Shadows

First grade is learning about what causes shadows. They know shadows are a dark image caused when an object blocks the rays of light. The children had the opportunity to go outside and demonstrate this idea. They worked with a partner to trace their shadows. We also did an experiment in the classroom using a clay ball, pencil and paper. We put a pencil in a clay ball to hold it in place. We taped the ball down to the paper and put it in a sunny place and taped the paper down to avoid any movement. We then traced the shadow the pencil made and labeled the date and time. We continued to do this over a few days at different times and saw that depending where the sun was in the sky, it changed the place and length of the shadow.