Science Activities For Teaching about the Properties of Light

When I teach science I like to have some stations set up for students to rotate through. I find this gives me the chance to meet with small groups to go over concepts and I also find my students easier to manage when they are working in small groups.

I usually make one of my stations a technology station where students do some self-directed learning of the basic concepts. I often use Edpuzzle to make a video quiz. You can learn more about the awesome Edpuzzle website from my post here.

Another stations will be adding their wonderings to a digital wonderwall (or a paper one if that’s your buzz).

Here are some of my other favorite ideas for teaching about the properties of light.

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Properties of Light Activities:

1. This is a simple experiment for teaching about light refraction. It’s called flip an arrow and you can read more about here. It works great for a science center or station.

2. I also like to put this game, Laser Maze, out as a center and I leave it around for students to play at other times when they have finished their work early:
 

3. This one is such a fun activity and incorporates art as well!

4. Teaching about how light creates shadows is important and this is an easy low prep activity:

5. What would a light unit be without teaching students how to power a lightbulb!

6. These light circuits are a fun one for the holidays but of course you can use it at any time!

7. To show that light is made up of the colors of the rainbow:

8. Why is the sky blue? A light refraction experiment:

9. An anchor chart:

10. Another anchor chart for transparent, translucent and opaque:

11. One of the first things I do with my students is brainstorm the sources of light:

12. Then we categorize them into artificial vs. natural:

13. Color Mixing with light:

14. Glow stick light science!

15. Secret message science!