• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Day and night; The Sun's path across the sky in a day). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Why does the Sun seem to move across the sky? (It is falling / The wind pushes it / The Sun orbits the Earth each day / The Earth is rotating) → The Earth is rotatingPrompt: Think about watching trees from a moving train.
2. The Sun rises at 07:15 and sets at 18:00. How many hours of daylight are there? Give your answer in hours as a decimal (e.g. 12.5). → 10.75 hPrompt: Count the whole hours first, then the extra minutes.
3. The Sun rises at 06:45 and sets at 19:30. How many hours of daylight are there? Give your answer in hours as a decimal (e.g. 12.5). → 12.75 hPrompt: Count the whole hours first, then the extra minutes.

• Ask why we see the Moon change shape over a month.
• Share the objective: Shadow length and direction through the day. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: At midday in summer, shadows are shorter than at midday in winter. Why?
• Step 1: A higher Sun casts shorter shadows.
• Step 2: So the answer is: The Sun climbs higher in the sky in summer.
• Answer: The Sun climbs higher in the sky in summer.
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. In the morning the Sun is in the east. Which way does a tree's shadow point? (east / west / straight up / it has no shadow) → westPrompt: Shadows point away from the light source.
2. At midday in summer, shadows are shorter than at midday in winter. Why? (There is more light in winter. / The Sun climbs higher in the sky in summer. / Objects shrink in summer. / The Sun is closer in summer.) → The Sun climbs higher in the sky in summer.Prompt: Compare the Sun's highest point in each season.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 7 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. People once used shadow sticks (sundials) to tell the time. Why did this work? (The Sun stops every hour. / Shadows only appear on the hour. / The shadow moves in a regular pattern as Earth turns. / The stick knew the time.) → The shadow moves in a regular pattern as Earth turns.Prompt: Does the shadow move the same way every sunny day?
2. At midday in summer, shadows are shorter than at midday in winter. Why? (The Sun is closer in summer. / The Sun climbs higher in the sky in summer. / There is more light in winter. / Objects shrink in summer.) → The Sun climbs higher in the sky in summer.Prompt: Compare the Sun's highest point in each season.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.