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Copyright 2019 The Science Penguin Incorporated
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© 2019 The Science Penguin
Materials and Set-up
Each student needs:
• 1 small piece of poster board or
large piece of paper (at least 11” x 14”)
• 1 large yellow circle
• 4 small Earth circles
• 4 arrows
• 1 set of season images
• Pencil, pen, or marker
Blue paper
4 Earths per
student
(12 on page)
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Yellow paper
1 circle per
student
(9 on page)
Any color paper
4 arrows per
student
(16 on page)
White paper
1 set of seasons
per student
(4 on page)
Directions
I recommend giving the following
directions to students and modeling on a
document camera as you complete the
activity.
1. Cut out the Earth circles, the sun circle,
arrows, and season cards.
2. Glue the yellow Sun in the middle of
the paper. Label the Sun.
3. Glue the Earth circles around the Sun
as shown in the image. Be careful to tilt
the axis. The North Pole is labeled.
Draw a line to represent the axis on
each of the Earth circles. There are
dots to denote where to draw the lines.
Want to be exact or help students find
approximately 23.5 degrees? Use a
protractor!
4. Mark an X on North America.
5. Glue the arrows as shown in the image.
© 2019 The Science Penguin
Directions
6. Draw dotted lines from the sun to each
of the Earth circles. Glue the season
cards as shown in the image. Label
them WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, and
FALL.
7. Label the SUMMER SOLSTICE, SPRING
EQUINOX, AUTUMNAL EQUINOX, and
WINTER SOLSTICE. Include the
approximate days they occur each
year.
Spring Equinox: around March 20
Summer Solstice: around June 20
Autumnal Equinox: around
September 22
Winter Solstice: around December 21
8. Explain that as Earth orbits the Sun, the
seasons change due to its 23.5 degree
tilt on its axis. When the Northern
Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, we
experience summer. When the
Northern Hemisphere is tilted away
from the Sun, we experience winter.
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Directions
9. Explain that between Winter Solstice
and Spring Equinox, we experience
winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Between Spring Equinox and Summer
Solstice, we experience spring.
Between Summer Solstice and
Autumnal Equinox, we experience
summer. Between the Autumnal
Equinox and Winter Solstice, we
experience fall. Then the cycle begins
again.
10. Emphasize that we experience these
seasons because Earth is tilted on its
axis as it orbits the Sun.
11. Ask students to title their diagram and
write a brief explanation as to why we
experience seasons on Earth.
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© 2019 The Science Penguin
blue
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yellow
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Any color
© 2019 The Science Penguin
white