As we continue to learn about space and our solar system, we talked about the earth's tilt, orbit, and rotation today and how those affect the seasons. Each class watched a video, and then created their own diagram of the earth's orbit around the sun. We discussed how the angle that the sunlight hits the earth is what causes the different temperatures and seasonal changes. We cleared up some common misconceptions about the seasons--any difference in the distance from the sun to the earth is not significant enough to cause seasonal changes and the earth's tilt doesn't change, just the earth's position in relation to the sun. The oldest class learned how to measure the angle of the sun's rays by measuring their shadow on a sunny day and then drawing a model of their height, shadow length, and the line to finish the triangle. Additional ActivitiesVideos:
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Seasons Bill explains the reason for the seasons. How Earth Moves This is probably a little in depth for the younger kids, but this is a cool look at time, the earth's orbit and rotation, and how it's not as simple as we think. What Physics Teachers Get Wrong about Tides! We didn't discuss tides, but this is another aspect of the earth's rotation. Pretty heavy on physics--might appeal to some of the middle schoolers. Activities: Measure the angle of the sun's rays using your shadow. Check out this activity on PBS Learning (Part II of the lesson.) Recording the Earth's Rotation with Shadows Similar activity that will work for any age. Compare seasons on Earth and Mars Interactive comparison between two planets' seasons.
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May 2020
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