2004

It's A Leap Year!

February has an extra day in a leap year - February 29th!

It's known as "Leap Day!"

Why?
A year normally has 365 days, but a leap year has 366. We have leap years to adjust our calendar so that the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) occur at the same time.

The actual length of a year (the rotation of earth around the sun) is 365.2422 days. If we didn't have leap years, the seasons would shift about a quarter of a day every year, and after 100 years the seasons would be off by 25 days. The extra leap day adjusts this drift. (Old Farmer's Almanac)

Which Years Are Leap Years?
* Years that are divisible by 4 are leap years.

The Exception: Century years have to be divisible by 400 to be a leap year.
1500 - 1700 - 1900 - 2100 are not leap years * 1600 - 2000 - 2400 are leap years
(Time and Date)

Celebrate "Leap Day"!

How many Lexington District One students were born on Leap Day?

Look at our District-Wide Collaborative Survey of Students Born on February 29th!!
Make your own Excel chart to graph and answer the questions!

Enjoy some of these activities with your friends, classmates, and parents.

1. How many leap years have there been since you were born? _______

Write down the year you were born and each following year including 2004.

Draw a circle around the ones that are divisible by 4.
How many did you circle? This is your age in "Leap Years"!

(Check your answer: Online Conversion )

2. When is the next leap year after 2004? ___________

3. Measure and Read Graphs!
How far can you leap? ______ How far can your classmates leap?______

Find a place to leap and measure the distance.
Make an Excel graph showing the results of your class or group of friends!
Measure to the closest inch and convert your inches to yards.

A leap is a short run. You take off from one foot and land on the other. It's very dance-like (ballet).
A jump is stationary. You jump up from two feet and land on two feet. ......T. Long, PE Teacher

4. Practice Alliteration! Write sentences that contain words that start with the letter “L” and also include a form of the word "leap" (leaping, leaped, etc.).

5. Draw a picture to illustrate one of your alliterations!

6. Find the geographic location that will celebrate "Leap Day" first!
(International Dateline Map) (Asia Map) (Time Zone Map)

Name a country in that area. _________________________________________

7. Read an Online Story!
All Johnny’s Sisters Were Born in February!
When do "Leap Day Babies" celebrate their birthday? ____________________
Why? ______________________________________________________________

Check out other books from the library about Leap Year and enjoy reading!

8. Survey your class, your school, and/or your neighborhood. How many people can you find that were born on a "Leap Day" - February 29th? __

Interview them and record one interesting comment they tell you about having a "Leap Day" birthday.

Record their age in "Leap Years" and "Actual Years".

How many Lexington District One students were born on Leap Day?

Look at our District-Wide Collaborative Survey of Students Born on February 29th!!
Make your own Excel chart to graph and answer the questions!

9. Name at least 5 animals that leap (or jump).
Choose one of those animals and write a descriptive paragraph about what they are leaping over or why they are leaping!

10. Write down the step-by-step directions for playing leapfrog!
Follow your directions and play the game with your friends!

11. How many words can you rhyme with "leap"?
Do this with a friend. See who can write the most words that rhyme with "leap"or the most unique! You can use the "rapid fire" option in Inspiration to record your rhyming words.

12. Write Leap Year Poetry!
Read examples of Leap Year Poetry and write one of your own! Share!

Leapied Poetry | The Month Poem: 30 Days Hath ...

13. A year has 365.25 days - the time it takes the earth to revolve around the sun.

.25 is equivalent to what fraction? How many of those fractions make 1 whole day?

14. February has 5 Sundays this year because "Leap Day", February 29, is on a Sunday!
When was the last date that happened? ________________________________
Approximately how often does February have 5 Sundays? _______________
What year will it happen again? _______________________________________

Curious About Astronomy

15. GO LOONEY!
Is there a "Blue Moon" during this Leap Year (2004)? _____________
(Blue Moon Calculator)

Research and learn information about "Blue Moons".
There are 2 contrasting explanations for when a "Blue Moon" occurs!
("Blue Moon") (Sky & Telescope) (Maine Farmers' Almanac: Four full moons in a season)

(The modern definition uses the term Blue Moon to mean the second Full Moon in a single calendar month. Using this definition, February is the only month that never has a Blue Moon because the average interval between Full Moons is about 29.5 days. This interval is always greater than the length of February, even in a leap year.) (Blue Moon Frequency)

The older, traditional definition of a Blue Moon (Maine Farmers' Almanac) uses the term to mean the third Full Moon in a season which has four Full Moons. Normally a season has three full moons. Using this definition, February occasionally does have a Blue Moon! (Four full moons)

How many leap years during the past 100 years have had a "Blue Moon"?
(a.) Write down the years that were leap years since 1900. Make a table to record your information - use both "Blue Moon" definitions and compare!
(Online Conversion)
(b.) Draw a circle around the ones that have a "Blue Moon"?
(Phases of the Moon) (Maine Farmers' Almanac: Four full moons in a season)
(c.) How many leap years had a Blue Moon? Which years?

When was the last year that had 2 "Blue Moons"?
(Double Blue Moons) (List)
Was it a Leap Year?

When is the next year that will have 2 "Blue Moons"?

(Double Blue Moons) (List)
Is it a Leap Year?

How often does a double blue moon occur?
(Double Blue Moons)


*Question 15 Answers

Enjoy more "Leap Year" activities from Leapzine! They're challenging!

Read more details about Leap Year!

Science Daily

World of Astronomy

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