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One Stick, Measured All Year is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on using a year of noon shadows to reveal the seasonal pattern in the sky, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-ESS1-2. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

One Stick, Measured All Year

5-ESS1-2

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

One Stick, Measured All Year

Shadow lengths of a one-meter stick, measured at noon on four dates. SHADOW OF A ONE-METER STICK AT NOON December 21 ...... 3.2 m March 21 ......... 1.3 m June 21 .......... 0.5 m September 21 ..... 1.3 m Measured in the same place, at the same time of day.

  1. 1. How long was the shadow on June 21?
  2. 2. What pattern do the four measurements show?
  3. 3. What would you expect on December 21 next year?
  4. 4. What was kept the same for every measurement?
2.Why are the noon shadow measurements more useful as a graph than as a list?
  • A.The graph shows the pattern across the year at a glance
  • B.Lists cannot hold numbers
  • C.Graphs make shadows longer
3.The noon shadow was the same length in March and September. Why?
  • A.It was cloudy both times
  • B.The sun was the same height in the sky at noon on those dates
  • C.The stick was moved
4.What else changes through the year in the same pattern as the noon shadow?
  • A.The number of hours of daylight
  • B.The color of the sky at noon
  • C.The length of the stick
5.Why is the noon shadow much longer in December than in June?
  • A.The stick is taller in winter
  • B.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  • C.The sun is further away in December
6.In the northern half of the world, which way does a stick's noon shadow point?
  • A.East
  • B.North, away from the sun in the south
  • C.South, toward the sun
7.The class measures again in February. Will the noon shadow be longer or shorter than in December?
  • A.Longer, because February is colder
  • B.Exactly the same as December
  • C.Shorter, because it shrinks from December toward June

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 10 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — One Stick, Measured All Year

Set 10. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 0.5 m. 2. The shadow is shortest in June, longest in December, and equal in March and September. 3. About 3.2 m again, because the pattern repeats each year. 4. The same place, the same stick and the same time of day.
  2. 2.The graph shows the pattern across the year at a glance
  3. 3.The sun was the same height in the sky at noon on those dates
  4. 4.The number of hours of daylight
  5. 5.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  6. 6.North, away from the sun in the south
  7. 7.Shorter, because it shrinks from December toward June

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-ESS1-2 of the Next Generation Science Standards.