Early Science  /  Shadows  /  Week 4: Lesson 10

Week 4: Making and Changing Shadows

 
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Lesson 10

Children explore how shadows move when the position of the light changes.

Circle Time: Introduction

Shadows on the Move   
5 min.

 
Students gather around a white poster-board on the floor, on top of which is a wooden block with sticky notes placed around it. A teacher points a flashlight at the block as a student points at the shadow created.

Children observe and predict where the shadow will fall when a flashlight is moved to a different side of an object.

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Shifting Shadows   
5 min. 

 
A teacher holds an iPad up in front of a class of students.

Children watch the video Shifting Shadows and gather ideas for their own outdoor shadow explorations.

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Guided Small Group

Where Will the Shadow Appear?   
5-10 min.

 
A piece of white poster-board lies on the floor with a wooden block on top. A teacher shines a flashlight at the block, and one student places a craft stick by the block.

Positioning a flashlight on one side of an object, children make and test predictions regarding where the shadow of the object will appear when the flashlight is turned on.

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Build a Shadow Game   
15 min. 

 
Light shining on student holding two circles to make shadows on the wall.

Children identify and count the shapes on a shadow shape card and then build a matching shadow using cutouts of 2D shapes.

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Learning Centers

Shoebox Shadow Theater   
5-15 min.

 
A shadow theatre made of a box lid and wax paper sits on a table. A teacher shines a flashlight on one side of the paper, and a student holds a small toy animal in front of the light, creating a shadow on the wax paper.

Children explore how to make the shadow of an object inside the shadow theater bigger, smaller, and clear enough to identify by moving a flashlight closer and farther away.

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Shadow Play   
5-15 min. 

 
Shadow Play app screenshot.

Children explore digital simulations of how shadows are made by light and an object that blocks the light.

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Puppy Park   
5-15 min. 

 
Puppy Park app screenshot.

Children continue to explore creating shadows to provide shade for dogs. They arrange different materials—bushes, bricks, and trees--to create big, small, tall, and wide shadows.

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Shadow Hunt Review   
5-10 min. 

 
Shadow Hunt app screenshot. Shadows on the Ground level, with photos added.

Children review and discuss their Shadow Hunt photos.

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Build a Shadow Game   
15 min. 

 
Light shining on student holding two circles to make shadows on the wall.

Children identify and count the shapes on a shadow shape card and then build a matching shadow using cutouts of 2D shapes.

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Circle Time: Wrap-Up

Shifting Shadows   
5 min. 

 
A teacher holds an iPad up in front of a class of students.

Children watch the video Shifting Shadows and gather ideas for their own outdoor shadow explorations.

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What Makes a Shadow?   
5-10 min.

 
A teacher holds up the book, 'What Makes A Shadow?'.

Children listen to and discuss the book What Makes a Shadow?, by Clyde Robert Bulla.

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