Science at key stages 1 and 2    (Year 3)

• that shadows are formed when light travelling from a source is blocked
• to make and record observations and to present information in drawing and writing

• that shadows are formed when objects block light from the Sun
• that shadows are similar in shape to the objects forming them
• that shadows of objects in sunlight change over the course of the day
• to make and record observations of shadows and to try to explain these using knowledge about light

• that shadows change in length and position throughout the day
• to measure the length of the shadow in standard measures
• to make a table and bar chart to show how the length of the shadows changes during the day

• to record and identify a pattern in the observations of the Sun
• that the Sun appears to move across the sky during the day

• that when the Sun is behind them their shadow is in front
• that the Sun appears to move across the sky in a regular way every day
• that the Sun appears highest in the sky at midday
• that the higher the Sun appears in the sky the shorter the shadow

• that the Sun does not move, its apparent movement is caused by the spinning of the Earth on its axis

• that shadows can be used to tell the approximate time of day

• that opaque objects/materials do not let light through and transparent objects/materials let a lot of light through
• to use their knowledge about light and shadows to predict which materials will form a shadow and to plan how to test this
• to compare the shadows formed by different materials and to draw conclusions from their results
• to decide whether the results support their predictions and to use knowledge about shadow formation to explain the conclusions