Shadows Change

Shadows are long in the morning, short at midday, long again in the evening, and point away from the sun.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 11

In the morning, the sun is low in the east. Shadows are long, and they point west, away from the sun.
As the sun climbs, shadows get shorter. Around midday, the sun is high, and shadows are very short.
In the afternoon, shadows grow again. By evening, they're long, and they point east.
So shadows change in a pattern every sunny day: long, short, long. And they always point away from the sun.
Try it with a grown-up! Stand in the same spot on a sunny day, and have someone trace your shadow with chalk. Do it again at lunch and later on. What changed?

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Science:

S2E2.a — Plan and carry out an investigation to determine the effect of the position of the sun in relation to a fixed object on Earth at various times of the day.
S2E2.b — Design and build a structure that demonstrates how shadows change throughout the day.