Shadow Fun! Pre-K thru 2

3:00 AM



My Shadow!


Playing with your own shadow is such a wonderful and free delight!  

      
     As part of the primary science curriculum, teachers have to introduce the concept of how shadows are formed, using a source of light. 
       
      The light could be from the sun, flashlight, lamp, fire, or a cell phone.  What ever light source is available that can help create a shadow.  


 Science standard of shadows and light wants students to recognize:

  • source of light

  • direction of shadow

  • why the shadow changes size

  • how a shadow disappears


 
As a child I loved to make shadow pictures with my sisters on the wall.  

 Therefore, I had to have this in my classroom.  I would  have a collection of shadow pictures in a center, with a source of light and my students could then have fun practicing making shadows.



Loving to incorporate reading and writing in every subject.


I would read the poem: 

My Shadow


by Robert Louis Stevenson


It begins:

    I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,


    And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.


    He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;

    And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.


Here is the link to the full poem: 



With the advent of YouTube, I found these two delightful animations of this poem.  There were many others, but I thought you might like these to use with your class.  





  I grew up  hearing  the song ME AND MY SHADOW  by Al Jolson.

  

 This lead me to creating a

 simple writing and art 

activity about shadows.

   

  We would practice our handwriting during a directed lesson. 

I would write the sentence on the whiteboard, one letter at a time, as the students copied it with me. 

 We would talk about letter formation, plus what they thought the word we were writing might be.


First, we wrote the one of these titles.

  • My Shadow 



  •  Me and My Shadow


Then,
we would copy the first two lines of the poem:


I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
    And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.



After completing the writing activity I would: 

  • Pass out a white piece of construction paper to each of them. 


  •   Each child was to draw a picture of themselves. 

  •  I asked them to make it as large as the paper.  

  •  I would also ask them to make sure their arms and legs were wide, not sticks. 



  • Next, I would staple a piece of black construction paper to the back of each picture, at the top.   

  • Then, the students would cut out both sheets at the same time. 


 Now, they have a picture of themselves, and one of their shadow. 



  • Finally, they glue this picture to the top of their writing paper, or make it into a booklet. 



These always made a great display on a bulletin board or in the hall!


As a special treat for you!

 I created a FREE My Shadow 

Booklet to be used for 

Groundhog's Day!  

Just click on the picture for the book!





Remember Shadow Fun 

is Any Time

I hope you have fun with Shadows!  Read as many books as you can, act them out, and just enjoy!

I would love to hear if you like the Groundhog Book for Science.  I plan on making a series of Shadow Fun Projects for all year use.  

Thanks,

Mickey
























by Learning Whimsically at Mickey's Place

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2 comments

  1. I grew up with that poem too. I remember it vividly. Great project.

    ReplyDelete

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