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...

Students examine why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. In this sun lesson, students explore the sunset and shadows. Students prove that the sun's position changes during the day. Students investigate what causes a shadow....

Give your pupils a front row seat at the biggest light show in the sky this year! In addition to admiring the total solar eclipse, young astronomers can explain the phenomenon with a little help from an inquiry-based lesson. The focus of...

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...

People don't all get the same amount of sun at the same time of the year. Collaborative groups explore how the motion of Earth contributes to the idea in an inquiry-based STEM lesson. Learners first investigate how the rotation of Earth...

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...

Are you ready for the biggest astronomical event of the year? More importantly ... are you ready to share it with your scholars? Use a presentation filled with facts and diagrams to make sure everyone in class understands the importance...

Students demonstrate that the movement of the sun causes shadows which were used as the first indicators of telling time.

Fourth graders measure the change in the size of their shadow over time. They visit a fixed structure and record the date, the time, and the measurement of the length of their shadow. They do this over the course of the school year. They...

Students measure shadows to learn about the Sun-Earth relationship. For 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...

Can people really measure time just by using the sun? Scholars venture outside on a nice, sunny day to build sundials and learn how people measured time 600 years ago. The class builds two different sundials while gaining practice with...

Students investigate the concepts of shadows and how they are projected with objects different positions in relation to the sun. They conduct an experiment by observing objects in different positions. Then students record the observations.

Light is such an amazing thing! Elementary schoolers explore the wonderful world of light and shadow. The lesson is meant to be carried out on a whiteboard. Objects are placed in front of a light source, and learners must predict what...

Students become familiar with different times around the world through the reading of 9 O'clock Lullaby.  In this Earth, sun, moon lesson, students recognize the movement of the Earth and the relationship to the sun and the...

Does the space shuttle have an odometer? Maybe, but all that is needed to determine the distance to the moon is a little geometry! The lesson asks scholars to sketch the relationship of the Earth and moon using shadows of an eclipse....

Students study the sun and how it moves throughout the day.  In this tracking the sun lesson students create a model of the celestial sphere. 

Students investigate that the sun is at the center of the solar system through role play. One student is the sun and one student is the Earth. The students then show how the Earth orbits around the sun. Students view a flashlight and...

Students experiment with light and shadow. In this light lesson, students look at the relationship between shadows and light. They experiment with light source, shadow size, transparent objects and reflective objects. 

Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow lesson plan, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun and Earth...

Groups explore illumination with NASA's Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) as a context. Using the TI-Nspire app, groups determine the lux equation that models their simulation. They then use the lux equation to...

Students take measurements throughout the day using a simple sundial called a gnomon. They record the results on a Data Log and convert from English units to metric (S.I.) units. Data points are plotted on the same graph and analyzed.

Students examine their shadows and why they are different in the summer and winter.  In this seasons lesson students complete an activity to see how the earth's tilt on its axis changes the length of shadows. 

Students discuss how to protect oneself from the sun.  In this sun safety lesson, students explore the movement of the sun throughout the day by tracing their shadows periodically using outdoor chalk.  Students discuss how the...

Students explore light and shadow and discover that the sun is the primary source of light. they explore the aspects of light and that the size and shape of a shadow depends on the proximity of the light source and create a sundial.