Lesson 10
Children explore how shadows move when the position of the light changes.
Circle Time: Introduction
Shadows on the Move
5 min.
Children observe and predict where the shadow will fall when a flashlight is moved to a different side of an object.
View ActivityShifting Shadows
5 min.
Children watch the video Shifting Shadows and gather ideas for their own outdoor shadow explorations.
View ActivityGuided Small Group
Where Will the Shadow Appear?
5-10 min.
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.
View ActivityBuild a Shadow Game
15 min.
Children identify and count the shapes on a shadow shape card and then build a matching shadow using cutouts of 2D shapes.
View ActivityLearning Centers
Shoebox Shadow Theater
5-15 min.
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.
View ActivityShadow Play
5-15 min.
Children explore digital simulations of how shadows are made by light and an object that blocks the light.
View ActivityPuppy Park
5-15 min.
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.
View ActivityShadow Hunt Review
5-10 min.
Children review and discuss their Shadow Hunt photos.
View ActivityBuild a Shadow Game
15 min.
Children identify and count the shapes on a shadow shape card and then build a matching shadow using cutouts of 2D shapes.
View ActivityCircle Time: Wrap-Up
Shifting Shadows
5 min.
Children watch the video Shifting Shadows and gather ideas for their own outdoor shadow explorations.
View ActivityWhat Makes a Shadow?
5-10 min.
Children listen to and discuss the book What Makes a Shadow?, by Clyde Robert Bulla.
View Activity