Reasons for the Seasons

Today we taught our fourth graders about the seasons in a fun activity. We used inquiry learning to teach them about how the sun is in a different position and that is what makes the different seasons. The inquiry method was a new teaching method for me and my group mates but we seemed to grasp the concept and deliver a great lesson! To start the lesson we gave the students a problem. We used a Voki which is a voice-over animation, to tell the students the problem that we had for them. The Voki grabbed the students attention and made them eager to get started on the activity.

The first thing clue that we gave the students was a journal entry that would give them a little overview of what season they might have. From this journal entry, the students were to make a hypothesis, which is a guess on what season they might think they have. One thing that we could have done differently is had the students read their hypotheses out loud so that way we could have heard what each group was thinking before we started giving them the rest of the clues. Next, we gave the students clues about the description of the seasons, the phase of the moon, and if it was daytime/nighttime depending on the tilt of earth's axis. We handed them out one at a time and gave the students time to discuss with their group after they were done reading each clue. The students would record their clues in a "report card" that we provided them with. The report card was where the students made their hypothesis and it is also where they would formulate their conclusions based on the data that they got from the clues. Once the students had finished gathering all their information from the clues they formulated their conclusion. We then had each group share what season they had, the phase of the moon, and if it was daytime/nighttime. One thing that we could have done differently is had the students come up to the front of the class to share their findings.

The last activity that we gave the students was to have them write a letter to the meteorologist from the Voki that they watched at the beginning. In the letter they explained what season they had, the phase of the moon, and if it was daytime/nighttime.

Overall I thought the lesson went really well. It was a great experience teaching two lessons to the whole class, and getting to learn a new method in the process! The inquiry method is something that I can implement into my future classroom!

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