Light and shadows

Here’s a great primary school resource from BBC schools about light and shadows – it’s a game you can play in groups or as a class.

Before you play the game try out all or some of these introductory activities

Brainstorm a list of things that ‘give out light’. (List everything learners suggest, even if they are technically wrong e.g. the moon – this will be important when they review and evaluate their learning at the end of the lesson.)
Give learners a range of light sources to investigate – e.g. different shape torches, a camping lantern, a candle, a reading light, matches etc. You can provide pictures of those that can’t be brought into the classroom e.g. the sun, streetlights, car headlights etc.
Let children draw some of them, either on the whiteboard or using a drawing programme. For each item, ask the children if they know what they are for, who might use them and how.
Question learners: How are they different? How are they the same? How bright/dull? Do they give off heat?
Provide some 3D shapes like a ball, a cylinder, a cube and let them use the torches to look at the different shadows produced by shining a torch on them. Do different objects produce different shadows? Do the shadows move when they move the torch? You could
Ask pupils to place the object in the middle of a large piece of paper and to draw the shadows as they move the torch around the object.
Create some day or night pictures using drawing software on the computer.
Ask the children to collect pictures of light sources and to bring them into school. Use the pictures to create a class Glog.