Seasons Complete Lesson Plan - MS

Everything you need for an engaging, ready-to-teach unit on the causes of day, night, and seasonal change is included in this resource! Students will investigate how Earth’s rotation causes day and night and how its tilt and revolution around the Sun cause seasonal changes. With editable presentations, worksheets, student-choice projects, and assessments, this multiday lesson is comprehensive while requiring minimal prep.

Through differentiated, student-led learning, your middle schoolers will stay engaged while you focus on student success.

Essential Questions

• What causes day and night?

• What causes the seasons to change?

Texas Teachers: This lesson aligns with the 2017 TEKS (not updated for the 2021 TEKS).

Why Teachers Love This Lesson

• Differentiated materials to support all learners

• Multimodal activities to keep students engaged

• Maximum flexibility—printable and digital formats included

• Editable PowerPoints so you can adapt to your classroom needs

• Spanish translations for vocabulary, a reading passage, and interactive notebook pages

This lesson follows the 5E Instructional Model (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, Evaluation), providing both structure and flexibility.

What’s Included

Engagement

• Lesson objectives and Word Wall Cards (English & Spanish)

• Teacher file with engaging discussion prompts, classroom activities, and common misconceptions

Exploration – Student-Led Station Lab
Nine differentiated stations introduce day/night and seasonal changes through multimodal learning:

Input Stations (absorb content)

• Explore It! – Hands-on demo or experiment

• Read It! – Differentiated passages (English & Spanish) with comprehension questions

• Research It! – Website-based tasks with guiding responses

• Watch It! – Short video with student reflection prompts

Output Stations (show understanding)

• Organize It! – Printable or digital card sorts

• Write It! – Open-ended short-answer responses

• Illustrate It! – Sketches or diagrams to model seasonal and daily changes

• Assess It! – Task cards + vocabulary-in-context writing

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
Fun enrichment for early finishers such as crosswords, games, and mini-projects

Explanation

• Editable PowerPoints (standard & interactive versions)

• Interactive notebook templates (digital & print, English & Spanish)

• Guided note-taking templates

Elaboration

• Student-choice projects on the causes of day/night and seasons

Evaluation

• STAAR 2.0–style assessments (standard & modified versions)

• Review worksheet for homework, practice, or discussion

Flexible for Any Classroom

This lesson is ideal for both in-person and virtual learning. Station labs, interactive notebooks, and presentations are fully compatible with Google Slides and PowerPoint.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.