Science Lesson Plan - Colour and Light Level 2

“A hands on activity is useless if their hands are on but their heads are off” - Skamp 2004

Achievement Objectives:
Level 2 - AO3 - Making Sense of the Physical World: Explore trends and relationships found in easily observablte phenomena

Focus Concept/s:
This lesson provides opportunties for tje children to investigate the colours that constitute visible (seemingly 'white light')

Learning Intentions:
- The children will able to describe a 'spectrum of colour'
- The children will investigate the colours in different forms - prisms, bubbles

Resources:
OHP
x6 prisms
x6 coloured balloons
2 m of bendable wire
x5 trays
Washing Liquid
Sugar
5 torches
12 vivids
Focus Questions Cards
Paper

Lesson Overview: (Engage, Explore, Explain, Expand & Evauluate/Assessment)

Engage
As the children walk in "I can Sing a Rainbow" will play in the background. Also, as the children come in they must collect a piece of paper with a colour (red, yellow, blue, green, purple). This piece of paper corresponds to a coloured balloon of the table that they must go and sit at.
"Today we will be learning about light and colour - Brainstorm on your piece of paper with words or pictures some places that we get light from." The children share ideas from the groups to the class and the teacher records this on the whiteboard. Talk about experiences they may of had.

Explore
For this lesson we are going to look at transmitted light - which is from the sun and light bulbs. "What colour are these sorts of lights?"
Shine a projector onto a white screen - Explain that "usually the light from the sun or a lamp/light looks white. Light that looks white is really a mixture of coloures! This is called a spectrum/rainbow of colours!"
Give each group a prism - look at it with no light then get the children to put the prism into a light (torch). The group look at the prism thoroughly and answer/record the focus question that are on cards on their tables. Report back to the class what each group saw.
Focus Questions:
What does the prism look like when there is no light on it?
What happens when we shine a light on it?
Where do you think the colours come from?

• Bubble people
  Model to the children the contents of the activity.
  "You are going to make a wire person and then figure out how you can show me the colours of the spectrum using the materials you have been given". The gopher collects the materials for their group. The children are given 5 minutes to explore the materials while the teacher wanders around the groups.

Explain
In the groups the children draw exactly what they saw when they made their bubble person. Use crayons to how the colours and write around the person what happened and why you think it happened - spectrum of colours (rainbow). Let the children construct their own ideas from the prior activities.

Expand
Teacher explain that when two rays of light meet they interfere with each other. Some colours cancel each other out and other add together. "Which colours did you observe the most?"

Explain
Each person in the group writes one word/phrase or draws a picture on the balloon from their group to show what they have learnt about light and colour. These could be displayed in the classroom.