Hey Awesome Science Students! Let's do a Web-quest to learn more about WHY WE HAVE SEASONS!

The Learning Objective:

You will be able to  identify and illustrate how the tilt of the Earth on its axis as it rotates and revolves around the Sun causes changes in seasons

Welcome to the Real World

Congratulations!  You have been hired by an educational publishing company to produce posters for middle school science classrooms. Your first poster is to be one that shows the causes of seasons on Earth.

Since many students have the wrong idea about what causes seasons (they think that they are caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun during the summer) it is very important that your poster be very accurate. Your poster will answer the question "What causes seasons"?  Your boss (Me) expects your product to be turned in within two rotations of the Earth (that’s 48 hours!) including today.  LET’S GO!

The Task

• Using a Microsoft program such as Word, Publisher or PowerPoint, build a prototype poster that explains how the tilt of the Earth and its revolution around the Sun causes seasons.  

OR

• Use a sheet of drawing paper, pencils, colored pencils, markers etc. to create your poster.

The Process

1. You will work in teams of two to three.

2. Begin by reviewing some background information on the causes of seasons.

Make sure you understand:

 • Axis tilt:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Seasons.shtml

http://www.materialworlds.com/sims/SolarSystem/FourSeasons1View/WhatIf/netscape.html

• Revolution around the Sun

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6h.html

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6hrevolution.html

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0408/es0408page01.cfm?chapter_no=04

• Angle of sunlight

http://www.uwm.edu/~kahl/CoVis/Seasons/

3.  Now build your poster using your computer or drawing paper.

4.  If using a computer program, be sure to print out your poster.

5.  Turn in your finished product on the lab station of your class period.

What did you learn?

You should now have an understanding of the true causes of seasons.

Think about this (answer on the back of your poster):

1.  What would happen if any one of the variables (angle, sun’s energy, tilt, revolution) changed?  How would that affect the seasons?

2.  Why do we have seasons?

Self Assess
Use the rubric below to make sure you have completed all criteria of your JOB!
(Click image to enlarge)