Big Kid Science
Measuring Shadows Using an Ancient Method
How did ancient peoples determine the height of really tall objects? Young scientists and mathematicians explore the concept of using shadows to measure height in a hands-on experiment. Paired pupils measure shadows, then calculate the...
Curated OER
The Shadow Knows: Student Worksheet
Pairs of pupils get together in order to measure the heights and lengths of their shadows. They use these measurements in order to predict the height of other friends in class. A good activity to practice measuring things that cannot be...
Florida Center for Instructional Technology
The Shadow Knows: Student Worksheet
How can you measure the height of a tree or telephone pole with only a short measuring tape? It's not a problem when you start by measuring your shadow and your height to create a ratio to use with taller objects. Additional activities...
Curated OER
Exploring Seasonal Shadows and Sunlight
What can shadows tell us about the changing season? Over several months, astronomy learners record length and position of an outdoor object's shadow, such as a flagpole. They apply the data to a growing hypothesis and note the patterns...
Magic of Physics
Shadows
Sunrise, sunset ... swiftly move the shadows! Pupils practice comparing shadow length data with a hands-on activity. The resource allows users to examine and measure the shadow cast by a stick as the sun moves overhead before testing...
Curated OER
Simple Measurements
Students determine the height of objects using shadows. In this math lesson, students discus methods of finding the height of items without directly measuring. Students measure shadows and figure the actual height of the object.
Star Date
Shadow Play
Three activities make up a solar system lesson that features the sun, its light, and the shadows it produces. Scholars step outside to discover the changes shadows make at different times of day, take part in a demonstration of how Earth...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Deducting Relationships: Floodlight Shadows
Try to figure out what happens with shadows as a person moves between two light sources. A formative assessment lesson has individuals work on an assessment task based on similar triangles, then groups them based on their assessment...
Curated OER
Measuring Shadows
Young scholars determine the pattern (length and direction) of shadows cast by sunlight during several month period, and develop interpretation of daily and seasonal patterns and variations observed.
Curated OER
Shadow Casting
Eighth graders use a meter stick that is placed on a horizontal surface and an object is moved along it so that the shadow length can be measured at different distances from the light source. They solve real-world problems involving...
Curated OER
Countdown Challenge: Shadow Sleuth
In this shadow sleuth worksheet, learners use proportions and indirect measurement to determine the measurement of given objects. This one-page worksheet contains three problems.
Curated OER
Sun and Shadows
Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...
Lake Afton Public Observatory
Shadows, Angles, and the Seasons
Shine some light on the topic of seasonal change with this collection of activities. Whether it's by measuring the change in the length of their shadows, or modeling the earth's orbit around the sun using a lamp and a globe, these simple...
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow instructional activity, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun...
Curated OER
Seein' Double, Seein' Double
By using the Internet, hands-on activities, video, and cooperative learning, pupils look into the conditions in which light casts shadows on objects. The lesson includes fabulous hands-on activities, art projects, worksheets, and reource...
Curated OER
Only the Shadow Knows
Students become familiar with the causes for formation of shadows. They create shadows, compare the size and shape of the shadow with the actual object, engage in shadow play theatre, and discover what happens to shadows when there is...
Curated OER
The Long and Short of It- Shadows
Students trace shadows. For this light and shadows lesson, students conduct an experiment to determine what a shadow is and what is necessary to make a shadow. Students observe how shadows change as well as write and draw shadows in...
Curated OER
Measuring the Earth
High schoolers use principles of geometry to measure the circumference of the Earth. For this applied geometry lesson, students use mathematics to determine scientific information. They make measurements, calculate the central angle, and...
Curated OER
Light And Shadows
Fourth graders explore the properties of shadows. In pairs they trace each other's shadows in chalk and re-draw their shadow outlines every three hours, design their own shadow investigation, and complete various worksheets related to...
Curated OER
Shadow Games
Students create different shapes by putting light on different objects. They change the distance from the object, the light source and angles to make the shadows different. They are to describe the relationship between the light, object...
Curated OER
Shadows
Students measure shadows at different times of the day to determine when a shadow casts its longest and shortest shadows.
California Academy of Science
Which Way is North?
Who needs a compass to find cardinal directions? Just place a stick in the ground and record the movement of its shadow over the course of a day. Then, measure the shadow lengths in order to determine a north-south line. A simple...
Curated OER
The Shadow Knows: Student Worksheet
In this math worksheet, young scholars will work in small groups to measure the height of objects, such as trees, using their shadows. Students will be able to determine heights of objects that cannot be directly measured.
Curated OER
Just Me and My Shadow
Learners take measurements throughout the day using a simple sundial called a gnomon. They record the results on a Data Log and convert from English units to metric (S.I.) units. Data points are plotted on the same graph and analyzed.