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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 17 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. Why is the noon shadow shortest in June?
  2. 2. What was kept the same for every measurement?
  3. 3. What would you expect on December 21 next year?
  4. 4. How long was it on December 21?
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.The class measures again in February. Will the noon shadow be longer or shorter than in December?
  • A.Shorter, because it shrinks from December toward June
  • B.Exactly the same as December
  • C.Longer, because February is colder
4.In which month would you expect the shortest noon shadow next year?
  • A.Every month the same
  • B.June
  • C.December
5.Why is the noon shadow much longer in December than in June?
  • A.The sun is further away in December
  • B.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  • C.The stick is taller in winter
6.Why measure the shadow at noon every time?
  • A.So only the date changes, not the time of day
  • B.So the stick stays dry
  • C.Because shadows only happen at noon
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 17 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — One Stick, Measured All Year

Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The sun is highest in the sky then, so the shadow is short. 2. The same place, the same stick and the same time of day. 3. About 3.2 m again, because the pattern repeats each year. 4. 3.2 m.
  2. 2.North, away from the sun in the south
  3. 3.Shorter, because it shrinks from December toward June
  4. 4.June
  5. 5.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  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.