Topic: What are the consequences of the Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic?

Target group

6th‑grade student of elementary school

Core curriculum

I. Geographical knowledge.

1. Learning the basic geographical vocabulary to describe and explain the phenomena and processes that occur in the geographical environment.

II. Skills and use of knowledge in practice.

2. Using plans, maps, photographs, drawings, charts, diagrams, statistical data, source texts and information and communication technologies to collect, process and present geographic information.

8. Improving perception skills and spatial intelligence.

Detailed requirements

V. Earth movements: The Earth in the solar system; the Earth’s revolution and rotation motion; consequences of the Earth’s movements. The student:

4) demonstrates the Earth's revolution using models (e.g. tellurium or globes).

The general aim of education Student learn the consequences of the Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic.

Criteria of success

• explain the concept of: solar year and sidereal year;

• describe the consequences of the Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic;

• explain what a tellurium is and how it works.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• mathematical competences;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Methods / forms of work

• the problem‑solving methods: structured interview, discussion;

• the demonstrating method: presentation;

• programmed learning: via computer, e‑textbook;

• practical learning: exercises on the subject.

• individual activity, activity in pairs, activity in groups, and collective activity.

Teaching aids

• computers (or tablets) with internet access;

• multimedia resources available under “What are the consequences of the Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic?” in the e‑textbook;

• globes (few per class), tellurium;

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, marker/chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. In class, the teacher defines the purpose of the lesson, informing students about its planned course.

2. The teacher discusses the revolution of the Earth around the Sun while introducing the following concepts:

• solar year;

• sidereal year;

• the Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic.

The teacher explains that the length of a sidereal year changes slightly due to the impact of other celestial bodies on the path of the Earth's motion. Those changes can be visible over the course of a few or several years. However, the Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic remains the same over the year. The fact the Earth’s axial tilt is constant is essential for the changes of the seasons on the Earth, the climate, the length of day and night, and the changes of the location of the sunrise, solar noon and sunset.

Realization

1. After that, the whole class, under the supervision of the teacher, analyses and discusses the illustration, attached under the lesson in the e‑textbook, which shows the Earth’s revolution around the Sun.

2. The teacher divides the students into groups (no more than 5‑6 people). Each group, using a globe and an object that plays the role of the Sun, recreates the annual movement of the Earth (task 1 under the lesson in the e‑textbook).

3. The teacher explains that the annual movement of the Earth around the Sun can be recreated using a tellurium, presenting the illustration attached to exercise1. If the school is equipped with tellurium - each group performs the task described in the content of task 2 under the lesson in the e‑textbook.

Summary

1. Students carry out interactive exercises on the interactive whiteboard.

2. The last stage of the lesson is a discussion about the issues discussed and a summary of the class. During the discussion, the students ask questions, ask the teacher to clarify any doubts, and complete their notes.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

What are the consequences of Earth’s axial tilt to the plane of the ecliptic?

The Earth orbits the Sun on a slightly elongated elliptical orbit similar to a circle. This movement is called Earth’s revolution. The movement of the Earth around the Sun takes place in a counter‑clockwise direction (looking at the Earth‑Sun system from the Northern Hemisphere).
The circulation time is slightly different in subsequent years, so we can only give a approximate time. It is commonly said that the solar year lasts 365 days 5 hours and 49 minutes. This means that, after this time, Earth returns to its starting position relative to the Sun. A sidereal year is a bit longer, it lasts about 365 days 6 hours 9 minutes and around 9 seconds. After this time has passed, Earth returns to the place from which the Sun is visible in the same position in relation to distant stars. Note that none of these measures of time has an equal number of days, which has consequences in determining when a year actually passes, and when constructing the calendar.

You now know that Earth's axial tilt in relation to its circulation plane around the Sun is around 66°33'. Astronomers talk about the tilting of the axis to the ecliptic plane, i.e. the plane containing the orbit, on which the Earth orbits the Sun. What is extremely important for the Earth is the fact that the tilting of its axis in relation to the plane of the orbit does not change during the entire cycle around the Sun, that is, during one year. This means that for a part of the year, the axis is directed towards the Sun with its northern end, which makes the Northern Hemisphere more illuminated. For the second half of the year, the Earth's axis is directed towards the Sun with its southern end, which causes the Southern Hemisphere to be more illuminated. On the other hand, twice a year, the Earth's axis sets itself in relation to the Sun, so that both Hemispheres are illuminated identically.

• The tilting of the Earth's axis is fundamental for the length of day and night, the altitude of the solar noon and the changing of seasons.

• During the year, the equinox occurs twice on Earth, while the June solstice and the December solstice occur only once.

• The places of sunrise and sunset as well as the altitude of the solar noon change throughout the year depending on the latitude.