Inquiry Based Elementary Science Lesson My Very Own Rainbow!

Science Third Grade

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Title Subject: Grade Level: Creator: Source: Essential Question: Tagged Content Standards and Objectives My Very Own Rainbow! Science Third Grade Colleen Shipley cshipley@access.k12.wv.us TLI 2010 Inquiry Based Lesson Plans Why do objects have color? Standard Content of Science Application of Science Application of Science Objective ID Objectives

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SC.O.3.2.10 relate how the color of an object is based upon the reflection of light. SC.O.3.3.4 SC.O.3.3.9 given a set of objects, group or order the objects according to an established scheme. listen to and be tolerant of different viewpoints by engaging in collaborative activities and be willing to modify ideas when new and valid information is presented.

21st Century Skills Thinking and Reasoning Skills: 21C.O.3-4.2.LS3 - Student engages in a problem solving process that promotes questioning, planning investigations and finding answers and solutions.

Personal and Workplace Skills:

21C.O.3-4.3.LS4 - Student appreciates, accepts and works cooperatively with others, in both academic and social contexts, shares responsibility for continued improvement of the academic performance and climate of the school, and exhibits ethical behavior while working alone or communicating with others.

21C.O.3-4.3.TT6 - Student selects appropriate technology tools and resources needed to communicate information to others, to achieve personal goals, and to support independent learning.

Integrated subjects:

RLA.O.3.1.01 identify and practice appropriate sight words and content vocabulary. Vocabulary development should occur throughout the entire lesson. RLA.O.3.2.04 develop proper paragraph form in written composition: beginning, middle, end main ideas with relevant details sentence variety such as declarative, interrogative and exclamatory and imperative

descriptive and transitional words indentations The students will write a paragraph or more after they finish creating their own rainbow. Science A white light source, such as an incandescent or fluorescent bulb, produces light made up of Misconceptions/Incomplete only one color. Understandings: When white light passes through a prism, color is added to the light. When white light passes through a colored filter, the filter adds color to the light. White light is colorless and clear, enabling you to see the "true" color of an object. When a colored light illuminates a colored object, the color of the light mixes with the color of the object. Light reflects from a shiny surface in an arbitrary manner. Light is reflected from smooth mirror surfaces but not from non-shiny surfaces. Light shines on a translucent material and illuminates it so it can be seen. Light does not travel from the translucent material to the eye. Light always passes straight through a transparent material without changing direction. Materials: A Rainbow of My Own Author: Don Freeman Publisher: Penguin Group ISBN-10: 0812427165 ISBN-13: 978-0812427165 Materials for opening activity: Teacher will collect different colored objects (such as red, blue, green, and yellow) to use when the students are exploring and sorting. The colored objects can be anything, for example, small toy cars, balls, pencils, erasers, and crayons. The teacher will create different colored signs to wear (such as red, blue, green, and yellow) around the teachers neck and use yarn to attach colored signs to wear around the teachers neck (red, blue, green and yellow) Materials for rainbow activity: 8oz cups one per group Water to fill cups White paper one per group Flashlights one per group Masking tape Other various materials : Alphabox graphic organizer found at http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/AlphaBoxes2.html Poster board for word bank Markers to write on word bank Post it notes to use to add to word bank Classroom word wall Popsicle sticks with student names written on the sticks Computers http://www.tuxpaint.com This is a free website. Reflective journal - The students can use a notebook, notebook paper, or a teacher created page. An example of a teacher created journal paper can be found at Reflective Journal 3-2-1 chart can be found at : http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/3-2-1.html Resources: A Rainbow of My Own Publisher: Penguin Group ISBN-10: 0812427165 ISBN-13: 978-0812427165 The opening activity was adapted from a journal article that can be found at:

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/chemistry/faculty/bruxvoort/Photon%20Model%20NSTA.pdf The website as to how to create a rainbow can be found at: http://www.opticalillusion.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/how-to-make-a-rainbow-at-home/ The assessment includes using a free website: http://tuxpaint.com This is the link to the expansion activity: http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/science/light/index.html The teacher can find an explanation of what a photon is at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/photon 3-2-1 chart can be found at http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/3-2-1.html A full explanation of color and light can be found at: http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter19/color.html Differentiated Instruction: Students are arranged in heterogeneous groups of two or three. Pairing students with learning needs with advanced students is preferable, an equal number of boys to girls per group is recommended. Whole class discussion and small group work to complete project. When working on computers students can work in pairs. Each student is responsible for the success of the whole group. Every student in group has a specific job linked to the success of the group. Some vocabulary words that need to be addressed are photon, reflection, refraction, light, color, and rainbow. Vocabulary development needs to occur during the entire lesson. At the beginning of the light unit, teacher would create a word wall to document all of the learned vocabulary for the unit. For this particular lesson on light, students would create a word bank. This word bank is not teacher directed. As the students work in small groups, the teacher should walk around and listen for vocabulary words that need to be written in the word bank. If a student says a word that needs to be written, the teacher should direct the student to write the word on the word bank using a post it note. At the end of the unit, the words on the word bank should be transferred to the classroom word wall so that they can be reviewed periodically during the year. Another vocabulary strategy to use is an Alphabox. As the students write vocabulary words on the word bank, they should transfer the words to their Alphabox. The teacher can print a teacher created Alphabox or the students can create their own. A teacher created Alphabox graphic organizer can be found at: http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/AlphaBoxes2.html The Alphabox can be kept separate or inside the student Reflection Journal. Engagement: Launch/Introduction: The teacher will read A Rainbow of My Own. As the teacher is reading the book, inquiry based questions should be asked to the students.

Science Vocabulary Development Strategies:

The teacher should not give answers to any question that is asked to the students. An example of a question would be, What do you notice about the rainbow on each page of the book? The answer could be that all of the colors of the rainbow are always in the same order. The book does contain some misconceptions that should be pointed out to the students. In the book the rainbow follows the child and plays games. The teacher should point out the difference between fact and fiction parts of the book. Exploration Lab Investigation: Students will complete the investigation, My Very Own Rainbow. They will complete the sorting activity, hands on activity creating a rainbow, write their thoughts in their Reflective Journal, and go to a website for creating a rainbow and reflective thoughts. Students should always be adding words to their alpha boxes. The teacher will move around the room assessing students progress and learning. Students will complete a 3, 2, 1 (3-2-1 chart can be found at http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/3-2-1.html) when the lesson is completed. The teacher will use the provided My Very Own Rainbow Rubric for evaluation. The students at the end of the lesson should be able to explain why objects have color. Specific vocabulary words that need to be understood are photon, reflection, refraction, light, color, and rainbow. The students will create a rainbow using http://www.tuxpaint.org. The rainbow should have the correct colors and they should be in sequential order. The students will be required to write a paragraph or more explaining what they have learned about why objects have color. Exemplars of the Reflective Journal may be reviewed. The students will also be assessed as to how well they participated in the group activities. The rubric for assessment can be found by following this link: My Very Own Rainbow Rubric. The students can try to create a rainbow using other objects in the classroom or at home. The student can go to http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/science/light/index.html and complete the online activities. The main goal of this lesson is for students to learn why objects have color. The students will need to have prior knowledge of the reflection and refraction of light by objects. The teacher needs to understand the vocabulary word photon. Refer to: http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/photon as a reference. The teacher should begin by reading the book A Rainbow of My Own. The teacher should engage the students in a discussion while reading the book. The teacher should ask inquiry based questions to the students. The teacher should clear up any misconceptions that the book may have. After the teacher finishes reading the book to the class, the first activity will begin. The teacher will need to pair students up with a partner. The teacher should group students that will be able to work together as a pair. The teacher should also take into consideration student achievement level. The students will complete the sorting activity with their partner. The teacher should allow the students enough time to sort the objects several different ways. When the students are finished, the partners can share how they sorted the objects. Next, the teacher and a student volunteer can complete the sorting activity. The teacher should be wearing a colored sign around her neck. The teacher should be passing the student volunteer the colored objects that are the same color as the sign around her neck. The other colored objects should be kept by the teacher showing that they are being absorbed.

Explanation:

Evaluation/Formative Assessment Task:

Expansion:

Teacher Notes:

The teacher needs to make sure that the students understand this concept before the activity is over. The students should be giving time to reflect in their reflective journal at this time. The students can also transfer vocabulary to their Alphaboxes. An Alphabox is a graphic organizer that lists the alphabet that is available by following this link http://wvde.state.wv.us/strategybank/AlphaBoxes2.html. The students should list vocabulary words under the letter that it begins with on the graphic organizer. The next activity is the students creating their own rainbows. The students should be grouped into groups of 4 or 5. The teacher should have groups already set before the activity begins. The teacher should group students by ability to work together and by achievement level. The students should complete the rainbow activity in their groups. The teacher should be walking around and monitoring each group. The teacher needs to observe how students are participating in the groups as for this is part of the final assessment rubric. When the students are finished with the rainbow activity, they should reflect in their Reflective Journal. The students should be giving an opportunity to share their Reflective Journals as a group. The teacher can pick popsicle sticks with the students name on them to randomly choose students. If a group finishes before other groups, they can try to create a rainbow using different classroom materials. The final activity is for the students to go on http://tuxpaint.com and create their own rainbow. This is a free website that allows students to draw and type. The students should draw a rainbow using the colors in the correct sequence. They should also write a paragraph or more explaining why objects have color. If a student finishes before others, they may log onto http://www.learner.org/teacherslab/science/light/index.html and complete the online activities and complete the online activities. At the end of the lesson, the students should be given a 3-2-1 chart to assess what has been learned and any questions that may still need to be explored. Files Uploaded Resource Files UP3778WS2.doc (http://wveis.k12.wv.us/Teach21/CSO/Upload/UP3778WS2.doc) UP3778WS3.doc (http://wveis.k12.wv.us/Teach21/CSO/Upload/UP3778WS3.doc) UP3778WS4.doc (http://wveis.k12.wv.us/Teach21/CSO/Upload/UP3778WS4.doc) UP3778WS5.doc (http://wveis.k12.wv.us/Teach21/CSO/Upload/UP3778WS5.doc) Key Word Search Fields Photon Reflection Refraction Light Color Rainbow