Light energy The Grade 3 4 Light Energy kit components: Materials and equipment Each kit contains a set of high-quality s and equipment for a class of 32 students. Consumable items are provided for two classes. Refill packages are available. Teacher s Guide A comprehensive teacher's guide provides easy-to-use, step-by-step instructions for presenting the unit. The guide includes a number of optional presentation approaches to meet the unique needs of your students. Student Books Eighteen copies of each of nine student books are included with the kit. Summative Assessment Booklet Contains a set of pre-post assessments designed to enable teachers to measure student gains over the course of a unit. Investigation Notebook The investigation notebook can be duplicated, or additional copies may be purchased separately and provided to each student. Copymaster Booklet A copymaster booklet is provided in each kit with full-size copymasters, including transparencies and student handouts. Seeds of science/roots of reading
What s in the Light Energy Unit? Light Energy is 40 sessions in length. There are four investigations each with 10 sessions. The unit focuses on s characteristics and interactions with s, as a form of energy, and energy transformations. There s a strong emphasis on science inquiry,,, and. Nine books engage students in reading and support firsthand inquiry, writing, and discussion. Students gain facility with reading comprehension strategies such as and, and with al text features. They focus on writing s based on. Investigation 1 Characteristics of Light. Students reflect on what they know and wonder about, and read Can You See in the Dark? Using flashs, foil, and other s, they make observations. They begin a class glossary and concept wall, then make tubes to gather that s in a straight line. Students practice short passages, then read The Speed of Light, making and revising predictions, and reading tables. They explore and color with tubes, make a concept map, and write paragraphs on what they have learned. Investigation 2 Transmitting and Reflecting Light. Students read Why Do Scientists Disagree? They investigate ways that interacts with s, predicting and revising predictions. Questions frame investigations, asking which s transmit, block, and reflect. In I See What You Mean, students read about how and reflection are involved in sight, and practice. They make s and write a scientific that includes to support the that nonshiny things reflect. Investigation 3 Absorbing and Refracting Light. Students make predictions about the amounts of different s absorb, then analyze from Handbook of Light Interactions. They confront conflicting and use from the Handbook during discourse circles about the Materials that are the same color absorb similar amounts of. They read Light Strikes!, which discusses interactions in everyday contexts, and practice. They learn about lenses and refraction. Students read Cameras, Eyes, and Glasses. They gather and organize, then write a scientific about the four interactions they ve studied. Investigation 4 Light as Energy. Students investigate temperature changes in white and black boxes sitting under a bright lamp. They analyze Handbook to figure out that darker-colored s absorb more than er-colored ones. The guiding question What is energy? introduces the first half of It s All Energy. The students write a summary, then read the rest of the book on energy transformation. Students visit Energy Transformation Stations and are introduced to the important role of solar energy. They write scientific s about the ways solar energy transforms, then read Sun and Showers, about scientists who use solar energy to solve a problem. They take part in a discourse circle about solar energy, visit reminder stations about the unit s investigations, and reflect on how they ve been like scientists. UNIT OVERVIEW
What Students Do Investigation 1 Characteristics of Light Students reflect on what they know and wonder about, and these ideas on a class chart. They make predictions before reading Can You See in the Dark? Students begin their investigations using flashs and s such as foil and clear plastic, and their observations with s. They make tubes to gather that s in a straight line. Using key words from paragraphs they read, students practice and construct main idea statements. They engage in and read The Speed of Light, paying particular attention to the tables in the book. Groups gather that supports key concepts about how s, and then are introduced to the relationship between and color. They make observations of colored s with their tubes, and read and summarize a passage about one of Isaac Newton s investigations. The class constructs a concept map, and then students write paragraphs about the characteristics of. Investigation 2 Transmitting and Reflecting Light Students make predictions before reading Why Do Scientists Disagree? then make a class chart about what scientists do. Throughout this investigation, students investigate different ways that interacts with s, their after each round of investigation as a class, and discussing their disagreements. The first interaction they investigate is transmission, about which they write s after they ve resolved disagreements. Students then investigate which s block, summarize their, and read two passages about shadows. They find key words in the passages, and use these to construct main idea statements. They gather about which s reflect, and read the book I See What You Mean. They make s that illustrate how is involved with vision. Students investigate reflection and mirrors, and write s to support the that non-shiny things reflect. Seeds of science/roots of reading
What Students Learn Investigation 1 Characteristics of Light Students learn that people need to see. They also learn what a prediction is, and that is a useful reading strategy. Students learn about the characteristics of it comes from a, s in straight lines, is the fastest thing in the Universe, and interacts with s in different ways. Students learn that is used to support ideas in science and can come from firsthand investigations or books. They learn that scientists carefully observations and use tools to investigate. They learn about glossaries and tables as features of nonfiction text, and also learn how to select key words to identify the main idea of a text. Students learn that white is made up of colors, and that colored can combine to make white. Students also learn that a nonfiction paragraph is composed of a main idea and supporting details. Investigation 2 Transmitting and Reflecting Light Students learn that scientists are part of the scientific community, and that they work together, sharing ideas,, and s. They learn that disagreement often moves science forward, and that scientists revise s when they find new that doesn t agree. Students also learn that when an observation is written down, it becomes, and that reorganizing can be helpful when trying to answer a question. They learn about what happens when shines on things that it can be transmitted or blocked and that some s transmit. They learn that when writing an, scientists support a with multiple pieces of from different s. They learn about the for these particular interactions, such as the fact that a shadow is of blocked. Since all s have shadows, all s block. Their understanding is then deepened as they learn that when is blocked, some of it is reflected. They also learn that when we see something it is because has reflected off it and entered our eyes. UNIT OVERVIEW
About the Student Books Following are short descriptions of the nine full-color Light Energy student science books. Can You See in the Dark? invites students to wonder about whether or not people need to see. The book details a search for a completely dark place, following the narrator from a movie theater to a dark campsite to a closet and finally into a cave where there truly is no at all. This book introduces the idea that all comes from a. It enables students to identify many different s of in the text and illustrations. Can You See in the Dark? provides an introduction to the Light Energy unit and poses a question that students will return to many times as they learn more about how people see. The Speed of Light informs students that is the fastest thing in the Universe. The book compares the speed of to other fast things such as a jet, a spaceship, and sound. Data comparing the speed of to other fast things is presented through descriptive examples and in tables. By reflecting on the, the students are better able to understand how fast s a characteristic that is impossible for them to observe firsthand. Why Do Scientists Disagree? is a book with two distinct but related threads. On the right-hand pages, students read about the ways scientists use, make s, and debate their s to move the field of science forward. On the left-hand pages, these ideas are exemplified in the story of the scientist Galileo and how his observations of the Moon changed people s ideas about. This book models important aspects of the nature of science for students and helps support subsequent investigations in which students may disagree about s and s. I See What You Mean explains the relationship between reflection and vision. It is an extended dialogue between two girls who are trying to figure out how is involved when they see a peach. As they question each other and add more to their description of how people see, they explain more of the process involved in sight. Over the course of the book, students learn that comes from a, bounces off objects, even non-shiny ones, and s to our eyes. Detailed illustrations and s support the text and show the path of in each scenario. This book supports firsthand investigations with critical that is not easily observed and directly addresses the misconception that only shiny s reflect. Seeds of science/roots of reading
Handbook of Light Interactions presents for a wide range of s and their interactions with. This book is organized by type of with the presented in tables. Students learn how much various s absorb, reflect, and transmit. By comparing their observations with the in the book, they are able to draw more accurate conclusions about how interacts with s. This book supports students firsthand investigations by providing the additional they need to answer important about interactions. It also provides secondhand for them to analyze and interpret. Light Strikes! shows interactions in real-life situations. Students are invited to look at ordinary scenes and observe how is interacting with s, sometimes in unexpected ways. The book reinforces concepts about the interactions (transmission, reflection, and absorption) that students have been investigating. It also helps them make connections between the science they are learning and the world around them. Cameras, Eyes, and Glasses is about three important things that use lenses to refract. The book explains what lenses are and what they do, then describes the lenses in cameras, eyes, and eyeglasses. Photographs and s help students understand how the lenses work. The book also includes suggestions for simple activities readers can do to observe refraction in action. It reinforces and extends students firsthand investigations by providing examples of refraction in use in the world. It s All Energy is about energy and its various forms. Students learn about electrical, motion, sound, thermal,, and chemical energy by reading about situations and processes they experience in their everyday lives that include these forms of energy. They also learn that energy can be transformed from one form into another and that these transformations can serve many useful purposes. It s All Energy helps students learn important foundational concepts and understand their firsthand investigations with energy. Sun and Showers introduces readers to Dr. Ashok Gadgil, a scientist who uses his scientific to address real-world problems. Dr. Gadgil s students work together as a team to design a solar water heater for use in Guatemala. The book describes various ways the young scientists solve the design problem working as a team, investigating the issues and gathering, and designing and testing a solution. The book demonstrates that solar energy is useful as an alternative of energy and models the nature of science by providing a compelling example of scientists solving real problems for real people. UNIT OVERVIEW
At-a-Glance Chart INVESTIGATION 1 Characteristics of Light Light Energy Session WEEK 1 1.1 can You See in the Dark? READING, page 14 1.2 observing Light science inquiry, page 28 1.3 making Ray Diagrams SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 42 1.4 observing with Light Tubes SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 58 1.5 introducing Summarizing LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 72 Knowledge/Conceptual Vocabulary Inquiry/Reading Comprehension Knowledge Vocabulary Inquiry Reading comes from a there are many s of people need to see a completely dark place with no is difficult to find s can be used to the path of interacts with s in different ways tools can help us detect things that are otherwise hard to observe s can help us figure out how s s in a straight line a useful reading strategy is glossaries list important words in a book and their definitions glossaries are important features of al texts a summary reduces a body of text to its most important ideas one way to summarize is to find key words and create a main idea sentence block characteristic emit Inquiry posing posing using a glossary interpreting visual representations Nature and Practices of / Oral and Written Discourse How Works, What Scientists Do scientists investigate the world by observing carefully scientists write down, or, their observations scientists because it helps them remember what they did, observed, and learned scientists use tools to investigate scientists use specialized language to talk about science Writing, Listening/Speaking ing WEEK 2 1.6 observing Two Light Sources SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 82 1.7 the Speed of Light READING, page 96 1.8 introducing Light and Color SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 106 1.9 observing and Reading About Color SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 118 1.10 writing About Characteristics of Light LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 130 multiple s observed with a tube provide more that s in straight lines s at approximately 186,000 miles per second is the fastest known thing in the universe new colors are made when different colors of are mixed white is a mixture of red, green, and blue white is a mixture of different colors white can be separated into colors by prisms and other s in nonfiction text is often presented in tables to show relationships among ideas tables organize into columns and rows nonfiction writing often includes a topic sentence at the beginning followed by supporting details details in a paragraph further support the main idea illustrations further explain the ideas in nonfiction texts characteristic emit lens Inquiry analyzing sorting and classifying to find interpreting visual representations locating in text scientists make predictions before they investigate and check their predictions as they investigate scientists summarize results of their investigations is used to help explain something or answer a question can come from investigations and books a is a statement based on that usually answers a question ing Seeds of science/roots of reading UNIT OVERVIEW
At-a-Glance Chart INVESTIGATION 2 Transmitting and Reflecting Light Light Energy Session WEEK 3 2.1 why Do Scientists Disagree? READING, page 152 2.2 which Materials Transmit Light? SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 164 2.3 writing About Transmission LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 178 2.4 which Materials Block Light? SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 190 2.5 making Sense of Shadows and Blocking SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 204 Knowledge/Conceptual Vocabulary Inquiry/Reading Comprehension Knowledge Vocabulary Inquiry Reading different s transmit different amounts of some s transmit, and some do not a shadow is that a blocks when a blocks, the doesn t go through the blocking and transmitting are different interactions can have with s good readers revise their predictions as they read is a useful strategy in both science and reading block reflect shadow transmit Inquiry scientific community ing investigating scientific analyzing organizing and representing posing locating in text Nature and Practices of / Oral and Written Discourse How Works, What Scientists Do scientists often work together, sharing ideas,, and s disagreement in science is very important; it moves science forward scientific is based on it s possible for students to work in class in ways that are similar to the ways scientists do their work observations collected and written down become scientists often summarize in tables scientists make s based on Writing, Listening/Speaking ing organizing writing s WEEK 4 2.6 which Materials Reflect Light? SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 216 2.7 i See What You Mean READING, page 228 2.8 Revising Ray Diagrams SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 240 2.9 investigating Reflection and Mirrors SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 252 2.10 writing About Reflection LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 266 when a reflects, the bounces off reflection is one way that s block some s reflect we see because reflects off objects and s to our eyes s show how s from various objects to our eyes the human eye is a very sensitive detector the ability to see an object is that it reflects reflects off a mirror differently than it reflects off nonshiny objects all s reflect shiny and non-shiny objects both reflect helps readers identify and understand the main ideas of text linking vocabulary words in multiple ways facilitates a deeper understanding of the words transition words are used in writing when changing from one idea to another block emit reflect shadow transmit Inquiry scientific community ing investigating scientific revising s posing locating in text interpreting visual representations scientists revise their ideas when they learn new things ing writing to reflect building on others ideas organizing writing s Seeds of science/roots of reading UNIT OVERVIEW
At-a-Glance Chart INVESTIGATION 3 Absorbing and Refracting Light Light Energy Session WEEK 5 3.1 Which Materials Absorb Light? SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 290 3.2 Handbook of Light Interactions LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 304 3.3 Absorption Discourse Circles SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 316 3.4 Strikes! READING, page 328 3.5 making Sense of Light Interactions SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 338 Knowledge/Conceptual Vocabulary Inquiry/Reading Comprehension Knowledge Vocabulary Inquiry Reading a interacts with in more than one way that is neither transmitted nor reflected is absorbed that is absorbed stays in the all s absorb some s that are the same color absorb similar amounts of if you know how s interact with, it helps you select the best one for a particular purpose reference books are used to research about a particular topic an index, found in reference books, is a useful tool for finding reorganizing can help you make comparisons one strategy to monitor comprehension is a summary includes a main idea and the most important supporting details in your own words headings in nonfiction text give clues about the main idea absorb block reflect refract shadow transmit Inquiry analyze scientific community investigating scientific organizing and representing evaluating ing analyzing organizing and representing revising s setting goals posing locating in text setting goals Nature and Practices of / Oral and Written Discourse How Works, What Scientists Do scientists analyze to make sense of it it may be helpful to reorganize when trying to answer new scientists often meet to discuss and compare new allows scientists to confirm or revise s Writing, Listening/Speaking ing organizing consulting multiple s building on others ideas presenting WEEK 6 3.6 observing Refraction SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 352 3.7 lenses, Light Tubes, and the Eye SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 366 3.8 cameras, Eyes, and Glasses READING, page 380 3.9 investigating Lenses inquiry, page 390 3.10 writing About Light Interactions LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 402 water refracts bends, or refracts, as it passes from one to another s in straight lines within s; refraction happens at the boundaries between s refraction is a type of interaction lenses can make things look different: larger, smaller, blurry, more clear, or upside down is refracted when it passes through a lens lenses in the human eye make a focused image is refracted by a lens because of its curved surface lenses are used in cameras and eyeglasses the lenses in human eyes and eyeglasses help us see clearly convex lenses refract inward concave lenses refract outward lenses transmit, refract, reflect, and absorb s in nonfiction text help readers understand ideas one way to communicate ideas to the scientific community is to write a scientific absorb lens reflect refract transmit Inquiry scientific community sorting and classifying based on investigating scientific analyzing using models setting goals interpreting visual representations locating in text a scientific is carefully written to explain science ideas clearly organizing building on others ideas consulting multiple s writing s Seeds of science/roots of reading UNIT OVERVIEW
At-a-Glance Chart INVESTIGATION 4 Light as Energy Light Energy Session WEEK 7 4.1 warmth as Evidence of Absorbed Light SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 426 4.2 it s All Energy: Part 1 READING, page 440 4.3 it s All Energy: Part 2 SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 448 4.4 energy Transformation Stations SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 458 4.5 making Sense of Energy Transformations SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 466 Knowledge/Conceptual Vocabulary Inquiry/Reading Comprehension Knowledge Vocabulary Inquiry Reading s warm up when they absorb the darker the color of a, the more it absorbs a temperature increase can be that a absorbs the many forms of energy include electrical, motion, sound, thermal,, and chemical energy can be detected by seeing, hearing, or feeling energy can change, or transform, from one form to another energy can transform in many different ways energy transformations are happening around us all the time multiple energy transformations can happen at the same time energy transforms, but it is still energy energy doesn t appear or disappear it transforms energy makes things happen energy transformations can happen in a sequence features of nonfiction text can help a reader identify and locate main ideas absorb characteristic emit energy transform/transformation Inquiry analyze posing sorting and classifying based on investigating scientific locating in text making inferences interpreting visual representations Nature and Practices of / Oral and Written Discourse How Works, What Scientists Do scientists use all their senses to make observations Writing, Listening/Speaking ing presenting WEEK 8 4.6 introducing Solar Energy SCIENCE INQUIRY, page 478 4.7 writing About Solar Energy LITERACY DEVELOPMENT, page 488 4.8 Sun and Showers READING, page 500 4.9 Solar Energy Discourse Circles science/literacy, page 508 4.10 How We Were Like Scientists SCIENCE/LITERACY, page 518 the Sun sends a lot of energy to Earth in the form of sun energy from the Sun is called solar energy solar energy can be transformed into every other form of energy solar energy can be used in places where electrical energy is not available solar energy can be used to warm up water solar cells and solar panels convert solar energy into other forms of energy solar energy has benefits and drawbacks ideally, both sides of an argument are considered before taking a stance absorb block characteristic emit energy lens reflect refract shadow transform/transformation transmit Inquiry analyze scientific community posing evaluating making inferences posing setting goals locating in text from multiple s can help answer a question scientists solve real problems in the world scientists may change their s if they learn of new and convincing science is something you do when you conduct investigations, but it is also a way of thinking about the world ing organizing writing s presenting consulting multiple s building on others ideas Seeds of science/roots of reading UNIT OVERVIEW