You will need to do this activity in the dark with the lights off. We provide seven different Shadow Patterns, so we recommend setting up seven stations. You can choose to set up fewer stations depending on your space or the number of flashlights that you have available.

Set Up Activity Stations

For each station:

• Cut out one of the paper gnomes. Fold on the solid lines at his feet and the tip of his hat.
• Overlap the flaps at the gnome’s feet and tape him to the rectangle on one of the Shadow Patterns.
• Tape the Shadow Pattern down to a table or desk.
• Put a flashlight beside the gnome.

Find a Sunny Spot (Recommended)

If it’s sunny, you can watch how a shadow cast by the Sun changes over time—just by marking a shadow early in the lesson and checking on it later.

For this extension:

• Cut out one paper gnome. Fold on the solid lines at his feet and the tip of his hat.
• Overlap the flaps at the gnome’s feet and tape him to a blank sheet of paper.
• Tape the blank sheet of paper down to a table or desk that will be in the Sun for the whole time you are teaching the lesson.
• Outline the gnome’s shadow with a marker and write down the time in the center of the outline.

If it’s cloudy when you teach, don’t worry. We show the experiment in the video. You can watch the video and try the experiment yourself on a day when the Sun is out.

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students will need a partner to help them trace their shadow.

You will need access to a playground or other area with a blacktop. This activity works best on a sunny day when students can clearly see their shadows.

Each student will make their own Sun Finder.

Prepare Sun Finder Templates

Fold the Sun Finder template in half, lengthwise. You can fold 5 at a time, if you like.

Put the folded edge in a 3-hole punch and punch the templates. You can work with multiple copies at a time — depending on what your 3-hole punch will accommodate.

It's okay if the hole in the rectangle with the sun on it doesn't quite match the circle printed on the page.

Print a reader for each student to read and staple at the corner. You can choose to print the black and white version for students to color or a version that's already in color.

We suggest students work in pairs.

Each student will construct a Moon Book. Then they will observe photos of the Moon taken over the course of four weeks and draw pictures of the Moon's phases in their book.

Plan Your Time

This is a long activity. If you have limited time, you can divide this lesson into two sessions. We have marked a natural stopping point after the construction of the book.

Part 1 (create a Moon Book) takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Part 2 (record observations of the Moon in your Moon Book) takes 15-20 minutes. Part 2 begins here.

Teacher Background

You may have heard the term “quarter moon” — the name astronomers use to describe the Moon when half its surface is bright. In this lesson, we have opted instead for the descriptive term “half moon" that matches what students see in the sky.

You will need to do part of this activity in the dark with the lights off and curtains drawn.

We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students will need two flashlights and a partner to help with a few steps.

Prepare Big Dipper Star Pictures

Each printout has 12 Big Dipper pictures. Cut up enough Big Dipper sheets to provide each student with one star picture.

Set Up Activity Stations

Set up activity stations by posting Sky Sheets on walls that will be dark or dimly lit when you pull the shades and turn out the lights. We recommend that each pair of students works at an activity station. If classroom space is limited, we’ve found that one station can comfortably accommodate up to 8 students taking turns.

We suggest an optional activity that helps students gain a better understanding of the cardinal directions (north, south, east, west).

For this activity, you will need to make four signs:

• North
• South
• East
• West

You will use these signs to label your classroom walls with the appropriate cardinal direction. To identify which sign goes where, you can use a compass or Google Maps.

Here’s how to identify the directions using Google Maps:

1. Open Google Maps and enter your school’s street address.
2. Zoom in on your school and look at the surrounding streets and landmarks.
3. North is always up on Google Maps. Find a landmark that’s to the north of your school.
4. Put North on the wall that’s closest to that landmark.
5. Face North. Put West on the wall to your left, East on the wall to your right, and South on the wall behind you.