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| Book Activities
Night Cat
Written by Margaret Beames Illustrated by Sue Hitchcock
Published: 2003
From the Publisher:
Oliver the cat lives in a house with a garden, a garden full of light and shadows, full of things that dance and flutter; a garden that comes to life in the moonlight and tempts the young cat to stay outside all night. And so he does. But Oliver's excitement soon turns to fear as he encounters the mysterious and scary sights and sounds of the dark garden. The garden is dark and wet and lonely -- and home is safe and dry and warm. Suddenly, Oliver decides that his owner might be frightened, too, and that it's his duty to go inside to comfort her. And so he does.
Read
 Explain that this is a story about a cat named Oliver. He decides that, rather than going inside for the evening, he wants to explore in the garden. At night everything sounds, moves, and looks strange. Oliver is excited and scared by the dark. In the end he finds a warm home much more comforting. This is a great way to discuss the dark. Talk about what may be scary or exciting about it.
Do
 Have you ever seen your shadow? You can find it anytime you want. All you need is a flashlight, dark room, and a friend.
Have someone stand behind you with a
flashlight while in a dark room. Do you see your shadow? Move around and notice how your shadow moves. Can you find shadows of other things in the room? Do things look different than their shadows? Use your fingers to make different shapes and letters.
View
Arthur Arthur's First Sleepover/Arthur's New Year's Eve (Show 130)
The boys feel a bit uneasy being outside in the dark, due to the recent reports of UFO sightings. Arthur has a hard time staying up to find out what really happens at midnight, on "Arthur's New Year's Eve." Related Activities: Hand Shadows / Memory Book
The World Record/The Cave (Show 504)
Why is Buster walking backwards... and Muffy not talking? They're trying to set world records, of course! Everyone tries to go it alone, but Arthur and the gang discover that working together creates success, fun... and the world's largest pizza! / Stalactites and stalagmites and bats, oh my! Arthur thinks his class trip to the Clark Caves will be really cool... but won't it be, um, dark in there?? Related Activities: High Five / Fear No More
Caillou
The Starry Night (Show 112)
When Rexy and Teddy are left out over night, Rexy spies a huge towering monster. He tries everything to keep himself and Teddy safe, including not letting Teddy look. It takes Gilbert to point out that what Rexy sees is not the eyeball of a huge towering monster, it's the moon. Rexy is dumbfounded and Teddy just a tad annoyed.
After Dark (Show 122)
On a mystical magical night, Rexy decides to hunt the "Spookindoodle," something he has made up. But the dark night and the disappearance of Gilbert and Teddy and mostly Rexy's own imagination scare him into believing there really is a "spookindoodle." It isn't until Rexy finds Gilbert and Teddy hunting for fairies that he realizes the "spookindoodle" still only exists in his mind. When he asks if fairies really exist they answer that nobody knows for sure.
Curious George
The Truth About George Burgers; Curious George in the Dark (Show 19)
George accidentally loses a batch of Chef Pisghetti's newest creation: Giardino Burgers. And they need to be delivered to the Fireman's Picnic right away. Can George save the day by re-creating the Chef's recipe? / Most of the time, George isn't afraid of the dark, but when he explores a mysterious cave, he decides that sometimes the dark can be a little scary. Educational Objectives: To demonstrate the importance of planning and following directions in order to get things done. / To explore how the size and shape of an object's shadow changes depending on the relationship between the location of the object and the location of the light source. Related Activity: Marvelous Meringues
Reading Rainbow
My Shadow
This is an illustrated version of the poem in which a child describes her relationship with her shadow. LeVar introduces children to Sonny Fontana from Venezuela as who creates shadow figures; Andrea Davis, a photographer who talks about light and shadow and then shows how a camera works; and sidewalk chalk artist Hani Shihada who talks about his arts while creating a sidewalk drawing.
Barn Dance
Unable to sleep, a young boy follows the sound of music across the fields and finds an unusual barn dance in progress. Musicians Craig, Billy, Gene and Terry demonstrate their instruments and talk about bluegrass music. Gene Horner makes a fiddle, splitting wood, using tools to shape pieces and then finishes the instrument. LeVar learns about clogging, a folk dance tradition. LeVar takes us to a Tennessee barn dance where cloggers are performing.
Shadow Websites
Light and Shadow
See what the shadows of different objects look like at this interactive site for kids ages 7-8 from BBC Schools. You can even take a quiz to test your light and shadow knowledge. Very cool!
Me and My Shadow Unit
This unit of study for preK-primary grades explores how shadows are made and includes making shadow puppets.
Shadows
This lesson for grade K-2 uses the book Bear Shadow to explore shadow and light.
Modeling Shadows
In this lesson for grades K-2, students students construct models to demonstrate their understanding of shadows.
What Makes Shadows?
In this lesson for grades K-2, students observe and draw the shadow of a classmate.
Projecting Shadows
This online interactive looks at the physics of light and shadow. Not appropriate for younger students, but could be used with grades 5+
Make A Shadow Puppet Theater!
Learn how to make a shadow puppet theatre at this site from Old Sturbridge Village.
Shadow Puppets
This PDF handout will show you how to make four animal shadow puppets.
Shadow Puppets
This site from Family Fun as instructions for creating a shadow puppet theater and show.
Other Book Titles
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen; Illustrated by John Schoenherr (1987)
A young girl and her father take a walk on a moonlit winter night.
Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson; Illustrated by Stephen Savage (2004)
A polar bear cub leaves her warm den to journey though a moonlit night.
Bear Shadow by Frank Asch (1985)
A bear tries to get rid of his shadow!
Barn Dance! by John Archambault and Bill Martin, Jr. (1988)
A young boy discovers that the farm animals have a barn dance in the middle of the night. (Reading Rainbow Book)
Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell; Illustrated by Barbara Firth (2002)
When bedtime comes Little Bear is afraid of the dark, until Big Bear brings him lights and love.
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