Activity
Discovery Education

Through the Looking Glass

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Turning white light into colors only takes a little scientific know how! Young scholars create their own spectroscope in a hands-on activity exploring the properties of light. Using a diffraction grating, they discover how white light...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reflection, Refraction & Lenses

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are able to describe what happens to light when it strikes different materials. They describe the law of reflection. Students are able to explain why a mirror froms a virtual image. They are able to describe diffuse reflection.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water Prism

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students using a glass prism filled with water are able to see all of the visible colors found the sunlight.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reflecting Light

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students are introduced to the reflective properties of light and use mirrors to make light from a source reflect onto a specific target. They take turns and record the amount of time it took to correctly reflect the light.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

THE MANY COLORS OF SUNLIGHT

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine rainbow components, spectral colors, colors perceived by the eye, hot solids, glowing rarefied gas, absorption, that light is a wave, and optics.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Enlightening Explorations, Part III

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders continue their examination of light. In groups, they make rainbows and examine the spectrum of visible light. They travel between various stations recording their observations about the behaviors of light. To end the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lighten Up!

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders observe light as a form of energy, that it can be reflected/bounced, refracted/bent and absorbed. They explore how different types of light affect our lives as a whole. Songs are researched that involve light (ex. "You...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gel-O-Colors!!

For Teachers K - 2nd
What distinguishes the differences between refraction and reflection? Learners identify the properties of light as they mix colored light to create new color variations. As they work they gather data about the properties of light and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

(S-4) The Many Colors of Sunlight

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students observe and explore the characteristics of light.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Rainbow Science

For Students 4th - 5th
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read five paragraphs about the science of rainbows. Students then answer several questions about the reading.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Stations of Light

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Student groups rotate through four stations to examine light energy behavior: refraction, magnification, prisms and polarization. They see how a beam of light is refracted (bent) through various transparent mediums. While learning how a...
Lesson Plan
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Ucar: Measuring Density by Bending Light

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students observe how different materials bend light, and how we can infer the nature of the material based on the amount it bends light rays.
eBook
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Refraction/ray Model of Light: Light Dispersion Prisms

For Students 9th - 10th
A tutorial which introduces students to the dispersion of light in more detail, and investigates the reasons why different frequencies of light bend or refract different amounts when passing through the prism.
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Plix: Color: Light in a Prism

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Explore how light is refracted when visible light enters, passes through, and exits the prism by moving the red dot to adjust the angle of white light shining on the prism.
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Enlightening Explorations, Part Iii

For Teachers 6th
This lesson contains the following labs: Rainbows, Refraction with Prisms, and What Color Is It? Students will study light by reading various nonfiction texts and viewing a video lesson. Then students will engage in the following labs:...
Interactive
University of Wisconsin

The Why Files: Make a Rainbow

For Students 9th - 10th
Make a rainbow by changing angles and placement of the observer, the sun, and the rain.