Casting Shadows Across Literacy and Science

Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Subject Area

English Language Arts
Science

Grade(s)

K, 1, 2

Overview

What makes a shadow? Do shadows change? Can a person escape his or her shadow? These and many other questions provide the framework for students to explore their prior knowledge about shadows as fiction, informational texts, and poetry. In this lesson, language arts skills are linked to the learning of science in a literacy-based approach to the study of shadows. Through discussion of the literature on shadows and the use of questioning techniques to probe prior knowledge, students begin to explore scientific concepts and develop and test hypotheses. After studying shadows, recording observations of shadows, and hearing poetry about shadows, students create their own poetic response incorporating their knowledge. The inclusion of poetry in the lesson encourages aesthetic appreciation of scientific phenomena and invites students to observe the world around them from new perspectives.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): KG

ELA21.K.R3

Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

UP:ELA21.K.R3

Vocabulary

  • Background knowledge
  • Vocabulary
  • Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Relating experiences through discussions, reading, and writing will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): KG

ELA21.K.2

Actively engage in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers to build background knowledge needed to be successful as they learn to read and, later, read to learn.

UP:ELA21.K.2

Vocabulary

  • Actively engage
  • Teacher-led reading experiences
  • Collaborative discussions
  • Background knowledge
  • Peers

Knowledge

Students know:
  • How to engage in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers to build background knowledge.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Build background knowledge by actively engaging in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They need to build background knowledge to be successful as they learn to read and read to learn.
  • They need to actively engage in teacher-led reading experiences and discussions with peers to build their background knowledge.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): KG

ELA21.K.3

Actively participate in teacher-led choral and shared reading experiences.

UP:ELA21.K.3

Vocabulary

  • Actively participate
  • Choral reading
  • Shared reading

Knowledge

Students know:
  • How to actively participate in teacher-led choral and shared reading experiences.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Actively participate in teacher-led choral and shared reading experiences.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Actively participating in choral and shared reading activities helps them build their background knowledge and improve their reading fluency, so they can become fluent readers.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): KG

ELA21.K.4

With guidance and support, ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information presented orally, through text, or other media.

UP:ELA21.K.4

Vocabulary

  • Ask
  • Answer
  • Seek
  • Clarify
  • Orally
  • Media
  • Guidance
  • Support

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Questions to seek help.
  • Questions to get information.
  • Questions to clarify information.
  • Common stems for asking questions (i.e., interrogatives like who, what, when, why, and how).

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information presented orally, through text, or other media with guidance and support.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can seek help, get information, or clarify information presented orally, through text, or other media by asking and answering questions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): KG

ELA21.K.22

Use content knowledge built during read-alouds of informational texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through drawing or writing.

UP:ELA21.K.22

Vocabulary

  • Content knowledge
  • Read-alouds
  • Informational text
  • Participating
  • Content-specific discussions
  • Peers
  • Drawing
  • Writing

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Content knowledge gained from read-alouds of informational texts.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Use content knowledge built during read-alouds of informational texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through drawing or writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Their understanding of and appreciation for informational text grows through discussions and active collaboration with others.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 1

ELA21.1.R3

Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

UP:ELA21.1.R3

Vocabulary

  • Background knowledge
  • Vocabulary
  • Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Relating experiences through discussions, writing, and reading will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 1

ELA21.1.2

Actively participate in shared reading experiences and collaborative discussions to build background knowledge and learn how oral reading should sound.

UP:ELA21.1.2

Vocabulary

  • Participate
  • Shared reading
  • Background knowledge
  • Oral reading

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The process of shared reading experiences and collaborative discussions.
  • Shared reading and collaborative discussions can increase their background knowledge.
  • How fluent oral reading sounds.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Participate in shared reading and discussions to build background knowledge and learn new information.
  • Describe how oral reading should sound.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Actively participating in shared reading experiences and collaborative discussions can build their background knowledge.
  • Listening to others read aloud can help improve their oral reading skills.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 1

ELA21.1.3

Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information to confirm understanding in response to information presented in audible, text, or digital format.

UP:ELA21.1.3

Vocabulary

  • Information
  • Clarify
  • Audible
  • Digital format

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Questions to seek help.
  • Questions to get information.
  • Questions to clarify information.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information to confirm understanding in response to information presented in audible, text, or digital format.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can get help, learn new information, or express information they know or have learned by asking and answering questions, depending on the task at hand.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 1

ELA21.1.17

Use content knowledge built during read-alouds of informational and literary texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through drawing and writing.

UP:ELA21.1.17

Vocabulary

  • Content knowledge
  • Read-alouds
  • Informational text
  • Literary text
  • Participating
  • Content-specific discussions
  • Peers
  • Drawing
  • Writing

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Content knowledge can be learned from read-alouds of informational and literary texts.
  • Content knowledge can be shared with others through discussions, drawing, or writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Gain new content knowledge by engaging in read-alouds of informational and literary texts.
  • Participate in discussions with their peers demonstrating their knowledge of content-specific topics.
  • Produce drawings or writing that displays content knowledge learned through read-alouds.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • They can learn new information by engaging in read-alouds of informational and literary texts.
  • They can demonstrate their understanding of content-specific knowledge through discussions, drawing, or writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 1

ELA21.1.37

With prompting and support, write simple poems about a chosen subject.

UP:ELA21.1.37

Vocabulary

  • Simple poems
  • Subject
  • Prompting
  • Support

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The components of a simple poem.

Skills

Students are able to:
With prompting and support,
  • Choose a subject for a poem.
  • Write a simple poem.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Poetry is a genre of writing that includes certain features and usually focuses on particular subjects.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.R3

Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

UP:ELA21.2.R3

Vocabulary

  • Background knowledge
  • Vocabulary
  • Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Relating experiences through discussions, writing, and reading will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
  • Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.4

Orally answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions about a text or conversation, using complete sentences to provide key ideas and details.

UP:ELA21.2.4

Vocabulary

  • Orally
  • Who, what, when where, why, and how questions
  • Complete sentences
  • Key ideas
  • Key details

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Key ideas and details should be included when answering questions.
  • Complete sentences, which contain a subject and a predicate, should be used when answering questions.
  • Who, when, and where questions will have a concrete, objective answer.
  • What, why, and how questions may have a more abstract, subjective answer.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Orally answer questions about a text or conversation using complete sentences that provide information about key ideas and details.
  • Orally answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions about a text or conversation with appropriate key ideas and details.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • When answering who, what, when, where, why, and how questions they should provide key ideas and details from a text or conversation to demonstrate their comprehension.
  • Speaking in complete sentences helps them clearly communicate their message and their understanding.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.22

Use content knowledge built during read-alouds and independent reading of informational and literary texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through writing.

UP:ELA21.2.22

Vocabulary

  • Content knowledge
  • Read-alouds
  • Independent reading
  • Informational text
  • Literary Text
  • Content-specific discussions
  • Writing

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Content knowledge is information learned about a specific subject.
  • Content knowledge can be learned by listening to read-alouds or independently reading.
  • Informational text is nonfiction text, and literary text is fictional.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Build content knowledge from listening to text read aloud and from independently reading.
  • Use content knowledge learned from read-alouds and independent reading in content-specific discussions with peers.
  • Use content knowledge learned from read-alouds and independent reading in writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Content-specific discussions with peers can demonstrate the content knowledge they learned through read-alouds or independent reading.
  • They can produce writings that demonstrate knowledge of content-specific information.
Science (2015) Grade(s): KG

SC15.K.7

Observe and describe the effects of sunlight on Earth’s surface (e.g., heat from the sun causing evaporation of water or increased temperature of soil, rocks, sand, and water).

UP:SC15.K.7

Vocabulary

  • Observe
  • Describe
  • Sunlight
  • Earth
  • Surface
  • Evaporation
  • Temperature

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Sunlight warms the Earth's surface.
  • Know different patterns of relative warmth of materials in sunlight and in shade (e.g., hotter, warmer, cooler, and colder)
  • Materials on the Earth's surface can be investigated (e.g., dirt, sand, water) and described.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Investigate the effects of sunlight on Earth's surface.
  • Observe the effects of sunlight on Earth's surface.
  • Describe the effects of sunlight on Earth's surface.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Sunlight causes an observable effect on the Earth's surfaces including: water, soil, rocks, sand, grass.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Planning and Carrying out Investigations

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect
ELA21.K.R3
ELA21.K.2
ELA21.K.3
ELA21.K.4
ELA21.K.22

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink

License Type

Custom
http://readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/casting-shadows-acro…

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html

Approved Date

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