Explore Light Stations

Overview

In this second lesson of Light: Paths, Bends and Bounces, students investigate how light interacts with objects and materials through four rotating stations. They make predictions, observe carefully, record evidence and identify patterns without needing to explain every phenomenon fully.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• pose a question or prediction about how light will interact with an object or material
• use equipment safely and follow a repeatable procedure
• distinguish between a prediction and an observation
• record observations using words, sketches or photographs
• identify patterns in the way light travels, bends, bounces, passes through or is absorbed.

Success criteria

• I can make a prediction and distinguish it from an observation.
• I can follow light-investigation safety instructions and use equipment responsibly.
• I can conduct practical tests by changing one feature at a time and record observations in words, drawings, symbols or photographs.
• I can describe patterns about straight-line travel, shadows, reflection, refraction and how materials affect light.
• I can use evidence from more than one investigation to communicate a conclusion or question.

Curriculum links

• Science Understanding — sources of light, straight-line travel, shadows, reflection and refraction.
• Science Inquiry — posing investigable questions and making reasoned predictions.
• Science Inquiry — planning and conducting safe, repeatable investigations, including identifying variables.
• Science Inquiry — organising observations in tables or visual models and using evidence to identify patterns and draw conclusions.

Lesson structure (180 minutes)

1. 0–15 min · Arrival, welcome and settling. Teacher welcomes students, introduces the light investigation incursion, explains the learning intentions and displays the visual timetable. Students store belongings, join their assigned group and collect a station passport. Provide dyslexia-friendly printed materials, audio access and visual instructions from the outset.

2. 15–30 min · Safety, roles and prediction briefing. Teacher dims the room slightly, demonstrates safe torch, mirror and water use, and models the difference between “I predict…” and “I observe…”. Students make or draw one prediction, read or listen to the station overview, and take group roles: equipment manager, recorder, photographer and reporter. Teacher forms five groups and assigns starting stations.

3. 30–50 min · Station 1 — Straight-line light maze. Teacher provides torches, cardboard screens with aligned holes, target cards and small objects. Students predict whether light will reach the target, alter one screen or hole position at a time, test the maze, and record the observed path and pattern.

4. 50–70 min · Station 2 — Reflection around a corner. Teacher provides torches, two mirrors, stands or modelling clay and target cards. Students try to direct light around a corner, changing one mirror angle at a time. They record the successful arrangement and handle mirrors safely without directing reflected light towards faces.

5. 70–90 min · Station 3 — Materials, colour and shadows. Teacher provides transparent, translucent and opaque materials, coloured paper or objects, torches and shadow shapes. Students predict, test one material at a time, record whether light passes clearly, partly or not at all, and compare shadow size, colour brightness and apparent absorption.

6. 90–100 min · Short break. Teacher pauses practical work, checks equipment is switched off and provides a movement, water and sensory break. Students leave stations safely, keeping passports with their group.

7. 100–120 min · Station 4 — Refraction through water. Teacher provides clear cups of water, pencils or straws, white paper and torches. Students observe an object partly submerged in water and/or shine light through water towards paper, recording apparent bending or changes in the light. Water remains away from electrical equipment.

8. 120–140 min · Station 5 — Investigation choice and fair testing. Teacher offers a supervised choice of a shadow-puppet, prism/spectrum or light-and-distance investigation, with a clear question and safety reminder. Students choose a variable to change, identify what they will observe or measure, repeat a test where possible, and record evidence. Students who need support may use the teacher-guided shadow investigation.

9. 140–155 min · Evidence sort and group preparation. Teacher provides a visual evidence-sort prompt and supports groups to compare station findings. Students organise passport evidence, identify one pattern and prepare a short explanation, labelled model, gesture sequence, photo sequence or recorded response.

10. 155–170 min · Reflection and discussion. Teacher leads “I noticed…”, “I wonder…” and “Our evidence shows…” discussion, revisiting straight-line travel, shadows, reflection, refraction and material types. Students share findings, compare differences between groups and ask or answer one evidence-based question.

11. 170–180 min · Assessment, pack-up and departure. Teacher collects or photographs passports, completes final observations, checks equipment and leads a safe pack-up. Students complete an exit response orally, in writing, as a labelled sketch or as a short recording, return resources by station and review one learning success and one question.

Resources

• Investigation introduction slides and a visual 180-minute timetable
• Dyslexia-friendly station cards and station passport: large clear font, generous spacing, icons, uncluttered layout and colour plus symbols
• Audio versions of instructions, headphones or text-to-speech access, role cards and translated keyword cards
• Torches with spare batteries and a charging/safety area
• Cardboard screens, aligned-hole maze pieces, target cards and opaque blocks
• Plane mirrors, mirror stands or modelling clay
• Transparent, translucent and opaque materials; coloured paper or objects
• Clear cups of water, pencils or straws and white paper; towels or spill trays
• Optional prisms, shadow-puppet shapes, measuring tapes and tablet cameras
• Visual evidence-sort prompts, sentence strips and alternative response tools
• Station checklist, teacher observation checklist, first-aid supplies and accessible seating

Assessment

• On arrival and during the briefing, check that students can state or select a safety rule, make a prediction and identify their group role.
• During each station, use a checklist to note safe equipment use, participation, distinction between prediction and observation, and whether students change one feature at a time.
• Review station passports for observations, labelled sketches, photographs or recordings, evidence of repeats where appropriate, and an identified pattern at each station.
• During the evidence sort and discussion, assess whether students use evidence to describe straight-line travel, shadows, reflection, refraction or material effects and respond to a peer’s finding.
• Use the exit response to assess one evidence-based conclusion and one further question. Accept oral, audio, video, drawn or written responses.
• Record any equipment, timing or access adjustments needed for a future investigation.

Differentiation

• Provide a visual timetable, photographs, icons and numbered station steps; demonstrate each procedure before rotation and keep the same predictable passport structure.
• Use dyslexia-friendly formatting: clear sans-serif font, large text, generous spacing, short lines, uncluttered pages, tinted or cream paper where preferred, and bold keywords rather than dense blocks of text. Offer audio instructions, text-to-speech, paired reading and translated keywords.
• Use sentence starters such as “I predicted…”, “I changed…”, “I observed…”, “The evidence shows…” and “I wonder…”. Allow drawing, symbols, photographs, speech-to-text, oral or video responses instead of extended writing.
• Provide adult or peer support, mixed-access group roles, extra processing time, repetition of instructions, accessible seating and a quiet or low-stimulation break option.
• Offer tactile or physical models of screens, mirrors and material types, a dry demonstration before water use, adapted grip or larger equipment, and reduced recording choices while retaining prediction, observation and pattern components.
• Pre-teach light, shadow, reflect, refract, transparent, translucent and opaque using visuals and gestures.

Extension

• Devise a fair-test question for one station, identify the changed, measured and controlled variables, make a justified prediction and complete at least two repeats.
• Measure shadow length, light distance or angle where appropriate, represent results in a table or graph, and explain any pattern using evidence.
• Compare two groups’ findings and propose reasons for differences, such as mirror angle, torch position, ambient light or measurement consistency.
• Design a new light-maze, reflection or material investigation for another group, including a labelled diagram, safety instructions and a method that could be repeated fairly.
• Investigate a limitation or anomaly, explain what additional evidence would help, and present a short evidence-based conclusion to the class.