5-ESS1-2: Graphing Shadows, Daylight and Seasonal Stars
Also called NGSS 5-ESS1-2 · Topic: Space Systems: Stars and the Solar System · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky.
Clarification statement: Examples of patterns could include the position and motion of Earth with respect to the sun and selected stars that are visible only in particular months.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include causes of seasons.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 5-ESS1-2 Means in Plain English
Fifth graders collect sky data and put it on graphs to spot patterns. They track how a shadow shrinks and grows and changes direction through a day, chart day and night, and notice that some stars and constellations only show up in certain months.
Students describe the patterns but do not have to explain what causes the seasons. This builds on sun, moon and star patterns from 1st grade (1-ESS1-1, 1-ESS1-2) and leads to modeling seasons and moon phases (MS-ESS1-1).
5-ESS1-2 I Can Statements
- I can measure a shadow's length and direction at different times.
- I can graph shadow data and describe the pattern.
- I can tell that some stars are only seen in certain seasons.
5-ESS1-2 Worked Example
A shadow stick activity a class can run on one sunny school day, measuring every 90 minutes.
How do the length and direction of a shadow change from morning to afternoon?
Set It Up: A 30 cm wooden dowel standing upright in a lump of clay on the blacktop, sidewalk chalk, a measuring tape and a school map.
- Set the dowel in its clay and use the school map to chalk an arrow pointing north.North marked beside the dowel
- At 9:00, trace the shadow with chalk and measure it.60 cm, pointing northwest
- Trace and measure again at 10:30, 12:00, 1:30 and 3:00.40 cm, 34 cm, 41 cm, 62 cm
- Graph shadow length against time of day.A valley shape, lowest around midday
- Look at which way each chalk outline points.They turn from northwest through north to northeast
The shadow was longest in the morning and afternoon, shortest around midday, and swung from northwest to northeast as the day went on.
Why it works: As Earth spins, the sun appears to rise in the east, climb highest around midday and sink in the west, and a higher sun casts a shorter shadow that points away from it.
Common Mistakes with 5-ESS1-2
Expecting the same shadow all day
“A shadow is always the same size as the thing that makes it.”
Try this: Measure the same stick at several times. The shadow changes because the sun's position in the sky changes, not the stick.
Moving the stick between readings
The dowel sits in a new spot for the 12:00 reading
Try this: Leave the stick and the north arrow in one place all day so every chalk outline starts from the same point.
Thinking stars vanish in the daytime
“The stars go away during the day and come back at night.”
Try this: Stars are still there in daytime. Sunlight hides them, and as Earth orbits the sun, our night side faces different stars each season.
Where 5-ESS1-2 Fits
Practice 5-ESS1-2
Quick Check
- When is a shadow shortest on a sunny day?
- In the morning the sun is in the east. Which way does a shadow point?
- Why can you see some constellations only in winter?