Mini Lesson:

The Reasons for Seasons

What Discuss Today

• Some Seasons of Interest

• Definition of Seasons

• Three important “Reasons for Seasons”

Engage: What “Seasons” can you name?

• Flu Season• Hunting Season• Growing Season• Shopping Season

Notes: Definition of SeasonsDivisions of the year, marked by changes in sunlight and precipitation

Temperate and Polar Regions

Changes in amount of sunlight (intensity/duration) that reaches Earth's surface

may cause animals to go into hibernation or migrate, and plants to be dormant.

Four Seasons; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter

Tropical and Sub-Tropical Regions• Changes in precipitation

• Rainy season and dry season

NOTES:The Reasons for Seasons

The Main factors that cause the Seasons

1. Energy from the Sun (without the Sun there would be no seasons)

2. Shape and Axis of the Earth

• Earth is an “Oblate Spheroid”

• Earth Rotates on a Tilted Axis

• Sunlight Rays can be Concentrated or Spread Out (direct rays) (indirect rays)

So… more energy with direct rays

less energy with indirect rays

3. Orbit of the Earth Around the Sun

• Hemisphere receiving longer hours of Sun

So… longer hours of incoming energy

Summary

Direct Rays and more hours of daylight=

Indirect Rays and less hours of daylight =

Summer

Winter

Multimedia Exploration

 Equinox (2.4 minute video)

PBS Seasons FLASH Viewer

Extend our Learning

Written Chapter explaining the causes for SeasonsSeasons (five minute TedEd video)Mechanism of Seasons (six minute video)A year on Earth (9 minute video)18 Videos about Solstices, Equinoxes and Seasons