Curated OER
Plants Help Keep a House Cool!
Pupils experiment with tree shading and house colors to see how to reduce the temperature of a home.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium:seasons/shadows: Investigate How Shadows Shift Throughout the Year
Ancient Chacoans used shadows to tell daily time and seasons. Build a model that demonstrates the changes in Earth's tilt that affect the length of shadows relative to the sun that determines the seasons. The lesson plan uses everyday...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Tracking the Sun: Observing the Path of the Sun Throughout the Year
Over the course of the school year, students collect weekly data about the sun's position at a specific time of day, resulting in creating a figure "8" that shows the path of the sun called an analemma.
Harvard University
Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground: The Earth's Rotation
Plenty of cool activities about the Earth's rotation can be found here, such as tracing shadows, observing shadows during different times of the day, and tracking the sun's path in the sky to understand the rotation of the earth.
Harvard University
Harvard Smithsonian: Everyday Classroom Tools
The focus of this series of lessons is to engage students in an exploration of the world around them. The emphasis is on inquiry as students learn about the earth, sun, light, shapes and more.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Portable Sundial
In this activity students will investigate the accuracy of sundials and the discrepancy that lies between "real time" and "clock time". They will track the position of the sun over the course of a relatively short period of time as they...
E-learning for Kids
E Learning for Kids: Science: Scotland: How Are Shadows Formed?
Join James, as he tries to make a dog appear on the wall by using only his hands. Find out how he does this.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Dirtmeister's Science Lab: Let the Sun Shine In
Students graph data reflecting time of day and length of shadow, and then draw conclusions about Earth's seasons and position in relation to the Sun.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Making a Sun Clock
Learn how to use the sun to tell time. This simple activity reinforces the concepts of light and shadow, night and day, time, and geographical north vs. magnetic north.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Confluence Creations: Chaco Canyon Tour
Take a tour of the Chaco Canyon archaeological site. The map takes you to the many dwellings and important astronomical sites. Virtual tours are available if you have Quick Time.
Harvard University
Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground: The Earth's Orbit
Students perform many inquiry activities related to Earth's orbit. Included are recording daily temperatures, observing the sun's path over several weeks, tracking sunrise and sunset times, and angle of sunlight. Diagrams make lessons...
Harvard University
University of Harvard: This Is a Stickup!
Students are taught how to make a sundial. The relationship between angles and the sides of a right triangle are explored. Great lesson plan ideas with plenty of background information. The lesson is adapted for grade levels k-6 with...
University of Utah
University of Utah: Aspire: Seasons Exercise
In this activity, use seasons to determine your location. Click on the different dates to view the earth's shadow at different times of the year from the sun's position.