Rhythms of Nature | EVS Grade 5 CBSE

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Six rhythms of nature

Nature keeps a steady beat. Tap each term to see what causes day, night, seasons and weather.

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The three big ideas

The Sun does not really “rise” and “set” — it only looks that way. The truth is that the Earth spins around like a top.
The half of the Earth facing the Sun has daytime; the half turned away is in shadow and has night. As the Earth keeps spinning, places move from day into night and back again.
One full spin takes about 24 hours — that is why we have one day and one night each day.

Everyday example. Hold a ball as the Earth and a torch as the Sun, then slowly turn the ball. What do you see?

The lit side is “day” and the dark side is “night”. As you turn the ball, day and night sweep around — exactly as they do on Earth.

Common mix-up: It is not the Sun moving around us each day. It is the Earth spinning that makes the Sun seem to rise in the east and set in the west.

While the Earth spins, it also makes a long journey all the way around the Sun, taking about one year.
Because of the way the Earth is tilted, different times of the year get different amounts of the Sun’s heat — giving us seasons. In much of India we feel summer (hot), the monsoon (rainy), winter (cold) and spring.
Seasons decide when farmers sow and harvest, what we wear, and which fruits we get.

Everyday example. Mangoes in summer and oranges in winter — why do different fruits come in different months?

Because each season brings different weather, the seasons even decide what grows and what is on our plate.

Weather is what the sky and air are like right now — sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, hot or cold. It can change quickly, even within a day.
A season is the general pattern over many weeks (like “winter”); weather is today’s report (like “cold and foggy this morning”).
The Sun drives it all: it heats the land and seas, lifts water into clouds, and stirs the winds. Without the Sun there would be no weather, no seasons and no life.

Common mix-up: Weather and season are not the same. A single cool, rainy day in summer is just the weather — the season is still summer.

Where you'll see it

Nature’s rhythms around you

Sunrise to bedtime

The daily round of morning, noon, evening and night is simply the Earth turning you towards and then away from the Sun.

Dressing for the season

Light cottons in summer, umbrellas in the monsoon, and sweaters in winter — we follow the seasons every single year.

The farmer’s calendar

Farmers watch the seasons closely, sowing before the monsoon and harvesting after — their whole year follows nature’s rhythm.

Check yourself

Competency quiz

A friendly set of questions — mostly multiple-choice with an assertion–reason and a case study — to check that you can use these ideas, not just remember them.

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