Today in Science we rotated between 4 different stations. Our theme was Light. This activity was planned to wrap up our Light Unit. We will begin Friction on Monday.
Station 1 — How Does Light Pass Through?
Materials — White Paper, Plastic Wrap, Wax Paper, Aluminum Foil, and Colored Tissue Paper
At each station, students had to complete a lab sheet. During this lab, students were looking at each item and discovering — does light pass through it? Does it make a shadow? Is it opaque, transparent, or translucent?
** I found this lab at Teachers Pay Teachers. It is available for purchase here.
I loved this picture I snapped of these kiddos working together during our station. They all worked very hard today!!
This is the sheet students were responsible for completing during this station. The link is located above.
Station 2 — Shadows Observation
Materials — I laid out on our lab table random objects found in my desk. Two toy cars, pennies, glue, bracelet, leggos, etc. I found flashlights from our Science Kits that still worked — Yay!!
Students chose an object and drew it. Next, they shined the flashlight over the object and drew its shadow.
** I also found this activity on Teachers Pay Teachers. The link is located here.
Station 3 –Bending Pencil Experiment
Materials – Plastic clear cups, Pencils, Water
Students placed a pencil in a cup with no water and drew what they saw. Next, students placed the pencil in a cup with water, and drew what they saw now. This lab was super cute, and many students said it was their favorite of all four. I found this lab and the next one at this great teacher blog that is located here. Thanks for the idea! It was a favorite!
This was the lab sheet students had to fill out.
Station 4 –Turning Arrow Experiment
Materials – Plastic clear cups, Water, Index Cards
Students got an index card and drew an arrow. They placed the card behind a clear cup filled with water. They then had to observe what happened next.
The lab sheet and the idea came from the same teacher blog from above that is located here. My 4th graders adored this — and many said they were going home to show their family. It’s not magic – It’s Science!!
Our lab sheet — big thanks to the above teacher blog. The kids LOVED these 2 activities! 🙂
I have promised our 4th graders that we will do stations again this year — and I see using this idea LOTS next year!! As students worked and chatted about their stations — I was such a proud Science teacher!! 🙂
Mrs. Goggans' 4th Grade Scientists 