SHADOW PLAY

A bunny rabbit playfully hops across the wall. Then hands realign and fingers shift to make a hawk soar toward the ceiling. Most children have enjoyed the delightful experience of playing with shadow puppets. The authors build on this natural curiosity to help students link shadows to complex astronomical concepts such as seasons. The inquiry-based lessons discussed in this article come from the authors' work with fourth- and fifth-grade children as they investigate properties of shadows. In these lessons, students observe shadows through various activities and at the same time, learn about seasonal change. (Contains 10 online resources.)