Could a statue's shadow move?

Sun & Shadows Unit

Lesson 1 of 4

Sun, Shadows, & Daily Patterns

Lesson narration:

Activity Prep

In this lesson, students investigate what it takes to make a stationary object’s shadow move. In the activity, Moving Shadows, students use flashlights and paper gnomes to explore how moving the position of a light makes shadows move. Students relate these observations to shadows changing throughout the day and the Sun’s position moving across the sky.

Activity: Where's the Shadow?

For this activity, you'll need:

  • an outdoor area with blacktop or pavement
  • a sunny day
  • sidewalk chalk

Have students choose the shadow of a wall or building that makes a straight line. Mark that line with chalk. Ask students to guess where the shadow will be in fifteen minutes & mark their prediction with chalk. While waiting for 15 minutes to pass, try the "Shadow Partners" activity.

Activity: Shadow Partners

When you are outdoors on a sunny day, have students work with a partner to answer these questions:

  1. Can you touch your partner’s shadow without touching your partner? Can you make your shadow touch your partner’s shadow?
  2. Can you and your partner make a shadow that looks like a person with four arms?
  3. What’s the most interesting shadow you can find? Do all the shadows you find look like the objects that cast them?

Vocabulary

  1. shadow
    A dark shape made when an object is in front of a light source.
  2. Sun
    The large ball of light in the sky during the day.
  3. sunlight
    Light from the Sun.
  4. experiment
    A test used to discover new information about a question.
  5. sunrise
    When the Sun appears in the morning.
  6. sunset
    When the Sun disappears in the evening.

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