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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.

Set 11 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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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. How long was it on December 21?
  3. 3. What pattern do the four measurements show?
  4. 4. What does this record not tell you?
2.In the northern half of the world, which way does a stick's noon shadow point?
  • A.North, away from the sun in the south
  • B.South, toward the sun
  • C.East
3.In which month would you expect the shortest noon shadow next year?
  • A.December
  • B.June
  • C.Every month the same
4.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
5.What else changes through the year in the same pattern as the noon shadow?
  • A.The length of the stick
  • B.The number of hours of daylight
  • C.The color of the sky at noon
6.Why measure the shadow at noon every time?
  • A.Because shadows only happen at noon
  • B.So the stick stays dry
  • C.So only the date changes, not the time of day
7.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

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 11 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — One Stick, Measured All Year

Set 11. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 0.5 m. 2. 3.2 m. 3. The shadow is shortest in June, longest in December, and equal in March and September. 4. It does not tell you how the shadow changed during each day.
  2. 2.North, away from the sun in the south
  3. 3.June
  4. 4.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  5. 5.The number of hours of daylight
  6. 6.So only the date changes, not the time of day
  7. 7.The sun was the same height in the sky at noon on those dates

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