National curriculum content
- Recognise that we need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light.
- Notice that light is reflected from surfaces.
- Recognise that light from the Sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect the eyes.
- Recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by a solid object.
- Find patterns in the way that the sizes of shadows change.
Lesson objectives
- Explain that dark is the absence of light
- Understand that light is reflected from surfaces
- Recognise that shadows are formed when a light source is blocked
- Recognise that shadows are formed when a light source is blocked
- Understand how a shadow is made and how it changes
What we want children to know
- The names of different lights sources and describe what darkness is
- Smooth and shiny surfaces reflect light
- Which surfaces reflect and can describe what their reflection looks like in a mirror
- Objects are reflected in a mirror
- Classify materials and predict which will make the darkest shadow
- How a shadow is made and say how they can change
What skills we want children to develop
- Make some systematic and careful observations and take accurate measurements
- Carry out light and dark experiment and draw conclusions
- Use results to draw simple conclusions and make justified predictions
- Use their observations and scientific language to describe how a shadow is made
- Report and present findings from enquiries
- Communicate their own explanations from questions that they have asked and answered
Vocabulary
dull, explanation, light source, mirror, observation, opaque, reflect, shadow, shiny, translucent, transparent