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...
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...
CK-12 Foundation
Pythagorean Theorem to Determine Distance: Tree Shadows
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...
Curated OER
Science--Learning About Light and Shadows
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...
Curated OER
Knowing North: Understanding the Relationship Between Time and The Sun
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...
Curated OER
Shadows and Skyscrapers
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...
Curated OER
A Shadow of Yourself
Learners measure the length of their shadows three times during the day, Students determine the differences in shadow lengths after each measurement. They discuss why the length changed from one time of day to another.
Illustrative Mathematics
Tilt of Earth's Axis and the Four Seasons
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...
Curated OER
Cubes-IV
Students 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...
Curated OER
Time
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...
Curated OER
Telling Time: Hours
Students participate in a discussion about the different types of timepieces and the energy sources necessary to run them. They observe the numbers on a clock and review the hands and what they mean and make individual clocks using a...