Shadows

Start with something students can look at or think about: a photo, a short video, a jar on the windowsill, or a question like "what do you already know about shadows?" Then let them work through the first item together as a class, then finish the rest independently or with a partner, keeping a word bank or anchor chart in view so the vocabulary stays available. When you review, ask students how they knew, and let them point to the part of the diagram or reading that told them. These shadows worksheets work well as a lead in before an investigation, as a way to capture what students noticed afterward, or as review before an assessment.

These shadows worksheets for 1st grade give students a clear, visual way to work through one of the big ideas in energy sound and light. Students label diagrams, sort and classify examples, read short explanations, and answer questions that ask them to say why, not just what. Each page keeps the science vocabulary front and center so students leave with the words they need to talk about shadows accurately. Working through shadows on paper gives 1st grade students something concrete to hold onto before, during, or after the hands on part of a lesson.

Yes, both. We made it for 1st Grade energy, sound and light, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with shadows. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

First graders learn that shadows are formed when an opaque object blocks a source of light, causing a dark shape to appear on the opposite side. They investigate how moving the light source or the object changes the shadow's size, shape, and direction.

Shadows are typically explored in Grade 1 during a light and energy unit, often with a special outdoor shadow investigation on a sunny day. Connecting shadow study to the movement of the sun across the sky also links this physical science topic to earth science concepts.

On a sunny day, go outside and trace your child's shadow in chalk at different times of the day and compare how it changes. Use a flashlight indoors to make shadow puppets on the wall and ask your child to predict what will happen as you move the flashlight closer or farther away.

13 printable worksheets, all free to preview. Downloads are included with a ClassWeekly free trial, and every page prints on standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

These are written for 1st Grade students, roughly ages 6-7. Many teachers also use them a grade up for review or a grade down as an extension, so use the preview to judge the fit for a particular child.

Yes. Each one shows the NGSS code it covers on its own page, so you can check the alignment yourself rather than taking our word for it.

Yes. Nothing here assumes a classroom of 25, so they work the same one-to-one at the kitchen table as they do in a 1st Grade classroom, a literacy centre, or a tutoring session.