What's that lurking in the shadows? An activity that demonstrates how eclipses happen. Science scholars investigate how light and distance interact to form shadows. The experiment uses simple materials to generate data and observations that scholars use to form and test a hypothesis.

Concepts

shadows, distance, the scientific method, making observations, light, eclipses

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Consider using lab notebooks for experimental write-ups rather than the form provided in the teacher's guide
• Results can be worked into a presentation, complete with colorful project boards to display

Classroom Considerations

• The activity works best in groups but can be modified to an individual assignment
• Early finishers can complete some of the experiment extensions to generate more observations for their conclusion statements

Pros

• The detailed teacher's guide includes printables and a handy materials list
• Procedure allows for modifications to include learners in both middle and high school

Cons

• None