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The Four Seasons

Discover how spring, summer, autumn and winter change the world around you.

  • Define and explain The Four Seasons in your own words
  • Use key terms such as season accurately
  • Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
  • Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic

This lesson focuses on The Four Seasons: discover how spring, summer, autumn and winter change the world around you.

Definition: The Four Seasons

Discover how spring, summer, autumn and winter change the world around you.

Key ideas

Weather changes, seasons repeat

Weather can change from morning to afternoon, but the seasons follow the same pattern every year. In the UK, summers tend to be warmer with longer days and winters colder with shorter days. Recording the weather every day helps you spot these patterns.

The tilt of the Earth makes the seasons

The Earth spins on a tilted axis as it orbits the Sun. For part of the year the northern half leans towards the Sun and gets stronger sunshine and longer days — our summer. Six months later it leans away, giving weaker sunshine and shorter days — our winter.

Key term — season: One of the four parts of the year — spring, summer, autumn or winter — each with its own typical weather.

Worked example: The Four Seasons

Which season usually has the longest days in the UK?

Summer.

Answer: Summer.

Common mistakes
  • Saying 'the weather is climate' Weather is what is happening today; climate is the usual pattern over many years. A cold day in summer does not change the climate.
  • Thinking summer happens because Earth is nearer the Sun The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis, not by distance from the Sun — the whole planet shares the same orbit.

Practice

What causes the seasons?
It is something about how the Earth sits as it orbits the Sun.

The tilt of the Earth's axis.

Name three types of precipitation.
Think of water falling from clouds in different forms.

Rain, snow, sleet and hail (any three).

Which instrument measures temperature?
It has liquid that rises and falls.

A thermometer.

Which instrument shows which way the wind is blowing?
It spins round on a rooftop.

A wind vane.

Quick check

The Four Seasons — quick check

Which of these best defines "season"?

One of the four parts of the year — spring, summer, autumn or winter — each with its own typical weather.

Is fog a type of precipitation?

No — fog is cloud at ground level; precipitation must fall from clouds.
Key takeaways
  • The Four Seasons: discover how spring, summer, autumn and winter change the world around you.
  • Weather changes, seasons repeat: Weather can change from morning to afternoon, but the seasons follow the same pattern every year.
  • weather: What the air outside is like at a particular time: its sunshine, cloud, rain, wind and temperature.
  • Watch out for: saying 'the weather is climate'
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