Kindergarten Shadows Lesson Caiti Hall EDUC /30/09

Topic Science SOL K. 7 What we’re going to do: Eclipses! The student will investigate and understand that shadows form when light is blocked by an object. Key Concepts include: A) Shadows in nature occur when sunlight is blocked by an object; and B) Shadows can be produced by blocking artificial light sources

Exploration Topic Eclipses! Both lunar and solar *Images used under the Creative Commons agreement!

How to Explore… Their will be two groups that will act out each eclipse Each group will run through the activity twice, giving every student the opportunity to participate (and yes, there will be costumes) There will be one student, different each time, that will take pictures during the activity There will also be a student with a large flashlight to show how the shadows look during their respective eclipses

How to Explore… In the afternoon (one per group, during choice time) the teacher will upload the pictures to VoiceThread, and the students in the group will chose the pictures they believe best illustrates their eclipse. There will also be a rough script for the children to read during their voiceovers. The link that is created for the VoiceThread will be sent home to parents, as well, so they can view their children’s work.

On the Final Day… …of the shadow unit, the students will be given the opportunity to present their videos to their classmates. The students will also be given the opportunity to comment on the other group’s presentations. Constructive comments only, please!

Why Technology is Useful For This Activity Personally, I think people often underestimate what kindergartners are capable of understanding. I think they also would get bored with the standard “point - a - flashlight - and - see - the - shadow - activity”. This also gives them the opportunity to deeply explore something they will hopefully see during their lifetime, and when they do, they will have a much better understanding of what is going on.” It gets them up and moving! Kindergartners do not do well with excessive periods of sitting and listening.