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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Causes Day and Night?

For Students 4th - 5th
Why do we have four seasons? A series of questions about the Earth's orbit and its impact on seasons challenge Earth science students.The second page of the resource has nine multiple choice questions, such as "One year on Earth is one...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Sun and the Four Seasons

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students discover the relationship between the sun and Earth.  In this weather lesson plan, students examine the effect of the sun on the Earth's seasons.  Students complete a weather activity using props to simulate the sun and Earth's...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Reasons for the Season

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explain the reason for the changes in season. In this lesson examining the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, students use an applet to discover how the alignment of the Earth and the Sun cause the change in seasons.
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

The Sun and the Earth

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders study and diagram the positions of the Earth and sun during the four seasons. They predict weather for cities in the northern and southern hemispheres.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Daily and Seasonal Cycles

For Teachers 1st
First graders identify the sun as a source of heat and light. They identify features of houses that help keep use sheltered and comfortable throughout daily and seasonal cycles. Students are told that summer is the best season to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Causes the Seasons?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students conduct experiment to examine how tilt of globe influences warming caused by lighted bulb. They monitor simulated warming of their city by sun in winter and in summer by using light bulb, interpret results, and submit lab report.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Solar System: Go Green with the Sun!

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders learn how to use solar power.  In this sun, technology and energy lesson, 3rd graders learn how the solar power from the sun can give off energy, learn about solar panels, discuss their uses and benefits, and design a solar...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Planet Earth

For Students 5th - 8th
In this Earth instructional activity, students review 13 terms associated with the Earth's rotation, revolution, and orbit. Students find the terms in a word search and then fill in the term next to its definition.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Follow the Sun

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students use a simple model of the Earth and Sun as seen from space to explore the sun's apparent movement across the sky over the course of a day and year. They consider the apparent direction of movement and changes in the sun's angle.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Models of the Earth and Moon

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students explore the earth's rotation and phases of the moon. In this planets lesson, students rotate and revolve around a light representing the sun. Students use movement and props to simulate what causes the phases of the moon as well...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Tides, Eclipses, Day and Night, and Seasons

For Students 6th - 8th
In this earth science worksheet, learners use the clues given at the bottom of the sheet to complete the crossword puzzle on tides, eclipses, day and night, and the seasons of the year. There are 17 clues to solve in the puzzle.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Gravity, Seasons, and Time

For Students 7th - 10th
In this Earth worksheet, students read about Earth's gravity, the reason the Earth has seasons, and time zones. Then students complete 21 multiple choice, 2 true or false, and 1 short answer question.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measuring the Diameter of the Sun

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders study the sun and its distance from Earth.  In this Sun's diameter lesson students examine how measurement data permits accurate measurement of the sun's diameter. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sundials and Shadows - What Can They Teach Us About Seasons?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students collect and analyze data relating to seasonal changes. They view a video, research web sites and build a sundial to collect their data.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Suns Path and Seasons

For Students 8th - 11th
Using a plastic dome  to represent the hemisphere of the sky, your class is able to demonstrate the path of the sun at different points of the day and year.  They use a protractor to record movement and answer questions about elapsed...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reason for the Seasons

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scientists examine why we have seasons on Earth, and how the motion of the Earth around the Sun causes them. Groups of learners are given a variety of balls, a bamboo stick, a marker, and a flashlight, then use the objects to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

SCHOOLYARD SUNDIAL

For Teachers K - 8th
Students study the apparent motion of the Sun in the sky over the course of a day and a year, and analyze what causes seasons on Earth. They participate in a project that has both a science as well as an art component.
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PPT
Curated OER

The Solar System and Beyond

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Survey the solar system by viewing this PowerPoint. Amateur astronomers discover that gravity is responsible for Earth's orbit around the sun and the moon's orbit around Earth. They explore the moon's phases and Earth's seasons. This...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Angle on Cooling

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore how the angle and distance of an object can change it's temperature. After reviewing how the position of the Earth affects the temperature of the planet, student groups design and perform an experiment to test how...
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Lesson Plan
National Wildlife Federation

Summer Midnight Sun

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Sunlight hours and climate have a clear connection. Young researchers collect data about the sunrise and sunset times in an Arctic climate as well as the average temperatures. They then graph their data to make connections between the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth Science Astronomy Unit: Seasons on Earth

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders describe how the Earth's position causes seasonal changes. In this astronomy lesson, 8th graders explain how solar radiation varies depending on the season. They create a collage or poster on each of the Earth's four seasons.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Does the Earth's Energy Budget Relate to Polar Ice?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students use satellite data to see how radiation budget relates to the ice that is present in the North.  In this energy lesson students correlate data to see a relationship. 
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

Climate Zones

For Teachers 5th - 11th Standards
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
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Lesson Plan
Space Awareness

The Sun Compass of the Vikings

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...