Back to the lesson plan builder
Lesson length30 min45 min60 min
Questions🔀 New questions

Print the plan for yourself; the student sheet prints on its own page after it.

Science lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 45 minutes

How shadows form when light is blocked

Light, sound and waves

CCSS NGSS.1-PS4-3England: KS2 Y3 Light

Objective and success criteria

Students will: How shadows form when light is blocked.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Why we need light to see things

Leads to: Make a shadow bigger or smaller; Clear, cloudy or blocking? How much light gets through

Materials: Slinky or rope, Mirrors and torches, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Why we need light to see things). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. A cat's eyes seem to shine in the dark when a car's headlights catch them. Is the cat making light? (No, it is the Moon making the eyes. / Yes, but only at night. / Yes, cats' eyes are light sources. / No, its eyes are reflecting the headlights.) → No, its eyes are reflecting the headlights.Prompt: Would the eyes shine if there were no light at all?
  2. True or false? If you wait long enough in a totally dark room, your eyes will see everything. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Where does the light start, and where must it end?
  3. Why can you see a book on your desk? (Light from a lamp or the Sun bounces off the book into your eyes. / The book makes its own light. / Books glow in the dark. / Your eyes send out light onto the book.) → Light from a lamp or the Sun bounces off the book into your eyes.Prompt: Does a book give out its own light?

Hook · 5 min

  • Ask the class to make a wave with a rope or slinky and describe what moves and what doesn't.
  • Share the objective: How shadows form when light is blocked. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Why is the shape of a shadow the same outline as the object?
  • Step 1: Straight-line light makes a dark shape matching the object's outline.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: Light travels in straight lines, so it is blocked exactly where the object is.
  • Answer: Light travels in straight lines, so it is blocked exactly where the object is.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Why does your body make a shadow on a sunny day? (The ground is dirty there. / The shadow is a reflection of you. / Your body blocks the sunlight. / Your body gives out darkness.) → Your body blocks the sunlight.Prompt: Can light pass through you?
  2. True or false? A shadow forms when an object blocks light. (True / False) → TruePrompt: What does an object do to light to make a shadow?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. True or false? A shadow forms when an object blocks light. (True / False) → TruePrompt: What does an object do to light to make a shadow?
  2. Which of these is needed to make a shadow? (only a dark room / a mirror and some water / a light source and an object that blocks light / a loud noise) → a light source and an object that blocks lightPrompt: Think of shadow puppets: what do you need?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Why we need light to see things.
  • Use concrete materials: slinky or rope.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Make a shadow bigger or smaller; Clear, cloudy or blocking? How much light gets through.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-1.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

How shadows form when light is blocked

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Shadows: which statement is true?

    • A. The shadow of a cup has the shape of a triangle.
    • B. If you move the torch (flashlight) to the left, the shadow moves to the right.
    • C. A shadow shows your face and your eyes.
    • D. Shadows point towards the light.

  2. Question 2

    On a cloudy day with no sunshine, why is it hard to see your shadow?

    • A. Shadows only happen at night.
    • B. The clouds take your shadow away.
    • C. People have no shadows in winter.
    • D. The light comes from all over the sky, so it is not blocked in one place.

  3. Question 3

    True or false? A red ball makes a red shadow.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    Which of these is needed to make a shadow?

    • A. only a dark room
    • B. a light source and an object that blocks light
    • C. a loud noise
    • D. a mirror and some water

  5. Question 5

    True or false? A shadow shows the outline of an object but not its colours.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    True or false? You can make a shadow without any light.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    Why is the shape of a shadow the same outline as the object?

    • A. Shadows are photos of the object.
    • B. Light bends around the object.
    • C. Light travels in straight lines, so it is blocked exactly where the object is.
    • D. The object paints its shape.

  8. Question 8

    Your shadow always points away from…

    • A. the ground
    • B. the nearest tree
    • C. your friends
    • D. the light source

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: How shadows form when light is blocked

  1. 1. B. If you move the torch (flashlight) to the left, the shadow moves to the right.

  2. 2. D. The light comes from all over the sky, so it is not blocked in one place.

  3. 3. B. False

  4. 4. B. a light source and an object that blocks light

  5. 5. A. True

  6. 6. B. False

  7. 7. C. Light travels in straight lines, so it is blocked exactly where the object is.

  8. 8. D. the light source