COLLECTION

PRIMARY ELEMENTARY  |  SCIENCE

Shadow Sticks

Students will explore how to use the movement of the sun to tell time and direction without a clock or a compass and extend this understanding by making a shadow stick / sun dial. Students can further create a sun map of the schoolyard garden to determine how the sun’s movement across the sky could affect the plants that are growing there.

Concepts: Sun position

Essential Questions

  • How and why does the sun seem to move across the sky throughout the day
  • How and why do shadows change throughout the day?

     

Standards Addressed

Focus
  • S2E2a. Students will investigate the position of the sun in relation to a fixed object on earth at various times of the day.
  • S2E2b. Students will determine how the shadows change through the day by making a shadow stick or using a sundial.

Explorations in this Collection

Creating a Sun Map of the Garden

Creating a Sun Map of the Garden

Making Shadow Sticks

Making Shadow Sticks

Telling Direction with No Compass

Telling Direction with No Compass

Telling Time With No Clocks

Telling Time With No Clocks

Recommended Resources

Educators