Student Worksheet

Shade A Little Sunshine - Activity Instructions

What is as big as you are but weighs nothing at all? Your shadow! In this activity you will explore shadows. You will look at how shadows are made, and you will experiment with creating shadows. You can then create an artwork around the shadow of one of your favourite toys, and then spread a little sunshine by sharing your artwork with your friends and family.

Part A: Background to Shadows

Step 1.

In this activity you will look at shadows. Begin by having a discussion with someone in your family around these questions:

I wonder what shadows are?
I wonder how shadows are made?
I wonder what you need to make shadows?

Take some time to think and talk about your answers. You could then get some help to read the following:

Shadows are the dark shapes that are made when an object stops light from getting through.

You must have a source of light to make a shadow. A source of light could be the sun, a lightbulb, a torch or a fire. All kids of things are great for blocking light, such as trees, buildings and even you!

Optional: Even the earth makes a shadow. This is called an umbra, and it can cause a lunar eclipse when the conditions are right. Usually, the moon looks like it's lit up at night - this is because it is reflecting the light of the sun. During a lunar eclipse it looks like the moon goes dark; however, what is actually happening is that the moon is caught in the earth's shadow (the umbra) for a few minutes.

Step 2.

You are now going to test what kinds of objects are good at making shadows.

Collect a range of objects from around your house. Try to choose things that are made from different materials, like wood, plastic, metal, different types of paper and fabric (you might need some help from an adult to work out what some objects are made from).

Take your objects to a sunny spot, or if you don’t have a sunny spot take your objects to a lamp or somewhere where you can create shadows with a torch. Test each object against the light to see if they make shadows.

You might find that some objects make better shadows than others:

Some materials are opaque, which means they don’t let any light through. These objects will create really strong, dark shadows. Some examples of materials that are opaque include wood, metal, ceramics, cardboard and some thicker plastics.
Some materials are translucent, which means that they let some light through. These objects will create shadows that are softer and lighter. Some examples of materials that are translucent include some fabrics (like gauze and silk), some types of paper (like tissue paper), some types of plastic (like cellophane and clear plastic tubs) and some liquids.
Some materials are transparent, which means that they let lots of light through. These objects will create hardly any shadow. Some examples of materials that are transparent include air, water, glass and clear plastic used for windows or screens.

Step 3.

If you’ve been outside in the sun, take your objects back inside and find a torch and a bit of clear space on the floor. You can now experiment with creating shadows using your torch.

Select one object that created really dark shadows and try to create a shadow on the floor using the torch. Leave the object where it is but move the torch around:

What happens to the shadow when you raise the torch directly above the object?
What happens to the shadow when you lie the torch on the floor close to the object?
What happens to the shadow when you leave the torch on the floor but move it away from the shadow?

Move the torch around and see how the shadow changes. Can you make the shadow move?

Part B: Create a Little Magic

Step 1.

Once you’ve spent as much time as you want playing with and creating shadows it’s time to think about how you can create a little magic with your shadows. You’re going to do this by creating a shadow artwork!

There are a couple of options you can choose from here:

Option 1: Select a range of toys and objects that you really like and take them to a sunny place or a place where you can create shadows. Place some paper on the ground/floor and add your objects along the edge of the paper so that the shadows of your objects land on the paper. Use pencils, markers or crayons to draw the outlines of your objects on the paper. You could then colour-in your shadow drawings and add details like faces, patterns or decorations. This activity could also be completed using chalk on a concrete path.

Option 2: Select a range of toys and objects and take them to a sunny place or a place where you can create shadows. Place some paper on the ground/floor and add your objects along the edge of the paper so that the shadows of your objects land on the paper. Spend some time arranging your objects to see if you can make a shadow scene on the paper. This will mean you have to focus on seeing the shadows in a different way - perhaps not as the shadows of the actual objects you chose but rather as something completely different. This activity could also be completed using chalk on a concrete path.

Note: If you need some inspiration you could look up examples of shadow art on Google Images or YouTube, for example: Artist Creates Art From Shadows Of Everyday Objects

Option 3: You could also make shadow puppets with your hands (or feet!) and draw the outlines of your puppets onto paper.

Option 4: You could conduct a drawing experiment by choosing one object to create shadow outlines at different times of the day. You could do this by using a new piece of paper each time and adding the time to the paper, or you could use one piece of paper and add the shadow outlines to this one piece of paper at different times, recording the times alongside each outline. How do the shadows change?

Step 2.

If you do decide to colour in your shadows, there are different techniques you could choose. You may want to experiment with different colouring techniques, such as hatching, shading or pointillism (see samples below):

Part C: Share a Little Magic

Once you have finished your artwork it’s time to share what you have created. You can do this by:

Talking to a family member about what you learned about shadows
Talking to a family member about the objects you chose for your artwork and why these are your favourite objects
Talking to a family member about how you created your artwork
Taking photos of your work to send to your friends and family
Creating a story to accompany the object or scene featured in your drawing and sharing it with a family member

Extension: You could also call a grandparent or older friend and ask them what toys they had when they were little. If they still have one of these objects, can they create a shadow picture to share with you?

Take it Further

There are lots of stories about shadows, for example: The Day I Met My Shadow | Read Aloud Children's Book

Shade a Little Sunshine (home learning)

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