The focus of the first few weeks of this unit is the sun's changing position in the sky.
First, we spend time on sunrise and sunset, and how it always rises in the East and sets in the West. This movement across the sky directly affects shadows in two ways: size and direction. Shadows are opposite the light source, so when the sun rises in the East, shadows point west. By evening, when the sun is setting in the West, shadows are pointing East. When the sun is low (morning and evening), shadows are long and stretched out. When the sun is high (midday), shadows are short.
First, we spend time on sunrise and sunset, and how it always rises in the East and sets in the West. This movement across the sky directly affects shadows in two ways: size and direction. Shadows are opposite the light source, so when the sun rises in the East, shadows point west. By evening, when the sun is setting in the West, shadows are pointing East. When the sun is low (morning and evening), shadows are long and stretched out. When the sun is high (midday), shadows are short.
In addition to the sun changing positions throughout the day, it also changes throughout the year. The sun's path in the summer is much higher int he middle of the day than in the winter.
One activity allowed the students to go outside three different times during the day to track shadows. We went outside at 8:30, 10:45, and 2:20. This allowed students to observe where the sun was positioned in the sky, and where their partner's shadow was in comparison to earlier in the day by outlining it all three times.