Earth's axis leans about 23.4 degrees, always the same way, so as Earth goes around the sun each half of the world leans toward it for part of the year. Around December 21 the northern half leans the most away: the shortest day and the longest night in the north, while at the very same moment Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the south have their longest day. People have watched for the solstice for thousands of years. Newgrange in Ireland and Stonehenge in England line up with the sun, and families still gather on the longest night for Dongzhi in China and Yalda Night in Iran.
Eight pages, on plain notebook lines. Page 1 explains why there is a solstice, with a picture of the tilted Earth in December. Page 2 is the shortest day, with the sun's path across the sky in June, March and September, and December. Page 3 holds two short texts on Newgrange and Stonehenge, and page 4 two on Dongzhi and Yalda Night. Page 5 matches six science words to their meanings, and page 6 sorts ten statements into the north or the south in December. Page 7 is a week-long daylight log to fill in at home, working out the hours of daylight each day, and page 8 a page to draw and write how you would spend the longest night.
Before page 1, shine a flashlight on a globe or a ball in a dark room. Tip it so the north leans away from the light, then walk it around the "sun" and keep it leaning the same way. Read pages 3 and 4 in the days before the solstice, and send page 7 home on the first day of the week.
Look up the sunrise and sunset for your town each day of the week around December 21 and fill in page 7 together. Is the day getting longer or shorter? Then go outside at noon on a sunny day and look at how long your shadow is.
Science and history texts for the shortest day of the year: why Earth's tilt gives us a solstice, the sun's low path in December, and how people have marked the longest night, from Newgrange and Stonehenge to Dongzhi and Yalda Night. Students answer questions from the texts and pictures, match science words to their meanings, sort what is true in each hemisphere, keep a daylight log and write about the longest night.
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