Education Standards
1st Grade Shadows
Overview
This lesson will help students understand how a shadow is created and allow them to experiment with creating shadows.
Shadows
Standard: 1-PS4-3. Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.
Lesson Objective: The student will be able to conduct investigations to determine what will happen when an object is placed in the path of a beam of light.
Key Vocabulary:
- Shadow
- Light source
Introduction: Call students to the rug and ask them what they think of when they hear the word light. Let them talk with a partner and then have them share some ideas.
Tell students that light can come from natural sources, such as the Sun or fire, or from sources such as lamps and lightbulbs. Ask students to identify some sources of light.
What light sources do we use in our classroom? [Ceiling lights, sunlight coming through the windows, other lamps.]
Shadows:
Hold up a flashlight and ask students what it is called. Review the different parts of the light (bulb and switch) and if you want, show them the batteries inside, providing the energy to power the light. Review the appropriate use of a flashlight in the classroom and go over any safety rules. The flashlight should not be pointed in the face of another student. Tell students that they will share a flashlight with a partner and will need to take turns using it. When one student has a flashlight, the partner should be observing what is happening to the beam of light.
Ask students what will happen if you shine the light on a student’s hand. Start with the flashlight close to the hand and then gradually move it away, so that a shadow is projected on the board. Tell students that they will work with a partner to see what happens when they shine light on their partner’s hand. Remind students to take turns using the flashlight.
Distribute a flashlight to each pair of students and have them return to their tables to explore the light source and their hands.
Encourage students to share their observations by asking some questions.
- What did you notice about the beam of light?
- When you pointed the light close to the table, what did it look like? [Small circle of light.]
- When you moved the light higher from the table, what did it look like? [The circle of light got bigger.]
- What happened when a hand was in front of the light?
- What was the hand doing to the light? [Blocking some of the light or all of the light.]
Identify the dark, hand–shaped area as a shadow.
Write or project the focus question on the board while you say it aloud.
- What makes a shadow?
Explain that students made a shadow using their hands. Now they will use other objects to try and make a shadow.
Hold up a plastic bag of objects and tell students they are going to use these objects and the bag to explore light and shadows. Working with their partner, they should determine how to make shadows using the flashlight and each of these objects. They could sort the objects based on the shadow they observe.
Distribute a bag of objects to each pair of students and let them explore. Circulate to the pairs and ask them to explain what they are finding out and to predict what a shadow will look like before they shine the light on an object.
Ask students to turn off their flashlights and to bag up the objects. Have them return the materials to the materials station and come to the rug for discussion.
Ask students if they were able to make shadows with the objects. Have them share their observations. Have a set of objects and a flashlight available for students to demonstrate an observation.
After students have shared their observations and explanations, have them turn and talk to a partner to generalize their observations. Encourage students to use cause–and–effect statements to explain how they made different shadows. Then ask,
What is a general rule for making a shadow? [You need a light source and an object to block the light.]
Together, make a class model to show how an object blocks the light to make a shadow. Draw the model on chart paper and encourage everyone to participate in the design.
Ask students what objects in the classroom might make an interesting shadow, such as a pair of glasses, a plastic strawberry basket, or a woven basket. Ask them to predict what the shadow might look like and why they think so.
Review key vocabulary.
Have students answer the discussion questions in their notebooks. They might choose to write a sentence or two, or answer with one or more labeled illustrations.
- What makes a shadow?
For students who need scaffolding, provide prompts such as, What did you do to make a shadow? What has to happen? or a sentence starter such as, To make a shadow you _____. For maximum support provide the sentence frame, To make a shadow you shine a _____ on an object that _____ the light.
Check that students can sort materials based on what they do in the path of a beam of light.
Lesson Summary:
- Shadows are created when an object blocks light.
- Sun or fire are examples of natural light sources.
- Lamps and lightbulbs are sources of artificial light.
- Shadows can be made inside or outside.
Lesson Review questions:
- Which objects made shadows?
- How were the shadows different from each other?
- Which objects did not make a shadow?
- What makes a shadow?
Closure: Watch "Light and Shadows for kIds- Kids academy" on YouTube or read the book Bear Shadow.