Lesson 11
Children explore and compare how shadows change.
Circle Time: Introduction
Shifting Shadows
5 min.
Children watch the video Shifting Shadows and gather ideas for their own outdoor shadow explorations.
View ActivityMoonbear’s Shadow
10 min.
Children listen to and discuss the book Moonbear’s Shadow, by Frank Asch, and act out scenes from the story.
View ActivityGuided Small Group
Shadow Play, Levels 12-14
5-15 min.
Children explore how a shadow is made and predict where the shadow will fall when the light is moved.
View ActivityMoonbear’s Shadow Puppet Game
10 min.
Children act out story scenes, create shadows, and describe shadow positions using illustrations from the book Moonbear’s Shadow, by Frank Asch.
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 ActivityMoonbear’s Shadow Puppet Game
10 min.
Children act out story scenes, create shadows, and describe shadow positions using illustrations from the book Moonbear’s Shadow, by Frank Asch.
View ActivityCool Shadows Review
5-10 min.
Children look at and discuss Cool Shadows photos the class has taken of interesting shadows.
View ActivityShifting Shadows
5 min.
Children watch the video Shifting Shadows and gather ideas for their own outdoor shadow explorations.
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 ActivityShadow Cave
5-15 min.
Children explore shadows in a dark, digital cave. They make big and small shadows to match an outline that is on the cave wall.
View ActivityOutdoors
Tracing & Measuring Shadows
15 min.
Children trace and measure shadows at different times of the day and discover how the location and length of the shadows change. They use the Cool Shadow tool to document their experiment.
View ActivityCircle Time: Wrap-Up
Shadow Review
5 min.
Children revisit combined shadows, shadows growing larger as objects are moved closer to the light, and shadows changing shape as objects are rotated.
View ActivityShadow Play, Levels 12-14
5-15 min.
Children explore how a shadow is made and predict where the shadow will fall when the light is moved.
View Activity