The Virginia Standards of Learning include shadows in the kindergarten science curriculum. In kindergarten students are expected to learn that shadows occur by blocking light. Shadows can be fun to learn about and play with. Here are some great resources I found to help students learn about shadows!
Books
Nothing Sticks Like a Shadow written by Ann Tompert, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
This is a fun book for children to read! Woodchuck bets Rabbit his hat that Rabbit will not be able to escape his shadow. Rabbit spends all day trying to get away, but has no luck. It is not until night falls and the moon moves behind a cloud that Rabbits shadow disappears and he wins the bet!
Shadows and Relections written and illustrated by Tana Hoban
Tana Hoban uses a series of photographs to allow children to explore shadows and reflections. The beautiful photographs will provoke both discussion and questions from young children.
What Makes a Shadow? written by Clyde Roberta Bulla, illustrated by June Otani
This book is part of the Lets-Read-and-Find-Out series by Harper Collins. It is written for kindergarten aged children, so it is right on their comprehension level. What Makes a Shadow? teaches children how shadows are made and even goes into an explanation of night and day.
Guess Whose Shadow? written by Stephen R. Swinburne
Stephen Swilburnes’ book of photographs show children that everything has a shadow. The book invites children to guess what made the shadow, with the answer given on the next page!
Light: Shadows, Mirrors, and Rainbows written by Natalie M. Rosinsky, illustrated by Sheree Boyd
This book is part of the Amazing Science series by Picture Window Books. This is written as a science concept book, but it is written clearly and concisely on the kindergarten level. This book not only discusses shadows but light as a whole, making it a great addition to any units on light.
Interactive Student Resources
- Tigger’s Shadow Shapes– Match objects to their shadows!
- Blue’s Clues’ Shadows— Help Blue figure out what the shadow belongs to!
- My Shadow— An interactive ebook of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, “My Shadow”
- Shadows— A simple shadow interactive to help children understand how light can effect a shadows size.
- Sun, Light, and Shadows— This game allows children to experiment with light to make shadows bigger or smaller, sharper or dimmer, or change the location of the shadow, all by altering the light source!
Additional Resources
- Hand Shadow Puppets— Great shadow puppets to teach to your class!
- Preschool Shadow Theme— While intended for a slightly younger audience, many of these resources can be used in a kindergarten classroom to teach about shadows!
- PEEP and the Big Wide World— This site contains links to four different videos about shadows. Many of the videos give fun suggestions for activities. This site also contains printouts to send home to get parents involved with the learning!
- SteveSongs fun Shadow Song:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/UTq87do94r8" width="325" height="250" wmode="transparent" /]