Why seasons change

ScienceSpace Systems & Earth's HistoryAges 5–7

Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year, noticing longer days in summer and shorter days in winter

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Teaching Table

Set out your lesson

Compare daylight durations in one place and distinguish seasonal patterns from daily weather.

Activity

Can discuss the supplied example in an accessible mode; adapt directions without supplying the target answer.

Policy

Check the learner can follow the model with support before moving on. Source prerequisite ordering is not learner mastery; return to prerequisite work when needed.

Use fictional times for a stated Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude town. Never look at the Sun. Local seasonal observations require later dated records. Open S first, G together, then T alone; put S and G away before T. Keys stay adult-only. No purchase or printing is required; an unavailable physical observation remains pending, not passed.

Materials are ready in each step. Use them on screen or print just the current step. Put teaching examples aside before the learner tries.

What this lesson covers and its limits

These are bounded opportunities, not learner attainment. Partial and blocked source requirements remain so.

partial: Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year, noticing longer days in summer and shorter days in winter
No current local weather or sunrise/sunset claims; source’s real across-year observations remain conditional.
partial: Describe the pattern: more daylight hours in summer, fewer in winter
No current local weather or sunrise/sunset claims; source’s real across-year observations remain conditional.
partial: Compare sunrise/sunset times at different points in the year
No current local weather or sunrise/sunset claims; source’s real across-year observations remain conditional.
partial: Relate amount of daylight to seasonal changes in weather and nature
No current local weather or sunrise/sunset claims; source’s real across-year observations remain conditional.
partial: Has {{name}} noticed that it's still light at bedtime in summer but dark much earlier in winter, and can they explain this pattern?
No current local weather or sunrise/sunset claims; source’s real across-year observations remain conditional.

No current local weather or sunrise/sunset claims; source’s real across-year observations remain conditional.

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Compare daylight durations in one place and distinguish seasonal patterns from daily weather.

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Check understanding

Describe the pattern: more daylight hours in summer, fewer in winter
Compare sunrise/sunset times at different points in the year
Relate amount of daylight to seasonal changes in weather and nature

“Has your child noticed that it's still light at bedtime in summer but dark much earlier in winter, and can they explain this pattern?”

Curriculum record

Type: Conceptual
Subject: Science
Domain: Space Systems & Earth's History
Age range: Ages 5–7

Standards

ngss-k5:1-ESS1-2uk-nc-2013:Y1.Sci.SC.2