I would choose the lesson about the sun and shadows. I have taught this lesson many times before but I find it such a real and engaging way to learn about shadows. Children form their own ideas about what shadows are so it’s interesting for them to go outside and rest their theories. We would previously have been learning about the sun so I would begin with questioning the children and trying to get them to draw on their prior knowledge. I would bring them outside and discuss where the light is coming from. We would observe our shadows, trace them with chalk and then I would bring the children back together to discuss our findings. I would put new questions to them such as are all shadows the same size? What would happen on a cloudy day etc. We could bring other items from the classroom to test their shadows such as a school bag, football etc. Back in the classroom I would give the children the worksheet that accompanies this lesson, where they must predict the shadows that would form for certain objects in order to check for understanding and consolidate the learning. Over the course of the next week I would complete further investigations such ad using torches to investigate shadows and I would bring the children out on a cloudy day to see if we observe shadows. I would incorporate some songs and stories about the moon to supplement our learning.
