Learning About Sundials
“Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?” – Benjamin Franklin
The year 2 students thoroughly enjoyed learning about sundials and the purpose of them last week.
The teachers find it important that students know the reason behind sundials as they are the oldest known instrument for telling the time. The sundial also allows for us to track the position of the sun with accuracy..
In our Science lesson, students were able to make their own sundials out of paper plates and straws. After decorating their sundials, the students went outside and set their beautiful paper sundials on the ground and tried to tell the time accurately (11:30). The students were very intrigued by the lesson and engaged in the activity with such eagerness to learn.
“Be as true to each other as this dial is to the Sun” – Unknown
Erin Hierse
Year 2 Teacher
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Science & Sundials!
“Have you ever played outside all day and noticed that the length and location of your shadow changed as the hours went by?”
You probably also noticed that the sun changed location in the sky throughout the day too. The sun’s change in location caused a difference in the size, shape and direction of your shadow.
This week our Year 2’s grabbed the opportunity to work with a real sundial and see first-hand how it works.
We set up a “home-made” sundial on our tennis court using a bucket filled with sand, holding a tall stick in its center. Each Year 2 class was taken out to observe this “make-shift” sundial at 3 different points in the day. Every time a child is chosen to draw a line in chalk exactly where the shadow of the tall stick is at that point. The time of observation is written next to the drawing, for the next class to come out a little later to observe and record their results.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the realism and practicality of this experiment. They enjoyed being able to go back to class and record the data they had collected, drawing pictures for each observation taken. They have now seen, first-hand, the way in which a shadow moves throughout the day as well as how and why the sundial came about.
Sundial for Kids: Facts & History
https://study.com/academy/lesson/sundials-lesson-for-kids-facts-history.html
Siobhan Hendry
Year 2 Teacher