Curated OER
Time for All Ages
Fourth graders discover time keeping by analyzing technological advances in history. In this time lesson, 4th graders create and complete a KWL chart based on their research of a famous timekeeping invention, such as a sundial....
Curated OER
Science Trail
Students explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Students create a sundial and observe the changes to...
Curated OER
Toilet Plunger Sundial
Students build a sundial to measure the local noon time. In this third grade science lesson plan, students build a sundial out of common materials and align to measure the local noon. This lesson plan is a hands-on tracking of the sun,...
Curated OER
Timekeeping by the Sun
Learners measure shadows to learn about the Sun-Earth relationship. In this astronomy lesson, students create a shadow stick of a Pokemon character and record measurements of its shadow in a data chart. Follow-up discussions guide...
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 Earth Moves Around the Sun
Students demonstrate that the movement of the sun causes shadows which were used as the first indicators of telling time.
Curated OER
Make a Shadow Clock
Students make shadow clocks. In this earth science lesson, students follow the provided steps to make shadow clocks out of the provided pattern and tagboard. A game, a song, a craft, and a recipe are all included with the lesson.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Weather Watch Activity Guide: Groundhog Day
Exactly what do groundhogs know about weather? Not as much as your science students will after completing these lessons and activities that cover everything from the earth's rotation and the creation of shadows, to cloud...
Curated OER
Astronomy: Picture Time
Students investigate how to tell time by observing the placement of objects in the sky. Researching on the Internet, they locate the time for sunrise and sunset, the time the full moon rises, and the difference between clock and solar...
Curated OER
Astronomy with a Stick
Students describe the movement of the Earth as it relates to the sun and
formulate a hypothesis for the movement and the changing length of the shadow. They express the relationship between the sun and the Earth and how that causes the...
Curated OER
"Space" Investigations
Sixth graders understand the patterns of change observable on Earth as a result of the movement of the different bodies in the solar system. They identify the physical characteristics of the different components of the solar system.