Cities and Seasons
Lesson Plan
Overview
In this lesson, students will explore
how satellite images show seasonal changes in seven cities in North and South
America. Through a sequence of images, students can learn about the “green-up”
and “brown-down” of the seasons and continue to think about the way seasons
change over time and in various regions of the Earth. Students will study a data table to make inferences about
seasonal changes at various locations based on color changes in
vegetation. Students will learn about
seasonal differences in North and South America.
|
Suggested Lesson
Sequence |
Please see the Seasonal Changes module description. |
|
Lesson Level |
|
|
Science
Connections |
·
Students
will explore the green-up/brown-down cycle of plant growth and death. ·
Students
will make connections between vegetation ground cover (as observed from
space) with the changing seasons in various cities. |
|
Mathematics
Connections |
·
Students
learn to read and interpret a data table containing color data of the Earth’s surface. |
|
Technology
Connections |
·
Students
will use satellite imagery to observe the impact of seasonal change on the
vegetation of the Earth’s surface. |
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Lesson
Assessment Tools |
·
Assessment
and Standards Table (Word) |
Materials
Computer
(projection device recommended)
Seasons
of the Cities imagery
(Powerpoint)
Seasonal Cities Data
Table (PDF)
Seasonal
Cities Questions (Word)
Global
Greenup Movie narrated by
Pixel the Satellite (optional; Quicktime
Player required to view movie)
I.
Assessing Prior Knowledge
Students should be
familiar with the concept of vegetation “green-up” and “brown down” from the
Global Green-up lesson. Begin a discussion
with your students about the reasons plants change color through time. Use this discussion as a way to explore the
connection between plant life and the seasons.
Students may note that not all plants (e.g. evergreens) change their
colors seasonally. This is an excellent
observation. Many plants, however, do
have a distinct cycle of changing colors and perhaps even losing their leaves
under dry and/or cold conditions.
II. Contextual Preparation
Using a computer
(projection device recommended), students may view the Seasons of the Cities sequence of images to
observe the “green-up” and “brown-down” of vegetation at various cities in
North and South America. On each image, students will see small letters that
indicate cities and regions in North and South America. From north to south, these locations
include: Hudson Bay, Canada, Duluth,
Minnesota, Mexico City, Mexico, San Jose, Costa Rica, Bogota, Colombia,
Brasilia, Brazil, and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. What is notable about these cities is that they are selected to
provide a useful north-south cross sectional view of North and South
America.
Students should
view the series of images several times, making general inferences about the
ways that seasons might be changing in each of the cities on the maps. It is helpful for students to select one
city and keep their eye on how its surroundings change color over the course of
the year. Students should make the connection
between the color of ground cover and seasons (greens = spring/summer; browns =
late fall/winter/early spring; white = winter). Students may note that some cities change color more than others
throughout the year.
You may wish to
take some time to discuss these cities and/or the countries in which they occur
with your students to provide additional context for your students. In addition, you may wish to show your
students the Global Greenup
movie, narrated by Pixel the Satellite. The movie transcript is provided below for
your use.
“1. Ahhhh…the four seasons: salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 2. Oh, those aren’t 4 seasons, they’re 4
seasonings! 3. Can you tell me what the four seasons
are? (Pixel looks like he’s listening
to the kids…waits for a moment) 4. That’s right….spring, summer, fall, and
winter! 5. I have a great job, orbiting the Earth all year round, because I
get to see how the Earth changes as the seasons change. 6.
Did you know that I can see changes in 
the seasons from all the
way up here in space? 7. In this lesson, you’ll get to see a whole
years’ worth of Earth pictures taken by one of my satellite friends, and you’ll
use these pictures to track the changes in the globe’s colors through
time. 8. What could those color changes mean? 9. Your teacher will help
you get started with that—in the mean time, I’m off to see some glaciers in
Alaska! 10. See you sooooooon!!!!”
III. Student Activities
1. After engaging students in this initial
discussion, teachers should then show the Seasonal
Cities Data Table on a color computer screen and distribute copies
of the Seasonal Cities
Questions. The table contains a summary of “color data”
for each of the seven cities listed earlier.
Each cell in the table contains the approximate color of the Earth at
that particular location on one of 18 dates throughout the year. This table is similar to the work that
students completed in the Global
Green-up lesson
as they examined similar images and selected a crayon that best represented the
color of a location at a particular time.
2. Either individually, in small groups, or in
large group discussion, students should answer the Seasonal
Cities Questions that complement the Seasonal
Cities Data Table. The
questions are designed to help students make connections between geography and
seasonal changes, and set the stage for more detailed study of the impact of
seasons on animal migrations.
Questions for Class Discussion:
1. What do the different colors represent?
(green = lush vegetation;
light green = sparse vegetation; light/dark brown = no vegetation; black = no
sunlight available for satellite photo to be taken; white = snow)
2.
Which locations seem to have the most variation in ground cover (most
different colors)? What are the
positions of these locations on the Earth?
Hudson Bay, Canada and Duluth,
Minnesota: these are the northernmost
locations; Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: this is the southernmost location.
3.
Which cities seem to have the least amount of color variation? Where are these cities located on the Earth?
San Jose, Costa Rica and
Bogota, Columbia: both located near equator
4. When does it appear to be summer in each of
the cities?
Hudson Bay: June 1 – August
11
Duluth: June 1 – Sept. 21
San Jose: Dec. 1 – March 1
Bogota: Nov. 1 – Feb. 1
5.
Compare Hudson Bay and Tierra del Fuego. What do you notice about the seasons in each of these cities as
you compare them to each other?
Winter (colder season) in
Hudson Bay appears to be Nov. 1 – April 1 and summer (warmer season) is June 1
– Aug. 11. Winter in Tierra del Fuego
is April 1 – Aug. 11 and summer is Nov. 21 – March 22.
6. Which cities have the longest summers? Where are these cities found?
San Jose and Bogota: these cities are located near the equator.
7. Which locations have the longest
winters? Where are they found?
Hudson Bay: the northernmost
location.
Tierra del Fuego: the southernmost location.
8.
What season is it in Tierra del Fuego when the color is black? Tierra del Fuego is black because it was too
dark during this season for the satellite to take a picture. What colors might you expect to see on the
ground in place of the black color if you were to visit Tierra del Fuego during
this season?
Winter; you would expect to
see white or brown. (Note: Please refer to the lesson called Lights,
Camera, Action! to have your students learn more about how darkness affects
camera imagery.)
9.
If you were an animal that stayed in one location all year long, near
which cities would you probably need to eat differently in the summer compared
to the winter? Where do you think you
may be able to eat the same sorts of foods year round? Where would you need to build up a layer of
fur or fat to stay warm in the winter?
The cities located in the
tropics (San Jose and Bogota) are most likely to be places where animals could
eat the same sorts of foods throughout the year. Near the locations of Hudson Bay and Tierra del Fuego, the
climate would be more variable because of the cold winters and shorter growing
seasons. Many animals develop an extra
layer of fur or fat in order to stay warm in the cold winter climate. Also, many animals such as squirrels and
birds store food such as nuts and acorns to eat in the wintertime, when plants
are dormant and insects are not available to eat.
10.
How might scientists use satellite images of seasonal changes to study
migrations of animals?
(Answers may vary.) Scientists could examine how animal
movements are related to different amounts of green plant material over the
course of a year.
Students should also be able to
explain how the seasons, and the color (cover) of the land, change over
time. In particular, they should be
able to discuss how seasonal changes in North America compare to those in South
America. They should recognize that
seasonal changes tend to be more apparent the farther one gets from the
equator. They should also begin
thinking about the connections between seasonal change and animal migration, a
topic that is addressed in several lessons throughout the module called
Migrations del Mundo.
Lesson Extension for Authentic Assessment
·
Throughout
this lesson, children have explored the effects of seasonal variation on the
color of the Earth’s surface. In order
to examine the cause of these changes, children should explore how the Earth
tilts on its axis over the course of a year. Using a globe and a flashlight (to depict the sun), show students
that from late March- late September the northern hemisphere faces the sun,
while during other periods the southern hemisphere faces the sun. Have students identify the geographic
locations depicted in this lesson on the globe, and turn out all lights in the
classroom except for the flashlight.
Using the Seasonal Cities Data Table, have students match up the tilt
angles with the colors they would expect to see on the ground. It will become particularly apparent how
Tierra del Fuego can remain black over the course of a day in the Southern
Hemisphere winter.
· Using the Internet, have students study the various geographic locations depicted in this lesson and write a story about the people, plants, and/or animals of that area. Special topics may include how the people, plants, and animals adjust to changes in the climate throughout the year, and how the culture of the people reflect these seasonal changes. You may also be able to find a school or teacher in one of these locations on the Internet and establish a pen-pal relationship between your classes to last throughout the school year.