The shortest day has gone, yet it is still grey and miserable outside and some may feel that the Sun has abandoned us. As we move into the new year and daylight hours lengthen each day, I am ever the optimist! I thought I’d share six great activities for teaching light to primary school students.
Light
Children often think that they can see in the dark because bedrooms are rarely devoid of all light. This activity, highlighted by Anne Goldsworthy at last year’s Primary Science Conference, is a lovely way of assessing, understanding and developing thinking skills. Children make a tube out of a sheet of black cardboard and look down it, as you would a telescope, making sure the tube is firmly on the table. Ask them what they think they will see before and say what they have learnt after. A simple but effective way of showing that without light we cannot see. Make a small pinprick in the side of the tube near the bottom and shine a torch through the hole and look down it. Try turning the tube the other way and see if it makes a difference. This presentation shows different sources of light and includes an activity with feely bags which may also be used to help illustrate this point.
Modelling Light
Try modeling light using a ribbon as shown in this short demonstration, which illustrates that light travels in a straight line from a light source, reflects off an object, and then enters the eye. This model can help to address misconceptions and further understanding of this concept.
Making Shadows
Why not have a look at how shadow puppets can be used to explore light, shadows and storytelling. This video shows different characters appearing and disappearing, helping to illustrate how shadows are formed and how they change when objects are put in front of a light source. Children could make their own puppets to tell a story or work scientifically to investigate what happens to shadows when the light source moves further away or closer to the puppet.
Periscopes
A periscope is a device that enables us to see over walls or round corners. This is because rays of light hit the mirror of the periscope and are reflected twice. The beam of light is reflected through 90 degrees, because the mirrors are at a 45 degree angle to the path of the light ray. This hands-on activity provides a template and instructions to create periscopes, which children can then explore and explain how they work.
Light Teachers’ Guide
Light is a tricky topic for many children and is open to many misconceptions. This guide for teaching the topic details the SPACE approach in which children explore from their own experience and ideas. Containing many ideas for activities, it also provides detailed explanations of the topic with advice and guidance on effective teaching approaches. Examples of children's work provide a sound basis for assessing conceptual understanding and planning for progression. This highlights progression in learning and possible misconceptions that may arise when teaching this topic.
The World's Biggest Shadow
Finally this series of activities uses the context of Tim Peake’s mission to think about the World’s Biggest Shadow. A lovely context for learning about light and shadows from the viewpoint of the astronauts on the International Space Station. Now, who can tell me how many sunrises Tim will see in 24 hours? Post your answers on this blog.