Seasons

​Reviewing Day and Night The Earth is a **sphere.** The Earth rotates, or spins, in place like a basketball on your finger. Click on the links below to answer the questions.


 * Instruction || Task (copy and paste onto your wiki) ||
 * []

[] || What does earth's constant rotation cause us to experience? Day and Night How long does it take earth to complete one rotation? 24 hrs. From which direction does the sun rise? east From which direction does the sun set? west What do you think would happen if the Earth stopped rotating? How would this effect human life? If the earth stopped rotating there would be no more day and night and no one would sleep. Key Concept about Earth's rotation: The earth is always rotating but you dont feel it pulls everything to itself. (Gravity) ||

**The Reason for the Seasons**

Most every place on earth experiences four seasons a year. These are spring, summer, fall (autumn) and winter. During the following investigation we are going to explore the reason the different seasons occur.

As we consider the cause of the seasons we will need to understand the following:
 * The Earth's position on it's axis as it moves around the sun.
 * The way the sunlight strikes the earth's surface.
 * The Earth's movement around the sun.

The Earth Is Tilted! First, let's check out the Earth's position.

What do you notice about the Earth's position when the axis appears? Its tilted What two hemispheres does the equator divide the earth into? Northern and Southern hempisheres || STEP #1 Create a diagram of the Earth's tilt using Microsoft Word. STEP #2 Open a new Word document STEP #3 Click "View" STEP #4 Click "Toolbars" STEP #5 Select "Drawing" STEP #6 Select the circle from the drawing tools (they will show up at the bottom of the page) STEP #7 Drag the "plus sign" across the page to make a circle about the size of a baseball. STEP#8 You are going to make the equator. STEP#9 Select the line from the drawing toolbar. STEP#10 Position the plus sign about halfway to the edge of the circle, click and drag the line to the other side. STEP #11 Make the equator line red. STEP# 12 You are going to make the axis line. STEP# 13 Select the line from the drawing toolbar. Position the "Plus sign" just above the circle at an angle to the right. STEP#14 Drag the line toward the bottom left of the circle. STEP #15 Make this line blue. STEP #16 Label the "N" for the North Pole, "S" for the South Pole, "NH" for the Northern Hemisphere and "SH" for the Southern Hemisphere STEP #17 Save and Upload file to your wiki "Seasons" page || **Upload Word document to your wiki.** ||
 * Instruction || Task (place on your wiki) ||
 * [] || What poles does the Earth's axis run through? North and South
 * Show what you know using the directions below!!!

Did you know that the Earth's axis does not change position as it revolves around the sun?!? What star is it always pointed at? North Star Go to the internet to find the answer. Hint: It is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor.
 * So...why is this important to how seasons change. Let's shed a little light on the subject!**

You are going to conduct an activity. Take a flashlight from the counter. Turn it on. Hold your hand flat, straight up and down about an inch away from the light source (direct light). Think about what you feel. Now, tilt your hand back, so it is at an angle (indirect light). Think about what you feel. **Copy the chart and key concept below onto your wiki and fill it out.**


 * Direct Light || Angled or Indirect light ||
 * Warm || Nothing ||

Key Concept: Which produces more heat? Which produces less?

The Earth Revolves Around the Sun

Describe the way the sun's rays are hitting the hemispheres during each of the season (direct, indirect, or equal). || **Copy, paste and fill out Southern and Northern Hemisphere charts on your wiki.** ||
 * Instruction || Task ||
 * Click on the link. Observe the Earth's tilt in the simulation. [] || Is the Earth's tilt always pointing the the right or the left? ||
 * Copy the Northern and Southern Hemisphere tables below. Paste them on your wiki.
 * [] || Do the Northern and Southern Hemispheres ever experience the same season? What do you notice about their seasons? ||

Northern Hemisphere


 * winter || spring || summer || fall ||
 * indirect || equal || dicrect || equal ||

Southern Hemisphere


 * winter || spring || summer || fall ||
 * indirect || equal || direct || equal ||

[] || **Copy the chart below and paste it on your wiki.** ||
 * Click on the link below for information to fill in the solstice/equinox chart.

amount of daylight || Shortest amount of daylight || 12 hrs of daylight || biggest amount of daylight || 12 hrs of daylight ||
 * || winter solstice || spring equinox || summer solstice || fall equinox ||
 * Date || Dec. 21 or 22nd || March 21 or 22nd || June 21 or 22nd || Sept. 21 or 22nd ||
 * Describe the


 * Putting It All Togther...**

explaining the reason for the seasons. STEP #1: Click on the link below: [] In the first bubble you will place your topic: Phase Changes. Create five bubbles around the topic bubble. Place one phase change in each bubble with its definition. Add examples around each of the phases. When you finish, click on the menu button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Select export. A box will appear along the right side of the screen. Make sure the buttons for "image" and "JPEG" are filled in, if not, click on them. Click on "OK". Click "save" and save to the desktop. Upload to your wiki activity page || Topic Bubble (center): One or two or three words describing what you are writing about. Subtopics (four bubbles around the center): Write one of the four seasons in each bubble. Details (go around each of the four seasons): Describe the tilt of the hemisphere and the type of sunlight striking the earth's surface.
 * Follow the steps below to use Bubblus to create a graphic organizer
 * STEP #2:**
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 * STEP #4:**
 * STEP #5:**
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 * STEP #8:**
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 * STEP #10:**
 * Upload final copy to your wiki page.**

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[] Page1 Start off with general seasons information (How many there are, name each one,...) Page 2 Discuss earth's tilt and draw a picture Page 3 Winter Page 4 Spring Page 5 Summer Page 6 Fall Page 7 Restate the main reason for the seasons Page 8 Can you guess my favorite season? ||
 * Create an on-line book with illustrations explaining the reason we have seasons.