Curated OER
Shadows & Light, Science & Puppetry
Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...
Curated OER
Light and shadow
Students experiment with light and shadow. In this light lesson, students look at the relationship between shadows and light. They experiment with light source, shadow size, transparent objects and reflective objects.
Curated OER
Me And My Shadow
Students investigate the concept of a shadow. They design a tool to create shadows for an experiment. They make observations and record the size and shape of shadows. The lesson contains background information for the teacher to deliver...
Curated OER
Light And Shadows
Fourth graders explore the properties of shadows. In pairs they trace each other's shadows in chalk and re-draw their shadow outlines every three hours, design their own shadow investigation, and complete various worksheets related to...
National Science Teacher Association
Middle School Sampler: Science
Focus on inquiry-based learning in your science class with a series of activities designed for middle schoolers. A helpful packet samples four different texts, which include activities about predator-prey relationships, Earth's axis...
Curated OER
Light and Optics
Third graders utilize the scientific method to explain light and optics in this five lessons unit. Through experimentation and discussion, 3rd graders canvass the concepts of light traveling, reflection and refraction.
Curated OER
Shadow Ball
Students view a film about baseball and calculate the time required for a variety of operations that take place in baseball. They use the calculations to stage a credible game of Shadow Ball and reflect on the challenges for arranging...
Curated OER
Electromagnetic and Physical Waves
Young scholars compare and contrast electromagnetic and physical waves. In this wave lesson, students discover that all waves reflect, refract, and diffract energy. Young scholars work in small groups to experiment with waves and...
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Physics: Light and Sound
Students explore the concepts of light waves and sound waves. In this physics lesson, students complete activities that require them to investigate how light and sound waves travel.
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Colored Shadows
Young scholars examine how humans perceive color. For this refracted light lesson, students explore the different ways color is seen by the human eye. Young scholars will use colored lights and colored paper and solid objects to make...
Curated OER
Water and Ice
Students explore water. In this water lesson, students explore the physical properties and states of water. They observe how water changes states and document what they see.
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How We See Things
Students investigate how mirrors reflect light. In this reflection lesson, students draw the path of the light reflected from a mirror. Students construct a list of objects that are light sources.
Curated OER
Light 3: All Those Seeing Color, Say Eye!
Students explore the nature of light. They use on-line articles and a worksheet to explore the roles of the eye and brain in the perception of color. They draw and label a diagram illustrating the movement of light.
Curated OER
How We See Things
Students explain that when a beam of light is reflected from its surface, it changes direction. In this virtual science experiment lesson plan, students complete an activity that requires them to investigate how flat mirrors reflect...
Curated OER
The Lighter Side of Color
Students explore light and color, including how colors are mixed to produce new colors, how light is filtered, and how light is reflected off of surfaces. They read materials provided, complete worksheets, and complete hands-on activities.
Curated OER
Indirect Measurement
Students measure and apply their knowledge of proportion to solve problems. In this geometry lesson, students measure using a meter stick, small mirror and measuring tape. They compare and contrast their measurements to objects outside...
Curated OER
How Light Moves
Students study the movement of light. In this light activity, students work in groups to participate in a light and shadow walk around their neighborhood. Students brainstorm rules for light movement and watch videos about light travel,...
Curated OER
How We See Things
Students explain that mirrors reflect light. They examine how when a beam of light is reflected from a surface, its direction changes.
Curated OER
Making Light of Science
Students investigate the electromagnetic spectrum, focusing on visible light. They are introduced to the idea that all light travels as waves, and that wavelength defines the various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
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Using a Sundial
Students examine the use of a sundial to tell apparent time. In this sundial lesson, students watch a teacher demonstration using a flashlight to create shadows. They discuss what happens to shadows of different objects as the position...
Curated OER
What things let Light Pass Through?
Second graders classify objects according to how well light can pass through them and predict how well objects will transmit light. They experiment with objects to verify predictions while collecting, recording, and interpreting data...
Curated OER
To See or Not to See: The Colors of Light
Seventh graders describe and conduct an experiment that identifies the physical properties of light. They explore sources of visible light and an electromagnetic spectrum. Students explain the conversion of one form of energy to another.
Curated OER
Exploring the Night Sky: Fall/Winter
Young scholars explain how moon phases occur. They explain three ways that the night sky has been used through history. Students locate some of the constellations in the night sky. They discuss stories and myths surrounding stars.
Curated OER
How Does Sound Travel As Waves?
Seventh graders participate in a number of activities designed to increase their understanding of how sound is generated and how it travels.