Shadow Play
Head outside to see how the sun creates shadows that change as the sun’s position changes during the school day.
Standards
Idea Sheets are cross-referenced to subjects listed in the Common Core, Next Generation Science Standards, and California Content Standards.
Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Kindergarten||Mathematical Practices|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 1||Mathematical Practices|||Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 1||Earth and Space Science||Earth’s Place in the Universe |||Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year. ||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 1||Earth and Space Science||Earth’s Place in the Universe |||Science and Engineering Practices: 1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems 2. Developing and Using Models 3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations 4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data 5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking 6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence 8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information ||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 1||Science and Engineering Practices |||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 2||Mathematical Practices|||Science and Engineering Practices: 1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems 2. Developing and Using Models 3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations 4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data 5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking 6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence 8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information ||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 2||Science and Engineering Practices|||2.MD.1. Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 2||Measurement And Data||Measure And Estimate Lengths In Standard Units|||2.MD.4. Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit.||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 2||Measurement And Data||Measure And Estimate Lengths In Standard Units|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 3||Mathematical Practices|||Science and Engineering Practices: 1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems 2. Developing and Using Models 3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations 4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data 5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking 6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence 8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information ||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 3||Science and Engineering Practices|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 4||Mathematical Practices|||Science and Engineering Practices: 1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems 2. Developing and Using Models 3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations 4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data 5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking 6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence 8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information ||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 4||Science and Engineering Practices|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 5||Mathematical Practices|||Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length & direction of shadows, day & night, & the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 5||Earth and Space Science||Earth’s Place in the Universe|||Science and Engineering Practices: 1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems 2. Developing and Using Models 3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations 4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data 5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking 6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence 8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information ||Next Generation Science Standards||Grade 5||Science and Engineering Practices|||Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.||Next Generation Science Standards||Middle School||Earth and Space Science||Earth’s Place in the Universe|||Science and Engineering Practices: 1. Asking Questions and Defining Problems 2. Developing and Using Models 3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations 4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data 5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking 6. Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions 7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence 8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information ||Next Generation Science Standards||Middle School||Science and Engineering Practices|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 6||Mathematical Practices|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 7||Mathematical Practices|||Mathematical Practices: 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 4. Model with mathematics. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure. 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. ||Common Core Mathematics||Grade 8||Mathematical Practices
4.e. Communicate observations orally and in drawings.||CA Science||Grade Kindergarten||04. Investigation and Experimentation||4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions & conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content of the other strands, students will develop questions & perform investigations.|||4.a. Draw pictures that portray some features of the thing being described.||CA Science||Grade 1||04. Investigation and Experimentation||4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:|||4.a. Make predictions based on patterns of observation rather than random guessing.||CA Science||Grade 2||04. Investigation and Experimentation||4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:|||1.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships, distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.||CA Mathematics||Grade 3||05. Mathematical Reasoning||1.0 Students make decisions about how to approach problems.|||2.a. Sunlight can be blocked to create shadows.||CA Science||Grade 3||01. Physical Sciences||2. Light has a source and travels in a direction.|||4.e. The position of the sun in the sky changes during the course of the day and from season to season.||CA Science||Grade 3||03. Earth Sciences||4. Objects in the sky move in regular and predictable patterns.|||5.d. Predict the outcome of a simple investigation, and compare the result to the prediction.||CA Science||Grade 3||04. Investigation and Experimentation||5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions & conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content of the other strands, students will develop questions and perform investigations.
- Earth and Space Science
- Physical Science
- Pre-K
- Grades K-2
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 6-8
- Science
- Math