Teach students about how the sun creates shadows by making chalk shadows, recommends the Illinois Early Learning Project. Take your preschool students outside early in the day. Mark a spot on the pavement and ask a student to stand on that spot so that a shadow is created on the pavement. Help students trace around the shadow with chalk. Later in the day, take your students back outside to investigate the shadow. Ask the same student to stand in the same spot and see how their shadow has changed. Explain to students that the movement of the sun changes the shadows. Trace around the new shadow.
Show preschoolers how to make shadow shapes indoors. Bring a desk lamp with a moveable neck to class and shine it against a blank wall or overhead screen. Show students how to hold their hands in front of the light to make shapes. Encourage students to make different shapes with their hands. Show students how the shadows change size when students move away from the light.
Explore the difference between light and shade with an outdoor activity, recommends the Illinois Early Learning Project. Take students outside to play on a sunny day. Sit in the shade for a few moments, or create a shaded area with umbrellas. Next, invite students to sit in the sun. Discuss how the sun feels hotter and brighter when students sit in the sun than when they sit in the shade. Use a thermometer to see if the temperature changes in the shade.
Teach preschoolers about light and shadows with a physical activity. Take students outside and encourage them to find their shadows. Ask students to jump up and down and observe how their shadow moves. Next, encourage students to hold their arms out and move them in a windmill motion while observing how their shadows change. Ask students to stand one in front of the other to see if they can see one shadow or two.