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Energy and Seasons Coloring Sheets: Teacher Notes
I integrate a discussion revolving around the changes in seasons with the study of photosynthesis
and respiration. This coloring sheet activity combines both topics in one. If you live in a milder
climate, this may not lend itself as well to your teaching. Try it out!
Ideas for use:
 Have students write a compare/contrast essay about the two diagrams.
 Have students compile a list of biological changes and a list of physical changes.
 Ask students to come up with 5 more differences that are not shown on the diagrams.
 Put students in group and have each group write the story of what is happening.
 Have students color and label the diagrams before or after completing a writing prompt.
Discussion Questions:
 What is the major physical difference between summer and winter?
 What happens to all the insects in winter?
 How does the turtle’s lifestyle change from summer to winter?
 Which organisms in this diagram are autotrophs? Heterotrophs?
 How come the pine tree still has its needles in winter? What happened to the deciduous
tree?
 How might humans affect what kinds of animals live around cities and towns in the
winter?
 Compare and contrast the amount of available sunlight and water in summer versus
winter.
 What molecules are produced during photosynthesis? Respiration?
 In which organelle does photosynthesis occur? Respiration?
 Describe one food chain that you see in the summer/winter diagram.
See the next page for descriptions of the diagram and side notes 
© 2006 http://www.JessB.org
(my notes)
What is happening in the summer diagram?
 The sun is higher in the sky at noon, meaning longer days and more available sunlight
(warmer).
 Precipitation is always in the form of rain; all precipitation is available to living things.
 The sun provides light to the trees and plants for use in photosynthesis. Chloroplasts (shown
in a circle near the deciduous tree) are the sites of photosynthesis.
 Plants produce oxygen (figure-8 shaped molecule) as a waste product and all organisms use
the oxygen in the process of cellular respiration. Carbon dioxide (o=O=o) is a waste product
of respiration, which plants need for photosynthesis.
 Water and nutrients are absorbed from the soil by the roots of plants.
 Insects in their adult forms are abundant.
 The turtle and fish are active in the small pond.
 Sunflowers, grass, vines and other plants grow profusely.
 The rabbit has dark fur.
 A mitochondrion (seen above the rabbit) is where cellular respiration occurs. Mitochondria
are found in plants, too.
What is happening in the winter diagram?
 The sun is lower in the sky at noon, meaning shorter days and less available sunlight (colder).
 Precipitation is mostly in the form of snow; much less precipitation is available to living
things.
 The sun provides light to the trees and plants for use in photosynthesis. The arrow points to
the coniferous tree in this diagram since it is still able to photosynthesize in the winter.
 The deciduous tree has lost its leaves and will produce no more food until spring.
 Berry-producing shrubs and trees provide a source of food for birds, like the cardinal here.
 Adult insects are rare; most are found in egg or nymph stages. An insect egg case is seen in
the circle to the far left in the drawing.
 The small pond has frozen over; the fish are gone and the turtle now hibernates underground.
 Sunflowers, grass, vines and the other plants that were around in the summer are now wilted
stalks.
 The rabbit has white fur, an adaptation to its snowy surroundings. The rabbit has also
switched its primary food source from the green plants of summer to human leftovers in
winter. Humans provide food to many animals in the winter, especially birds (birdfeeders).
© 2006 http://www.JessB.org