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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 24 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 it on December 21?
  2. 2. How long was the shadow on June 21?
  3. 3. What would you expect on December 21 next year?
  4. 4. What was kept the same for every measurement?
2.Why is the noon shadow much longer in December than in June?
  • A.The sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  • B.The sun is further away in December
  • C.The stick is taller in winter
3.When the sun is high in the sky, what is the shadow like?
  • A.Long
  • B.Missing completely
  • C.Short
4.Why are the noon shadow measurements more useful as a graph than as a list?
  • A.Graphs make shadows longer
  • B.The graph shows the pattern across the year at a glance
  • C.Lists cannot hold numbers
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.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

LessonPrint · 5-ESS1-2 · Set 24 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — One Stick, Measured All Year

Set 24. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. 3.2 m. 2. 0.5 m. 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 sun is much lower in the sky at noon in winter
  3. 3.Short
  4. 4.The graph shows the pattern across the year at a glance
  5. 5.June
  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.