The Incredible Spectrum!!!!!

Summary Through repetition by direct instruction, technology, group work, and demonstrations, students will come to understand that white light is composed of the colors of the spectrum and can be seen when refracted.

Time Frame 1 class periods of 60 minutes each

Group Size Small Groups

Life Skills Thinking & Reasoning

Materials A Smart board or other projector hooked up to the computer, flashlights, prisms, a video camera,

Background for Teachers People first thought rainbows were something of a supernatural explanation. The first person to realize that light contained color was a man in 1666 named Sir Isaac Newton. Newton discovered the colors when he bent light. We see a rainbow of colors when we use a prism or water to separate the colors of sunlight. Light is bent as it passes through the water or prism and the colors are spread apart into a spectrum. The bending of a wave-in this case a light wave-is called refraction. White light is what we would consider "ordinary light," such as sunlight. White light is made up of all of the colors of the rainbow. Another name for the series of colors that make up the rainbow is the color spectrum. When white light is refracted at certain angles, we see the light waves separate into the colors of the spectrum. Thus, when sunlight refracts through water, we see a rainbow. The colors of the spectrum always go in the same order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. An easy acronym to remember this is that there is a leprechaun who lives under the rainbow that gave each color its name. He named them after himself. His name was ROY G. BIV

Intended Learning Outcomes Students will understand the meaning of refraction. Students will be able to demonstrate refraction using a prism. Students will know the colors of the spectrum.

Instructional Procedures 1. Begin by asking if the students have any hypotheses as to why rainbows occur. 2. Explain that in order to understand why rainbows occur, we must understand light. Light is made up of waves. Red is the longest wave, and violet is the shortest. Sunlight is called white light. White light is a combination of all of the waves of light. When the light waves bend, it is called refraction. Things like water and prisms cause refraction. When refraction occurs at certain angles the colors separate, and we see a rainbow. 3. This video describes well the process of why rainbows occur. Show the first part of the "Rainbows" clip. 4. Ask "If you were to draw a rainbow, in which order would you put the colors?" 5. Explain that the colors of the rainbow always stay the same: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. This span of colors is called the color spectrum. 6. Explain that it is important to remember the order of the colors. An easy way to remember the order of the colors is ROY G. BIV. Roy G. Biv was a leprechaun who lived under the rainbow. He got the job of naming the colors. Since he was a selfish leprechaun, he wanted to name every single color after himself. So he named them this way. ROY G BIV stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. 7. This video clip will help you remember Roy G. Biv. Show the "Colors of the Rainbow" video. 8. Let the students split up into groups to practice refraction using prisms. Use the "Refraction with Prisms" worksheet to keep them on task and cause them to review what has already been taught. 9. Review refraction by watching the short "Over the Rainbow, a Song About Refraction" video clip. 10. Review all concepts again by spending the last few minutes to split the students into four groups. One will be the white light group. One will be the refraction group. One will be the ROY G BIV group. One will be the spectrum group. Explain that each group will have only a few minutes to prepare a way to summarize their assigned topic live on camera. They will be recorded with the video camera. The video can then be posted on the class blog for parents to view. (Prior parent consent will be obtained.)

Assessment Plan The most important principles students need to understand are refraction and the order of the colors of the spectrum. They will have the option of assessment methods. All will be graded for the same amount of points using a rubric. One assessment method is verbal. They can tell me on thier own time what they learned. Another is written. They can write what they have learned. Another is graphic. They can draw a representation of what they have learned. If they want to use any other method, they can come to me and ask if it is acceptable.

Rubrics The Incredible Spectrum and Refraction

Bibliography UEN.org lesson plan: "I'll build you a rainbow"/ UEN.org lesson plan: "Enlightening Exploration, Part III"/ UEN.org lesson plan: "Bending Beams of Light"/ Videos from teachertube.com/

Authors Frank Smith