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Science · Ages 7–9 · 55 minutes

Light sources and shadows

Children recognise that we need light to see, sort light sources from reflectors, and explain that a shadow forms when an opaque object blocks light and changes size as the object moves.

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Success criteria

  • I can name light sources and objects that only reflect light
  • I can explain how a shadow is made
  • I can change the size of a shadow and say why it changed

Key vocabulary

  • light source
  • reflect
  • opaque
  • translucent
  • transparent
  • shadow
  • block
  • distance

You will need

  • torches (one per group)
  • a dark box or a cupboard with a small hole
  • a mirror
  • objects for testing (card, tissue paper, clear plastic, a cup)
  • card shapes on lolly sticks
  • a white wall or sheet

Curriculum links

  • Year 3· England

Practice sheets

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The lesson at a glance

55 minutes in all. Timings are a guide: follow your class.

  1. Step 1: Starter

    Put a small toy inside a dark box (or a cupboard) with one small peephole.
    5–10 min

  2. Step 2: Teach

    Sort pictures on the board into two groups.
    10–15 min

  3. Step 3: Guided practice

    Each group gets a torch and a bag of test materials.

  4. Step 4: Independent practice

    Use the practice buttons, then finish with a short labelled diagram of how a shadow forms.

  5. Step 5: Plenary

    Hold up three objects and ask children to show with their hands: flat palm for opaque, open fingers for translucent, a circle for transparent.

  6. Step 6: Assessment for learning

    Do children say that light travels into our eyes, not out of them?

  7. Step 7: Differentiation

    Support: work with only two categories (lets light through / blocks light) and use a sentence frame: "The shadow is big because..." Stretch: measure the shadow at three distances with a ruler and pres

  8. Step 8: Common misconceptions

    "The Moon is a light source." It reflects light from the Sun.

  9. Step 9: Home link

    On a sunny day, stand on the same spot at breakfast, lunch and late afternoon, and chalk round your shadow or take a photo each time to compare.

This lesson starts in the dark, because that is where children discover that we cannot see anything without light. From there, they sort light sources from things that only reflect light, then make shadows grow and shrink with a torch.

1.Starter

5–10 min

Put a small toy inside a dark box (or a cupboard) with one small peephole. Children look in: "What can you see?" Then open a flap to let light in. "What changed?" Lead to the idea: "We need light to see. Light travels from a source, bounces off the toy and goes into our eyes." Eight minutes.

2.Teach

10–15 min

Sort pictures on the board into two groups.

  • "A light source makes its own light: the Sun, a torch, a lamp, a candle flame, a screen."
  • "Some things look bright but only reflect light: the Moon, a mirror, shiny foil, a high-visibility jacket."

Children are usually surprised by the Moon. Say: "The Moon has no light of its own. It looks bright because sunlight bounces off it."

Then make a shadow. Shine a torch at the wall and hold up your hand. "My hand is opaque. Light cannot go through it, so there is a dark patch behind it. That is a shadow." Move your hand towards the torch: "What happens to the shadow?" Then away from the torch. Script: "The closer the object is to the light, the bigger the shadow."

  • sun
  • lamp
  • candle
  • moon
  • mirror
  • lighthouse
Light sources and reflectors: which ones make their own light?

The rest of the plan

Guided and independent practice, the plenary, assessment for learning, differentiation, common misconceptions and the home link are free with a Crayonbird account.

  1. Guided practice
  2. Independent practice
  3. Plenary
  4. Assessment for learning
  5. Differentiation
  6. Common misconceptions
  7. Home link
See the whole plan, free

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