Lesson on Shadows
I will start the lesson with a discussion on shadows and creating a KWL chart on the board in relation to the following questions:
Tell me about your shadow. • When do you see your own shadow? Do you see your shadow on a cloudy day? Do you have a shadow when it’s dark? • Does your shadow always look the same? Why do you think that your shadow changes?
Assign pairs and a trigger question that they can work on: What elements do you need to make a shadow? Get children to brainstorm this in pairs and record their ideas on mini whiteboards.
Teacher will circle and observe children’s knowledge . Confirm where children are on the right track with elements listed (source of light and object to block light) and ask them to consider carefully what the 3rd element might be.
We need three elements to see a shadow: ❂ Source of light ❂ Object to block the light ❂ Surface for the shadow to fall upon.
I would then read Moonbear’s Shadow by Frank Asch (10–15 minutes) per lesson outline https://astrosociety.org/file_download/inline/c6bdec27-ce84-4819-ad1f-5aa3b79b4833
This is a story about Bear trying to lose his shadow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq0z-UVyYnE
I would use the following questions to focus the children’s attention
• Show me/ point to the Sun and Bear’s shadow in each illustration. Use your finger to trace a line from the Sun, to Bear, and then to his shadow.
• I would encourage children to make predictions about the story. For example: Do you think Bear’s shadow will stay fixed on the ground when he walks away? Bear’s shadow disappeared when he stepped into the shade of the tree — where did it go?
• Review, reflect and discuss with the children how the position of the Sun in the sky changed throughout the story, over the course of the day and the impact on Bear’s shadow relative to the position of the light source. I would encourage the children to describe Bear’s shadow as short or long and the light source as high or low.
Experiment with making Bear’s shadow in pairs (10–15 minutes) Invite each pair to a station so that they can recreate scenes from the book and try to make Bear’s shadow change. Encourage children to try switching the flashlight on and off, and using it to make the shadow of the Bear figure, then experiment moving the light and the objects to recreate scenes from the book as depicted on the challenge cards: 1. Move the Sun across the sky, from sunrise to sunset. What happens to Bear’s shadow as the Sun moves? 2. Shine the light straight down on Bear from above his head. Where is his shadow? 3. Try to make Bear’s shadow appear in front of him/behind him. 4. Try to make Bear’s shadow long/short. 5. Bear wants to hide in the shade of the tree. Can you help him? 6. In the story, Bear’s shadow scared the big fish away. Try to make Bear’s shadow touch the fish in the pond. This activity allows children to model the phenomenon of how the Sun casts shadows outside.
I would use the question prompts to help children investigate how changing the flashlight’s position changes the size, length, and position of the shadows. As children test different positions of the flashlight, ask them to compare their observations and encourage them use their observations to make claims about how to make the shadows longer, shorter, or in front of/ behind the Bear figure. Children can make claims either verbally or by demonstrating with their model.
I think children would really enjoy this activity from the initial stimulus, the story and really benefit from the hands-on experimentation with the torches and figuring out how the position of the light source impacts both the position of the shadow and also the shadow size & length.