Though the idea of daylight saving time goes back to the Colonial era (Thanks, Benjamin Franklin!), people around the globe didn’t start adapting the concept until World War I. Now, right around the beginning of Spring each year, most states turn their clocks ahead and “spring forward” to have an extra hour of daylight.

Whether your students love having more sunlight in their day or mourn that one hour of lost sleep (or use the time change as an excuse to be late to class!), you can take advantage of this timely event to teach social studies, science, and ELA concepts in your classroom:

• Discover the history of daylight saving time in social studies
• Debate the usefulness of the time change in ELA
• Teach students about sunlight, seasons, and energy in science

[Discover the history of daylight saving time in social studies](id-ss)

Why do we set the clocks ahead an hour in the spring? What would happen if we didn’t? Students can explore why we follow daylight saving time in the United States and its effects on our mood, economy, and wildlife with articles on topics like:

• How daylight saving time works—and if it actually does what it’s supposed to do.
• Why states like Florida have proposed switching to daylight saving hours year-round.
• What would happen if more states—or whole countries—stopped changing the clocks bi-yearly.

Want to teach this concept to your youngest students? Check out the elementary daylight saving time text set, which has the same great information at an age-appropriate level!

[Debate the usefulness of the time change in ELA](id-ela)

Create timely ELA lessons to capture your students’ interest in the time change:

Decide if daylight saving time is worth it

Do your students think we should continue to have daylight saving time each year or do away with it? Have them debate this topic using the following lesson:

• Consider guiding questions for the debate like, “How does daylight saving time affect our daily routines and activities?”
• Share graphic organizers students can use while preparing for the debate—like a debate outline and pro/con analysis—to collect evidence and plot their ideas.
• Hold an in-class debate about daylight saving time. Share the debate rubric and after-debate reflection for self-analysis after the lesson.

Don’t have time for a whole-class debate? Turn this activity into argumentative writing practice with Newsela Writing! 

Compare and contrast texts about the changing seasons

In many cultures, the changing of the seasons is a time to celebrate. Used a paired text analysis activity to help students explore what makes this event so special.

• Assign the Japanese story “Spring and Autumn” by Angela McAlister.
• Share a nonfiction article about the four seasons and how they vary in different parts of the world.
• Use a paired text analysis worksheet to have students answer, “What is the text structure of each piece, and how does it affect the author’s purpose?”

Share spring- and summer-themed poems

Get excited about the upcoming sunshine and warmer weather by assigning poems with spring and summer themes like:

• “Lines Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth
• “Spring Morning” by Marion Strobel
• “The Spring Has Many Silences” by Laura Riding
• “March” by Jennifer Cole Judd
• “Tanka” by Sadakichi Hartmann

[Teach students about sunlight, seasons, and energy in science](id-sci)

Get students thinking about the science behind changing seasons and how it affects different parts of our daily lives.

Discover the science of time

Time is more tied to science and math than your students might think. Show them some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of time with articles on topics like:

• The history of timekeeping.
• The ways people have kept and told time throughout history.
• Why people started keeping track of time and why it’s important.

Learn about data by tracking sunlight

In most parts of the country—and the world—days are often longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. Students can learn more about how sunlight varies in different locations and times of the year.

• Explore the dataset of sunlight hours in different parts of the country.
• Read about the Spring Equinox and how the Earth’s symmetry makes this unique event happen.
• Analyze the angles of the Earth’s axis and tilt using an infographic.

Explore the benefits of renewable energy 

More sunlight during daylight saving time means more opportunities to harness renewable energy. Teach students more about the benefits of renewable energy with resources like:

• An explainer article that details the types of renewable energy.
• An article that details how people use solar power for cooking.
• A video that explores the potential of using 100% renewable energy worldwide.

Spring forward on lesson planning for the rest of the school year

It’s not too late to get ahead on planning lessons for the last few months of the school year! Newsela’s suite of subject products has various content and resources—like news articles, primary sources, literature selections, and interactive videos—to help you teach about any topic.

Not a Newsela customer yet? Sign up for Newsela Lite for free and start your 45-day trial. You’ll get access to our premium content and activities for everything you need to teach about daylight saving time and beyond.