Curated OER
Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry
Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...
Big Kid Science
Measuring Shadows Using an Ancient Method
How did ancient peoples determine the height of really tall objects? Young scientists and mathematicians explore the concept of using shadows to measure height in a hands-on experiment. Paired pupils measure shadows, then calculate the...
Curated OER
Being Shadowed
What causes a shadow to appear? Have kindergartners and first graders explore shadows with a fun science activity. After reading a short paragraph about light sources, they draw a shadow for a little girl based on the location of the...
Magic of Physics
Shadows
Sunrise, sunset ... swiftly move the shadows! Pupils practice comparing shadow length data with a hands-on activity. The resource allows users to examine and measure the shadow cast by a stick as the sun moves overhead before testing...
Curated OER
The Shadow Knows - Creating Shadows
Young learners recognize a shadow and witness how shadows occur when light is blocked. They access streamed video, standard video, and websites in order to engage in their study of how light is naturally blocked to create shadows. An...
Curated OER
Job Shadowing
Prepare high schoolers for the world of work by organizing a job shadowing experience. The resource packet contains all the required materials, but you will have to make the arrangements with the school and the employers.
Lake Afton Public Observatory
Shadows, Angles, and the Seasons
Shine some light on the topic of seasonal change with this collection of activities. Whether it's by measuring the change in the length of their shadows, or modeling the earth's orbit around the sun using a lamp and a globe, these simple...
Curated OER
Seein' Double, Seein' Double
By using the Internet, hands-on activities, video, and cooperative learning, pupils look into the conditions in which light casts shadows on objects. The lesson includes fabulous hands-on activities, art projects, worksheets, and reource...
Curated OER
Me and My Job Shadow, Part 1
Third graders identify the skills that are important in performing helper jobs in the school and the skills that are possessed personally by them. They write a short paragraph to summarize the information taught about top three job...
Curated OER
The Science of Shadow Puppets
Students explore the art of shadow puppetry. In this performing arts lesson, students study the functions of lighting in the puppet theater as they examine the transmission, absorption, and reflection of light. As a culminating activity,...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Civil Rights Leaders
A unit focuses on Civil Rights leaders. Scholars read or listen to an informational text about Susuan B. Anthony, Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, and other...
Curated OER
"Bear Shadow" Activity Card
In this literature and science activity, students listen to a family member as they read "Bear Shadow." They conduct experiments that with light, shadows, and measuring tools before recording the date they did the experiment. They record...
Curated OER
Experiment: Rainbow Shadows
In this science experiment with light worksheet, students explore what shadows can be created with the use of different colored bulbs and flashlights.
Curated OER
Shadow Puppets
Learners experiment with the effects that various light and puppet positions have on shadows they make with their hands and arms. They work in pairs to trace their shadows and create puppets with the silhouettes. Afterward, they make...
Purdue University
Global Design for the Seasons
People don't all get the same amount of sun at the same time of the year. Collaborative groups explore how the motion of Earth contributes to the idea in an inquiry-based STEM lesson. Learners first investigate how the rotation of Earth...
Curated OER
Sunny Day Shadow Pictures
Students explore shadows. In this art lesson, students put black construction paper on the ground and place objects on the paper. Students leave and when they come back at the end of the afternoon the sun has faded the black paper with...
It's About Time
Color
How can a hand puppet's shadow look like a dog? The lesson explains the science behind shadows, combining paint colors and the colors used in old televisions. Scholars use white, red, blue, and green lights to experiment with colors and...
US Holocaust Museum
Life in Shadows: Hidden Children and the Holocaust
Hiding in the filth of a sewer, as a child, to avoid capture by Nazi soldiers—sounds scary! Scholars investigate the youngest victims of the Holocaust, the children. They research video clips and written sources from the Holocaust...
Curated OER
Shadow Chasing
The students compare themselves and their shadows to various objects big and small. Students use their data to set up proportions to solve.
Curated OER
Albatross Eye Shadow
Young scholars practice shading techniques to mimic the exquisite shading of the Albatross eye (eye shadow). Extension for students skilled in computer art included.
North American Montessori Center
Sun and Moon Autumnal Equinox Activities
Two hands-on activities celebrate the sun and moon autumnal equinox. First, scholars create a cairn using a shoebox, flashlight, and drawing tools to view the sun's progression. Second, learners take to the kitchen to bake mooncakes and...
Curated OER
Self and General Space in Dance
Students explore the different themes and strategies of dancing by performing in class. In this physical education instructional activity, students practice moving specific joints and muscles as they train to perform a dance. Students...
Curated OER
Just Me and My Shadow
Students take measurements throughout the day using a simple sundial called a gnomon. They record the results on a Data Log and convert from English units to metric (S.I.) units. Data points are plotted on the same graph and analyzed.
Anti-Defamation League
Challenging Gender Role Stereotypes
Through thoughtful discussion and a read-aloud, scholars challenge gender role stereotypes. Pupils examine pictures and collaborate with their small groups to debunk stereotypes. They explain what gender role stereotypes they know of and...