Lesson 5/ Day 5: Light

Concept: Change

Subject: Science

Enduring Understandings:
- Change allows the world around us to be different and new.
- Students understand that energy is based is how things move and change.
- We can see, touch, taste, hear, and feel different kinds of energy all around us.

Guiding Questions:
- What does it mean for something to change?
- How can I use my five senses to learn about different types of energy?
- How does each type of energy cause change?

Critical Content/Standards Addressed:

- S1P1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to investigate light and sound.

Learning Experiences:

Activating Strategy (10 minutes) **Earlier in the day** :

- Tell students that today we’re going to be learning about a new kind of energy. Ask
them: what does the sun help us do? Discuss with students, eventually arrive at the idea
of the sun giving us light. Explain to students that we’re going to think about how light
helps things change (ex: it’s not light all the time, we need light to see, etc.) by tracing
our shadows. Students will do this with a partner on the sidewalk outside. Tell students
we’ll come back later during our normal extension time to see if our tracings have
changes. Ask for predictions.

Activity (20 minutes):

- Follow-up shadow tracing (10 minutes): Take students back outside to trace their
shadows at least a couple hours after the initial tracing. Have them stand in the same
spots and notice what is different about their shadow. Ask students: why did this
happen? Tell students that light is energy we can see.
- Bringing it all together (10 minutes): Once back inside, start an anchor chart about
light. Brainstorm with students different sources of light. Talk about how light energy
comes in waves. How can we see different kinds of change with light?

Closing Strategy (10 minutes):

- Wrap up by reviewing change in general and going over the change we got to see
today. Light changes the world around us! How would our world be different without
it?
- Ask students, as a precursor for the next few lessons on math: How can we see change
in math? Discuss.
Differentiation:
- Some of this lesson takes place outside the classroom, giving students the chance to see
“change” in action. We will be completing activities in partners and as a whole group.

Assessment Strategy:
- Taking pictures of students’s shadows outside
- Recording student thoughts and answers on anchor chart.

Materials:
- Chalk
- Chart paper and markers

Resources:
- n/a