Seasons & Weather Patterns
Know the yearly order of spring, summer, autumn and winter. In many places, spring brings new growth, summer is warmer, autumn brings cooling and falling leaves, and winter is colder. Summer has more daylight than winter, though seasonal changes differ around the world.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name the four seasons and describe typical weather for each
- Explain that days are longer in summer and shorter in winter
- State that the seasonal pattern repeats every year
1 · Read
Many places have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. They follow this order each year. After winter, spring returns. Places around the world do not all have the same seasonal weather.
In many places with four seasons, spring brings new flowers and rain showers. Summer is usually warmest and has the most daylight. Autumn brings cooler air, and many trees lose their leaves. Winter is usually coldest and has the least daylight. Rain can fall in any season.
One clue cannot tell you the season for sure. Flowers can still bloom in autumn. Use several clues together, such as falling leaves and cooler air.
Spring, summer, autumn and winter repeat each year. Their weather can look different in different places.
The readings about daylight and bird migration were written for this dataset.
More to read
A model of changing daylight
Earth spins around an imaginary line through its poles. This line is tilted. During Earth's yearly trip around the Sun, the tilt keeps pointing in almost the same direction.
Ask an adult to guide this activity in a dim room. Mark opposite points on a ball as north and south poles. Draw its equator halfway between them. Add a place dot halfway between the equator and north pole.
Choose a wall. Hold the ball between that wall and a flashlight. Lean the north pole slightly toward the wall, away from the light. The adult holds the flashlight level with the ball's centre and aims it at the centre. Use a broad beam from far enough away to cover the ball's outline. Never shine it into anyone's eyes.
Slowly turn the ball once around the line through its poles. Keep the pole positions steady. Watch how much of the turn the place dot spends in light. This position models northern winter.
Carry the ball around the flashlight to the opposite side. Finish on the same straight line through the flashlight and chosen wall, at the same height and distance from the light. Keep the same tilt toward the same wall. The north pole now leans toward the light. The adult turns the flashlight to aim its beam at the ball's centre again.
Repeat the full turn, keeping the pole positions steady. The dot spends more of this turn in light. This position models northern summer. The comparison shows how a fixed tilt can give longer summer daylight and shorter winter daylight away from the equator.
Birds and the seasons
Some Canada geese travel between places as the seasons change. This travel is called migration. Other Canada geese stay in one area all year.
Many migrating geese fly north in spring to nest. Long summer daylight gives them more time to find food for their young.
When autumn brings shorter days and colder weather, many fly south. They seek places with food and water that is not frozen. They do not all travel the same distance.
Seasonal changes can affect what animals do. A bird's movements also depend on where it lives and what it needs.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
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.