How to Teach Earth’s Seasons in Middle School Science

Teaching about Earth’s seasons is a great way to integrate your science and social studies lessons. You can teach about the Earth’s seasons during your space unit. You can connect this lesson to the study of ancient cultures who built temples to align to the Sun during the equinoxes and solstices.

What Causes the Earth’s Seasons?

The tilt of the Earth causes the Earth’s seasons. The Earth does not sit upright as it rotates around the Sun. It is tilted at 23.5 degrees. As a result, sunlight does not hit the Earth evenly. When the northern hemisphere is titled toward the Sun, sunlight hits it more directly, and it is warmer. This happens during summer. When the northern hemisphere is titled away from the Sun, sunlight hits it less directly, and it is colder. This happens during winter. Seasons are opposite in the northern and southern hemispheres because when one hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, the other hemisphere is titled away from the Sun.

Common Misconceptions about Earth’s Seasons

There are a few common misconceptions when it comes to understanding the relationship between the Earth’s relationship to the Sun and the Earth’s seasons. First, some of your students may think that the Earth’s seasons are caused by the distance between the Earth and the Sun. They believe that it is summer when the Earth is close to the Sun and winter when the Earth is farther away from the Sun. This misconception is incorrect because the distance between the Earth and the Sun is too great for the slight variation in Earth’s orbit to affect the seasons. The Earth is slightly closer to the Sun during one part of the year, but this occurs during winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Another misconception about the Earth’s seasons is that the Earth tilts back and forth to cause them. The Earth’s tilt does not wobble. It is always tilted in the same direction. As the Earth moves around the Sun, the tilt faces the Sun for about a quarter of the rotation and faces away from the Sun for another quarter of a rotation. This creates winter and summer. When the tilt is parallel to the Sun, we have fall and spring.

A surprising misconception about Earth’s seasons is that the seasons are the same everywhere on Earth. Some students may not know that we have opposite seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. You will want to address this misconception right away because it will make it difficult for students to understand what causes the seasons if they don’t understand the difference between the hemispheres.

Integrating Social Studies

People have been paying attention to the seasons for thousands of years. Around ten thousand years ago, people started farming and the seasons became even more important. They needed to know when to plant their crops to ensure the best yields. As a result, Earth’s seasons were an important part of religion.

Early humans built temples, like Stonehenge, to celebrate the summer and winter solstices. The Temple of Kukulcan in Mexico was designed so that it looks like a shadow serpent slithers down the steps on the spring and fall equinoxes. The slithering shadow represented the god Kukuclan’s trip down to the underworld.

I love showing students the connection between the science of the natural world and how humans have responded to it! Teaching students about the Earth’s seasons is a great way to show your students how the Earth’s tilt and orbit have been important to people for thousands of years.

Are you excited about teaching your students about Earth’s seasons, but you don’t know where to start? I got you! I have an entire information text set that teaches students about the science and the history of Earth’s seasons. Each information text and comprehension questions to help students consolidate what they learn from reading. You can use all of the information texts or choose the ones you like best. This is also a great opportunity for a jigsaw activity or group presentations, so students can learn from one information text and teach the rest of the class what they learned.

Information Texts in the Earth's Seasons Pack

Earth’s Tilt

The Tilt of Other Planets

Earth’s Orbit

The Summer Solstice

Earth’s Seasons

The Winter Solstice

The Fall Equinox

The Spring Equinox

Stonehenge

Karnak Temple Complex

The Temple of Kukulclan

Are You Teaching Another Science Topic?

I am working on creating more science units so that every science teacher can get exactly what he or she needs for her students. You can also read about how I use brain science to teach other science topics on my blog. Click the pictures below to learn more.

Coming Soon!

#EarthMoonSunsystem #Earth039sseasons