Make a shadow puppet for Halloween

In this fun activity for kids, students will make a shadow puppet using card, craft sticks and sticky tape.

Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation. Visible light is the range of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be seen with the human eye. The brightness, or intensity, of light is typically measured as the power per unit area. Any object that blocks the path of light causes a shadow.

Activity: Make a shadow puppet for Halloween

This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within design and technology and science. This resource focuses on making shadow puppets and developing supporting knowledge about the relationship between light and shadow.

This could be used as a one-off activity in D&T or science and is designed to be carried out individually.

The ‘character’ for the puppet made by each learner could be based on personal preference or could be linked to learning in literacy – for example, a character from ‘Wind in the Willows’ if that book is being studied. If linked in this way, the activity could be carried out in small teams, with each team member making a different character from the story. Additional time could be allowed to research the character for the puppet.

The shape of the puppet could be taken from the associated handout, from outlines of images found on the internet, or drawn by hand by the learners.

This is an engaging and practical exercise for KS2 that will develop students’ science knowledge and encourage their creativity.

Download our activity sheet for a step-by-step guide on how to make your own DIY shadow puppet!

How long will this activity take?

This activity will take approximately 20-40 minutes to complete. It should be noted that there are options presented in the activity sheet which could extend the time needed to carry out this activity.

Tools/resources required

Parts and components:

• Card (photocopies of handouts, if used)
• Masking tape
• Craft sticks
• Tracing paper (for screen)
• Large boxes (for extension activity)

Tools and resources

• Scissors
• Torches

The engineering context

Engineers need to understand how light behaves when designing products for many practical applications. For example, when designing buildings, they may consider the provision of windows and artificial lighting; and when designing cars, they may consider the power and position of both internal and external lights and the placement of mirrors.

Suggested learning outcomes

By the end of this activity students will know that blocking the path of light causes a shadow and to be able to use scissors to make a graphic product.

Download the free Make a shadow puppet for Halloween activity sheet below!

All activity sheets and supporting resources are free to download, and all the documents are fully editable, so you can tailor them to your students’ and your schools’ needs.

The activity sheet includes teacher notes, guidance, useful web links, and links (where appropriate) to the national curriculum in each of the four devolved UK nations; England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

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