George’s Hidden Sign
Shared Reading Books · Science · Year 3George and Lucy build a tabletop maze for their class challenge. At the final bend, a cardboard wall hides Lucy’s red circle sign. George cannot see which way to go without peeping over the wall. “Could we look around the corner instead?” he asks Mr Hill.
Mr Hill gives them a small unbreakable mirror. At first, George holds it at an angle that shows the classroom ceiling. He tilts it slightly. Now he sees his own jumper. The mirror is working, but it is not pointing in a useful direction.
Lucy holds the red circle around the bend while George changes the mirror’s angle. Suddenly, a red shape appears in the reflection. “Stop there!” Lucy says. George can see the sign even though the straight view between his eyes and the sign is blocked.
Light from the bright room reaches the red sign and is reflected from it. Some reaches the mirror, which reflects it towards George’s eyes. The mirror changes the direction of the light. The mirror does not produce its own light; it reflects light already in the room.
They compare the mirror with a piece of dull card. Mr Hill helps George shine an ordinary torch towards a white sheet, away from faces. Both surfaces reflect some light, but the smooth mirror can give a clear image. Dull card does not show the same clear reflection.
George draws the maze corner and uses lines to show a simple light path. Mr Hill reminds him that light travels in straight lines between reflections. The drawing is a model. It helps explain how a change of direction lets George see around the obstruction.
Lucy takes a turn at the other end. The sign disappears when the mirror is nudged. She adjusts it until the red circle returns. “The angle matters,” she says. George adds a small stand so the mirror will stay in the position they found.
During the class challenge, their friends reach the final bend and notice the mirror. They solve the maze without climbing over its walls. George grins at Lucy. The hidden sign was always there. A careful change of direction made it possible to see.