Sunny summer days are made for experimenting with direct sunlight and shade. Grade 1 students learn about sunshine and shade, so what better time than head out into the sunshine and try these learning activities.
What is shade?
Shade is comparative darkness and coolness caused by shelter from direct sunlight.
The ice cube experiment
For this activity, you’ll need:
- 4 ice cubes
- A piece of white paper
- A piece of black paper
Head outside to your driveway or sidewalk, and do the following:
- Place one ice cube in the shade of a tree or bush (or even a parked car).
- Place one ice cube in direct sunlight.
- Place one ice cube on the white paper on the ground in direct sunlight.
- Place one ice cube on the black paper on the ground in direct sunlight.
- Now, guess in which order the ice cubes will melt. Then, settle back and watch what happens.
This experiment is a great hands-on opportunity to learn about sun, shade and how dark colors absorb heat for younger kids.
Sunshine and melting worksheets
In our grade 1 science section, we have a set of worksheets for practicing objects that melt in the sun and those that don’t.
Practice shade structures
In these worksheets, students are asked to predict what happens in direct sunlight and in shade.
Draw shade structures worksheets
Students draw shade structures based on the position of the sun in these worksheets.
