Language Building Resource

Essential Question: How are light waves similar to and different from
mechanical waves in how they travel and interact?
Scientific and Academic Vocabulary
Preview key words from the lesson with students. For Spanish speakers, point out Spanish cognates.
Key Word Cognate Definition Other Forms
block bloquear to stop things or people from going through or blockade
along a space
blurry something you cannot see clearly blurriness

distortion distorsión change from the normal shape, appearance, or distort

sound of something
perception percepción how people use their senses to notice things

property propiedad a quality or feature of something

range rango a set of values from least to greatest

Building Language
Display the following sentence and have students break it into chunks with distinct meanings:
These waves are classified by their wavelengths and frequencies in the electromagnetic
spectrum, as shown below.
Before exploring the chunks, have students find this sentence in the text or provide it for them.
Ask students what this sentence is about (these waves) and use the sentence before to show that
“these” is referring to electromagnetic waves. Point out that the next verb phrase (are classified
by) is used when something is being placed into groups or categories. This verb is often used in
the passive voice (is/are + classified) because who is doing the classification is rarely important.
Point out that this phrase is often followed by the words “based on,” “according to,” or “by.”
The next chunk (by their wavelengths and frequencies) describes how the waves are placed in
groups. Review the terms “wavelength” and “frequency,” if needed. Point out the possessive
“their” which shows they belong to the waves mentioned earlier. Help students understand that
“spectrum” represents a range of something that changes, in this case electromagnetic waves.
The final chunk (as shown below) is a common phrase used to refer to an image in the text.
Point out the electromagnetic spectrum image located below this sentence in the text and help
students identify the wavelength and frequency represented in the image.

Language Building Practice

Make a list with students of groups of things in science (types of stars, animals, climates,
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materials, etc.) and have them create sentences to describe what factors these groups are based
on. Help students use the phrase “is/are + classified + by/based on/according to.” Provide phrases
for students to choose from if they need more support.

Multiple-Meaning Words
• Her smile was radiant as she walked down the aisle. The Sun emits radiant energy that
warms Earth.

Module: Light • How Light Travels Page 1 of 1

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