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Where Does My Shadow Come From? Teaching Inquiry Science to 3-5 year olds. Ann Caspari, Early Childhood Education Specialist Lizzie Cammarata Early Childhood Education Program Specialist. How do 3-5 year-olds learn best?. Children are active, concrete thinkers, and they are curious
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Where Does My Shadow Come From?Teaching Inquiry Science to 3-5 year olds Ann Caspari, Early Childhood Education Specialist Lizzie Cammarata Early Childhood Education Program Specialist
How do 3-5 year-olds learn best? Children are active, concrete thinkers, and they are curious Children ask questions, use their imaginations, and listen to and tell stories
All children participate in different ways. Science connects to real life. Expectations are tailored to individuals. Children work together. The teacher is focused. Guiding Principles
All Children Participate Activities can be differentiated Science is for everyone, not just a few groups of students
Science from Real Life Draws from children’s experiences. Explored directly by children . Explored deeply over time.
Tailored Expectations All children learn at different speeds. Realistic expectations for 3 to 5-year-olds. Made developmentally appropriate for each child.
Children Work Together Children learn from each other. Children help explain and teach at times. Children observe each other.
Focused Teacher Roles Teachers take active and supportive roles, but help students learn from each other instead of telling kids how to do it. Teachers take on specific roles including: • observing • parallel play • facilitating learning from each other
Elements of Inquiry Inquiry-Rich Environment Open Exploration Focused Exploration Documentation Science Talks and Reflection More Exploration and Reflection!
The Difference Between Play and Inquiry Play and Inquiry start with exploration, but inquiry follows exploration with documentation and reflection.
The Difference Between Play and Inquiry Steps of inquiry: • What do children know about the topic? • What are they interested in? • How can this be used to meet curricular goals?
The Difference Between Play and Inquiry Science talks are a crucial part of inquiry science. Students need the lifelong skill of documenting what they have done and reflecting upon their work.
Appropriate Inquiry Science Topics for Young Children • Light and Shadows • Water • Air • Building Structures • Ramps and Motion • Nature
Exploring Light and Shadows • What do we know about shadows? • How can we make shadows? • Moonbear’s Shadow, by Frank Asch
Exploring Light and Shadows • Think about: • How you can change your shadows • How can shadows move? • What different types of shadows can you make? • Create artwork to document your observations. • After, share an observation using the artwork a group member created. What did you notice? What questions about light and shadows do you still have? How was the documentation process helpful?
The Science of Light and Shadows • Three main science goals: • Most objects don’t make their own light. The sun, lamps, flashlights and fires are all sources of light. • Shadows need a light source and an object. The object can block all or part of the light. • Shadows show the shape of an object. Shadows change size based on how close they are to the light source.
What is Light? • Light is a form of energy and travels as a particle and a wave. • Humans see light in 7 different colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet (ROY G BIV). • Almost all objects reflect or absorb the 7 different colors of light. Objects appear to be different colors based on what colors they reflect.
What is a Shadow? • A Shadow is light blocked by an object • The object can block all or part of the light • Shadows change size based on how close they are to the light source
Creating Shadows Opaque objects block all the light. Some objects don’t block any light – like windows. These are called transparent objects. When an object blocks part of the light, but lets part of the light through, it is called translucent. Some translucent objects act as filters, and only let certain colors of light through. These objects create colored shadows.
The Properties of Shadows • The shadow the object creates will be the shape of the object. • Most features of an object are lost in the appearance of the object’s shadow. • The shadow can only change shape if the object changes shape or position, or if another shadow intersects with it. • If the object is close to the light source, it casts a bigger shadow than when the object is far away from the light source.
Open Exploration with Light and Shadows What do your students know about shadows? How can they make shadows? What ways might you expand their interests to help students understand the science goals of light and shadows?
Getting ready for Open Exploration • Week 1: Observing everyday shadows and light. • Point out sources of light and shadows around the classroom, playground, and school • Read a book about shadows and light and discuss what students already know about shadows and light (i.e., Moonbear’s Shadow, by Frank Asch) • Week 2: Intentionally observing shadows • Take students outside and document shadows over the course of the day, then discuss as a class • Let students explore indoor shadows with flashlights and paper, then discuss as a class
Focused Exploration • Children explore/investigate certain questions in depth • Teacher/childcare provider develops environment, materials and science talk to support children in exploring a particular topic or challenge to deepen their understanding.
Science Talks • Before you begin a science talk, observe students as they explore – what are they discovering? • During a science talk, allow students to explain their discoveries • Challenge them to investigate their discoveries even further
Science Talk Ideas Encourage students to draw pictures of the stories they are telling and of the shadows they are creating. Take digital photographs of shadow puppet theater, shadows outside, or “Shadow Dancing” in the classroom. Use these to reflect during a science talk Use your SMART board or over-head projector to create a “shadow matching” science talk Don’t forget the science goals!
Involving Families:Exhibitions • Use children’s reflections, documents and art work to create an exhibit for families about Light and Shadow • Put children’s documents on display in your “museum”!
Focused Exploration: Light and Shadows • Two challenges for Focused Exploration: • Shadow Puppet Theater • Classroom Sundial
Make your own Shadow Puppets! Science, Dramatic Play, Narrative, Literacy Some children may be able to make their own shadow puppets; others may have more success exploring the shadow puppets
Making Shadow Puppets • Give students opportunities to experiment and create their own shadow puppets. • Consider providing: • Pre-cut shapes to glue together • Simple shapes on cardstock for students to cut out and decorate. • You can have puppet-making materials out as a center or make puppets as a whole-group activity.
Focused Exploration: Shadow Puppet Theatre • Shadow Puppet Theatre provides ways to link literacy and science • Science Goals: • Shadows show the shape or outline of an object. • Shadows can change size. • A shadow moves when its object moves.
Choosing a story • Choose a familiar and simple story for students to retell. Consider: • Nursery rhymes • Fairy tales or folk tales • A story used for literacy instruction • Share the story as a read-aloud and also as a shadow puppet story. • After students have created the puppets, place them in the shadow puppet center. • Encourage re-telling the story, but students may want to make up new stories as well.
Focused Exploration: Shadow Puppet Theatre Let your students explore different options! • Stuffed animals or bought puppets • Child-made puppets • Body/hand shadows • 2D and 3D shadow puppets
Focused Exploration: Outdoor Sundial • Helps students understand how shadows can change in nature. • Science goals: • Shadows change in a regular pattern over the day. • The sun is a light source. • One object can have different sizes of shadows.
Classroom Sundial Start with shadow time outside in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon. Use a camera, chalk, stones, butcher paper, etc., to help students see how shadows are changing. Chart questions, ideas, and observations students have. Set aside 30-45 minutes each day to observe outside, replicate inside, and discuss with a small group science talk each day.
Hands-on: Using Sundials Key word: a gnomon is the part of the sundial that casts the shadow. Make a gnomon with clay and a marker or pencil. Can you make short and long shadows? Do you think these shadows are similar to or different from the shadows you and your students will explore outside? Shadows can change not only over the day, but over the year as well. How do you think shadows change from summer to winter?
Lise the Sundial Gnomon • Check out these different shadows Lise casts over the course of one day. • With your children, you probably will not do all your observations on the same day! • Notice how Lise’s shadow changes in size and position. • Also notice the length of her shadow at 11:45am and at 12:15pm. Is it what you expected? What shadows do you expect in the morning, at noon, and in the afternoon?
