Curated OER
Timekeeping by the Sun
Students 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...
Curated OER
Lesson 1 Activity 1: Tools of the Ancients
Students examine how Christopher Columbus determined his latitude.
Curated OER
The Earth Moves Around the Sun
Young scholars demonstrate that the movement of the sun causes shadows which were used as the first indicators of telling time.
Curated OER
Toilet Plunger Sundial
Young scholars build a sundial to measure the local noon time. For this third grade science lesson, students build a sundial out of common materials and align to measure the local noon. This lesson is a hands-on tracking of the sun, and...
Curated OER
Show Me the Way To Go Home
Students place a pencil perpendicular to the ground and trace its shadow between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. They measure the length of the shadow, periodically over several hours, in either English or Metric units. Using the data, they find...
Curated OER
Twenty Words Only
In this museum label worksheet, students examine a picture of a Roman sundial artifact and read the information below it. Using 20 words or less, students write a museum label that would tell visitors about this object.
Curated OER
It's Time to Make Time!
Students explore the evolution of time measurement, and explain the relationship of sunrise/sunset to length of daylight. They collect data and calculations to determine length of daylight during a given day.
Curated OER
Astronomy: Picture Time
Learners 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
Intermediate Critical Reading - Clocks
In these critical reading worksheets, students read the short story about clocks. Students then answer 3 critical reading questions about the passage.
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...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Trb 3:1 Investigation 5 Making a Sundial
Make a sundial and learn how to use it.
Other
Center for Science Education: Eye on the Sky: Observing and Using Shadows
This resource provides all the directions and worksheets necessary to make a sundial and record data with it.
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...
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
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 instructional activity is adapted for grade...
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.
Scholastic
Scholastic Instructor: Sun Sational Science
Discover more about the sun when you visit this educational resource. The content of this site includes solar fun facts, experiments, and activities.