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How can the Sun tell you the season?
Spaceship Earth Unit | Lesson 3 of 5

How can the Sun tell you the season?

Spaceship Earth Unit | Lesson 3 of 5
Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
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PHOTO #1 OF 5
What season is this? Come up with more than one reason for your answer. *Hint:* Pay attention to the time on the photo.

Kid on bike

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DISCUSS AS A CLASS:

What season do you think this is? Why?

Here's what we think:

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PHOTO #2 OF 5
What season is this? Come up with more than one reason for your answer. *Hint:* Does the mist give you a clue about the temperature?

Pumpkins

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DISCUSS AS A CLASS:

What season do you think this is? Why?

Here's what we think:

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PHOTO #3 OF 5
What season is this? Come up with more than one reason for your answer. *Hint:* Pay attention to the time on the photo.

SunsetWinter

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DISCUSS AS A CLASS:

What season do you think this is? Why?

Here's what we think:

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PHOTO #4 OF 5
What season is this? Come up with more than one reason for your answer. *Hint:* Pay attention to the time on the photo.

Flower

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DISCUSS AS A CLASS:

What season do you think this is? Why?

Here's what we think:

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PHOTO #5 OF 5
CHALLENGE: What season is this? Do you have any ideas? Take a look at the time and the shadow. (If you can't figure it out, don't worry--watch the next video to get a clue!)

Bench

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Discuss: What changes did you see in the daytime sky over the course of the four seasons?

Here's what we saw...

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Discuss: Here’s the bench you saw earlier. Now can you guess what season this photo was taken? Hint: Think about the time & the shadow.

Bench

See what we think...

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PHOTO #6 OF 8: What season is it? Why do you think that?

Dog

See what we think...

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PHOTO #7 OF 8: What season is it? Why do you think that?

Shadows

See what we think...

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PHOTO #8 OF 8: What season is it? Why do you think that?

Sunsets

See what we think...

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Extra Activity: Sky Dome, Part 2

SkyDome1

SkyDome2

Add the Sun's summer path and winter path to the Sky Dome that you made from instructions in Mystery 1 Extras.

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Slide Image
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Slide Image

season


1 of 1

a time of year with specific weather that repeats every year
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Image & Video Credits

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Other
sunsent by AdinaVoicu / cropped
Lesson narration:

Grade 5

Earth & Space Patterns

Seasonal Changes & Shadow Length

5-ESS1-2

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students discover how the Sun’s path changes with the seasons. In the visual activity, Guess the Season, students figure out the season of the year by studying a photo. Students come to realize that they can use the time of day and length of shadows to figure out the season in each photo.

Preview activity

Exploration

20 mins

Grade 5

Earth & Space Patterns

Seasonal Changes & Shadow Length

5-ESS1-2

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