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Explore Shadows

Teaching Strategies

Week 1: Outdoor Shadows

Curriculum Planner

This week, children will begin exploring their own shadows, along with shadows of other objects that they discover outside. They’ll explore how a shadow’s shape, size, position, and appearance can change.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Morning Circle

25 – 35 minutes

Introduce Shadows

(15 – 20 min.)

Explore and Play: Me and My Shadow

(10 – 15 min.)

Read and Discuss: Nothing Sticks Like a Shadow

(15 – 20 min.)

Explore and Play: Disappearing Shadows

(10 – 15 min.)

Watch and Discuss: Outdoor Shadows

(15 – 20 min.)

Explore and Play: Shadow Letters

(10 – 15 min.)

Read and Discuss: My Shadow

(10 – 15 min.)

Explore and Play: Shadow Tag

(10 – 15 min.)

Watch and Discuss: Shifting Shadows

(15 – 20 min.)

Explore and Play: Shadow Hide and Seek

(10 – 15 min.)

Learning Centers

15 – 30 minutes

Learning Centers
Click here to go to this week's learning centers.

Guided Activity

20 – 30 minutes

Shadow Walk

(20 – 30 min.)

Trace Your Shadow

(20 – 30 min.)

Friendly Shadows

(20 – 30 min.)

Moving Shadows

(20 – 30 min.)

Long and Short Shadows

(20 – 30 min.)

Closing Circle

10 – 15 minutes

Share the Day’s Discoveries

(10 – 15 min.)

Share the Day’s Discoveries

(10 – 15 min.)

Share the Day’s Discoveries

(10 – 15 min.)

Share the Day’s Discoveries

(10 – 15 min.)

Share the Week’s Discoveries

(10 – 15 min.)
Week 2
Day 1

Day 1

Today children begin exploring shadows, starting with their own. 

25-35 minutes

Morning Circle

Time: 15-20 Minutes
Introduce Shadows
Look for your shadow!
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Explore and Play: Me and My Shadow
Let’s take photos of you and your shadow and compare them. 

Learning Centers

Library Center
Read books about light and shadows.
Technology Center
Watch live-action videos about outdoor shadows.
Shadow Museum
Display, explore, and compare pictures of shadows.
Art Center
Create art using shadows.

20-30 minutes

Guided Activity

Time: 20-30 Minutes
Shadow Walk
Identify shadows we see outside every day.

10-15 minutes

Closing Circle

Time: 10-15 Minutes
Share the Day’s Discoveries
Review today’s explorations and ideas about shadows.
Day 2

Day 2

Today children explore how shadows can change. 

25-35 minutes

Morning Circle

Time: 15-20 Minutes
Read and Discuss: Nothing Sticks Like a Shadow
Rabbit bets Woodchuck that he can escape his shadow.
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Explore and Play: Disappearing Shadows
Can you make your shadow disappear?

Learning Centers

Library Center
Read books about light and shadows.
Technology Center
Watch live-action videos about outdoor shadows.
Shadow Museum
Display, explore, and compare pictures of shadows.
Art Center
Create art using shadows.

20-30 minutes

Guided Activity

Time: 20-30 Minutes
Trace Your Shadow
Notice the position, size, and shape of your shadow.

10-15 minutes

Closing Circle

Time: 10-15 Minutes
Share the Day’s Discoveries
Review today’s explorations and ideas about shadows.
Day 3

Day 3

Today, children will make interesting shapes out of their own shadows.

25-35 minutes

Morning Circle

Time: 15-20 Minutes
Watch and Discuss: Outdoor Shadows
Discover different outdoor shadows.
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Explore and Play: Shadow Letters
Use your own shadow to make different shaped letters. 

Learning Centers

Library Center
Read books about light and shadows.
Technology Center
Watch live-action videos about outdoor shadows.
Shadow Museum
Display, explore, and compare pictures of shadows.
Art Center
Create art using shadows.

20-30 minutes

Guided Activity

Time: 20-30 Minutes
Friendly Shadows
Make shadow shapes with a partner.

10-15 minutes

Closing Circle

Time: 10-15 Minutes
Share the Day’s Discoveries
Review today’s explorations and ideas about shadows.
Day 4

Day 4

Today, children will observe that when the sun moves, their shadow changes.

20-30 minutes

Morning Circle

Time: 10-15 Minutes
Read and Discuss: My Shadow
We all have shadows. What are they like?
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Explore and Play: Shadow Tag
Can you tag your friends’ shadows without touching them?

Learning Centers

Library Center
Read books about light and shadows.
Technology Center
Watch live-action videos about outdoor shadows.
Shadow Museum
Display, explore, and compare pictures of shadows.
Art Center
Create art using shadows.

20-30 minutes

Guided Activity

Time: 20-30 Minutes
Moving Shadows
Observe how shadows change position throughout the day.

10-15 minutes

Closing Circle

Time: 10-15 Minutes
Share the Day’s Discoveries
Review today’s explorations and ideas about shadows.
Day 5

Day 5

Today, children try more experiments to observe how shadows change position, size, and shape and how they disappear.  

25-35 minutes

Morning Circle

Time: 15-20 Minutes
Watch and Discuss: Shifting Shadows
Observe how shadows move as the sun moves.  
Time: 10-15 Minutes
Explore and Play: Shadow Hide and Seek
Hide your shadow! 

Learning Centers

Library Center
Read books about light and shadows.
Technology Center
Watch live-action videos about outdoor shadows.
Shadow Museum
Display, explore, and compare pictures of shadows.
Art Center
Create art using shadows.

20-30 minutes

Guided Activity

Time: 20-30 Minutes
Long and Short Shadows
Observe how shadows change size throughout the day.

10-15 minutes

Closing Circle

Time: 10-15 Minutes
Share the Week’s Discoveries
Review the week’s explorations and ideas about shadows.
  1. Peep and friends!
  2. National Science Foundation
  3. 9Story
  4. American Public Television
  5. TVOntario

© 2024 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved. Peep and the Big Wide World and the Peep characters and related indicia are trademarks of WGBH Educational Foundation. All third party trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Used with permission. “Peep,” “Quack,” “Chirp,” “Tom” and “Nellie” were originally created by Kai Pindal for the National Film Board of Canada productions The Peep Show, © National Film Board of Canada, 1962, and Peep and the Big Wide World, © National Film Board of Canada, 1988. Peep and the Big Wide World ® is produced by WGBH and 9 Story Entertainment in association with TVOntario. Major funding for Peep and the Big Wide World is provided by the National Science Foundation. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1222607. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.