CURRICULUM RESOURCES
Year 5 | Physical sciences | Light fantastic
What would our lives be without light? We need it to see everything we do in every moment of the day. We rely on light to read a book, cross the street, admire artwork, watch the sunset, and look into faces. Light plays a role in some of our most sophisticated technology. It enables our CD's to play music or record movies. High speed optical cable is used in our communications. Lasers are employed in cutting edge surgery and defence.
The Light fantastic unit is an ideal way to link science with literacy in the classroom. It provides opportunities for students to explore where light comes from, how it is used, how light travels and how it helps us to see. Students' thinking about light and its role in our lives and our community will be developed using hands-on activities. Through investigations students explain how light helps us to see and how we can use light to meet our needs.
It is recommended that Light Fantastic be taught before Spinning in space to provide students with learning opportunities that introduce and explain concepts about light which are used in the Spinning in space unit.
Unit at a glance (PDF)
Unit outcomes (PDF)
Unit overview (PDF) (DOC)
Equipment lists (PDF)
Indigenous Perspectives framework (PDF)
Indigenous Perspectives Teaching and learning guide
Assessment resources
Factual and narrative texts
Useful websites
In PrimaryConnections units, assessment is an ongoing and embedded process which enhances learning.
Recording and reporting tools included are:
- Assessment checklists (PDF) (DOC)
- Assessment rubrics (PDF) (DOC)
- Science journal/work sample tags (PDF) (DOC)
These tools provide only a snapshot of the variety of assessment and reporting methods that can be used in conjunction with PrimaryConnections.
Factual texts:
Light and Sound (Kingfisher Young Knowledge series)
Goldsmith, Dr. Mike (Kingfisher, London, 2007, 48pp)
ISBN 978 0 7534 1518 4
Light and Dark (Science Starters series)
Madgwick, Wendy (Hodder Wayland, London, 2002, 32pp)
ISBN 0 7502 4145 4
Light: From Sun to Bulbs (Science Answers series)
Cooper, Christopher (Heinemann, Great Britain, 2003, 32pp)
ISBN 0 431 17494 6
Light: Look Out! (Science in Your Life series)
Sadler, Wendy (Raintree, Great Britain, 2006, 32pp)
ISBN 1 844 43660 8
BBC Schools Science Clips
Interactive learning activities where students test their science knowledge with games and quizzes.
How Stuff Works
A series of information, images and video clips to explain how light works.
Engineering Interact
An interactive science and engineering website for 9-11 year olds. Contains a number of interactive modules, split into three sections: learning, testing and engineering applications