AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM – SCIENCE Year 2012 Term 1 Year Level 5 Teacher ______
Science Understanding: Physical Sciences / Science as a Human Endeavour / Inquiry SkillsContent descriptor:
Light from a source forms shadows and can be absorbed, reflected and refracted (elaborations: ACSSU080)
Teacher Background Reading / Content descriptors:
Nature and development of science
- Science involves testing predictions by gathering data and using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena (ACSHE081)
- Important contributions to the advancement of science have been made by people from a range of cultures (ACSHE082)
- Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to solve problems that directly affect peoples’ lives (ACSHE083)
- Scientific knowledge is used to inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE217)
- With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be (ACSIS231)
- With guidance, plan appropriate investigation methods to answer questions or solve problems (ACSIS086)
- Decide which variable should be changed and measured in fair tests and accurately observe, measure and record data, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS087)
- Use equipment and materials safely, identifying potential risks (ACSIS088)
- Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS090)
- Compare data with predictions and use as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS218)
- Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a question or solve a problem (ACSIS091)
- Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts(ACSIS093)
Cross Curriculum Priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures / Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia / Sustainability
Students needing extension
Strategies: / Students needing support
Strategies:
Activities and Focus Questions / Evaluation and Suggested Follow-up Activities
Week 2
Make a Sun painting to observe capillary action and to explore shadows
- Why does the dye dry?
- Why do the templates leave shadows?
- What is capillary action?
Look for key words such as evaporation, light rays, capillary
Analysis of sun painting:
- What happened and why?
- How could your painting be improved?
- Pose a question to investigate shadows
/ Evaluating / Communicating
Week 3
Investigating shadows in small groups using
- torches (long and short shadows)
- BBCcomputer interactive
- materials to be classified into opaque, translucent, transparent
- What is a shadow?
- Why do they form?
- What types of objects create shadows?
- How does light travel?
- What are some sources of light?
- labelled diagrams to show paths of light
- Silent card shuffle focusing on sorting materials into opaque, translucent, transparent
- Simple diagram showing how our eyes detect images (see example)
/ Processing & analysing data / Evaluating / Communicating
Week 4
Shadow Stick Investigation from Primary Connections Spinning in Space
BBC computer interactive
- Does the earth or the sun actually move?
- The sun appears to travel across our sky in which direction?
Class discussion:
- What would the world be like without light?
- How do you use light in your home?
- Have people’s homes always had electricity?
Week 5
Investigating the properties of reflection and refraction
Demonstration of light box and reflection and refraction of light
Students to investigate whether they can make light travel around a corner / Students to complete investigation write-up to describe, analyse and evaluate their investigation
BBC bending light interactive / Questioning & Predicting / Planning & Conducting / Processing & analysing data / Evaluating / Communicating
/ Processing & analysing data / Evaluating / Communicating
Week 6
Colour
Students to use prisms to find rainbows and observe Newton’s wheel
- What is ‘white light’
- Why do objects appear in certain colours?
- Which colours are ‘danger colours’?
- Colour in nature
- Why are traffic lights red, amber, green?
- Colours as symbols in other cultures eg. Purple as a royal colour etc.
- How colours are made by Aboriginal people living in the bush
- Colour and emotion
Week 7
Refraction of light
- What is refraction?
- Why do rainbows form?
- How do lenses affect the path of light?
Interactive / Students to complete This Week in Science reflection sheet.
Students complete labelled diagrams to show how concave and convex lenses affect beams of light.
Look for key words refraction, slowing speed, light rays, angle
- Why do we use lenses?
Week 8
Students view DVD Light
Begin Animoto or PowerPoint to communicate understandings about Light / Students to complete Animoto or PowerPoint to communicate understandings about Light / Questioning & Predicting / Planning & Conducting / Processing & analysing data / Evaluating / Communicating
Week 9
Optical Illusions