This is a hands-on STEM of light vocabulary lesson. It introduces some fundamental language we use when learning about light. Light does different things when it hits different kinds of materials – light can be absorbed (blocked) or transmitted (passed through) or reflected (bounced). Materials can be transparent, opaque or semi-transparent.
Grade Range: 1 to 4
Duration: 1/2 Hour – 1 Hour
Supplies:
- Activity sheets
- A clear plastic bag or transparency
- A piece of cardboard
- A piece of waxed paper
- A set of 3 Light Blox (red, green, blue)
NGSS Connections
PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.
- Some materials allow light to pass through them, others allow only some light through and others block all the light and create a dark shadow on any surface beyond them, where the light cannot reach. Mirrors can be used to redirect a light beam.
