Making a simple sundial and calibrating it is the focus of this two-part lab sheet, designed for grades 3 through 6. Part one walks students through poking a hole in a paper plate or cardstock circle, inserting a pencil upright as the gnomon, marking the noon line, and setting the structure on a level surface outdoors. Part two covers calibration: students place the sundial in full sun, align the noon line toward the sun, and then mark the tip of the pencil’s shadow on the hour every hour from morning into late afternoon. An observations section at the bottom asks what worked well, what challenges came up, and how accurate the sundial proved to be.

This lab sheet fits naturally into a unit study on Earth science, astronomy, or the history of measurement, and it connects well to lessons on the Sun’s apparent east-to-west movement across the sky. A science connection box on the sheet explains that Earth’s rotation causes that apparent movement, giving your homeschooler a concrete bridge between the hands-on build and the underlying concept. Completing the calibration portion across a single full sunny day demonstrates that your student can observe, record time-stamped data, and draw conclusions from results, skills that build directly toward more formal experimental design.