Exchanging Seasonal Data: Finding and Sharing with a Partner Class

Sunlight & Seasons

Exchanging Seasonal Data
Finding and Sharing with a Partner Class

In how many different ways are the seasons changing across the northern hemisphere? Find out by pairing up with a partner class and exchanging observations!

How to Find a Partner Classroom:

Find a partner school on your own.
Contact teachers you know in other locations.
Find a partner school through Journey North.
Use the maps and "sightings" lists below. Or, for more options, go to our Maps Gallery.


North America (map/sightings)	Europe (map/sightings)	Asia (map/sightings)

Sharing with Your Partners

This is a self-directed project. Here are some suggestions for working with your partner:

Secret Partners:
Teachers can keep the partner location a secret. Students can use seasonal clues to guess where their new friends are located!

Decide on details.
Which data will you collect and exchange? How often you will share it and how you will do it? For instance, you might fax, mail, or e-mail Signs of Fall checklists at the end of each month. You might also exchange photos or drawings of some of your observations, such as how an "adopted" tree changes from month to month.

Think about how you'll organize and interpret the information. For instance:

Create a chart and list observations/measurements that are the same in each area on a given date. Next list things that are different. What patterns do you see?
Make a graph to show how average temperatures compare in the two locations. Do the same for photoperiod (the number of hours of sunlight).
Ask questions like these:
Which seasonal changes are the same in both regions and which are different?
* What patterns do we notice? What do they "tell" us?
* How does the timing of changes vary from place to place?
* What do we predict will happen next in each location?
* What can we learn about seasonal change from our data?
* How do changes in day length and temperature seem to affect living things?