Materials
- Flagpole or suitable alternative
What to do
1. Use the school flagpole as a kind of weathervane. Take the children outside on sunny and cloudy days. Point out how shiny the flagpole is when the sun is shining and how the sun makes the pole cast a shadow on the ground. When it's cloudy, the pole doesn't shine and does not cast a shadow.
2. Remind children to "check the pole" to get a hint about the weather each day.
3. Ask the children what else might reflect sunlight and cast a shadow, for example cars, street signs and mailboxes. Encourage them to find something outside their homes to look at each morning to determine if it is sunny or cloudy.
More to do
- Games: Play shadow tag.
- Outdoors: Go on a "shadow and reflection" walk to find objects that reflect sunlight and/or cast a shadow.
-Suzanne Pearson, Winchester, VA
