the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere. Then the
Earth tilts more and more toward the sun until once again it becomes the summer season.
In the description above, the focus was on the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. What
about the Southern Hemisphere? Whenever the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, the
Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. So whenever it is one season in the Northern
Hemisphere it is the opposite season in the Southern Hemisphere. For example, when it is summer
in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Now, follow these directions to model what the Earth is doing as it orbits the sun. First,
make a fist with your left hand and position it in front of you with the thumb resting on the top of
the fist. Next, do the same thing with your right fist. You should now have two fists in front of you
with your thumbs on top. Next, slowly tilt your right fist toward your left fist so that your right
thumb is pointing diagonally toward the left fist. Imagine that your left fist is the sun and that your
right fist is the Earth. Pretend that the thumb on your right fist is Earth's North Pole. Holding your
fists in these positions, slowly move your right fist on a circular path around the front of your left
fist. (You can stop when your right fist gets blocked by your left arm.) Be careful not to change the
position of your right fist as you move it around the left fist and never bend at the wrist. The right
thumb should be at an angle tilting to the left the whole time. Keep your eyes on the thumb of the
right fist. Notice that when you first start, your right thumb is pointed toward your left fist and the
part of your hand closer to the pinkie finger is tilted away from the left fist. This demonstrates
summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. When your right fist
reaches the front of your left fist, the right thumb points neither toward nor away from the left fist.
This demonstrates fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. When
your right fist has completed a semicircle and reaches the left arm, notice that the right thumb is
tilted away from the left fist and that the part of your hand closer to the pinkie finger is tilted toward
the left fist. This demonstrates winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern
Hemisphere.
See the diagram below. The dotted line is the ecliptic plane.
1. What is the main cause of seasons?
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2. In order for an object in space to be considered "tilted," it must be tilted relative to something
else. The Earth is tilted relative to what?
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__________________________________________________________________________
3. Why are the seasons opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4. If the Earth were not tilted on the ecliptic plane, would there be seasons? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
5. Cite textual evidence to support the statement you made in question #4. In other words, look
through the text and choose a sentence or two that helps prove what you said is true. When you cite
textual evidence, use the exact words from the text and put them in quotation marks.
According to the text "Why There are Seasons" by Katie Auer, "_______________________
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6. The fact that the Earth is tilted on the ecliptic plane as it revolves around the sun is a central idea
in the text that helps explain why there are seasons. The following is an outline of "Why There Are
Seasons" that is partially filled in. The outline shows how the central idea of the text develops.
I. Introduction
A.
II. Basics about the Earth
A.
B.
C. Earth travels on an ecliptic plane around the sun.
D. Earth is tilted as it travels on the plane.
III. Earth tilts toward the sun and away from the sun during the different seasons.
A. Summer in Northern Hemisphere
1. Earth tilts toward the sun.
2. It is winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
3.
a.
B. Fall in Northern Hemisphere
1. Earth is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun.
2.
C.
1.
2. It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year.
a.
D. Spring in Northern Hemisphere
1.
2.
IV. Demonstration
A. Right fist is Earth and tilts toward left fist, which is the sun
B.
Missing Pieces:
• Different parts of the Earth receive different amounts of sunlight depending on how Earth
tilts toward or away from the sun as it moves around the sun.
• Equator divides Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
• Summer solstice is the longest day of the year.
a. It is on June 20th or 21st.
• Earth rotates around its axis.
• It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
• As Earth moves around the sun, notice how the thumb points toward or away from the
sun.
• It is spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Earth is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun.
• Earth tilts away from the sun.
• a. It is on December 20th or 21st.
• It is fall in the Southern Hemisphere.
8. Pretend someone asks you, "Why are summer days so much longer, sunnier, and warmer?"
Explain to your friend in writing why summer days are longer, sunnier, and warmer. Also let them
know that it is actually winter in the southern hemisphere during our summer and explain why that
is.
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Why There Are Seasons
Answer Key
1. The main cause of seasons is the Earth being tilted at an angle compared to the ecliptic plane that
it travels on around the sun. It sometimes tilts toward the sun, sometimes tilts away from the sun,
and sometimes is just in between as it travels around the sun on the ecliptic plane.
2. The Earth is tilted relative to the ecliptic plane.
3. When the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun, the Southern Hemisphere tilts away from the
sun (and so on).
4. If the Earth were not tilted on the ecliptic plane, there would not be seasons. The length of the
day and night would be equal and the same pattern would repeat every 24 hours.
5. "Because the Earth moves around the sun, it sometimes tilts toward the sun and sometimes tilts
away from the sun depending on where it is on the ecliptic plane. This is what causes seasons."
6. Outline
I. Introduction
A. Different parts of the Earth receive different amounts of sunlight depending on how Earth
tilts toward or away from the sun as it moves around the sun.
II. Basics about the Earth
A. Earth rotates around its axis.
B. Equator divides Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
C. Earth travels on an ecliptic plane around the sun.
D. Earth is tilted as it travels on the plane.
III. Earth tilts toward the sun and away from the sun during the different seasons
A. Summer in Northern Hemisphere
1. Earth tilts toward the sun.
2. It is winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year.
a. It is on June 20th or 21st.
B. Fall in Northern Hemisphere
1. Earth is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun.
2. It is spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
C. Winter in Northern Hemisphere
1. Earth tilts away from the sun.
2. It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year.
a. It is on December 20th or 21st.
D. Spring in Northern Hemisphere
1. Earth is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun.
2. It is fall in the Southern Hemisphere.
IV. Demonstration
A. Right fist is Earth and tilts toward left fist, which is the sun.
B. As Earth moves around the sun, notice how the thumb points toward or away from the
sun.
8. Explain Summer
As the Earth moves around the sun, it sometimes tilts toward the sun and sometimes tilts
away from the sun which causes different parts of the Earth to receive different amounts of sunlight.
This is what causes seasons.
First, keep in mind that the equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres. Also, you need to know that Earth travels on an ecliptic plane around the sun. This
means that the Earth travels in one constant direction straight ahead and around the sun without
moving up or down. Compared to the ecliptic plane, the Earth is tilted at an angle.
During the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth tilts
toward the sun. The Northern Hemisphere gets more sun for longer amounts of time each day.
When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere tilts in the opposite
direction away from the sun and gets much less sun. When it is one season in the Northern
Hemisphere, it is the opposite season in the Southern Hemisphere.
Half a year later (halfway through the Earth's orbit around the sun), the Northern
Hemisphere of the Earth tilts away from the sun while the Southern Hemisphere tilts toward the
sun. At that time, it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Copyright © 2013 Katie Auer
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