Light and Shadow Explorers
Prep/K–2 Inquiry Resource Bundle
Why do shadows change?
A shadow stretching across a path or changing shape on a wall can spark so many questions.
Light and Shadow Explorers invites children to look closely, test their ideas and discover how light, objects and position work together.
Created for Prep, Kindergarten, Foundation and Years 1–2, this coordinated bundle combines an illustrated information magazine, a student inquiry journal and a practical Companion Guide.
Explore together in classrooms, small groups or home learning, with room to follow children’s interests and return to discoveries over time.
What’s included
Resource |
Format |
Inside |
Information Magazine |
30 colour A4 portrait pages |
Simple explanations, watercolour illustrations and invitations to investigate light sources, shadow size, shape and position, different materials and outdoor changes. Includes step-by-step shadow-puppet instructions and a glossary. |
Student Inquiry Journal |
24 black-and-white A4 portrait pages |
Generous unlined spaces for questions, predictions, plans, observations, comparisons and reflection. Features Sprout, Willow Wisp and Brainy, with playful details to colour. |
Companion Guide |
12 colour A4 portrait pages |
Practical invitations, conversation prompts, care guidance and page links connecting the magazine and journal. Includes support for adapting experiences to children’s readiness and ways of communicating. |
66 pages across three coordinated PDF resources.
What children can explore
Children are invited to:
Find and describe shadows in familiar places.
Notice the light source, the object blocking the light and the surface where a shadow appears.
Investigate what happens when they move a torch, move an object or turn it.
Compare materials that block light or let some light pass through.
Trace shadows and revisit the same outdoor object at different times.
Compare records and distinguish observations from possible explanations.
Make a shadow puppet and create a story using their discoveries.
The language introduces ideas gradually, connecting new words such as opaque, transparent and translucent to materials children can explore with an adult.
A flexible inquiry journey
The bundle follows six connected inquiry engagements:
Immersion: Look closely and make room to notice.
Interest: Follow a wondering and choose a question.
Investigation: Plan, test, observe and record.
Integration: Connect clues and revisit thinking.
Imagination: Create a puppet, model or shadow story.
Inspire: Share a discovery and listen to others.
These engagements can be revisited as questions grow. There is no fixed timetable or expectation to complete every journal page.
Different ways to make learning visible
Children can draw, point, talk, build, demonstrate or take photographs with help. Someone can record their words, keeping their ideas central while writing skills are developing.
The Companion Guide helps educators and families consider comfort, movement, materials, communication and their own pace.
It draws on the Kind Connections Learning 5 Step Implementation Flow to support responsive noticing, planning and reflection.
Using the bundle
Begin with a shadow that catches the child’s attention. Share a relevant magazine page, choose a journal prompt and explore one question together.
Indoor investigations invite children to change one thing at a time and repeat their tests. Outdoor observations encourage them to return to the same object, recording the time and conditions so they can compare what changes.
Experiences use accessible materials such as a cool LED torch, wooden blocks or toys, card, paper, chalk, string and a ruler. Materials are supplied separately. Adult supervision is required, including support with cutting and choosing safe observation spaces. Keep torchlight out of eyes and never look directly at the Sun.
Digital download: Three printable PDF files in A4 portrait format. No physical product is supplied.
Follow a shadow, explore a question and make time to look again.
