- The intended audience for this lesson would be between 7th and 10th grade. The lesson is about the arctic for a science class.
- The lesson would probably take 1-3 class periods.
- The essential question revolves around what causes seasons and the variation in day light.
- Start the lesson with learning what the student’s background knowledge is on the subject of seasons and earth’s axial tilt. Ask questions like, What causes seasons, and why are days longer in summer than in winter. Then move onto earth’s axial tilt and how the earth moves around the sun. After that ask the student’s how far the earth would have to tilt to have a full day of sun light during winter. Have the student’s give their best guesses then divide them into groups and have them design an experiment to discover what the answer is. After that ask the students what affect this would have on the way people live in their town (hotter summers, colder winters, Large variations between day and night, ect.) Talk about the ways Northern Alaskans have adapted to these extremes. Then allow the students time to work on their projects.
Hi, Luke!
I am excited about this topic because it is so relevant to where we are. I am eager to hear about the different ways students will experiment with tilting the axis for sunlight during the Winter. How many guidelines and tips will you give them?
Good job!
A critical understanding. It would be good to include some artifacts that could make connection to the seasonal lifestyle changes. One place to start would be the way life changes from summer to winter. How do indigenous people design for season change and find ways to use it to their advantage?