Forums

Forums / Earth and Space Science / Seasons Misconception

Earth and Space Science

Seasons Misconception

Author Post
April Santillan April Santillan 80 Points

There is a common misconception about why seasons come to be and it has to do with the position of the sun and the proximity of the Earth around it during Earth's revolution. How can this be addressed early on? Is the concept of the tilt of the axis to difficult to grasp during the upper elementary grade levels?
Megan Doty Megan Doty 11847 Points

Hi April,

I found a collection of resources regarding seasons and weather, I wonder if any of these may be helpful to address the misconceptions your students bring with them:

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/mylibrary/collection.aspx?id=ZVT1VSBMIo0_E

Inside this collection is an article titled Science Shorts: The Reasons for the Seasons. This includes an activity you can use to address the misconception about what causes seasons in a hands-on way. Check it out inside the collection or at the link here:

http://common.nsta.org/resource/default.aspx?id=10.2505%2f4%2fsc10_047_08_68

Let us know if you use any of these in the classroom, I would love to hear how it goes!

-Megan
Cris DeWolf Cris DeWolf 11965 Points

If they can make a connection to the idea that light from the sun heats the earths surface, there is something I first saw on Bill Nye's Seasons video. You use solar cells attached to a globe that are hooked up to volt meters to show how the changes by orientation of Earths axial tilt changes the amount of light.
Post Reply

Forum content is subject to the same rules as NSTA List Serves. Rules and disclaimers