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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 23 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. What was kept the same for every measurement?
  2. 2. What would you expect on December 21 next year?
  3. 3. What claim does this record support?
  4. 4. How long was it on December 21?
2.The noon shadow was the same length in March and September. Why?
  • A.The stick was moved
  • B.The sun was the same height in the sky at noon on those dates
  • C.It was cloudy both times
3.What else changes through the year in the same pattern as the noon shadow?
  • A.The color of the sky at noon
  • B.The number of hours of daylight
  • C.The length of the stick
4.When the sun is high in the sky, what is the shadow like?
  • A.Short
  • B.Missing completely
  • C.Long
5.In which month would you expect the shortest noon shadow next year?
  • A.Every month the same
  • B.June
  • C.December
6.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
7.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

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 23 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — One Stick, Measured All Year

Set 23. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The same place, the same stick and the same time of day. 2. About 3.2 m again, because the pattern repeats each year. 3. Shadow length changes through the year in a pattern that repeats. 4. 3.2 m.
  2. 2.The sun was the same height in the sky at noon on those dates
  3. 3.The number of hours of daylight
  4. 4.Short
  5. 5.June
  6. 6.North, away from the sun in the south
  7. 7.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter

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