Global Shadow Tracking
Curriculum Standards
Students will learn what shadows are and how they are made, and then they will learn how shadows can vary around the world due to latitude and seasonal differences. They can use the measurement data to look for trends and see how the sun's position relative to the Earth affects shadow creation.
Some thinking and communication skills exercised during this project include:
- Teamwork
- Collaboration
- Inquiry
- Observation
- Comparison
- Inference-making
The following ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students (2007) are addressed in this project:
2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning
and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
The following California Standards are addressed in this project:
California, 3rd Grade Science:
Physical Science
2. Light has a source and travels in a direction. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know sunlight can be blocked to create shadows.
Earth Science
4. Objects in the sky move in regular and predictable patterns. As a basis for understanding this concept:
e. Students know the position of the Sun in the sky changes during the course of the day and from season to season.
Investigation and Experimentation
5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Repeat observations to improve accuracy and know that the results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same
because of differences in the things being investigated, methods being used, or uncertainty in the observation.
b. Differentiate evidence from opinion and know that scientists do not rely on claims or conclusions unless they are backed by observations
that can be confirmed.
c. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.
d. Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.
e. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.
California, 3rd Grade Social Studies:
3.1 Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
California, 3rd Grade Math:
Measurement and Geometry
1.0 Students choose and use appropriate units and measurement tools to quantify the properties of objects:
1.1 Choose the appropriate tools and units (metric and U.S.) and estimate and measure the length, liquid volume, and weight/mass of given objects.
California, 4th Grade Science:
Investigation and Experimentation
6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation) and know scientists’ explanations come partly from what they observe and partly
from how they interpret their observations.
b. Measure and estimate the weight, length, or volume of objects.
c. Formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships.
d. Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the relationships between predictions and results.
e. Construct and interpret graphs from measurements.
f. Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.
California, 4th Grade Social Studies:
4.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California.
1. Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.
2. Distinguish between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinates to plot locations.
California, 4th Grade Math:
Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability
1.0 Students organize, represent, and interpret numerical and categorical data and clearly communicate their findings:
1.1 Formulate survey questions; systematically collect and represent data on a number line; and coordinate graphs, tables, and charts.
Last updated on July 1, 2009. Based on a template from EDTEC 570 at SDSU
© Christina Lahr, Diane Main, and Karen McKelvey
2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning
and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
The following California Standards are addressed in this project:
California, 3rd Grade Science:
Physical Science
2. Light has a source and travels in a direction. As a basis for understanding this concept:
a. Students know sunlight can be blocked to create shadows.
Earth Science
4. Objects in the sky move in regular and predictable patterns. As a basis for understanding this concept:
e. Students know the position of the Sun in the sky changes during the course of the day and from season to season.
Investigation and Experimentation
5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Repeat observations to improve accuracy and know that the results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same
because of differences in the things being investigated, methods being used, or uncertainty in the observation.
b. Differentiate evidence from opinion and know that scientists do not rely on claims or conclusions unless they are backed by observations
that can be confirmed.
c. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.
d. Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.
e. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.
California, 3rd Grade Social Studies:
3.1 Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
California, 3rd Grade Math:
Measurement and Geometry
1.0 Students choose and use appropriate units and measurement tools to quantify the properties of objects:
1.1 Choose the appropriate tools and units (metric and U.S.) and estimate and measure the length, liquid volume, and weight/mass of given objects.
California, 4th Grade Science:
Investigation and Experimentation
6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation) and know scientists’ explanations come partly from what they observe and partly
from how they interpret their observations.
b. Measure and estimate the weight, length, or volume of objects.
c. Formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships.
d. Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the relationships between predictions and results.
e. Construct and interpret graphs from measurements.
f. Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.
California, 4th Grade Social Studies:
4.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California.
1. Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.
2. Distinguish between the North and South Poles; the equator and the prime meridian; the tropics; and the hemispheres, using coordinates to plot locations.
California, 4th Grade Math:
Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability
1.0 Students organize, represent, and interpret numerical and categorical data and clearly communicate their findings:
1.1 Formulate survey questions; systematically collect and represent data on a number line; and coordinate graphs, tables, and charts.
Last updated on July 1, 2009. Based on a template from EDTEC 570 at SDSU
© Christina Lahr, Diane Main, and Karen McKelvey