Grade by Grade
E. Earth and Space Systems · Daily and Seasonal Changes

How People Get Ready for the Seasons

E2.6 E1.1 E1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A1.5 A3.1About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe how people prepare for and respond to daily and seasonal changes.
  • I can name outdoor activities people do in each season.
  • I can name inventions that let people do activities all year long.
  • I can explain how seasons affect our community.
  • I can design and test a sun shelter.

Words to know

prepare
To get ready ahead of time.
respond
To do something because of a change.
innovation
A new idea or invention that solves a problem.
community
The place where you live, and the people and services there.
shelter
Something that protects you from weather, like a roof or shade.

Dressing for the weather

It's a January morning. It is −12°C. What will you wear to school?

A warm coat, snow pants, boots, a toque, mittens and a scarf!

Now it's a July afternoon. It is 29°C. What will you wear? Shorts, a T-shirt, sandals, a sun hat and sunscreen!

People prepare for and respond to the changes in the weather and seasons.

A winter coat, snow pants, boots, a toque, mittens and a scarf laid out on a bench by a snowy window.
Getting ready for a cold January day: a warm coat, snow pants, boots, a toque, mittens and a scarf. Which of these would you leave at home in July? AI-generated image
JanuaryJuly0°C−12°C0°C29°Ctoquecoatmittenssnow pantsbootssun hatT-shirtshortssandals
Dressing for the weather. At −12°C in January you need a toque, coat, mittens, snow pants and boots. At 29°C in July a sun hat, T-shirt, shorts and sandals keep you cool.

What people do in each season

People change their clothes, their activities, and even their homes through the seasons.

SeasonClothesOutdoor activitiesAt home and in the community
springrain coat, rubber boots, light jacketjumping in puddles, biking, planting gardensfarmers plant crops; people clean up yards; storm drains carry away melting snow
summershorts, T-shirt, sun hat, sunscreenswimming, camping, canoeing, baseballfans or air conditioners; watering gardens; outdoor pools open
fallsweater, jacketraking leaves, apple picking, soccerfarmers harvest crops; people celebrate Thanksgiving; storm windows and furnaces are checked
wintercoat, snow pants, toque, mittens, bootsskating, tobogganing, building snowmen, skiingfurnaces heat homes; snowplows clear roads; salt and sand on sidewalks
How people respond to the seasons in Ontario
🧥🧤🩳🧢☂️
Clothes for different seasons

Daily changes matter too

People also respond to daily changes:

  • On hot afternoons, we find shade and drink water.
  • In the evening, we turn on lights, and cities turn on streetlights.
  • In winter, it gets dark early, so people wear bright or reflective clothing when walking.

Inventions for all year

People have invented ways to do activities all year round, no matter the season. These are innovations:

  • Indoor rinks with frozen ice let people skate and play hockey even in summer.
  • Indoor pools let people swim in winter.
  • Greenhouses let farmers grow vegetables in cold months.
  • Snowmaking machines help ski hills open when there isn't enough snow.
  • Lights on sports fields let people play after dark.
  • Snowplows and winter tires help people travel safely in snow.
  • Snowshoes and toboggans were invented by Indigenous peoples to travel over deep snow. People still use them today!

Seasons affect our whole community

Snow days can close schools. Spring melting can flood basements and roads. Farmers can grow most crops outside only in the warm months, so food from Ontario farms is ready in summer and fall. Snowplow drivers, road crews and hydro workers help the community during storms.

Worked example

Let's plan for a winter day

A snowstorm is coming tonight. What will people in your community do to prepare and respond?

  1. Families: get out shovels, boots and warm clothes; put on winter tires.
  2. Road crews: load the snowplows with salt and sand.
  3. After the storm: plows clear the roads, people shovel driveways and sidewalks.
  4. Kids: wear snow pants, toques and mittens, and maybe go tobogganing!

People prepare before the storm and respond after it, to stay safe and keep the community moving.

Worked example

Let's design and test a sun shelter

Problem: On a hot day, how can we keep an ice cube from melting fast in the sun? (Like building shade for people on a hot afternoon.)

  1. Ask: What makes ice melt? The Sun's heat.
  2. Plan: Build a little shelter that blocks the sunlight. Use a paper cup, cardboard, foil or a cloth.
  3. Build: Make a roof from cardboard covered in foil, with paper tube legs.
  4. Test fairly: Put one ice cube (same size) on a plate under the shelter and one on a plate in the open sun. Start at the same time. Check after 15 minutes.
  5. Observe: The ice cube under the shelter is bigger. It melted more slowly.
  6. Improve: Could walls or a thicker roof make it even better?

Blocking the Sun's heat with a shelter slows melting. People use shade, umbrellas, awnings and trees the same way on hot days.

Just for fun

What do you call a snowman in July?

A puddle!

Hands-on activity

Ice cube shelter challenge

You need: 2 ice cubes the same size, 2 small plates, and building materials such as a paper cup, cardboard, aluminum foil, a cloth, tape and paper. A sunny spot (outside or a sunny windowsill).

  1. Plan: Draw your shelter. What will block the sunlight?
  2. Build it with a grown-up's help.
  3. Test: Put one ice cube under your shelter and one in the open sun at the same time.
  4. After 15 minutes, compare. Which ice cube is bigger? Which plate has more water?
  5. Improve your shelter and test again with new ice cubes.
  6. Share: Tell a grown-up what worked. Which materials blocked the heat best?

What to look for: The protected ice cube should melt more slowly. Your child should explain that the shelter blocks the Sun's heat.

Safety: Do not look at the Sun. Wear a hat if you are outside.

Your turn

1

Name three things you wear in winter.

2

Name an outdoor activity people do in summer.

3

What do snowplows do?

4

Name an invention that lets people skate in summer.

5

Why do people wear sunscreen in summer?

6

What do farmers do in the fall?

7

Which Indigenous inventions help people travel over deep snow?

More practice: warm-up

1

What do you wear on your head in winter?

2

What can you use to stay dry in spring rain?

3

Name a winter sport.

4

What keeps houses warm in winter?

5

What do people rake in the fall?

More practice: on your own

1

How does a greenhouse help people in winter?

2

Why do people wear bright or reflective clothes on winter evenings?

3

How can spring snowmelt affect a community?

4

In the ice cube test, why must both ice cubes be the same size?

5

Name one way you change what you do on a very hot afternoon.

Challenge

1

Invent something to help people enjoy winter more. Describe it.

2

Why might a summer job like lifeguarding not happen outdoors in winter in Ontario?

3

Your shelter used foil on top, and your friend's used a paper towel. Whose ice cube probably melted slower? Why?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What should you wear on a −10°C day?

2.

What do snowplows do?

3.

Which invention lets people swim in winter?

4.

When do farmers harvest most crops in Ontario?

5.

What is the best way to slow an ice cube from melting in the sun?

6.

Who invented snowshoes?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: People prepare for and respond to daily and seasonal change through clothing, shelter, activities and community services (E2.6). Innovations let people do activities all year (E1.1), and seasons affect society and the environment: flooding, farming, snow clearing (E1.2).

How to help: Before going outside, ask "What's the weather? What should we wear?" Talk about the community helpers you see working in each season (snowplow drivers, farmers, lifeguards, hydro crews).

About the design challenge (engineering design, A1.3): Let your child plan and build. Keep it fair: same-size ice cubes, same start time, same sunny spot. Encourage a second try after improving.

Indigenous perspectives: Snowshoes and toboggans are Indigenous technologies still widely used today. You can mention that different nations made different designs for their snow and land.

Common difficulties: Thinking inventions only mean machines. Clothing, shelters and snowshoes are innovations too.

Safety: Sun protection in summer; frostbite awareness in winter (cover skin when it is very cold).