Nothing in the universe travels faster than light. (Rumors born in faculty meetings might be a close second, but light wins.) It’s easy to get kids engaged in the study of light. There are loads of light experiments that spark anticipation and wonder … some even feel like magic to young scientists. Like, 👆Why does that perfectly good straw look broken?
And, How can we pop a balloon without even touching it?👇
You can also DIY a little laser light show in your classroom with a can of Lysol and a cat toy! (Any aerosol spray will work, but why not kill a few germs at the same time, right?)
For this light experiment, darken the room and spray the Lysol for a few seconds. You should basically see nothing. Now do it again, but this time aim the laser light into the path of the spray. As the beam of light reflects off the moisture in the Lysol, you’ll probably hear, “Cool!” and “Can WE try it now?”
TIP: The darker the space, the better the results.
And, if you can get enough laser/aerosol donations, students can work in small teams of 2-4 and all together you can create quite a show!
IDEAS FROM PINTEREST
If you’re a first grade teacher and you’re planning a science unit on the study of light and sound, check out this Pinterest board: Light and Sound Science. You’ll find so many great ways to support your science instruction with videos, books, integrated projects, and more.
LIGHT EXPERIMENTS
These SCIENCE LESSONS give children the opportunity to learn how light behaves while learning key vocabulary words like energy, refract, transparent, translucent, and opaque. Each experiment comes with printable recording sheets, picture support, and a science page explaining what they observed.
- Can you flip the fish without flipping the card?
- How can you change the amount of light that can be seen?
- I bet we can pop a balloon without even touching it!
- Whoa … why does that paintbrush look broken?
👉A Fish Out of Water: Refracted light can reverse an image.
👉Let the Light Shine: Is it transparent, translucent, or opaque?
👉Ready, Aim, Pop! A light source can create heat energy.
👉The Broken Straw: Refracted light can split an image.
NONFICTION SCIENCE TEXT
This SCIENCE BOOK, What Is Light?, introduces children to the concept of light and how it behaves. They’ll learn about sources of light, how light travels, and how light impacts our daily lives. Key terms such as energy, source, and waves are emphasized in the text.
STUDENT WORKSHEETS
Ready to print and use, these worksheets👇 help build a foundation for understanding key science concepts about light and provide a connection to other subject areas, such as phonics.
KEY VOCABULARY POSTERS
There are some pretty BIG words for some pretty little learners in this science unit, so I put together FULL-COLOR POSTERS to help children learn, understand, and remember them. Each poster features the key word, a simple graphic, and a kid-friendly definition of the term. The set includes 8 posters for the following key science terms:
- light
- source
- transparent
- translucent
- opaque
- reflect
- refract
- shadow
You can preview more about this science unit👉 HERE. It includes materials for teaching first graders the science behind light and sound, as well as how we use both to communicate with others.
CLICK👇TO PREVIEW RESOURCE
RECOMMENDED BOOK LIST
Check your school or local library for titles to support your science instruction. These are some of the ones I’ve used for read-alouds and to help build my own knowledge base so I could plan richer lessons and activities.
- Shadows by Sharon Coan
- Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From by Franklyn Brantley
- Sending Messages with Light and Sound by Jennifer Boothroyd
- Light Is All Around Us by Wendy Pfeffer
Happy teaching!
MORE SCIENCE POSTS FOR 1ST GRADE
