Daylight in summer and winter
Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year, noticing longer days in summer and shorter days in winter
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe the pattern: more daylight hours in summer, fewer in winter
- Compare sunrise/sunset times at different points in the year
- Relate amount of daylight to seasonal changes in weather and nature
1 · Read
In summer, the sun stays up for a long time. It rises early and sets late. In winter, the sun rises late and sets early.
Mia plays outside after dinner in June. The sun is still up! In December, it is dark before dinner.
Watch the sky at bedtime. In summer, it is still bright. In winter, it is already dark.
Summer has more daylight. Winter has less daylight, so it gets dark earlier.
More to read
Key points: Seasons
Earth's axis is tilted. As Earth orbits the Sun, different parts of Earth point toward or away from the Sun. This causes the seasons. When the Northern Hemisphere points toward the Sun, it's summer there. The Sun's rays are more direct, and days are longer. When the Northern Hemisphere points away from the Sun, it's winter. The Sun's rays are less direct, and days are shorter. The Southern Hemisphere has opposite seasons at the same time. The equinoxes happen when neither hemisphere points toward or away from the Sun, so day and night are nearly equal everywhere.
4.2 The Seasons
The length of daylight changes throughout the year. In summer, days are longer and the Sun is higher in the sky. In winter, days are shorter and the Sun is lower. This pattern repeats every year. The tilt of Earth's axis is the reason. Earth spins on its axis once per day, but the axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees relative to its orbit around the Sun. As Earth moves around the Sun, the tilt causes different hemispheres to lean toward or away from the Sun at different times of year.
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Longer Days, Shorter Nights
Students can model the seasons with a lamp and a ball on a stick. The lamp represents the Sun, the ball is Earth, and the stick is the tilted axis. As the ball moves around the lamp, keeping its tilt constant, different parts of the ball receive more or less direct light. This hands-on activity shows why the length of days changes and why seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It demonstrates that the distance from the Sun does not cause seasons; the tilt does.
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Optional connections
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.