Activity
Museum of Science

Three Colors of Light

For Teachers K - 6th
It only takes three colors. Using three-colored glow sticks, pupils observe what happens when colors of light mix together. Learners use the material from a red, green, and blue glow stick to mix together. By mixing small amount of the...
Lesson Plan
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NASA

Lights on the International Space Station

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Groups explore illumination with NASA's Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) as a context. Using the TI-Nspire app, groups determine the lux equation that models their simulation. They then use the lux equation to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cameras and Shadows

For Teachers K - 8th
Students discover how light creates shadows by photographing them with a camera.  In this sunlight activity, students utilize the light in the sky to create different shadows of themselves and objects near their classroom,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadow Pictures

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students discover the power of lights, shades, and shadows in this Art lesson intended for upper-elementary/middle-level Art classrooms. Older students may want to experiment by adding more than one silhouette to the Bristol board used...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadow Puppets

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Pupils experiment with the effects that various light and puppet positions have on shadows they make with their hands and arms. They work in pairs to trace their shadows and create puppets with the silhouettes. Afterward, they make...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooler in the Shadows

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow lesson, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun and Earth and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooler in the Shadows

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore how the amount of sunlight and heat change in areas that are shaded.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

UV Beads

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners recognize preventitive measures that can be taken to reduce the risks associated with exposure to solar radiation. They explain why solar radiation can be harmful. They utilize beads that turn color when exposed to UV rays. Good...
PPT
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Curated OER

Solar/Lunar Eclipses and the Seasons

For Teachers 5th - 7th
How do the moon, sun, and Earth line up to create eclipses? Why do the seasons change throughout a year? The answers to these questions are explained through this series of slides. This apt presentation outlines information using bullet...
Unit Plan
American Institute of Architects

Architecture: It's Elementary!—First Grade

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Build an interest and appreciation for architecture in your young learners with this fun 10-lesson art unit. Engaging children in using their five senses, the class first observes the environment around them, paying...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mixed Breed Fantasy Animals

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Ever seen a crockapeep or a giraffule? How about a catmel? Elementary school artists are encouraged to let their imaginations roam and create images of imaginary creatures by combining parts of two or more animals,
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Only the Shadow Knows

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students become familiar with the causes for formation of shadows. They create shadows, compare the size and shape of the shadow with the actual object, engage in shadow play theatre, and discover what happens to shadows when there is...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light 3: All Those Seeing Color, Say Eye!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadow Puppets

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students examine the role of shadow puppets. They create their own puppet and put on a play.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shadow Play

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students investigate shadows.  In this shadows and technology lesson, students listen to the book Ten Grouchy Groundhogs or Gretchen Groundhog, It's Your Day! and discuss how shadows are made.  Students match objects to their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chinese Shadow Puppets

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore Chinese culture by performing a shadow puppet play. They create the puppets, develop a script, and rehearse and perform a play which illustrates an understanding of Chinese stories and traditions.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Light Travel Times

For Students 10th - 12th
In this travel time of light worksheet, students read about the NASA satellites and space probes that transmit radio signals at the speed of light across huge distances. Students solve 3 problems about data transmission from space to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Self and General Space in Dance

For Teachers K - 5th
Students explore the different themes and strategies of dancing by performing in class.  In this physical education lesson, students practice moving specific joints and muscles as they train to perform a dance.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Silhouettes

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore the challenges of creating a silhouette. In this silhouette lesson, students learn to produce a silhouette from a projected image. Students compare and contrast the making of a silhouette to a drawing or painting.
Lesson Plan
BBC

Sound and Hearing

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
First and second graders recognize that sound is generated in a variety of ways, and that it comes from many different sources. They explore tone and volume, realizing that there are different ways to describe sound. Some musical...
Lesson Plan
Memorial Art Gallery

Art Alive! - Beach at Blue Point

For Teachers 1st - 12th
And then what happened? Class members engage in a series of activities that model for them how to read the story in a painting. Participants respond to questions that ask them to closely examine the elements in William Glackens'...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Antonia: During Reading Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Home in on the quote on this page to explore setting, the author's and character's voices, and plot in Willa Cather's My Antonia. Pupils draw a picture of what is described in the quote, discuss the content, and make connections to their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Science of Shadow Puppets

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the art of shadow puppetry. In this performing arts activity, students study the functions of lighting in the puppet theater as they examine the transmission, absorption, and reflection of light. As a culminating...
Activity
Scholastic

Groundhog Day

For Teachers Pre-K - 5th Standards
A simple activity for a simple, but special, holiday. Young learners read a brief history of Groundhog Day, practice reading aloud, and then discuss how shadows are formed.