Your teacher may read every card. You may use drawing, writing, pointing, speech, touchable pieces, signing or AAC; a partner may move pieces exactly as you direct. Never look directly at the Sun. A paper model or invented record is labelled as such; do not write “I observed” unless you truly made a safe observation.
Shared fictional shadow record for practice
These numbers were invented to practise reading a record. They are not measurements from a real place or date. Imagine one fixed paper pole, the same measuring unit, and three notes made on one imagined day:
| Time | Shadow length in paper units |
|---|---|
| 9:00 | 4 |
| 12:00 | 2 |
| 15:00 | 5 |
Day 11 · Model of a turning Earth
Use a Sun card and an Earth disc with one dot. Show when the dot faces the Sun card and when it faces away. Say one thing this model can show and one thing it cannot tell about today's sky. Home: two paper circles work; no outdoor task is needed.
Day 12 · Record one safe shadow
With your teacher and an approved fixed object, mark where its shadow ends on the ground. Add date, time, object and a simple length unit. Do not look toward the Sun. If your class stays indoors, use the practice record and label it invented. Home: use the invented record; no one needs to arrange outdoor observation.
Day 13 · Compare two records
Use two safe class shadow notes from the same object if available; otherwise use two times from the shared fictional record. Which was earlier? How did the measured length differ? Label your evidence “class observation” or “invented practice”. Home: choose any two rows of the shared record.
Day 14 · Sort the kind of statement
Sort these: A “A ground mark was measured at 9:00”; B “A paper Earth was turned”; C “I think the mark will differ later.” Label each as observation report, model action or prediction. What detail would make A a stronger record? Home: tell or point to the three categories.
Day 15 · New record check
Keep this card closed until your teacher asks. This is a different invented practice record, using one imagined fixed peg and one paper unit: 8:30 = 6 units; 11:30 = 3 units. Put times in order. Which recorded length is shorter? What does this pair not prove about every day? Say whether these were real class observations or invented practice. Home after the check: create your own labelled fictional two-row record.
Day 16 · Is that comparison fair?
A tall paper pole has a longer drawn shadow than a short paper pencil. Someone says, “The time must have changed.” Give another possible reason. Plan a better comparison that changes time but keeps the object and measuring unit the same. Home: use paper strips or words, not actual Sun observation.
Day 17 · A question about shade
Imagine a bench and two drawn shadow outlines at different labelled times. Write or say a question a park helper could check at a real site. What could the drawing not prove about safety or every day? Home: draw two fictional outlines, not a real park or home layout.
Day 18 · What seems to move?
Turn the paper Earth dot beside a fixed Sun card. Make three small model pictures. Say “appears” when explaining what a person on Earth might notice. What real observation would you need to make separately? Home: paper pieces only.
Day 19 · A careful message
A fictional park helper asks, “Will this bench always have shade at 12:00?” Use the invented shared record to write/say one thing it shows and one thing it does not show. Replace “always” with a better question to investigate. Home: dictate the two lines to anyone, without describing a real park.
Day 20 · Evidence or model?
Keep this card closed until your teacher asks. New invented check note A says one fixed cone's shadow measured 3 paper units at 10:00 and 4 units at 14:00 on an imagined day. New model note B says a paper Earth disc was turned beside a Sun card. Which note is an invented observation-style record, and which is a model action? Make one comparison from note A. What safe next observation would test whether the change happens another day? Home after the check: explain the difference between an observation note and model action using different examples.