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| Investigating
Light and Color Related Subjects: Science, Visual & Performing Arts Grades: 3-5 Medium: Drawing Author: Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Education Department Class time required: One 50-minute class session  read/post
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 In this one-session lesson, students investigate the properties of light. They begin with an exploration of the visible light spectrum and follow up with an investigation into the primary colors of light. back to top   • Flashlights • White paper • Colored cellophane or filters blue, green, red) • Old CDs • Colored pencils or markers • Small objects (blocks, balls, corks, etc.) • Prisms (optional) • Glossary terms: electromagnetic spectrum , primary colors of light , primary colors of pigment , prism, visible spectrum • Background for the Teacher (PDF, Size: 16kb) • Color Wheel (PDF, Size: 1.9mb) • Images Online Materials
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• Read Background for the Teacher (PDF, Size: 20kb) to familiarize yourself with the scientific concepts behind this lesson. It is important to note that the primary colors of pigment (red, blue, and yellow). The Color Wheel (PDF, Size 1.9mb) demonstrates the primary and secondary colors of pigment. • If necessary, ask students to bring a flashlight from home. • Cut pieces of colored cellophane and tape them over the front of the flashlights. • Students will need to shine their flashlights against a white surface. If needed, tape sheets of white paper to the wall. back to top 
1. Begin with a class discussion to find out what students already know about light and color. What color is light? What makes a rainbow? 2. Give each group of students an old compact disc (CD) and ask them to spend 5-10 minutes looking at light from several different sources (lamps, flashlights, sunny window, etc.). Show them how to tilt the CD to produce a “rainbow” on the surface. 3. Ask the students to record the colors of light they see in their “rainbow.” They can use colored pencils or markers to draw what they see. 4. If prisms are available, give a prism and flashlight to each group. Show the students how to produce a “rainbow” using the prism. 5. After 5-10 minutes, ask each group to share some observations. Make a list of the colors the students observed. Ask them to think of other places they have seen “rainbows” (bubbles, puddles, sky, etc.). 6. Introduce the idea that white light is composed of different colors of light. Have students practice the ROY G. BIV mnemonic device to help them remember the order of the colors in the visible light spectrum. 7. Give each group of students three flashlights covered with red, green, and blue cellophane. Show them how to shine the flashlights against the white wall. They should start with one color of light and then shine a second flashlight so the two colors overlap. 8. Have students experiment with all possible combinations of two colors. Ask them to use colored pencils or markers to draw the circles of color they see. (They should pay particular attention to the areas where the different colors of light overlap.) 9. When students are finished exploring the two-color combinations, they should shine all three colors of lights on the white paper so that the circles of color overlap in the middle. Have them draw and label the colors that they see. They should observe that the area where all three colors overlap is white. (Note: the degree of “whiteness” will vary depending on the quality of the flashlight and the cellophane.) 10. Give each group an object to place in front of the wall in the “white” area formed where the three colors overlap (or have one student put his/her hand in the center of this white area). Have them experiment with moving the object closer to or farther from the wall until they can see distinctly colored shadows. 11. Have the students turn off one of the colored flashlights and observe the effect on the shadow. Ask them to repeat this step with a different light turned off. They can draw and label their colored shadows using colored pencils or markers. 12. When the students have completed their investigations, have a class discussion of the group findings. What new colors were made when the blue and red lights overlapped (magenta)? What about the combination of blue and green lights (cyan) and the combination of red and green lights (yellow)? 13. Challenge the class to think about why the wall appeared white when all three colors of lights overlapped. Remind them of the opening activity in which they discovered that white light is actually made up of many colors. How might this explain why the overlap of multiple colors of light produced white light? 14. Discuss the students’ observations of the colored shadows. Were you surprised that the shadows were different colors? Why do you think this happened? 15. Explain that red, blue, and green are the primary colors of light and they combine to make all of the other colors of light. (Note: the primary colors of light are different than the primary colors of pigments.) When an object is placed in front of the colored lights, the shadows appear cyan (blue-green), magenta (hot pink) and yellow. These are the complementary colors of light. Turning off one or two of the colors of light changes the colors of the shadows. Extensions Science: Have the students repeat the activity using different colors of paper as a background. Visual Arts: Have students mix the primary colors of paint (red, blue, and yellow) and compare the additive properties of paint to those of light. (See Session One in Abstract Portrait lesson plan) Visual Arts: Have students look at the artwork images. Initiate a discussion about the artworks and label the primary colors of pigment. back to top  • This activity works best if overhead lights are dimmed or turned off. back to top  CA Content Standards Third Grade Science 2c Light has a source and travels in a direction. The color of light striking an object affects the way the object is seen. 5d Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction. 5e Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion. Fourth Grade Science: 6b Measure and estimate the weight, length, or volume of objects. 6c Formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships. Fifth Grade Science: 6b Develop a testable question. 6d Identify the dependent and controlled variables in an investigation. Third Grade Visual Arts: 1.5 Identify and describe elements of art in works of art, emphasizing line, color, shape/form, texture, space, and value. Fourth Grade Visual Arts: 1.5.1 Describe and analyze the elements of art (color, shape/form, line, texture, space and value), emphasizing form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment. Fifth Grade Visual Arts: 1.3 Use their knowledge of all the elements of art to describe similarities and differences in works of art and in the environment. back to top  Teachers Rutgers University List of elementary school science lesson plans. A to Z Teacher Stuff List of elementary school science lesson plans on the subject of shadows and light. NASA Scientific explanation of visible light rays and the electromagnetic spectrum. Students Fowler, Allan. All of the Colors of the Rainbow. New York: Children’s Press, 1998 Gardner, Robert. Experiments with Light and Mirrors. Springfield, NJ: Enslow Publishing, 1995 Gibbons, Gail. Sun Up, Sun Down. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1983 Graham, Joan Bransfield. Flicker Flash. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999 Miller-Schroeder, Patricia. The Science of Light and Color. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2000 Murphy, Bryan. Experiments with Light. Princeton: Two-Can Publishing, 2001 Riley, Peter D. Light and Color. New York: F. Watts, 1999 Rosinsky, Natalie M. Light: shadows, mirrors, and rainbows. Minneapolis, Minn: Picture Window Books, 2003 Zubrowski, Bernie. Mirrors: Finding out about the properties of light. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1992 Colorworm Explains Color An interactive student Web site that teaches about the visible spectrum, the color wheel, and the painter’s palette. back to top |
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Red Blossom Alexej von Jawlensky |
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