For the featured breakout Light and Shadows and the Kindergarten idea set — aligned to the 2021 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science (§112.2). Pitched to our youngest learners: observe, sort, sequence, and name.
Recurring themes: patterns, cause & effect, properties.
| Lock | Skill / thinking move | TEKS (aligned to) | Teacher move |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 · Sequence Make a shadow | Order how blocking light makes a shadow. | K.8(B) light is blocked by objects, creating shadows. | Make shadows with a flashlight |
| L2 · Multiple choice What do you need? | Choose light as what we need to see. | K.8(A) objects can be seen only when a light source is present. | Look in a dark box, then add light |
| L3 · Picture sort What makes a shadow | Pick the light-blockers; leave out a true-but-silly fact. | K.8(B); K.1(B) use evidence. | Sort picture cards together |
| L4 · Word Name it | Name what blocking light makes. | K.8(B) / K.3(A) observe & describe. | Say it, then type it (help as needed) |
Pair the breakout with the hands-on Shadow Play challenge — use a flashlight to make and change shadows, then make a shadow puppet. Anchored in K.8(A) and K.8(B) (light, and shadows made by blocking light) plus engineering practices K.1(B), K.1(G).
The More Kindergarten breakouts add one short activity per big idea: sorting objects (K.6), magnets & push/pull (K.7), day & night (K.9A), things in the sky (K.9B), sorting rocks (K.10A), weather (K.10B), air & wind (K.10C), what plants need (K.12A), what animals need (K.12B), and plant parts & growing (K.13A/C).
Design every lesson for all learners: UDL supports (CAST v3.0), ELPS supports for emergent bilingual students, and a lesson-plan guide — each in all seven languages. See also the full standards correlation.
Standards are aligned to, not reproduced from, the official TEKS.