Seasons on Earth
I can explain how and why the seasons change, and why some countries do not have summers and winters.
Seasons on Earth
I can explain how and why the seasons change, and why some countries do not have summers and winters.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The seasons change because of Earth’s tilted axis, which does not change direction as Earth orbits the Sun.
- In June, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun so has summer, and the southern hemisphere has winter.
- In December, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun so has winter, and the southern hemisphere has summer.
- The seasons that occur at a place on Earth can be explained by the different angles made to the sun's rays over a year.
- Countries near the Equator do not experience summers and winters as they stay close to ‘face-on’ to the Sun all year.
Keywords
Summer - Summer is the warmest season, when the Sun is highest in the sky and there are more hours of daylight.
Winter - Winter is the coldest season, when the Sun is lowest in the sky and there are fewer hours of daylight.
Hemisphere - A hemisphere is half a sphere.
Tilt - Something is tilted if it is at an angle to the horizontal or vertical.
Orbit - An orbit is the path one object takes around another object.
Common misconception
The seasons are caused by Earth moving closer or further from the Sun, the Sun being hotter or colder, or Earth's tilt changing as it orbits the Sun.
Remind pupils that the Sun's output is constant and also that there is strong evidence for Earth's orbit of the Sun being almost a perfect circle. Seasonal change happens because the direction of Earth's tilt doesn't change as it orbits the Sun.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
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