The Secret of Autumn: Why the Season Changes
As summer comes to an end, the world around us begins to transform. The air feels crisp and cool in the morning, and the green leaves on oak and maple trees turn vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red. The days grow shorter, and evenings arrive much sooner than they did just a few weeks earlier. Many people love jumping into piles of crunchy leaves and wearing cozy sweaters, but have you ever stopped to wonder why autumn actually happens?
Some people guess that Earth gets colder in autumn because our planet moves farther away from the sun. Surprisingly, that is not true at all! Earth's path around the sun is almost a circle, and our distance from the sun changes very little throughout the entire year. The real secret behind autumn is something much more fascinating: Earth is tilted.
- axis:
- An imaginary line through the center of a planet around which it rotates.
- orbit:
- The curved path that an object in space takes around a star or planet.
- Northern Hemisphere:
- The half of Earth that lies north of the equator.
- deciduous:
- Trees or plants that drop their leaves each year.
- chlorophyll:
- A green substance in plants that absorbs sunlight to help make food.
- dwindles:
- Steadily shrinks or decreases in size or amount.
More sheets from this passage
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vocabulary worksheet
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About this informational passage for 3rd Grade
“The Secret of Autumn: Why the Season Changes” is a informational reading passage about Autumn Science, written for 3rd Grade. It takes about 3 minutes to read (517 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.