Activity Set: The Sun and Shadows
The children investigate what a shadow is, how it is formed, and whether
a shadow changes during the day.
Take the children outside to the playground. Organise the children into pairs. Give each pair chalk. One child will draw and the other needs to stand still. Ask all the children who will be standing still to face
in the same direction. The other children use chalk to draw around
the shadows of their classmates. They should also draw around the feet of the children who are standing still. This will help them to remember where they were standing when they come back in a couple of hours. Draw the children’s attention to the direction of the sunlight. Does this match the position of the shadow?
Return to the classroom ask this question: ‘What made your shadow?’ The rays of light from the Sun were blocked by the children’s bodies. So there was no direct sunlight behind the children. You could see a dark shadow. Explain that you cannot have a shadow without a source of light. Encourage the children to name some sources of light.