Chasing my shadow

Is your shadow always the same size? What do you think?

ScienceAges 4–520 minutes3 pagesEnglish textInk-light

Being written

This one is planned but not finished yet. Everything below is what it will contain.

Not drawn yet

I can find out whether my shadow changes during the day.

How the fifteen minutes go

The five steps on this sheet, in the order a child meets them. This is what you will actually be doing, not a description of the method.

Print the one that fits today. Same skill, three depths — and on this sheet they differ like this.

Support

One morning mark and one afternoon mark. Longer or shorter, that is all.

Fewer items, more pictures, hints included, parent reads the instructions.

Core

Morning, midday and afternoon.

The standard task, recognition, practice and explanation.

Challenge

Predict which will be shortest before doing it.

Open-ended. Explain why, make your own example, use it somewhere new.

The same guide that is printed on the back page, so you can read it before you decide to print anything.

The answers

Shortest around midday, longest early and late. But the finding is theirs to make; do not announce it.

If they get stuck

Use a bottle or a toy instead of their body so the marks stay put.

Common mistakes

Standing in a different spot the second time, mark the feet as well as the shadow.
Telling them the answer at the start, which removes the entire point.

When they finish early

Do it again on a cloudy day. No shadow is also a result.