Tennessee Tech University
Lesson Plan Template
Name: Alisha Webber, Spencer Cornett, and Allison Brown
Date: 5 April 2014
Lesson Title: Reflection, Refraction, and Absorption
Grade/Level: 4th
Curriculum Standards
Science Standards:
GLE 0407.10.2 Investigate how light travels and is influenced by different types of materials and surfaces.
CU 0407.10.2 Design an experiment to investigate how different surfaces determine if light is reflected,
refracted, or absorbed.
SPI 0407.10.2 Determine which surfaces reflect, refract, or absorb light.
Technology Standards:
Focus Questions/Big Idea/Goal (List all 3)
What question(s), big idea(s), and goals drive your instruction?
Question: What objects and surfaces cause light to reflect?
What objects refract light?
What objects absorb light?
Big Idea: Students will recognize that light reflection is the throwback of light to its source by a surface,
refraction is the bending of light, and absorption is light being absorbed, they will also determine which
objects reflect, refract, absorb light.
Goal: Students will be able to recognize and understand the meanings of light reflection, refraction, and
absorption.
Lesson Objective(s)
Objectives are measurable.
Content Objectives
 Students will be able to identify the objects that reflect, refract, and absorb light.
Academic Language Objectives

Students will be able to correctly identify and explain the processes of reflection, refraction, and
absorption.
Vocabulary/ Academic Language
List and define vocabulary. What opportunities will you provide for students to practice content
language/vocabulary and develop fluency?
Language Supports: Students will have the opportunity to use the vocabulary during the reflection and
absorption activity. Students will need to determine if the light reflects or absorbs the light shown on
certain objects. The teacher will provide the students with specific examples of reflection, absorption, and
a prism.
Reflection: to move in one direction, hit a surface, and then quickly move in a different and
usually opposite direction
Absorption:to take in (something, such as a light) in a natural or gradual way
Prism: a transparent glass or plastic object that usually has three sides and that separates
the light that passes through it into different colors
Transparent: able to be seen through, light is able to pass through
Material/Resources
What do you need for this lesson?
 IPad App (Bobo Explores Light)
 Custom box (contains: water, gray rock, leaf, mirror, glass, sand, potato skin, wax paper, tomato
soup, crumpled paper, shiny metal, dull metal, red apple, rough cardboard, the Moon, rusty nail,
clouds, soil, wood, milk, bedsheet, brand new penny, old tarnished penny, and a smooth sheet of
aluminum foil)
 gummy bears
 gummy worms
 flashlight
 laser pointers (red, green, blue)
 “Can It Reflect Light” worksheet
 Video about reflection, refraction, and absorption
(http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/energy-light-sound/light-absorb-reflectrefract.htm)
Assessment/Evaluation
Formative: How will students demonstrate understanding of lesson objective(s)? How will you monitor
and/or give feedback?
iPad- The students will be able to interact with an application on the ipad called “Bobo Explores
Light”. The app explores multiple methods covered through the lessons.
Custom Box- The students will explore a custom box filled with multiple items pertaining to the actions
of light. The box will include multiple items that may reflect or absorb light.
Gummy Bears- The students will test different colors of light through different colors of gummy
bears. This will give them an incentive as they will be able to eat the gummies after they are done.
Summative: What evidence will you collect and how will it document student learning/mastery of lesson
objective(s)
Can it Reflect?- The students will discover which objects reflect or absorb light. They will
document their findings and support with intellectual reasoning.
Instruction
(Include a suggested time for each major activity)
List Questions for higher order thinking
These cannot be answered by yes or
no.
(Identify Bloom’s Level of Thinking)
Set/Motivator: How will you engage student interest in the
content of the lesson? Use knowledge of students’ academic,
social, and cultural characteristics.
 The teacher will begin the lesson by activating the
student’s prior knowledge through questions such as:
o “What is light?”
o “What color is light?”
o “What are the different properties of light?”
 The teacher will show the class the video that defines
light, entitled “Light Absorption, Reflection, and
Refraction.”
Instructional Procedures/Learning Tasks: Provide specific
resources/details of lesson content and delivery.
 The teacher will put the students into four groups, and
give them each a custom box that will consist of
random objects, as well as a flashlight.
 The students will take turns shining the flashlight into
the different objects to determine if they reflect light.
 The teacher will discuss with the students about their
findings and observations on the objects and reflection.
 The teacher will introduce the term “absorption” to the
class, and give a quick summary of the term.
 Next, the teacher will give each student two gummy
worms, three red gummy bears and three green
gummy bears.
 For each group, the teacher will give them a red laser,
a green laser, and a white laser.
 The teacher will have the students compare the lasers
when they shoot them into the various colors of gummy
candy.
 The teacher will prompt the students to look at the light
that is coming out of the other side of the gummy
candy, if there is any at all.
 The class will then discuss what light is being absorbed
through the candy with the different colored lasers.
1. What is light? [Level 1:
Knowledge]
2. What color is light? [Level 1:
Knowledge]
3. What are the different
properties of light? [Level 1:
Knowledge]
4. What do you think makes light
reflect, refract, and absorb?
[Level 4: Analyasis]
1. Which of these objects will
reflect light? [Level 1:
Knowledge]
2. Why do you think these objects
will reflect light?[ Level 1:
Knowledge]
3. What changes do you see when
you shine the flashlight on and
object? [Level 2]
4. Which objects reflected
light?[Level 2]
5. Which objects did not reflect
light well?[Level 2]
6. Why do you think some objects
reflect better than others?[Level
4: Analysis]
7. What do you think absorption of
light is?[Level 4: Analysis]
8. What do you think will happen
when we shine the laser on the
gummy bears? [Level 4:
Analysis]
9. Why does the light shine
through some gummy bears
and not shine through
others?[Level 5]
10. What happened when we
shined the white flashlight
through the gummy worm?[
Level 6]
11. What colors are absorbed when
we shine the white light on a
colored object? [Level 6]
Closure: Verbalize or demonstrate learning or skill one more
time. May state future learning.
 To wrap up the lesson, the teacher will have the
students play an educational iPad game about light and
the different properties of light.
 The teacher will follow up with the students to find out
the knowledge that they retained by the lesson by
asking a few higher order questions.
1. What can you say about what is
happening to the light in the game?
[Level 4: Analysis]
2. What can you say about the actions
of light? [Level 2]
3. What do the objects and light have in
common with the visible color? [Level 4:
Analysis]
Adaptations to Meet Individual Needs: How will you adapt the instruction to meet the needs of individual
students? Include ELL?; SPED?; Gardner’s Learning Styles - Name and specify what happens in the lesson that uses each
learning style listed; Other individual needs of the students/class you are teaching.
Lower Level Students - The teacher will provide these students with a guided hand out that takes them
through the steps of the activity.
On Level Students - These students will be required to do all of the activities to the standards the teacher
sets.
Higher Level Students - The teacher will have these students write a paragraph about what they have
learned from this assignment.
Gardner’s Learning StylesVisual Spatial
Body/Kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Linguistic
Logical/Mathematical
Management/Safety Issues: Are there any management and/or safety issues that need to be considered
when teaching this lesson?
The teacher will instruct the students to be very careful with the laser pointers. The students will not point
the laser pointers at other people or themselves.
The students will be instructed to be very careful with the IPad and other materials in this lesson.
The students will not eat the gummy bears or gummy worms until they are instructed to by the teacher.
The students will be respectful of their peers and their teacher during this lesson.
Rationale/Theoretical Reasoning:
Piaget
The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget stressed developmentally appropriate practices. (1952)

In this lesson the teacher realizes that the children are at a variety of different levels and can adjust the
instruction accordingly. Having the right developmentally appropriate practices is very important to a
child’s self-esteem and learning capabilities.
Vygotsky
The Russian Theorist Lev Vygotsky stated that children learn through social interaction. (1933)

In this lesson the children are put into groups to go through centers that involve light and its reflection and
absorption. They will rely on social interaction to help understand and convey the concepts being taught
through the educational centers.
References: List the references used in this lesson
Scholastic video about reflection, refraction, and absorption:
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/energy-light-sound/light-absorb-reflectrefract.htm
Properties of Light packet/worksheet
Gummy bear activity video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DThUKDM_Wtk
Reflections/Future Modifications:
Alisha’s Reflection on STEMtastic Saturday:
I was very pleased with how our light lesson turned out on Saturday, and I feel that the students who
chose to come to our center definitely took away new knowledge about the concept of light. When Allison
and I found the gummy bear light activity, I instantly knew that it would be a great activity that would
engage the students on the subject of light. By the end of our center, the students could give examples of
light reflection and light absorption, and they were excited about it. Although the lesson went well, I
realized that some of the students like to discover on their own. If I were to do this lesson again, I would
grab their attention with a short intro, but then I would allow them to play around with the lasers and
gummy bears/worms before asking my higher order thinking questions. The students did a great job, and
they were definitely engaged in the way that I wanted them to be.