The 20-Year Winter

by: Jodi Wheeler-Toppen

Sometimes students find the causes of seasons to be a difficult concept. They often need to work with visual representations to understand the implications of axial tilt. One misconception is that seasons change as the Earth moves farther from and closer to the Sun. In this chapter, students will experiment with using a model to create an explanation for a data set, in this case, the seasonal temperatures of cities north and south of the equator. This helps counter the misconception that seasons are caused by changing distance from the Sun. After creating a solution, students will read more about how seasons are caused both on Earth and on Uranus. The reading strategy featured here is “previewing diagrams and illustrations.” A materials list, teacher background information, references, assessment, and outcomes are provided. This book selection includes the Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, About the Author, Image Credits, and Index.

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