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Science · Years 3-5
How can I teach children to interpret shadow measurements?
Read a small table, compare values and identify limits of the evidence.
Download: Shadow length data
A4 PDF · 2 pages · free · no sign-up
Print page 1 for the activity and keep page 2 for teaching notes, answers or review criteria.
Use A4 paper at 100% or Actual size. Suggested years or grades are selection aids, rather than curriculum alignment claims.
How to use this resource
- Compare two adjacent entries and say both the direction of change and its size.
- Use the supplied example or task brief. Let the learner respond through writing, drawing, discussion or their usual communication method.
- Review the answers or criteria below. Can the learner distinguish a measured value from an interpolation?
What is in the printable?
Invented observations of one fixed model post: 09:00 - 48 cm; 11:00 - 30 cm; 13:00 - 22 cm; 15:00 - 37 cm. Measurements are sample data. Do not look directly at the Sun in any practical follow-up.
- At which recorded time was the shadow shortest?
- How much shorter was it at 11:00 than at 09:00?
- Describe the pattern across the four recorded times.
- Can we tell the exact shadow length at 12:00 from this table? Explain.
- Name one condition to keep the same when comparing measurements.
Make it easier or add challenge
More support
Use strips representing the four lengths and provide the times as labels.
More challenge
Sketch a time-versus-length graph and mark where a line suggests, rather than records, a value.
What to look for
Can the learner distinguish a measured value from an interpolation?
Teacher answers and suggested responses
1. 13:00.
2. 18 cm.
3. It decreases from 48 to 30 to 22 cm, then increases to 37 cm.
4. No. 12:00 was not recorded; an estimate should be labelled an estimate.
5. Examples: same post, same position and ground surface, same measurement method. The table alone does not prove a cause.
Further teaching guidance
Related guidance from EP for Schools: How can we make science vocabulary more accessible for pupils with SEND?
Try another activity
Deliver individually or in a small group
Choose one learning aim from this activity. Model one example, work through another together, then give each pupil a turn with a fresh example. In a group, ask everyone to think or show a response before sharing; one confident answer does not show what the whole group understands.
Keep the task’s more-support option available. Allow the usual communication tools, practical materials or drawing where these preserve the learning aim. Reduce the number of examples if needed, rather than rushing through the sheet.
What progress should I look for?
Can the learner distinguish a measured value from an interpolation?
Note the example used and whether the response was independent, followed a general prompt or needed a model. Try a different example on a later occasion and look for clearer reasoning or less support on a comparable task. Use these observations to plan the next teaching step.
Printing, access and sharing
Use separate paper or a different recording method when more space or an accessible format is needed. Free to print and copy within your school, setting or family. Retain the website credit and share this teaching page with other settings.