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Activity
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Seasons

For Students 7th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] View how the axis of rotation causes Earth to have seasons on this site. Also test your knowledge on how the position of Earth and seasons relate with a short quiz.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Morning Sunshine

For Students 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about how the tilt of the Earth on its axis affects sunrises and sunstes. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Activity
Ministerio de Educación (Spain)

Ministerio De Educacion: Astronomia Visible

For Students 9th - 10th
This site has maps of the nearest stars and constellations. Earth and star daily rotation, proper motion of the stars and many other topics about the solar system are also shown.Read phonetically
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Lunar Lollipops

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The students work in teams of two to discover the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon that produce the different phases of the Moon. The students will be given a Styrofoam ball that they will attach to a pencil so that it looks...
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Activity
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Seasons

For Students 7th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This site contains an animation showing how the seasons are produced by the tilt of Earth's rotating axis. Site also includes a short quiz over the topic of seasons.
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Interactive
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Ballistics and Orbits Model

For Students 9th - 10th
Experience a simulation of ballistic trajectories in relationship to Earth's orbit. Java 1.5 or more recent is required.
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Website
National Museums Liverpool

Liverpool Museums: The Sun Tracker

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This simulation allows the user to see the sun's arc in the sky anywhere in the world at any time. By changing the season settings the user can see how seasons affect the height of the sun's arc.
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Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Why Angle Changes Intensity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This hands-on activity will help students understand why summer is hotter than winter.
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Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: A Scientific Explanation to What Causes Day and Night

For Students 4th - 8th
Explains how the rotation and the axial tilt of the Earth are responsible for the phenomenon of day and night. Provides information about the Sun, the solar system, and the Earth, and how the circumference of the Earth was first measured...
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Activity
Other

Center for Science Education: Eye on the Sky: What Makes Day and Night?

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This activity will allow you to model day and night cycles. A rotating student holding a map (provided) models the earth. A lamp is used to model the sun. Numerous worksheets (pdf) and additional website resources are also provided.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Day and Night

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this flipchart students will understand how the Earth rotates during a 24 hour period giving us day and night.
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Activity
Math Is Fun

Math Is Fun: The Seasons

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn about the four seasons, when they occur in the northern and southern hemispheres, and why the seasons change as the Earth rotates around the Sun.
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Website
NASA

Nasa: Heliophysics: New Science of the Sun Solar System Connection

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from NASA lists common and uncommon misconceptions about Sun-Earth Science. Site also provides links to activities and lesson plans as well as background reading.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Seasons

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this activity, pupils create a small model of the Earth using a styrofoam ball and a skewer. They then explore the relationship between the Earth and the Sun (a flashlight) to understand why it is hottest at the Equator, and why we...
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Handout
University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin: Reasons for the Seasons

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief explanation of the Earth's rotation around the Sun and how it relates to the amount of sunlight the Earth receives, and to the seasons. Includes two questions for students to respond to.
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Weather

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart discusses the weather, sun, earth, day, night, and rotation.
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Unit Plan
University of Illinois

University of Illinois Extension: Tree House Weather Kids: What Causes the Season?

For Students 5th - 8th
Explore what causes the change of seasons on the Earth.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Global Wind Pattern on the Earth Without an Ocean, Axiz Tilt, and Rotation.

For Students 9th - 10th
Global wind pattern on the earth without an ocean, axiz tilt, and rotation.
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Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: The Sun Is the Center of the Solar System

For Students 9th - 10th
See what you know about the solar system by taking this brief interactive quiz and learning module.
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Website
Ohio State University

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: Common Misconceptions About Day and Night

For Students 9th - 10th
Misconceptions about the causes of seasons and day and night are common through all ages. Use the information on this site to help your students understand these concepts. Included are links to many resources and lesson plans for...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Sunspots on the Move

For Students K - 1st
The following videos show sunspots using wavelengths of light that the human eye cannot see. Watch sunspots emerging on the earth's surface, a sunspot moving across the earth's surface, and the rotation of the sun as a sunspot evolves...
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Handout
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Kepler System Model

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Open Source Physics offers a file with a simulation of Kepler's theory of planetary motion, tested with the Earth rotating around the sun and another planet of the user's choosing. The download requires Java.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Glaciers, Water and Wind, Oh My!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This hands-on activity explores five different forms of erosion (chemical, water, wind, glacier and temperature). Students rotate through stations and model each type of erosion on rocks, soils and minerals. The students record their...
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eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Gyroscopic Effects: Vector Aspects of Angular Momentum

For Students 11th - 12th
From a chapter on Rotational Motion and Angular Momentum in a Physics textbook. This section of the chapter explains how to use the right-hand rule to determine direction for angular velocity, momentum, and torque. Also discusses the...

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