Teaching Activities with The Dark by Robert Munsch

The Dark by Robert Munsch was one of my favorite picture books as a child. I've always been thrilled by dark and weird stories, and a book about a shadow-eating blob was fascinating to a young Dara. Imagine eating a shadow? What would it taste like?

The Dark by Robert Munsch

ENGAGE

• Read The Dark by Robert Munsch

• Ask students to imagine what life might be like if there were no shadows. Would that even be possible?

• If it's not too spooky for your group, read the book in the dark with a flashlight. After you finish reading, students can take turns making shadow shapes with their hands.

EXPLORE

• Give students a few minutes to choose two or three portable objects that they think could make an interesting shadow.

• Go outside.

• Give everyone markers and a piece of paper. Ask the students to position their objects so they cast a shadow on the paper. Use the markers to draw and colour the shadows, making some interesting shadow art.

• It would be fun to mix up all the objects and have everyone guess which object made which drawing.

EXPLAIN

Depends on what you're teaching.

• Science: get into the science behind shadows, the sun, propagation speed, and dimension (fog shadows are interesting!).

• Art: techniques for drawing shadows.

• Creative writing: shadows are often used in writing to communicate spooky events or nefarious dealings. Read some spooky examples.

EXTEND

• Art: Try drawing a scene without shadows and then draw the same scene with shadows.

• Creative writing: Your character is walking home when suddenly they see a shadow! What does the shadow look like? How do they respond?

• Here are some more shadow ideas: Light and Shadow Experiments for Kids – Inventors of Tomorrow

• Do you know any cool shadow activities? Leave a comment :)