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Winter Comes When Earth Is Closest to the Sun

6th grade nonfiction passage about why we have seasons: 247 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction why we have seasons 247 words

Winter Comes When Earth Is Closest to the Sun

Many people picture summer as the time when Earth swings close to the sun and winter as the time when it moves far away. That sounds sensible, but it is not true. For people in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is actually closest to the sun in early January, in the middle of winter.

Earth's orbit is only a little bit oval, so the change in distance matters very little. The real cause of the seasons is the tilt of Earth's axis. Earth spins like a top that leans to one side. It keeps leaning the same way as it travels around the sun.

For part of the year, the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun. Sunlight strikes the ground at a steep angle, and the light is concentrated on a small area. Days are long, so there is more time for the ground to warm. That is summer.

Half a year later, the Northern Hemisphere leans away. Sunlight arrives at a low slant and spreads over a larger area, so each patch of ground gets less heat. Days are short too. That is winter.

You can see the effect with a flashlight in a dark room. Shine the beam straight down on a table, and you will see a bright, small circle. Tilt the flashlight, and the same light stretches into a larger, dimmer oval.

The seasons are opposite in the two halves of the world. When it is summer in Canada, it is winter in Australia.

Questions

  1. When is Earth closest to the sun for people in the Northern Hemisphere? in the text

  2. What is the real cause of the seasons? in the text

  3. Why is Earth's distance from the sun not the cause? think about it

  4. What happens to sunlight when the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun? in the text

  5. What does the flashlight test show? in the text

  6. If it is summer in Canada, what season is it in Australia? think about it

Words to know

hemisphere
one half of Earth
axis
the imaginary line Earth spins around
tilt
a lean to one side
concentrated
gathered into a small space
slant
a slope or slanted angle
Share

One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 235 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Many people think summer is when Earth is close to the sun. They think winter is when Earth is far away. That sounds right, but it is not true. For people in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is closest to the sun in early January. That is the middle of winter.

Earth's orbit is only a little bit oval. So the change in distance matters very little. The real cause of the seasons is the tilt of Earth's axis. Earth spins like a top that leans to one side. It leans the same way all year as it goes around the sun.

For part of the year, the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun. Sunlight hits the ground at a steep angle. The light is packed onto a small area. Days are long, so the ground has more time to warm. That is summer.

Half a year later, the Northern Hemisphere leans away. Sunlight hits at a low slant. It spreads over a bigger area. Each patch of ground gets less heat. Days are short, too. That is winter.

Try it with a flashlight in a dark room. Shine the beam straight down on a table. You see a small, bright circle. Tilt the flashlight. The same light stretches into a bigger, dimmer oval.

The seasons are opposite in the two halves of the world. When it is summer in Canada, it is winter in Australia.

▲ This passage · 247 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Many people picture summer as the time when Earth swings close to the sun and winter as the time when it moves far away. That sounds sensible, but it is not true. For people in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is actually closest to the sun in early January, in the middle of winter.

Earth's orbit is only a little bit oval, so the change in distance matters very little. The real cause of the seasons is the tilt of Earth's axis. Earth spins like a top that leans to one side. It keeps leaning the same way as it travels around the sun.

For part of the year, the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun. Sunlight strikes the ground at a steep angle, and the light is concentrated on a small area. Days are long, so there is more time for the ground to warm. That is summer.

Half a year later, the Northern Hemisphere leans away. Sunlight arrives at a low slant and spreads over a larger area, so each patch of ground gets less heat. Days are short too. That is winter.

You can see the effect with a flashlight in a dark room. Shine the beam straight down on a table, and you will see a bright, small circle. Tilt the flashlight, and the same light stretches into a larger, dimmer oval.

The seasons are opposite in the two halves of the world. When it is summer in Canada, it is winter in Australia.

■ Harder · 257 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.2

Many people picture summer as the season when Earth swings close to the sun and winter as the season when it retreats far away. That notion sounds perfectly reasonable, yet it is incorrect. For people in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is actually nearest to the sun in early January, right in the middle of winter.

Earth's orbit is only slightly oval, so the variation in distance has a very small effect. The genuine cause of the seasons is the tilt of Earth's axis. Earth spins like a top that leans to one side, and it continues to lean in the same direction while it travels around the sun.

During one part of the year, the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the sun. Sunlight strikes the ground at a steep angle, so the light is concentrated on a small area. The days are long, which gives the ground more time to warm up. That is summer.

Half a year later, the Northern Hemisphere leans away. Sunlight arrives at a low slant and spreads across a much larger area, so every patch of ground receives less heat. The days are short as well. That is winter.

You can observe the effect using a flashlight in a darkened room. Shine the beam straight down onto a table, and you will see a small, bright circle. Tilt the flashlight, and the very same light stretches into a larger, dimmer oval.

The seasons are reversed in the two halves of the world. When it is summer in Canada, it is winter in Australia.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put hemisphere, axis, tilt, concentrated and slant on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 3 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Winter Comes When Earth Is Closest to the Sun"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 247 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.8. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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