The sun and shadows
I would begin this lesson by showing the children photos of a cloudy and a sunny day. I would try to include examples of shadows in the sunny day photo. After discussing these photos and their differences and similarities I would encourage the children to discuss what we already know about the sun and shadows. (KWL chart) I would lead with the following questions
Why is it darker on a cloudy day?
What does the sun give us ?
Is the sun important to us?
Would it matter if we had no sun in the sky?
I would then read the story “My Shadow” by Robert Louis Stevenson.
We would then go outside and in pairs the children would draw their shadows on the yard. I would also encourage them to find other shadows and draw them too. We would discuss these and question what we can see. As mentioned in my previous comments I have taught infants for many years and the only way I can comfortably get through the Curriculum is through integration and Topic based fortnightly plans!
During the week using this topic I would integrate throughout the curriculum for example Ow sound in Literacy, Art – Drawing shadows – projector and draw around what we see and then cut it out on black sugar paper and frame on to white card, Maths / SESE- Time – day/ night – Seasons
During the week I would also carry out activities such as darkening the classroom and give the children torches to explore. We would also read many storybook to consolidate their learnings.