Working with wire…

My class had been playing with shadows for some time, exploring using the overhead projector (OHP), torches in darker corners, playing in the courtyard chasing their own shadows in the sun, etc. Then one child, fascinated by silhouettes, asked me to take a photo of them in front of the OHP to see what they looked like…and a mini project had begun!

We took pictures of shadows, of both the children and their parents, then printed them out for the children to have a look at. I then introduced thin wire (of different thicknesses) and showed the children how to manipulate it. Over the course of several days, the children chose a picture and had a go at creating the silhouette out of wire. This was trickier than it seemed and took lots of perseverance but everyone got there in the end, trying out different ways to bend the wire and helping each other out if needed. Some children wanted to add the features to their wiring, so they chose materials from the invention centre to add to their work. Lovely results and lots of fun and learning in the process!!!