Compare My Shadows — draw and write

Compare My Shadows: illustrated shadow activity worksheet with space for children’s ideas

Look, then try.

Stand two toys in the same pool of light, side by side. Make a tracing or a drawing of each shadow so you can look at them together. A round ball throws a round shadow; a tall thin pencil throws a long skinny one. Furry edges come from fuzzy toys, and wobbly edges can appear when the light is close and everything gets bigger and blurrier. Say what you notice out loud: the same light, two very different shadows. There are no wrong answers when you describe what you see.

Start drawing and writing below

Open the worksheet to print or save

Move lamps and torches with dry hands and keep them away from curtains and paper. Never look straight into a torch or the sun, and never stare at bright light. A grown-up dims the room and stays nearby, and an adult comes outside with you. Rest your eyes often, and nothing goes near your mouth.

Pen colourPen size

Use a finger, stylus or mouse in each drawing box. Type below it, or ask a grown-up to write your words. Your work stays in this tab. Save before refreshing or leaving.

ACTIVITY 1

Choose my pair

Pick two toys and stand them in the same light. Draw both shadows side by side.

Toy one's shadow looks…Toy two's shadow looks…

ACTIVITY 2

Same and different

Look closely at your two shadows. Draw or write one thing that is the same and one thing that is different.

They are the same because…They are different because…

ACTIVITY 3

Swap the light

Move the light to a new spot and look again. Draw how your two shadows changed.

When the light moved…The biggest change I saw…

Your ideas belong here. There is no score.

What are we learning?

A shadow's shape comes from the object's shape and where the light stands. Comparing two shadows and naming what stays the same and what changes is careful scientific observation.