Students begin learning about shadows in primary grades. In the intermediate grades, they learn more about the sun and the earth’s rotation. 5th grade students study how the sun “rises” in the east, “sets” in the west and how that affects shadows. As the earth rotates around the sun, shadows shorten and lengthen, starting with long shadows at dawn, shortening until midday, then begin to get longer again.
With a break in the rain, 5th graders used the sunny day to see how we can tell time using shadows. The students made sundials and observed throughout the day how shadow movement can tell time