The Vanishing Shadow

About this resource

In Hawaii, on two days each year, shadows vanish at midday. In Kentucky, a shadow never vanishes. Where does Hawaii’s shadow go — and why can’t it happen here? Shadows, daylight, and stars change in patterns we can graph and predict. In this one-week, 5-level Shadows, Day & Night, and Star Patterns unit for 5th grade science (NGSS 5-ESS1-2), students investigate a real mystery, then use their evidence to crack the case.

The Vanishing Shadow is part of Science Unlocked, a series of mystery-driven lesson sets. Every set opens with a real, surprising phenomenon, builds the science one level at a time, and ends with students solving the mystery in a claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) write-up.

Topics: patterns of earth and sky, earth and space science, claim evidence reasoning (CER), science phenomenon, review games.

What's included

• Teacher Deck (80 slides, PowerPoint). Answers are highlighted on the slides. Speaker notes tell you what to say and do, what to watch for, and how to support students or push GT students further. Prep slides and answer keys are hidden, so they skip during a slideshow.
• Interactive Student Deck (52 slides, PowerPoint + PDF). Students type in boxes, drag cards and check marks, and rate their confidence. Assign one copy per student in Google Classroom or your LMS.
• Google Slides versions of both decks. Click a button in the Google Slides Links PDF to make your own copy in Google Drive.
• Teacher Guide (25-page PDF). The standard, a week at a glance, a materials list, misconceptions to watch for, a run-of-show for every level, answer keys and sources.
• Student Printable (16-page PDF + a low-ink greyscale copy). The same tasks on paper in 12 pt type, for students without devices, sub days, or anyone who learns better with a pencil. Slide numbers match the Student Deck.
• Self-grading digital activity. SCORM 2004 and SCORM 1.2 packages for an LMS that accepts SCORM uploads, a web package, and a single HTML file that opens in any browser. Notes, sorts, matches, tables and multiple-choice items grade themselves, and students get a copy-and-paste backup of their work. A 2-page teacher quick start is included.
• Two whole-class review games that open in any browser: a Jeopardy-style game (6 categories, 30 clues) and Trashketball, where teams answer on whiteboards and then shoot for points.
• Kahoot! and Blooket import files. 48 review questions, one file per level plus an all-levels file, with a printable answer key.
• Start Here guide, HTML & SCORM how-to guide and Terms of Use, so you know which file to open first.

The 5 levels (about one 45–50 minute class each)

1. Shadow Clues. How shadows form, low Sun = long shadow, high Sun = short shadow (ESS1.B; SEP data). Key activities: Vanishing Shadow mystery, Label the Shadow Model, Long-or-Short sort.
2. The Sun’s Daily Trip. Earth spins leads to day and night, shadows change length and direction in a day (ESS1.B; Patterns). Key activities: Flashlight Sun Model, graph one real day of shadows.
3. Shadow Trackers. Investigation: track one real shadow and graph YOUR data (SEP: represent data in graphs). Key activities: Outdoor shadow station (4 trips), Graph Your Data, Lab Conclusion.
4. Patterns All Year. Daylight hours, midday shadows, seasonal stars (ESS1.B; Patterns). Key activities: Daylight bar graph, Kentucky vs. Hawaii shadow graph, night-sky star graph.
5. Crack the Case. Stretch MS-ESS1-1: a Sun–Earth–Moon model (earthshine), final explanation. Key activities: Ghost Glow Stretch, Crack the Case CER.

Built for real classrooms

• Every level follows the same routine: "I can" targets with a confidence check, a warm-up, copy-it notes with a word bank, hands-on practice, a checkpoint students must pass to unlock the next step, and an exit ticket. A 10-item Mini Quiz wraps up the week.
• Level 1 opens with a Power-Up on the earlier-grade ideas this standard builds on (1-ESS1-1, 1-ESS1-2, 3-PS2-2, 1-PS4-3).
• The last level includes a middle school Stretch (MS-ESS1-1) that every student tries and advanced students can take further.
• Hands-on lab (Flashlight Sun Model). Student materials list: LED flashlight (the “Sun”); Pencil standing in a ball of clay (a “flagpole”); White paper; Ruler, pencil. Safety notes are on the slides and in the Teacher Guide.
• Support is built in: word banks, sentence starters and support notes on the slides, plus GT extensions.

Standards

• NGSS 5-ESS1-2: 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. (Kentucky 5-ESS1-2 uses the same wording.)
• SEP: Analyzing and Interpreting Data · DCI: ESS1.B · CCC: Patterns
• Stretch: MS-ESS1-1
• CCSS connections: 5.G.A.2, 5.MD.A.1, 5.NF.A.2, MP.2, MP.4, SL.5.5, W.5.1

Try the digital activity first

• Not sure the self-grading activity will work in your LMS? Download the FREE HTML & SCORM Sample and test it with your students before you buy.

Save with a bundle

• Grade 5 Earth & Space (3 sets)
• Grade 5 Complete (16 sets)
• Science Unlocked Mega Bundle (all 89 sets)

Teach next

• The Tower Puzzle (5-PS2-1)
• The Sun’s Look-Alike (5-ESS1-1)

More from Mystery Lab Learning

• See every Science Unlocked set, and follow to hear when new ones are added, at Mystery Lab Learning.

Good to know

• The illustrations in this resource were created with AI image tools, and AI tools helped draft the lesson text. Every slide, answer key and lab step was then fact-checked against the sources listed in the Teacher Guide and proofread.
• Kahoot!, Blooket, Jeopardy!, Google Slides and PowerPoint are trademarks of their owners. This resource is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
• License: one teacher, for use with their own students. Please buy an additional license for each colleague who uses it.