Vernal/Autumnal Equinox
Tags: Class Ideas, Spring, Fall, All-Grades, Earth, Cycles
Time : 30 mins
Author: Lynda Boudreault, Kristin Adams
Outline
| Greeting and Review | Meet in the usual place. As students if they know what the equinox is? |
| Main Lesson | The Fall Equinox is a time for harvesting as the summer crops slow down their production and cold weather veggies like Broccoli, kale and salad greens return from their summer slumber. Here in Texas it may still feel a bit warm until mid October so we often take time in September to clear our garden beds, amend the soil with compost, and start anew. There are two equinoxes throughout the year, one in Fall or Autumn and one in Spring and they mark the first day of those seasons. During an equinox, hours of sunlight and night-time darkness are nearly (but not exactly) equal. That means day and night are each about 12 hours long (totaling to 24 hours). They are halfway in between the solstices, which happen in Winter giving us the least hours of sunlight and Summer which has the most hours of sunlight. While the dates of these seasons greeting vary they typically occur from the 19-23 of their respective months. |
| Activity 1 Observe the signs of autumn | Take a silent walk outdoors. Ask students to notice what changes they see that indicate autumn has begun (ie. Leaves changing, appearance of certain insects, etc). |
| Activity 2 Journal or Draw | Write or draw your observations. Alternatively, students can write or draw about how the changing season makes them feel. Materials: notebook, paper, writing or drawing implements. |
| Activity 3 An Equinox Story | Listen to We Gather Together, read by Mrs. Gannon. |
| Cleanup | None |
| Goodbye | End class in your usual way. |
| External References | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA9p0CXUF_U |
| Worksheets(Please email the worksheet separately) | None |
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