This document provides an overview of concepts and lesson ideas for teaching a unit on light and color. It includes objectives, linked standards, video links and concepts to cover such as light sources, how light travels, reflection, absorption, refraction, shadows, vision, and primary colors. It also discusses organizing science lessons and addressing issues of equality, disability, and religion. Potential student investigations and assignments are outlined.

1. Session 2 GRTP Science Light and Colour

2. Objectives To become familiar with the curriculum for light and colour To consider ways of approaching this topic in the classroom To understand the issues involved with organizing science lessons To identify issues about equality, disability and religion Linked Standards: Q10, Q14, Q15, Q18, Q19, Q25a, Q30, Q31

3. Video links Light show-clip introduces topic http://www.teachers.tv/videos/light-show Colour and art : does colour affect mood? http://www.teachers.tv/videos/the-mix-art-store-2-colour Theatre lights http://www.teachers.tv/videos/theatre-lights Making shadows http://www.teachers.tv/videos/ks2-science-making-shadows Seeing in the dark? http://www.teachers.tv/videos/primary-science-light-how-we-see-things How light travels http://www.teachers.tv/videos/how-light-travels Light and reflection http://www.schooltube.com/video/29c698fd8c90caed151e/1st-Grade-Science-Light-Reflections

4. Concepts to Cover Light sources Light travelling Reflection, absorption, refraction Light and Dark and Shadows Light travels in straight lines Vision - science and children’s ideas of how we see Colour workshop

5. Light sources Where do you think light come from? As a group try to identify sources of light – make a group list. Children could do this through drawing. Sort out the sources into different types. What criteria can you use for sorting? How is moonlight different from sunlight? What sort of light is lightning?

6. Light Travelling It’s hard to think about light “travelling” – we can’t see “light” itself As light travels so fast, hard for children to appreciate that it travels at all: Lighthouse Example; Bulb Signal Flashing Use a torch and mirrors with your group to investigate how light travels. Can you make light travel from a torch to one mirror and then another? What stops light travelling? How far can light travel? Thought Experiment – Candle in a darkened room. Where does the light go? How far does it go? What stops it?

8. Use your projector to bring things into the class room

9. Reflection Any shiny surface can reflect light Play with the mirrors and torches Investigate looking into bendy surfaces, concave and convex mirrors Explain to a partner what you think happens.

10. Absorption Some materials can let light through – Some materials stop light passing through– Some materials change the light as it goes through – Which word describes each? Opaque or translucent or transparent?

11. Refraction Refraction – when light travels in to a different medium, its angle of direction changes (spoon in water)

12. Rainbows

13. Light and Dark and Shadows How can we help children experience darkness as the absence of light? (see video) What differences are there between a shadow and a reflection? (In pairs, discuss and identify differences and similarities, share with whole class) Set up a torch, object and screen to investigate how shadows change when torch, or object are moved. (Group activity, check they have sufficient torches and darken the room) Prediction and Hypothesis? What do you think will happen? Why? Because light travels in straight lines.

16. Colour Ideas What ideas do you think children in KS1 have about colours? Discuss in groups Traffic Lights Paint Mixing Rainbows and White Light Colour in Life – flowers attract insects, peacock feathers, butterfly wings

17. Colour Filters Look at a white object through a blue or red filter – what colour does it appear? Look at coloured objects through different filters. What do you see? Explore colour activities for children, e.g. chromatography, colour vision, making white light with torches and colour filters, camouflage.

18. Light and Colour The spectrum of colours is: When all the different wavelengths (colours) are mixed together, this is experienced as white light. Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet Longer Wavelength Shorter Wavelength Lower Energy Higher Energy

19. Light and Colour Prisms can split up white light in to its constituent colours because of refraction. Water as a Prism - Rainbows Filters can remove all the wavelengths except for one. Are green objects really green?

21. Red + Blue = Purple

22. Red + Yellow = Orange

23. Yellow + Blue = Green

24. Red + Blue + Yellow = Black

25. See hereWe have cones in our eyes for red, green and blue. These are the primary colours for mixing light. Green + Blue = Cyan Red + Blue = Magenta Red + Green = Yellow Red + Green + Blue = White

26. Issues and science What opportunities exist for dealing with Equality? How should children be grouped for science lessons? Ability? Achievement? Gender? Pairs? Some significant research suggests “mixed ability works best. How can children with disabilities be included in science? Partially sighted? In wheelchairs? Hearing impaired? How do religions deal with Light? The moon and Islam? Christianity “Let there be light”. Hindu festival of lights? Others?

27. Adult level science in DA2 You need to justify why your investigation is at adult level – you could do this by: - Adding some adult references to science text books or web sources And By planning the investigation in a way that suggests adult thinking, e.g. by considering a number of factors, by reflecting on the accuracy, by presenting complex data

28. Other Investigations Predicting which materials light will best shine through? Measuring this with a light meter. Explore with a partner other factors that might be involved. Investigating vision – how well do you see with your right eye versus your left eye? How could you tests this? What would make the test adult?

29. Previous student assignments Check out some BlackBoard materials which show (edited versions of) previous student assignments. What do you think of them? Which one would pass? Which is worth M level? Which one would fail? And why?????

30. Organising Science Make notes on how you would organise the following: An initial exploration of using thermometers with a Year 4 class. You have 30 children and 12 thermometers. An investigation in to how the height of a ramp effects how far a toy car travels with a Year 2 class. You have ramps, blocks, toy cars, chalk and measuring tape. You have 30 children and a small classroom. Other Issues: Assessment, Differentiation, Use of ICT, Gender Issues. Discuss possible issues that might arise in your own class