Astronomy...A Fifth Grade Maya Lab

Students draw a line to show the length and angle of their shadow.

Students noticed that as time passed the shadows changed.  it no longer bisected their shadow. Could they create a way to tell time using those shadows?  Using found materials they tried to do just that.

At the end of this lab, students realized that shadows change...but what is causing this change?  Is it the sun or the earth that is moving?  During the second part of the lab, students will use models to try to understand what makes day and night and seasons.