Science at key stages 1 and 2    (Year 3)

• recognise that light can be blocked by objects and shadows are formed
• recognise that when light from sources other than the Sun is blocked shadows are formed

• identify eg in drawings that the shape of the shadow is like the shape of the object and is different at different times of day
• explain that the light has been blocked by the object and this is what causes the shadow

• describe what happens to the shadow of the stick during the course of the day eg it gets shorter and then longer again and predict eg by drawing what the shadow will be like at an intermediate time
• make accurate measurements of the length of the shadows
• with help, present results in a table and construct a bar chart

• describe how the position of the Sun appears to change in relation to their classroom (or room at home) during the day

• generalise that when the Sun is behind an object the shadow is in front
• state that the shadows change in a similar way each day and that shadows are shortest in the middle of the day

• recognise that the higher the Sun appears in the sky the shorter the shadow
• recognise the apparent movement of the Sun is due to the movement of the Earth

• describe how a sundial was used to tell the time and explain their limitations in our climate

• predict that the opaque materials will form shadows
• identify results that were unexpected eg the plastic bottle made a pale shadow, the nylon and greaseproof paper let some light through
• make a generalisation eg opaque materials form dark shadows because they do not let any light through, and even transparent materials can make a faint shadow because they block some light