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Light: Through or Blocked

First graders test what happens when light meets different materials, discovering that clear things let light through while solid things block it and make shadows, and sort materials into the two kinds.

Grade 1Light: Through or Blocked50 minutes1 class period5E ModelExplicit teaching4 StandardsNGSS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓See light pass or stop.
  • ✓Know clear vs solid.
  • ✓Connect blocking to shadows.
  • ✓Sort each material.
Essential Question

Light passes through a window but stops at a book, making a shadow. Why does light go through some materials and get blocked by others?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort the Materials · Interactive

Sort the Materials

Project this and sort each material into lets-light-through or blocks-the-light — tap a material, then tap where it belongs.

💡 Sort each material: lets light through or blocks it?Try it
🔆 Lets light through
⚫ Blocks the light
Tap a material, then tap whether light passes through it or is blocked and makes a shadow.
The Lesson · 5E Instructional Model (Engage · Explore · Explain · Elaborate · Evaluate)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — Can You See Through It?

5 min

Shine a light at a window and it passes right through. Shine it at a book and it stops, making a shadow. Why does light go through some things but not others?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Shine light through glass.
  • Shine light at a book.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch.
  • Compare.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Sort the Materials

12 min

Students sort materials into lets-light-through and blocks-light.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Sort the Materials.
  • Drop each one.
  • Explain each choice.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
3

Modify — Test It

13 min

Students predict and test materials.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick a material.
  • Predict through or blocked.
  • Hold it to a light to check.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Predict.
  • Check.
4

Create — My Light Chart

15 min

Students record light tests.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • List four materials.
  • Mark each through or blocked.
  • Add which ones make a shadow.

🎒 Student Actions

  • List.
  • Mark.
  • Add.
5

Reflect — Light and Shadows

5 min

Students reflect on light and materials.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • What kinds of materials let light through?
  • Why does a solid object make a shadow?
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 1 / Elementary Science).

NGSS
1-PS4-3

Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.

NGSS
1-PS4-2

Make observations to construct evidence that objects can be seen only when illuminated.

NGSS
SEP-3

Planning and carrying out investigations to answer a question.

CCSS
W.1.7

Participate in shared research, recording what you observe.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Material picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “Light ___ through ___ .”
  • Sort two materials at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with a window and a book.
  • Test one material together.
  • Sort all the clear ones first.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add translucent materials like wax paper.
  • Make shadows with blocking objects.
  • Explain why light travels in straight lines.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🔦A flashlight
  • 💻Sort the Materials
  • 🧱A tray of test materials
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

lightthe energy that lets us see, which travels in straight pathstransparentclear, letting light pass throughopaquesolid, blocking light and making a shadowshadowthe dark shape made when an object blocks lightmaterialwhat an object is made of, like glass or woodpass throughto go through, the way light goes through glassblockto stop light from passingpredictto say what you think will happen before you test
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What kinds of materials let light through?
Clear, transparent ones like glass, clear plastic, and water.
QUESTION 2
Why does a solid object make a shadow?
It blocks the light, so a dark shape (a shadow) forms behind it where the light cannot reach.
QUESTION 3
Is a wooden door transparent or opaque?
Opaque: light cannot pass through it, so it blocks the light.

Create: my light chart.

Have students list four materials, mark each through or blocked, and note which make a shadow, so the pattern (clear vs solid) stands out. A printable light worksheet is in the Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Light: Through or BlockedFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Light: Through or BlockedQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Light: Through or BlockedPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: block, light, material, opaque, pass through, predict, shadow, transparent
  1. the dark shape made when an object blocks light
  2. what an object is made of, like glass or wood
  3. to stop light from passing
  4. to say what you think will happen before you test
  5. solid, blocking light and making a shadow
  6. to go through, the way light goes through glass
  7. the energy that lets us see, which travels in straight paths
  8. clear, letting light pass through

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What kinds of materials let light through?
  2. Why does a solid object make a shadow?
  3. Is a wooden door transparent or opaque?
Answer key — Part A: 1) shadow · 2) material · 3) block · 4) predict · 5) opaque · 6) pass through · 7) light · 8) transparent
Part B: 1) Clear, transparent ones like glass, clear plastic, and water. 2) It blocks the light, so a dark shape (a shadow) forms behind it where the light cannot reach. 3) Opaque: light cannot pass through it, so it blocks the light.