Science / Grade 1
Follow a shadow
Learning goal: Find the lamp, trace the blocked light and choose the side where a shadow can fall.
Before you start: Distinguish left from right with help. An adult can read the labels. Use the pictures only; no lamp or other equipment is needed.
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Next: your worksheet
Locate a Shadow beyond an Opaque Object - Practice 1
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Video transcript and practice. Reading or printing does not count as playback time or an assessed grade.
1. Where did the light go?
Video: 0:00
A lamp shines on a screen. Put a block in the way, and part of the screen gets less light from the lamp. That darker part is a shadow. The block did not squirt dark paint! It stopped some light. We will use pictures. You do not need a real lamp.
2. Start at the lamp
Video: 0:21
Our lamp is on the left. The block is in the middle. The screen is on the right. Follow the light from left to right. The block stops some of it. A shadow falls on the screen beyond the block, on the right. Start at the lamp, then find the side away from it.
3. Now swap sides
Video: 0:42
Now the lamp is on the right. The block is still in the middle. The screen is on the left. Light travels from right to left in this picture. The shadow falls on the left screen. Did the block need a new paintbrush? No. We changed where the light came from.
4. Not always the same side
Video: 1:04
A shadow is not always on the right. It is not always on the left. In our first picture, the lamp was on the left and the shadow was on the right. In our next picture, those sides switched. Each time, the block was between the lamp and its shadow. Find the lamp first.
5. Pause: choose a screen
Video: 1:25
Your turn. A lamp is on the left of a round card. The card is in the middle and blocks the light. On which side of the card could a screen catch its shadow: left or right? Pause and say your answer. Tell someone why. Use where the lamp is, not the shape of the card.
6. Check your reason
Video: 1:48
The screen goes on the right. The lamp is on the left, and the card blocks some light traveling to the right. The shadow is beyond the card, away from the lamp. If you chose left, start at the lamp again and follow the light. Explaining the path helps more than guessing a side.
7. Shadows in space
Video: 2:09
Fun fact: a moon can cast a shadow on a planet! A moon of Jupiter can block sunlight from reaching part of Jupiter. A lamp and a block are much smaller, but the same idea helps: something is in the way of the light. Our space picture is not drawn to real size. Never look straight at the Sun.
8. Continue to the worksheet
Video: 2:32
Now try the shadow worksheet below. Opaque means that light does not pass through the object. In each question, find the lamp. Then choose the side away from it for the shadow. An adult can read the words with you. Try Practice Two next. You can answer on screen or print a copy.
Show your understanding
You can point, explain aloud, draw or write.
- Locate a shadow beyond a light-blocking object on the side away from one lamp in a simple straight-line model.
- Explain why moving the lamp to the other side changes the shadow side, then apply the idea to a fresh picture and both worksheets.
Try it yourself
Pause at the round card. The lamp is on its left. Explain which side could catch the shadow and why.
Continue to the worksheet, then Practice Two. Find the lamp in each question before choosing a side. An adult can read the words with you.
Next: your worksheet
Locate a Shadow beyond an Opaque Object - Practice 1https://s3u.com/sr1ag
Practice Two: more shadow pictures · Practice finding shadows
Lesson: https://s3u.com/lessons/follow-a-shadow