{"id":272,"date":"2008-09-24T09:48:20","date_gmt":"2008-09-24T14:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/272"},"modified":"2008-09-24T09:48:20","modified_gmt":"2008-09-24T14:48:20","slug":"teaching-earth-science-with-childrens-literature-shadows-and-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/09\/24\/teaching-earth-science-with-childrens-literature-shadows-and-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Earth Science with Children’s Literature: Shadows and Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"shadows11.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a child, were you ever fascinated by a shadow?\u00a0 Shadows are always very exciting to watch as children, especially one’s own shadow.\u00a0 However, there are many shadows that are more difficult to define.\u00a0\u00a0Shadows are all around us, yet are highly overlooked in everyday life. \u00a0Tana Hoban clues children into this phenomena, creating a story,\u00a0Shadows and Reflections<\/a>, that explores the beauty of shadows.<\/p>\n

Tana Hoban’s Shadows and Reflections<\/em>, is a visual experience, that features a variety of photographs. \u00a0These photographs document shadows in daily life. \u00a0Even without the use of text, Shadows and Reflections<\/em> is a very successful story, that is relative to many children.\u00a0 Tana Hoban creates a book that is uniquely tied together in one theme, yet is open to the imagination- without the use of text, the reader can use the photographs to create his own story. \u00a0Shadows and Reflections<\/em> urges children to use their imagination, that clues the reader in on how the world works.<\/p>\n

Shadows and Reflections is exciting in large part to the large range of shadows displayed. \u00a0Hoban features both very obvious shadows and more difficult ones, capturing a large audience. \u00a0\u00a0The book continuously has the reader asking, “What does this represent?” \u00a0She begins with a photograph of a street sweeper, showing his body from his legs down, yet also capturing his full form, in his shadow on the ground. \u00a0Other shadows include a bouquet of flowers and an iron chair, grass on a dune, the planks of a fence, hands playing Cat’s Cradle, a bicycle, sailboats in a marina, and many more!<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nShadows and Reflections<\/em> serves as a great introductory book for a lesson on shadows. \u00a0This book can easily be related to the study of the interrelationships between the earth and space systems. \u00a0Hoban provides a great foundation to teach children that shadows occur in nature when sunlight is blocked by an object (Virginia SOL K.7a). \u00a0Using the range of photographs, it would be great to have children compare the shape and sizes of the shadows. \u00a0During or after reading Shadows and Reflections,<\/em> further questions for discussion may include: How does the size of an object affect the size of its shadow? \u00a0When can you see shadows? \u00a0How does the location of the sun affect the formation of shadows? \u00a0You can test students responses by tracing students shadows with chalk outside on a sunny day! \u00a0Connecting what\u00a0children saw in Shadows and Reflections<\/em>\u00a0to a\u00a0personal, live experience, will have children eager to learn more about shadows!<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n