Light Teacher Resources

Just when you thought you had this figured out! Engage young physicists in an interesting look at the nature of a universal constant with a video, part of a PBS playlist on space time and measurement....

Why can some organisms detect polarized light, but others can't? Scholars observe as the narrator constructs, demonstrates, and explains a simple polarimeter during a video from a larger playlist covering physics. Concepts include how...

The sky appears blue, but why? Humans see the world through the visible light spectrum, but the light spectrum is much larger than what the eye sees. Camera lenses allow people to view the world in ultraviolet, and the changes might...

Efficiency equals money where homes are concerned. A comparative lesson asks learners to measure heat output of incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs. They follow their investigation with calculating the cost of using the two...

The behavior traffic light, a reward system designed to motivate children to control their own behavior, focuses on rewarding kids for behaving appropriately. Behaviors "in the green" earn rewards and privileges, while...

Light and sound are the themes of a unit focused on third-grade skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns, grammar—adverbs, adjectives, synonyms, writing sentences with conjunctions, and listening and responding to read-aloud. Over...

Light and sound are the running themes of a read-aloud anthology. Over three weeks, third graders listen to discuss readings in preparation for completing extension activities. Pupils work through the writing process to compose an...

You matter, unless you multiply yourself by the speed of light ... then you energy. Presentation covers the behavior of light as both a wave and a particle, light versus sound, space travel, why objects have colors, depth perception,...

Explore the behavior of light waves with a lab activity. Scholars build new vocabulary through experimentation and observation. Using different mediums, they model reflection, refraction, transmission, diffusion, and scattering of light.

Grab a partner and shed some light on light. A remote learning resource has scholars play a board game to answer trivia questions about light. They also read about how Einstein contributed to the understanding of light as both a wave and...

Let Einstein's work shine the way. Pupils read about Einstein's iconic equation, E=mc^2, using a remote learning resource and see how ideas from other scientists such as Kepner, Curie, Galilei, and Newton led to its discovery. They...

Middle-school meteorologists absorb information about ultraviolet radiaton and consider the ozone layer. The book that learners are supposed to refer to is not available, so you might want to locate some graphics or posters...

How do light and eyesight function? Read a brief passage explaining the phenomena of light and sight. Then have learners draw arrows showing how a boy in a room with a lamp would be able to see a chair. A mini-experiment suggestion is...

Portraying accurate light in a chalk drawing can be difficult. This useful PowerPoint provides fantastic guidelines to achieve good lighting perspective in a drawing. Three photo examples are provides on slides six, eight, and ten, to...

Here is a stellar slide show for illuminating middle schoolers' minds on the topic of light! An interactive slide allows viewers to sort light sources by whether or not they are man-made. More objects are displayed and learners discover...

Third and fourth graders use this worksheet to help them draw their own version of a fully functioning circuit. They see the battery, the light bulb, and two wires with clips. They must draw the complete circuit, using these elements, on...

What is a watt? This tongue-twisting, mind-bending question and others are answered through this lesson on the different lighting options available. With the support of a PowerPoint, teach your physical science class about units of...

What are the Aurora Lights? NASA has put together a highly informative video explaining the science behind this polar phenomenon. We learn about Earth's magnetism, its interaction with the sun, and how NASA was able to understand the...

A video lesson describes how light absorbs, reflects, and scatters on different surfaces. Pupils learn the result of these different reactions and how humans perceive them.

Beat the summer heat by exploring the properties of color. Scientists view a video explaining the relationship between light absorption and energy transfer using variables including intensity, time, and wavelength. A multiple-choice...

Light, distance, and mathematics come together to help scientists plan for space missions. Groups examine the relationship between distance from the sun and light availability in a hands-on exploration activity. They model the inverse...

Supernovas burn for a short time but can give scientists extensive information about the universe. Learners analyze given data about the change in the light magnitude of a supernova. They look for patterns in the data and use them to...

After investigating visible light and the electromagnetic spectrum learners explain the concept that light can be considered an electromagnetic wave. They give two examples of how engineers use electromagnetic waves, and describe how...

How do lighting types affect energy efficiency? Explore different types of lighting and the energy they use. Pupils learn about types of lights and calculate the energy used during a typical school year. They discover that being...