The Reasons For Seasons is written and illustrated by Gail Gibbons. The book opens by explaining how the tilt of the Earth causes the seasons. It depicts the tilted Earth rotating around the sun. The book then talks about each season and its characteristics with five pages of illustrations and explanations. At the end, the book talks about how areas near the equator have little temperature change during the year. It also explains how the North and South Poles are always cold and how it is always dark at the pole during parts of the winter and always light in the summer.
Curriculum Connections: The book can be used for teaching the patterns of natural events (seasonal changes) and the causes of the seasons. SOL 3.8(a), 4.7(b). It would be great as an anticipatory set because it is very colorful and interesting. It will prepare students for diving in deeper during the following lesson plan.
Here’s the author’s personal website with some great resources.
Tree House Weather Kids is a great interactive and comprehensive seasons/weather website for students.
The Teacher Institute for Science Teaching Tips has a collection of 5 minute Podcasts for science teachers.
This Seasons website has a bunch of links to activities and lesson plans. *Some of the links no longer exist but most of them do.
Psyched for Science: Super Science Projects About Weather and Natural Forces is a neat book full of hands on experiments.
Book: The Reasons for Seasons
Author: Gail Gibbons
Illustrator: Gail Gibbons
Publisher: Holiday House
Grade Range: 3-5