Sunlight & WarmthNGSS* K-PS3-110–15 min

Sun & Shade

How warm sand, water and rock get in the sun and in the shade. A narrated sunlight lab for kindergarten.

Open the lab Try the free lab

“Sun and Shade! Find out how warm sand, water, and rock get in the sunshine.”

Trays of sand, water and rock in a sunny yard, some in the shade of a tree

In the lab

What your child does

Sets out sand, water and a rock in the sun and in the shade, feels them before and after a sunny morning, and records each one as cool, warm or hot on a chart. Then they compare, and use what they found to decide what should go in the sun or the shade.

1
Wonder
Sand that sat in the sun all morning feels hot. What made it so warm?
2
Guess
Will the sand in the sun or the sand in the shade get warmer?
3
Test
Six trays drop into place (sand, water, rock × sun, shade). Feel one first: everything starts cool. Tap the sun to make the morning pass (the sun climbs, the clock runs to noon, heat haze rises off the sunny trays). Feel all six; a chart fills with cool, warm or hot stickers.
4
Think
Which got warmer, sun or shade? In the sun, which warmed the least? (Water.)
5
Sun or shade?
Where should the ice pop, the wet towel and the puppy go? A wrong choice shows why (the ice pop melts), then fixes it.
Badge
The big ideas in a sentence, a badge, and a printable lab record.

Two picture buttons: sand in the sun and sand in the shade — Guess: sand in the sun or sand in the shade?

The sun high over trays of sand, water and rock — Test: tap the sun to make the morning pass

A chart of cool, warm and hot stickers for each tray — Think: cool, warm or hot stickers on a chart

An ice pop, a wet towel and a puppy placed in the sun or the shade — Sun or shade? Where should the ice pop go?

The standard

K-PS3-1*

Children make observations to find out what sunlight does to Earth's surface (sand, soil, rocks and water). Temperature stays relative: cooler, warmer, hot. No numbers.

Core idea: Energy
Science practice: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Grade: Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Read K-PS3-1 on nextgenscience.org

For grown-ups

Talk about it

"Why does the slide feel hot in summer?"
"Where would you sit on a hot day?"
"Why did the water warm up less?"

Try it for real

On a sunny morning, put two cups of water, two dishes of sand and two dark stones outside, one of each in the sun and one in the shade. Feel them at lunchtime. (Check the sunny ones first: a dark stone can get very hot.)

Sunlight & Warmth