Earth's Tilt and the Solstice Reading Passage

Children read the passage on their own or with a partner, then answer using evidence. Question 8 asks them to quote a sentence from the text.

Three pages after the cover. Pages 1 and 2 are a passage with an orbit diagram and a tilt diagram, covering the 23.4 degree tilt, the Tropic of Capricorn, where the word solstice comes from, polar night in Utqiagvik, Alaska and the summer solstice south of the equator, plus a Words to Know box. Page 3 has 3 multiple choice and 5 written questions. Answer key included.

Yes. We made it for 5th Grade holiday activities, and it works the same at home or at school. Families print it for one child and keep it where they will use it every day. Teachers print a copy per student or one for the whole room, whichever the day needs.

2 printable resources, all free to preview. There are 30 Winter Solstice resources in all, from Preschool to 5th Grade, gathered on our Winter Solstice activities page. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 5th Grade students, roughly ages 10-11. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.

Yes. Nothing here assumes a classroom of 25, so they work the same one-to-one at the kitchen table as they do in a 5th Grade classroom, a learning center, or a tutoring session.