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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals

Interactive passage with audio narration, comprehension questions, and printable PDF.

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Format: Interactive (Online), Printable (PDF)
Grades: 5678
Subjects: scienceela
Standards: MS-ESS1-1
Languages: English, Spanish

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What's included

Reading passage

Reading comprehension

Audio narration

With word word highlighting

Comprehension quiz

Auto-graded

Writing activity

Open-ended response

Glossary & flashcards

Vocabulary practice

Differentiated version

Adapted for varied levels

Spanish translation

Bilingual support

About this reader

This 400-500 word informational science passage for grades 6-8 explores how seasons affect plants and animals, aligned with NGSS MS-ESS1-1 and MS-ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System. Students examine how seasonal patterns drive critical life cycle events including leaf loss in deciduous trees, bird migration, bear hibernation, and spring flowering. The passage explains how organisms use environmental cues like temperature and day length to time these behaviors. Real-world examples demonstrate how climate change is disrupting these precisely timed patterns, putting many species at risk. The content includes key vocabulary terms such as dormancy, migration, hibernation, photoperiod, deciduous, adaptation, life cycle, and climate change. Audio-integrated features support diverse learners. Activities include reading comprehension questions, writing prompts, and graphic organizers that help students analyze cause-and-effect relationships and compare seasonal adaptations across different species.

Written by Workybooks TeamPublished by Workybooks

Sample passage and quiz content

CONTENT PREVIEW

Vibrant autumn scenery in a Gdynia park with fallen leaves under a tree. — Deciduous trees lose their leaves before cold weather arrives. This process helps them conserve water when frozen ground makes it difficult to absorb moisture.Image by Lilia Danshyna / Pexels.

Seasons shape the lives of plants and animals in powerful ways. As Earth orbits the sun, different regions receive varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year. These changes create predictable patterns that organisms depend on for survival. Plants and animals have developed remarkable adaptations to respond to seasonal shifts in temperature, daylight, and food availability.

Many trees prepare for winter by entering a state called dormancy. Deciduous trees lose their leaves before cold weather arrives. This process helps them conserve water when frozen ground makes it difficult to absorb moisture. The trees seal off their leaves, which then change color and fall. Meanwhile, animals face their own seasonal challenges. Birds may migrate thousands of miles to find warmer climates and abundant food. Arctic terns travel over 44,000 miles each year between polar regions. Other animals like bears enter hibernation, a deep sleep that allows them to survive months without eating.

Scientists have discovered that many organisms use photoperiod, or day length, as a signal for seasonal changes. When days grow shorter in autumn, this triggers specific responses. Flowers bloom in spring when temperatures rise and days lengthen. Cherry trees in Washington, D.C., typically bloom in early April when conditions align. These precisely timed events are part of each species' life cycle. The timing ensures that young animals are born when food is plentiful and plants reproduce when pollinators are active.

Evidence shows that climate change is disrupting these ancient patterns. Warmer temperatures cause some plants to bloom weeks earlier than normal. Animals that depend on these plants for food may arrive too late if they migrate based on day length rather than temperature. Scientists observe that some bird species are laying eggs earlier, while others maintain their traditional schedules. These mismatches can reduce survival rates for young animals. Understanding how seasons affect living things helps us recognize the challenges that climate change creates for ecosystems worldwide.

Interesting Fact: Some animals can sense seasonal changes even when kept in laboratories with constant conditions. Their internal biological clocks continue to prepare them for migrations or hibernation at the right time of year.

What causes seasonal changes on Earth?

Different regions receive varying amounts of sunlight as Earth orbits the sunThe moon blocks sunlight at different times of yearEarth moves closer to and farther from the sunOcean currents change the amount of heat in the atmosphere

Why do deciduous trees lose their leaves before winter?

To make room for new leaves to growTo conserve water when frozen ground makes absorption difficultTo protect themselves from heavy snowTo store energy in their roots

What does the term 'photoperiod' mean?

The amount of rain that falls during a seasonThe temperature changes throughout the yearThe length of daylight in a 24-hour periodThe time it takes for a plant to grow

According to the passage, hibernation is a state that allows animals to:

Travel to warmer climates without stoppingSurvive months without eating during winterGrow thicker fur for cold weatherStore food for the entire winter season

How is climate change affecting seasonal patterns?

It makes all animals migrate earlier than normalIt causes plants to bloom weeks earlier, creating mismatches with animal behaviorIt stops trees from losing their leaves in autumnIt makes photoperiod signals stronger and more reliable

Which animal travels over 44,000 miles each year during migration?

Monarch butterfliesCanadian geeseArctic ternsHumpback whales

Based on the passage, what can you infer about organisms that use day length as a seasonal signal?

They will easily adapt to climate change because day length stays constantThey may struggle when temperatures change but day length remains the sameThey only live in tropical regions near the equatorThey do not need to worry about food availability

If a bird species migrates based on day length but the plants it eats bloom based on temperature, what problem might occur with warmer temperatures?

The bird will arrive before the plants bloomThe bird will arrive after the plants have already bloomed and produced seedsThe bird will stop migrating completelyThe plants will wait for the bird to arrive before blooming

True or False: All animals respond to seasonal changes in exactly the same way.

TrueFalse

True or False: Some animals can sense seasonal changes even when kept in laboratories with constant conditions.

TrueFalse