Rise and shine! It’s morning, and the sun is rising. When we watch sunrises and sunsets, we may just think of the pretty colors in the sky. But sunrises and sunsets can tell us a lot about Earth and the different seasons.
When we watch the sun go up or down in the sky, we are actually seeing how the earth is rotating. We can’t feel the earth turning, because everything is moving with us. When a specific part of the earth’s surface faces the sun, the sky is bright for the day until that part of the earth’s surface turns away from the sun at night.
Our planet is always spinning around its axis. The axis is the invisible line through the center of the earth around which the planet turns. Imagine spinning a basketball on your finger. Now, imagine a line going from the tip of your finger, where it touches the basketball, straight through the center of the ball. That line would be the ball’s axis.
While the earth spins around its axis, it also moves around the sun in an ellipse, or an oval. It takes 365 ¼ days for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun. That’s how we measure one year. Mars takes 687 days to make one revolution around the sun; therefore, a year on Mars is longer than a year on Earth.
The earth’s axis is not straight up and down, but instead leans towards one side. This axial tilt causes our seasons, where one half of the planet gets more direct sunlight than the other half. As the earth revolves around the sun, the earth’s axis tilts toward the sun when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. It tilts away from the sun when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. North America is in the Northern Hemisphere (the top half of Earth), which leans away from the sun during December and January. When the top half of the earth leans away from the sun, the lower half of the earth leans towards the sun. The sun shines directly on the hemisphere leaning towards it and indirectly on the hemisphere leaning away from it. This is why when it is winter in North America it is summer in lower parts of the world, like Australia. Isn’t that interesting?
Every day, the time of sunrise and sunset changes. This is also because of Earth’s axis. In the winter, you can see how the days are shorter. The sun doesn’t stay in the sky for very long. The shortest day of the year is called the winter solstice. This happens around December 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. In the summer, it’s the opposite—the days are longer. The longest day of the year is called the summer solstice. This happens around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere.
So, we can guess when our seasons will start. When the days are getting shorter, we know that winter is coming. When the days are getting longer, we know that summer is on its way! From observing and determining the patterns we find in sunrises and sunsets, we can predict the seasons in the future.
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
Jose does not go to the pool on Tuesday, he goes to the pool on Wednesday.
Jonny took his dog, Scruffy, out for a walk on a cold day in December. He bundled up in his heavy winter coat and put on his thick wool cap and heavy mittens before he said goodbye to his mom. Outside the front door, the whole world was like a winter wonderland: there were icicles hanging from tree branches and snow banks that rose all the way up to Jonny’s knees. Scruffy was excited to be outside and scampered around, digging in the snow and jumping into drifts. Jonny was also glad to be out in the cold air. The blizzard that left all this snow had raged for two days, and he hadn’t been allowed to go outside, even just to catch some air!
They walked through Jonny’s neighborhood, passing people who looked glad to be outside, too. A few blocks down, Jonny saw his friend Marcus building a snowman with his big sister, Marie.
“Hi, Marcus!” Jonny called out. He walked over to the snowman.
“Hey, Jonny. You want to help?” Marcus was patting the bottom part of the snowman with his glove, while Marie was rolling together the second section of the snowman, packing the snow together to make sure it stayed in a round shape.
Jonny walked over and wrapped Scruffy’s leash around Marcus’s mailbox. Together, Jonny, Marcus, and Marie built an amazing snowman. They fashioned a long pointy nose out of many small twigs pulled together in a tent shape, and eyes out of bruised green apples Marie found in the house. They made the snowman’s arms out of two longer sticks, setting them up to make it look like he was waving. Sometimes Jonny would look over and Scruffy would be digging again, but he mostly sat patiently, watching Jonny, Marcus, and Marie work.
When they were all done, Marcus and Marie’s mom came outside to see their work. “This is an amazing snowman!” she said. “Does anyone want hot chocolate?”
All three kids and Scruffy ran into the house and warmed up. After about an hour, Jonny decided it was probably time to go home—the sun was beginning to set, and it was starting to get very cold. As he was saying goodbye to Marcus, Marie, and their mom, Scruffy ran out into the yard, ignoring all of their calls to stop and come back.
All of a sudden, Scruffy jumped up and gave the snowman a big bear hug.
“Oh no!” Jonny yelled, and ran out to the snowman, which was now a pile of snow and sticks on the ground. Marie and Marcus ran out behind him. All three looked down at the remains of the snowman and then at Scruffy, who was staring up at them, panting and smiling.
“Oh well,” Marcus said. “We can build another one tomorrow.”
Jonny apologized for Scruffy and clipped the leash back onto his collar. Marcus was right. Tomorrow was a new day and could mean another snowman. Jonny walked Scruffy home as the sun set. Maybe tomorrow he would build a snow-dog.
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
Marcus, Marie, and Jonny build a snowman; , Scruffy knocks it over.
What is the axis of a planet?
The cause of the sun rising and setting in the sky is the earth’s rotation. What is the effect?
The amount of direct sunlight a hemisphere receives determines the season of that hemisphere. What evidence from the passage supports this conclusion?
Based on the passage, what can be concluded about Mars’s distance from the sun?
What is this passage mostly about?
Read the following sentences:
“While the earth spins around its axis, it also moves around the sun in an ellipse, or an oval. It takes 365 ¼ days for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun.”
As used in the passage, what does the word “revolution” mean?
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
The earth is constantly spinning; , we cannot feel the motion because everything is moving with us.
What happens to the days during winter in North America?
One day during Jose’s summer vacation, he woke up and wanted to go to the pool.
He made his bed, put on his swimsuit, and grabbed his towel from the hall closet. Then he went to the kitchen table and sat down for breakfast.
“Jose,” his mom said, as she served him scrambled eggs and toast. “Why are you wearing your bathing suit?”
“Because today I want to go to the pool,” he said. He started to eat his eggs very fast so that they could leave for the pool right away.
His mother laughed. “Jose, look outside,” she said. “I’m sorry, but we can’t go to the pool today.”
Jose jumped out of his seat and looked outside the window. It was raining really hard, and there was thunder and lightning. People outside were hurrying back and forth with umbrellas over their heads, while the trees blew in the wind.
“Oh no,” Jose said. “Rain! Now we can’t go to the pool.”
He sat back down at the table and quietly finished his breakfast. He was sad. His plans for the pool were not going to happen.
Jose’s mom grabbed her laptop computer and brought it over to the table. She turned it on and gave Jose a hug.
“Don’t worry sweetheart,” she said, “let’s look up the weather for tomorrow, and see if we can go to the pool then.”
Jose’s mom searched on the Internet for the local weather news. Jose watched as the screen displayed a bunch of pictures with sun and rain clouds next to each day of the week.
“What are those?” he asked.
“This is a news website that shows the weather for each day of the week,” she said. “Here is today.”
She pointed to a rain cloud next to the day marked “Tuesday.”
“The rain cloud means that today it is going to rain all day. And here it says the temperature: 85 degrees Fahrenheit.”
“That is hot,” said Jose. “And the pool is good on a hot day.”
“It is hot, but raining, so the pool will not be open today,” said Jose’s mom. “But tomorrow, Wednesday, there is a sun picture. That means the weather forecaster is predicting tomorrow will be sunny. It also says that tomorrow will be 90 degrees, which is even hotter than today.”
“Then we can go to the pool!” said Jose.
“Yes, if it is sunny and hot, we can go to the pool,” said Jose’s mom. “As long as you wear your sunscreen.”
Jose was excited. But he was also a little confused. How did the weather forecaster know about the weather before it happened? Could he predict the future?
“Mom, how does the weather forecaster know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow?” he asked.
“Well,” said Jose’s mom, “scientists use tools in order to predict the weather. They record patterns and can figure out what will most likely happen next. For example, if the scientists see a storm that is moving across other states toward us in New York, they can measure the storm, and how fast it is moving. Then they can tell if it will be rainy in a few days or a few weeks. We can see this weather prediction listed on a website, or on the television.”
“You mean we hear it from those people who read the news on TV,” said Jose.
“Right,” said Jose’s mom. “Some of the news people who read the weather forecast on TV are called meteorologists. A meteorologist is someone who studies, explains, and understands the weather forecast. They go to school to study how to predict and understand the weather. That way people like you and me can see if it will be raining tomorrow or this weekend.”
After lunch the rain got a little lighter, and Jose’s mom let him put on his rain boots and play in the backyard. Then after a shower, Jose and his mom had dinner and watched a movie. The next morning Jose got up, put on his bathing suit, and grabbed his towel. He peeked outside the window and saw that the sun was shining.
“Mom!” he shouted as he ran to the breakfast table. “The scientists were right! It is sunny today. Let’s go to the pool!”
And they did.
Where does Jose want to go after he wakes up?
Jose wants to go swimming, but there is a problem. What is the problem?
Jose is very excited about going to the pool.
What evidence from the story supports this statement?
How can a weather forecaster predict the weather?
What is this story mainly about?
Read the following sentences:
“Jose was excited. But he was also a little confused. How did the weather forecaster know about the weather before it happened? Could he predict the future?”
Why does the author include the two questions above?
What is Scruffy?
What is the climax of the action in this story?
Marcus is not upset after Scruffy knocks over the snowman that he, Jonny, and Marie built.
What evidence from the story supports this statement?
Based on the events of the story, what can be concluded about Scruffy?
What is a theme of this passage?
Read the following sentence from the passage:
“Outside the front door, the whole world was like a winter wonderland: there were icicles hanging from tree branches and snow banks that rose all the way up to Jonny’s knees.”
What does the phrase “a winter wonderland” mean?