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I was looking at the SciGuide:Earth and Sky > Changes in Earth and Sky > Lesson:Why Do We Have Seasons. I wish I had this lesson 5 years ago. It's pretty solid and comprehensive and I will definitely be doing this with my students. I say comprehensive because it's not one those lessons that will just take a 45-minute block and - boom you're done. It's more like a mini-unit with discussions, research, and activities that all tie to learning about the reason for the seasons. It's fits perfectly with HCPCS III benchmark SC.4.8.3, in which part of this benchmark requires the students to explain the seasons. This has always been a challenging thing for my students to understand and I am hoping through this lesson I'll gain success.

Nicole, Please post your success with the SciGuide Lesson! I just finished that SciGuide - full of information that I didn't realize I had to memorize for the final assessment. What I really like about the Earth and Sky SciPack is that it clarifies the misconception that the sun is closest to Earth during the summertime. I hope your lesson is a success. I'm teaching grade 5 so my students were supposed to learn about the seasons last year. I think it might be worth my time to check for their understanding about the seasons and to reteach. Perhaps I will do the same lesson as you.

I agree it is always good to check students understanding about concepts because sometimes they don't let go of their incorrect thinking because is reforced by basic logic. Such as the postion of the Earth at summer and winter. I will check out the sciguide. I usually use the campfire, you don't have to move away but simple turn and you feel the heat or the lack of it as you turn. Its experience most have had but could get confusing about the facing versus tilting of the earth toward or away from the sun.

It’s great to have the 'inside scoop" on the really good things hidden amongst all the information that the Scipacks have to offer. I'll be sure to take a look at this particular part of the SciPack so I can also incorporate it into my lessons about season for next school year. I teach kindergarten and sometimes the students have a great deal of confusion when we talk about the changing of seasons. It's difficult for those who have never been off the island to imagine how the seasons change so drastically when in Hawaii the most we see is a little more rain and a possible cold temperature of 75 degrees, if we're lucky.

I also like the Scipacks along with the entire website, such a wealth of information. One aspect I like are the little animations and java applets they have throughout the Scipacks. They were really a great help when I taught space science and could show the students on a projector they could see the movement of all the planets at once along with comets and how they come from past Pluto was great because its really hard to find resources such as these anywhere else.

I also love the SciPacks and SciGuides. I really wish I'd known about them this summer when I was mapping out my curriculum. Earth science is the weakest of the physical sciences for me. My education is in chemistry & physics and the SciPacks really help fill in some of the gaps for me. The animations are great too.

As a teacher in Hawai'i, I have many students that have never experienced the four seasons. We have the typical summer season and our winter season is actually more of a rainy season. I usually teach my students about orbital paths and why we have day and night. I think teaching them about seasons would be a good extension. It sounds like this SciGuide is a good place to start planning activities and lessons for a unit on seasons. Thank you for the overview.