One year on Earth – Understanding seasons
This resource includes two activities to foster and enhance pupils’ knowledge of seasons, and focuses on the basic mechanism behind different seasons on Earth. The resource is divided into different parts, therefore enabling a gradual acquisition of the topic and content. The starting point is a general discussion about seasons by considering the changing colours on Earth over the course of a year. This is followed by a hands-on activity that aims to let pupils explore the influence of the Sun-Earth system on seasons.
Subject Geography, Science
• Understand that some trees look different at different times of the year due to seasons.
• Understand that seasonal changes can also be seen from space.
• To explain the relationship between the Sun and the movement of the Earth, and its influence on daytime and night-time
• To explain why there are seasons on Earth and what influence the Sun has on them
• To analyse images and extract relevant information
• To work together and share conclusions
• Polystyrene sphere (approx. 10 cm diameter)
• Pen
• Small flag of your country
• 1 wooden skewer
• 2 sheets of A4 paper
• Sticky tape
• Drawing compass
• Torch
• Globe (optional)
Did you know?
Th Earth observation satellites can monitor seasonal changes on Earth from space. Satellites like the European Sentinel-3 carry instruments that can measure changing amounts of chlorophyll in plants, both in oceans and on land. They can also measure radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface, revealing how the temperature of the land changes during the year. In addition, satellite data can be used to monitor the health of Earth’s vegetation and to reveal how the colour of vegetation can change in a year! One ESA satellite specialised in observing vegetation is Proba-V, a minisatellite that is tracking global vegetation growth.
Earth under the lid – Understanding the greenhouse effect
Brief description In this set of two activities, pupils will learn about our atmosphere and the greenhouse gases that it consists what allow the Earth
After the storm – Tracking Hurricane Matthew and analysing its impact
Brief description In this set of two activities, students will explore the applications of Earth observation data in tracking hurricanes and assessing their aftermath by
The greenhouse effect and its consequences – Investigating global warming
Brief description In this set of three activities, students will do hands-on experiments and learn how to interpret satellite images for better understanding the overall
EN 
CS 
DA 
ET 
FI 
FR 
DE 
EL 
HU 
IT 
LV 
LT 
NL 
NB 
PL 
PT 
RO 
SK 
SL 
SV 
ES