Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Light and Shadow by Susan Ring

Reading Center for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Fill your preschool reading center with books about shadows and the sun.

Snacks for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Shadows are dark. Serve some dark snacks to your preschool students. Examples are:

-raisins
-black olives
-black beans

Concepts for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Letter: Ss for shadow
Number: 6 for the 6 letters in the word shadow
Shape: human body
Color: black

Fine Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Tracing and cutting: Divide your students into groups of two. Have each pair take a turn tracing the other's shadow. Then let each preschool student cut out his or her own shadow with safety scissors. Save the cut outs for the art activity listed below.

Gross Motor Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Exercising shadows: Take your preschool students outside for some exercise. Encourage them to watch their shadows and the shadows of their peers as the do jumping jacks, toe touches and the such like.

Art Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Shadow painting: Using the cut outs from the fine motor activity listed above, have your students paint their shadows with black paint. You might display your class of shadows on a wall.

Songs/Finger Plays for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

(sing to the tune of Ten Little Indians)

One little, two little,
Three little shadows.
Four little, five little,
Six little shadows.
Seven little, eight little,
Nine little shadows.
Ten little shadows in the sun!

Pre-math Center Activity for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

Set out the letters s-h-a-d-o-w that you have previously cut from felt or laminated construction paper. Put out an example of the word shadow for your students to use as a guide. Have them set out the letters, properly spelling the word shadow. Instruct your preschool students to count the number of letters in the word shadow. Now have your preschool students count out 6 human shapes to set beneath the 6 lettered word.

Pre-writing Center Activities for Preschool Lesson Plan: Shadows

For younger students, provide sheets of paper with the letters S and s lightly printed on them. Have the children trace the letters. Do the same with the number 6.

For older students, provide an example of the letters S and s and the number 6. Have the students practice writing the letters and number freehand.

Write the word shadow on your preschool classroom's white erase board. Let your students copy the word shadow on the white board with black dry erase markers.