Session 2 grtp lecture 2 light and colour

SESSION 2 GRTP SCIENCELight and Colour

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

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-colourTheatre lights http://www.teachers.tv/videos/theatre-lightsMaking shadows http://www.teachers.tv/videos/ks2-science-making-shadowsSeeing in the dark? http://www.teachers.tv/videos/primary-science-light-how-we-see-thingsHow light travels http://www.teachers.tv/videos/how-light-travelsLight and reflection http://www.schooltube.com/video/29c698fd8c90caed151e/1st-Grade-Science-Light-Reflections

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

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?

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?

Use your projector to bring things into the class room

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.

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?

Refraction

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

Rainbows

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.

Reflections and Shadows Children often confuse reflection and shadow, “a shadow is a

reflection from the sun, but it only reflects the outline” Understanding shadows:

investigations with torches and card in the classroom on bright days, go outside and observe own shadows at different

times of day

think about shadow length and why it changes

children need to recognise that a shadow occurs when a light source is blocked; it is the absence of light

Vision and theories of how we see

Draw a person reading a book – represent the process of how she sees the book. (ask one student to sit at the front of the class and read a book – others look at her and then they all do the drawing)

Draw a person looking at torch light through a mirror – represent the process of vision. (again, place a student at the front of the class, holding a mirror and shine a torch at the mirror from behind her)

Theories of vision – we see with our eyes - the sea of light – the active eye – the passive eye – any others? (ask students, in groups, to explore any other ideas they know about how we see)

Curriculum References

Foundation stage Light ideas NC for KS1 NC for KS2 NC for KS3 Science in an international Light

QCA Scheme QCA Scheme Year 1 Light to See QCA Scheme Year 1 Shiny Objects

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

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.

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 WavelengthLower Energy Higher Energy

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?

Primary Colours We 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

In painting, the primary colours are red, blue and yellow Red + Blue = Purple Red + Yellow = Orange Yellow + Blue = Green Red + Blue + Yellow = Black See here

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?

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

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?

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?????

Organising Science Make notes on how you would organise the following:

1) An initial exploration of using thermometers with a Year 4 class. You have 30 children and 12 thermometers.

2) 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