Developmental Lesson Plan 3

Teacher Candidate: Jessica Godshall Date: September 22

Group Size: 18 students Allotted Time: 50 minutes Grade Level: 3rd

Subject or Topic: What is refraction?

Common Core/PA Standard(s):

3.2.3.B5. Recognize that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or travels from
one material to another.

Learning Targets/Objectives:

● The third-grade students will describe how light refracts by completing a graphic
organizer throughout each experiment.

Assessment Approaches: Evidence:

Basic - Student completes most of the graphic organizer. All five questions are answered
describing at least two aspects of predictions, observations or conclusions.

Below basic - Student completes less than half of the graphic organizer. Not all five questions
are answered and/or less than two sections of each question were completed.

Subject Matter/Content:
Prerequisites:
● Light - a form of energy that you can see
● Ray - a straight path or beam of light.
● Reflect - to bounce or throw back
● Absorb - to soak up
Key Vocabulary:
● Refract - to make (light) change direction when it goes through at an angle
● Prism - a transparent glass or plastic object that usually has three sides and that
separates the light that passes through it into different colors
 ● Spectrum - the group of colors that a ray of light can be separated into including red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet : the colors that can be seen in a rainbow
● Wavelength - the distance from one wave of energy to another as it is traveling from
one point to another point
Content/Facts:
● Light is refracted when it passes through different mediums.
● White light is split into different colors when it is refracted in a prism.
● Each color of light has a different wavelength.

Introduction/Activating/Launch Strategies:
● Read Red Sings from Treetops.
● Say, “Based on our book today, are there any guesses of what we might be learning
about today?” (Colors) “That’s right. Remember at the beginning of the week, we
answered a question about how we thought you would see an apple in the dark. We
said that you would not be able to see the apple’s red color, because you need to light
to see color. Today we are going to be learning about how our eyes are able to see
color.”

Development/Teaching Approaches
● “Have you ever noticed how a straw looks bent in a glass of water? This is called
refraction, which is the way light bends when it passes through something. Refraction
happens because light travels at different speeds through water. Light slows down by
about 25 percent when it moves from air to water. As it slows down, it changes
direction- it bends, or refracts.
● “Light can travel through different mediums. When light shines into glass, water, or
plastic, it refracts. Can you think of any other materials that light can pass through, and
that causes it to refract? Turn and talk to your table group and see if you can come up
with some examples. Who would like to share them?
● “The amount the light bends depends on the type of medium it travels through. For
example, light moves more slowly through glass than through water, so light refracts
more when moving through glass than when moving through water.”
○ Model with two glasses, one with water, and one with oil. Have students predict
in their graphic organizers what the straw will look like as you stick it into the
glasses. In the water, the straw will be bent. In the oil, the straw will almost
disappear. This is because light moves even slower through the oil and it is
refracted in a way that makes it difficult to see the straw. Have students write
their observations.
○ Have students work in small groups. Have one student draw an arrow on a
sticky note, and place it on the wall above a counter. Have students write
predictions in their graphic organizers of what they think will happen if they
move a water bottle in front of the arrow. Once students have written their
answers, have them test it out by moving the bottle in front of the arrow. Have
students write their observations.
○ Refraction will cause the arrow to appear to be pointing the opposite direction.
Explain to students that as light travels through a substance and refracts, it
becomes concentrated into a focal point, usually near the center. After light
 passes through the focal point, the rays cross over each other and cause images
to appear reversed.
● Say, “Like all waves, light waves have a wavelength; That’s the distance from crest to
crest. The crest is the highest point on a wave. Our eyes register different wavelengths
of visible light as color. The main colors we can see have been defined as red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. People can see thousands and thousands of
different colors. We stick with those seven just to keep things simple. All of the colors,
or wavelengths, of visible light combine to make white light.
● “Light looks white to us, but it’s really a combination of colors. Objects absorb
different amounts of light energy. The grass and leaves in your yard looks green
because it absorbs those red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo and violet waves but reflects
the green ones. The green waves bounce into our eyes and we see the grass as green.
● “Practically any color can be made from mixing the primary colors of light – red,
green, and blue. When these colors overlap they produce new colors of light. Mix all
three primary pigment colors together, and you get black.
● “What do you think would happen if you mixed all the colors together? Would it
appear like black or like white? Write your prediction on your graphic organizer.
○ “We’re going to create a color spectrum model that is going to help us discover
what will happen if we mix all of the colors together.”
○ Give students white cardstock circles, markers, a hole punch, a ruler and yarn.
○ Have students divide the circle into seven equal segments, and color each
segment a different color of the color spectrum.
○ Use the hole punch to make two holes near the center of the circle, about a
centimeter apart. Thread the yarn through the holes and tie it at the end so that
on each side of the circle there is a loop.
○ Hold on to the ends of the yarn with a finger in each loop. Flip the disc over the
string several times to make it twisted. Then alternate pulling and relaxing the
strings. As students spin their discs, ask them to observe what color their disc
appears. Have students write their observations.
○ Explain that light colors don’t mix in the same way that paint does. Instead of
becoming darker, all of the colors come together as white light.

Closure/Summarizing Strategies:

● Have students reflect on their learning. As they look over their predictions and
observations, have them write a conclusion based on what they learned explaining how
light refracts.
● Say, “You all did a great job describing how light refracts and splits into different
colors. Tomorrow we are going to explore more about colors.”

Accommodations/Differentiation:
● For a student with a mild intellectual disability, I would intentionally group and pair
her with students who will support her and work through each section at a slower pace.
● Instead of a graphic organizer, I would have her record videos of herself on an iPad
describing her predictions and observations of the experiments.
Materials/Resources:
● Red Sings from Treetops book
● Glass of water
● Glass of Wesson oil
● Clear plastic straws
● Sticky notes
● Markers
● Water bottles
● White cardstock circles
● Hole punch
● Ruler
● Yarn
● Scissors
● Graphic organizers
● Pencils

Color - BrainPOP. (2020). ​BrainPop.​ https://www.brainpop.com/science/energy/color/

Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary. (2020). ​Learner’s Dictionary.

https://learnersdictionary.com/

Robinson, S. (2018, July 4). ​Simple Science Experiments: Simple Light Refraction

Experiment.​ Look! We’re Learning!

https://www.lookwerelearning.com/simple-light-refraction-experiment/?fbclid=IwAR0

6XE7HaR36NcN9gmqugjk5zYK2hs3zjtFnYGze4B4Tr5877_yOlcigLtU

SpanglerScienceTV. (2011, January 10). ​Invisible Glass - How to Make an Object Vanish.

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyWgnFm3ebc

Spilsbury, R. (2018). ​Investigating Light (Investigating Science Challenges).​ Crabtree

Publishing Company.

Spilsbury, L., & Spilsbury, R. (2013). ​Light and Sound (Essential Physical Science).​

Heinemann.
Reflective Response:
Report of Student Learning Target/Objectives Proficiency Levels

Remediation Plan (if applicable)

Personal Reflection Questions

Additional reflection/thoughts