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Discuss: Think about how Keya looked for shady spots where she could walk barefoot. Look at these cows. What do you notice? Can you explain what the cows are doing?
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Here’s what we noticed. The tree blocks the sun and makes a shadow. The cows are all standing in that shadow. Just like people, cows like shade on a hot day. It’s cooler in the shade!
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We don’t have time to grow trees in the pasture. But looking at trees can help us figure out why they are good at making shade. Take a look at these trees and their shadows. Discuss:
The skinny tree makes a skinny shadow. Farmer Josie’s cows need a wide shadow so more than one cow can be in the shade. So Farmer Josie needs a wide Shade Maker.
Both trees make big patches of shade. But tree #1 is so short! It would be much easier for cows to gather under tree #2. We think a Shade Maker should be tall.
A tiny umbrella makes a tiny shadow, too small for a cow! To help a couple of cows stay cool, you need a big wide Shade Maker, more like the big umbrella.
We thought that tent was too small for the cows. So Farmer Josie made some changes. She used taller poles and made a tent that looked like this. Discuss:
We thought she could use the blankets to make a roof and use the poles to hold it up. But that’s just our idea. There are often many good ways to solve a problem.
Maybe you have other ideas you’d like Josie to try. If there’s time, draw a picture of your idea. Then spend some time trying to figure out how to make it even better.
These readings are free with registration on ReadWorks, a nonprofit committed to providing teachers with research-proven, Common-Core-aligned readings.
Take a walk outside on a sunny day and challenge students to find the warmest and coldest spots they can. Encourage them to feel different kinds of surfaces in the sun and in the shade. Is the pavement hotter in the sun or in the shade? Check out other surfaces — the blacktop, bricks, rocks, metal, soil, sand. Which is the hottest? Which is the coolest?
If you have time, compare the temperatures of the two spots using ice cubes. An ice cube will melt faster in the hotter spot.
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# Activity: Design a Place in the Shade
The Cool Cows activity gets your students thinking about how they could build something to make shade. Take the activity further by having students draw the shade structure they’d like to build.
If you have time, materials, and a sunny day, you can give your students the chance to make and test a physical model of their structure. For instructions on how to do it, we suggest this activity on Better Lesson, a site where educators can connect and share curriculum.
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#Activity: Where Is It Hot? Where Is It Not?
Now that you know where it's too hot to walk barefoot, you can also figure out when to sit if you want to cool off on a hot day.
Take a look at the photo on the next page and think about clues that tell you where it’s hot and where it’s cool.
Discuss: Where would you go if you wanted to stay cool? Where would you go if you wanted to warm up? What clue are you using to make your choice?
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# Here's what we think
We know that sunshine warms things up.
So if we want to cool off, we look for a shady spot. If we want to warm up, we find a place in the sun.
Next time you're outside on a sunny day, compare the temperature in the sun with the temperature in the shade. Do you feel a difference?
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thin
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not very long from side to side
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wide
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long from side to side
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short
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not very long from top to bottom
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tall
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long from top to bottom
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small
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not large in size
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big
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large in size, something that is wide, tall or long
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hot
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very warm
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cool
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to make something colder
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Sun
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the large ball of light in the sky during the day
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sunlight
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light from the Sun
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shade
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a dark, cool place that is not directly in the sunlight
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shadow
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a dark shape made when an object is in front of a light source
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design
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to make a plan for creating or doing something
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engineer
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a person who uses science to come up with solutions to problems
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Cows in shade by
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THIS LESSON WAS REVISED ON JULY 1, 2021. Here is a link to the previous version.
In this Read-Along lesson, students listen to an illustrated digital storybook with student participation. If you would prefer to read the book aloud yourself, you can switch to the non-narrated version. In the story, Keya needs to find a way to get from the swimming pool to the ice cream truck without burning her bare feet on the hot pavement. In the activity, Cool Cows, students notice that cows (like people) use shade to stay cool. Then, they think through how they would design a shade structure for cows.
Preview optional activity
In this activity, students are presented with a problem: How can Farmer Josie’s cows stay cool in a sunny field with no shade trees? In a series of steps, students consider the problem and come to an understanding of what attributes a solution must have. Then they help Farmer Josie come up with a solution.
At the end, we include the option of having students draw their imagined solutions. If you would like your students to draw their ideas, make sure to have paper and crayons ready!