Sophia Learning
Sophia: Light Waves: Lesson 4
This lesson will introduce light waves and describe how a particle can travel as a photon or a wave. It is 4 of 4 in the series titled "Light Waves."
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Water Sphere Lens
Demonstrate for students how a round bowl of water can act as both a magnifier and a lens.
NASA
Nasa: Probing Earth Through the Clouds
This site from the National Aeornautics and Space Administration provides a fun activity for the subject. "Clouds often hide large areas of the Earth's surface. We can use radar to make detailed maps of Earth right through clouds or...
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Ole Roemer and the Speed of Light
This resource provides a concise overview of the speed of light and the Ole Roemer, the first man to measure it.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Laser O Logy Card
Flip over this interactive OLogy card to find fast facts, questions and answers, and similar bite-size pieces of information about the properties and uses of lasers.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Plix Series: Double Concave Lenses
[Free Registration/Login Required] Change the focal point in this interactive concave lens to see how the focal length changes.After the activity, answer a challenge question to check for understanding.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Plix Series: Double Convex Lens: Convex Lens
[Free Registration/Login Required] Change the focal point in this interactive convex lens to see how the focal length changes. After the activity, answer a challenge question to check for understanding.
Synopsys
Synopsys: Learn About Optics
Highly informational optic site for kids provides everything one might want to know about light. Various topics include light basics, controlling light, lenses, complex lenses, what's cool about lasers and much more!
My Science Site
Light and Optics
This resource provides information on light as well as links to additional sites on light and optics.
Math Science Nucleus
Math/science Nucleus: Light Magic
This animation discusses light and the properties of light in a storybook format. The animations cover the colors of the rainbow (ROYGBIV) along with prisms, light waves, reflection, and refraction.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Energy of Light
In this introduction to light energy, students learn about reflection and refraction as they learn that light travels in wave form. Through hands-on activities, they see how prisms, magnifying glasses and polarized lenses work. They also...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Critical Angle
Students can see light reflected and refracted in this demonstration. They will also discover the total internal reflection of light.
Other
Atmospheric Optics
Instead of just ooohing and aaahing over that beautiful sunset, impress your loved ones with an insightful and informed explanation of just what makes sunsets so interesting, and they will oooh and aaah at you too! At this site, you'll...
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Waves Performance Assessment Part 1
Students will use a variety of objects to participate in a partner activity and communicate using light and sound waves. Resources include a video, pictures and videos of the lesson in action, and examples of student work.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Waves Performance Assessment Part 2
Students will use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance. Resources included are videos of the lesson in action, a student worksheet, and an...
Johns Hopkins University
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
NASA related site shows the entire Electromagnetic Spectrum. Provides a brief description of the expansive colored spectrum as well as a related link that provides more details.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Science of Everyday Life: Light and Shadow [Pdf]
In this lesson plan, students experience how light interacts with the environment by investigating relationships between shadows and light. Students will experiment with light by observing how light travels through materials and distances.
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Refraction and the Ray Model of Light: Boundary Behavior
In this physics tutorial, focus on the refraction of light in great detail. Explore the conceptual and mathematical principles governing the bending of waves as they cross the boundary between two media.
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Refraction/ray Model of Light: Image Formation Revisited
Students take an in-depth look at the physics behind image formation.
Space Telescope Science Institute
Amazing Space: Star Light Star Bright
A few short, interactive activities on light waves can be found on this site. Numerous others links and teacher resources are posted here as well. A good background on light is offered for teachers.
Science Struck
Science Struck: How Does Light Travel Through Space and Other Media?
A detailed discussion of the nature of light, how it can travel through a vacuum, and how the speed of light is affected when light travels through a medium.
The Wonder of Science
The Wonder of Science: 1 Ps4 2: Illumination and Darkness
This NSTA vetted source includes resources to allow students to make observations that prove objects in darkness need light to be illuminated. Included are assessment ideas, videos, examples, lesson plans, and photos of student work.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Just Passing Through
Students will have an opportunity to explore the school during a hunt for 3 materials that allow different amounts of light to pass through. Included in this lesson are videos showing the lesson in progress, examples of students' work,...
Other
Ward's Science: Will the Light Shine?
Students will determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light. This instructional activity includes background information, guiding questions, directions, and a chart to record data.