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...

In this light and shadows worksheet, students find 5 transparent items and 5 opaque items from the classroom and categorize them underneath their appropriate headings. Students look at 4 boxes with shadows and draw a little sun to show...

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...

Plant the fruits of trigonometry. Pairs work through the process of finding the best place to plant fruit trees on a piece of property. The scholars must take into consideration the location of the property and the solar zenith angle. To...

Eighth graders explain the relationship between the position of the sun, a city's latitude and shadow length. Ratio's, geometry, and algebra are used to determine the shadow lengths and building heights. A sun angle (altitude) charts to...

Geometry meets earth science as high schoolers investigate the cause and features of the four seasons. The effects of Earth's axis tilt features prominently, along with both the rotation of the earth about the axis and its orbit...

Students read books, learn about the letter s, and eat raisins all to learn about shadows. In this shadows lesson plan, students also go outside and look at shadows and sing songs about shadows.

The class gets to practice being a mathematician in ancient Greece, performing geometric application problems in the way of Eratosthenes. After following the steps of the great mathematicians, they then compare the (surprisingly...

Why is that shadow getting longer? Determine the changes in the length of a shadow as the sun changes position in the sky. Individuals use an interactive to calculate the length of a shadow at different times during the day via the...

Students 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.

Fourth graders measure the change in the size of their shadow over time. They visit a fixed structure and record the date, the time, and the measurement of the length of their shadow. They do this over the course of the school year. They...

It's no fun catching a fungus. Scholars first investigate how the seasons affect the angle of the sun and the lengths of shadows. They then apply right triangle trigonometry to determine the height of trees based on their shadows to...

Students measure their shadows early in the morning, record direction of shadow, make marks in ground with chalk or tape, measure with ruler, and record results. Students repeat process at noon, and then later in afternoon. Students...

Students determine how to find North using a watch and their shadow. For this finding North lesson, students go outside on a sunny day and work with their shadow and a wrist watch to find out which direction that North is. They examine...

For this literature and science worksheet, students listen to a family member as they read "Bear Shadow." They conduct experiments that with light, shadows, and measuring tools before recording the date they did the experiment. They...

Third graders discuss how Aristotle concluded that the Earth was round. As a class, they review theories about the Earth's shape and describe how life on Earth would be different if it were flat. Individually, they make a moon book in...

Students explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson plan, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Students create a sundial and observe the changes...

Does the space shuttle have an odometer? Maybe, but all that is needed to determine the distance to the moon is a little geometry! The lesson asks scholars to sketch the relationship of the Earth and moon using shadows of an eclipse....

This Groundhog's Day, challenge scholars to predict, estimate, tally, and graph in a weather-themed lesson in which class members play the role of the groundhog to forecast the weather come February second. 

Learners examine the relationship between three dimensions and two dimensions by working with shadows of cubes and other models. Students work in groups and use Zome System Creator Kits to try and build a shape other than a cube that...

In this angles of elevation and depression worksheet, 10th graders solve 4 word problems that are related to determining the angles of elevation and depression. First, they define angle of elevation and angle of depression as used in the...

Students make a sundial. In this time lesson, students determine the time of the day by creating a sundial. They check the time on the sundial, hourly, for one week. Afterward, they explore what happened to the shadows in reference to...

In this moon image learning exercise, students determine the scale of an image taken by the LRO satellite of the Apollo 11 landing site. Students calculate the sun's angle at the time of the photograph using the shadow of the Lunar...

Going on up—and up and up! An open-ended task asks learners to model the movement of an amusement ride with parametric equations. They then analyze their equations to determine how the shadow of the ride's car moves as it rises at a...