Early Science  /  Shadows  /  Math  /  Activity

Move the Light

 

Shadows
Hands-On

As children move a flashlight up and down above a sticky note they are holding, they notice how the size of the shadow changes.

A teacher sits on the floor talking to three students. He holds a flashlight in one hand, and some square pieces of paper in the other. Three students stand at a wall holding flashlights and pieces of square paper to create shadows on the wall.

We can change the size of a shadow by moving the light closer or farther away.

Let’s experiment! Hold a sticky note in the same spot and move the flashlight.

 

Materials

  • 3″ x 3″ sticky notes (1 for each child)
  • Flashlight (1 for each child)
  • Optional: small objects

Preparation

  1. Darken the area where you will meet with your small groups, so that shadows made with flashlights can be clearly seen.
 

Directions: Lessons 5, 6

Guided Small Group

In this activity, children explore how the size of a shadow changes when the light source is moved closer to or farther from the object/blocker.

  1. Give each child a 3″ x 3″ sticky note and a flashlight. Show children how to use one hand to hold the sticky note about 3 inches above the table. They will hold the flashlight in their other hand.
  2. Encourage the children to move the flashlight up and down (closer to and farther away from the sticky note) and observe how the size of the sticky note’s shadow changes.
  3. Have children make a big shadow. Encourage children to notice where they held the flashlight—close to or far from the sticky note. Do all children agree on the answer? Can you make the shadow even bigger?
  4. Now have children move the flashlight to make the shadow smaller. How did you move the light?
    • Have children move the flashlight to make the shadow big again. How did you move the light?
Learning Center

Previously, in the Guided Small Group: Move the Light activity, children used a sticky note and a flashlight to explore big and small shadows.

  1. Invite children (working individually or in pairs) to explore using small classroom objects and a light to make big and small shadows. Possible discussion ideas:
    • How can you make the shadow bigger/smaller?
    • What happens to the shadow if you move the light farther from the object? Why does the shadow get smaller?
    • What happens to the shadow if you move the object out of the light?
  2. Model language to describe and compare the shadows children are making.
  3. Encourage children to listen to and build on each other’s ideas.
Length of Play

5 min.

Group Size
In the Schedule
 
Vocabulary
  • big
  • closer
  • compare
  • farther
  • light
  • object
  • observe
  • shadow
  • small, smaller
 
Learning Goals
Science
  • Observe and describe how a shadow changes when the light source is moved (a shadow becomes bigger if the light moves closer to the blocker and smaller if the light moves farther away from the blocker).
  • Predict how a shadow will change when the light source is moved (a shadow becomes bigger if the light moves closer to the blocker and smaller if the light moves farther away from the blocker.)
Math
  • Use spatial vocabulary (closer, farther).
  • Compare size (big, small).