In this Mystery, students experiment with ways to bring light and warmth to a cold place where the sun doesn’t shine throughout the winter.
In this activity, students working in pairs reflect light into shadow, bringing warmth to a paper town called Chill City.
To prepare for this activity, you’ll need a way to cast good shadows on student worksheets. Most classrooms have overhead lights designed to create even, shadow-free illumination. You’ll need to turn off those overheads and find another way to cast shade on Chill City.
If you have a bank of windows that will be brightly lit when you do this activity, you may be able use them as your light source. To see if this will work, fold up the edge of a piece of paper, turn off the overhead lights, and see if you get a shadow on the page, like this:
If your window isn’t bright enough, a table lamp with no shade can work well as a source of “sunlight.” Put the lamp on the floor and have students sit in a circle around it.
You’ll need:
Cut report covers and construction paper into 8 equal pieces, like this:
For each pair of students, assemble an envelope of supplies containing:
In this Mystery, students experiment with ways to bring light and warmth to a cold place where the sun doesn’t shine throughout the winter.
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DISCUSS:
How could you bring the sun’s light and heat to this town? You can’t move the sun, but is there a way to move the sunshine?
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In this Mystery, students experiment with ways to bring light and warmth to a cold place where the sun doesn’t shine throughout the winter.
In this activity, students working in pairs reflect light into shadow, bringing warmth to a paper town called Chill City.
To prepare for this activity, you’ll need a way to cast good shadows on student worksheets. Most classrooms have overhead lights designed to create even, shadow-free illumination. You’ll need to turn off those overheads and find another way to cast shade on Chill City.
If you have a bank of windows that will be brightly lit when you do this activity, you may be able use them as your light source. To see if this will work, fold up the edge of a piece of paper, turn off the overhead lights, and see if you get a shadow on the page, like this:
If your window isn’t bright enough, a table lamp with no shade can work well as a source of “sunlight.” Put the lamp on the floor and have students sit in a circle around it.
You’ll need:
Cut report covers and construction paper into 8 equal pieces, like this:
For each pair of students, assemble an envelope of supplies containing:
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You've completed the Exploration & Activity!
If you have more time, view the assessment, reading and extension activity in the optional extras.
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These online books are free for educators registered on Epic!:
Temperature: First Science by Kate Manolis discusses temperature and its effects. (Age 5-7)
What Does Sunlight Do? by Jennifer Boothroyd describes the role of sunlight in bringing light and warmth to the Earth. (Age 5-7)
Keeping Cool in Summer by Rebecca Felix is an interactive book about the many ways we stay cool in the summertime. (Age 7-9)
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Show students a news report about the real town of Rjukan, Norway that inspired the activity for this lesson.
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With these activities, students can investigate how to make a hot place colder (the opposite of our Mystery!):
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Please follow these steps: