Unit 4 — Light and Sound
Description
Students develop an understanding of the relationship between sound and vibrating materials, and between the availability of light and the ability to see objects. Through investigations, students discover that objects can only be seen when illuminated from an external light source or when they give off their own light. Students explore how different materials affect light (transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective) and how this relates to shadows and the path of light. The unit also investigates how vibrating materials make sound and how sound can make materials vibrate. Throughout the unit, students use observations and data as evidence to explain cause-and-effect relationships in the natural world.
Essential Questions
- How can you prove that you can only see something when someone shines a light on it or if the object gives off its own light?
- What happens to a beam of light when you put different kinds of things in front of it?
- How do instruments (band) make sound?
Learning Objectives
- Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated
- Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light
- Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate
- Design simple tests to gather evidence to support or refute ideas about cause and effect relationships
Supplemental Resources
- Materials for light investigations: clear plastic, wax paper, cardboard, mirrors, flashlights
- Materials for sound investigations: tuning forks, rulers, balloons, rubber bands, paper, drums
- Whiteboards and markers for recording observations during investigations
- Printed word lists of light and sound vocabulary
Physical Sciences
Students participate in shared research and writing projects across all units. In Unit 1, students create books describing patterns of change in the sky and write journal entries relating daylight to seasons, aligned to W.1.7 and W.1.8. In Unit 2, students read informational texts to identify main topics, retell key details, and ask and answer questions about organism traits and parent-offspring behaviors, aligned to RI.CR.1.1, RI.CI.1.2, and W.RW.1.7. In Unit 3, students conduct shared research and produce writing about how humans mimic organisms to solve problems, aligned to W.RW.1.7. In Unit 4, students read informational texts about light and sound, write informative texts naming facts about topics, and participate in collaborative conversations, aligned to W.IW.1.2, W.RW.1.7, W.SE.1.6, and SL.PE.1.1. In Unit 5, students gather information from texts and media about communication devices, write how-to books describing their engineering design solutions, and add drawings to clarify ideas, aligned to W.RW.1.7, W.SE.1.6, and SL.PE.1.1.
Formative Assessments
- Make observations in a completely dark room, using a pinhole box, or watching videos of cave explorers with flashlights
- Plan and conduct investigations placing objects made of different materials in the path of a beam of light
- Record observations about how transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective materials affect light
- Conduct investigations with vibrating tuning forks, plucked strings, and other objects that make sound
Summative Assessment
Demonstrate understanding of light and sound properties through investigation and explanation
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through hands-on exploration with physical materials and verbal or picture-based responses instead of written explanations. Teacher may use simplified vocabulary, concrete demonstrations, and direct guidance during investigations while students show what they learned through pointing, selecting images, or short oral statements about light and sound observations.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
During light and sound investigations, provide students with picture-supported observation recording sheets that allow them to circle, draw, or dictate findings rather than relying solely on written output. Use physical, hands-on materials such as flashlights, fabric swatches, and tuning forks to build conceptual understanding through direct sensory experience. Pre-teach key vocabulary (e.g., vibration, transparent, opaque, shadow) using visual word cards paired with real objects, and offer verbal or pictorial prompts to help students articulate cause-and-effect relationships during discussions.
Section 504
Ensure students have preferential seating during whole-group demonstrations involving light sources or sound-making materials so they can clearly observe without visual or auditory distraction. Provide additional processing time during investigation tasks, and offer a quiet workspace when students are recording observations or completing explanatory tasks tied to light and sound concepts.
ELL / MLL
Support comprehension of light and sound vocabulary by pairing each key term with a photograph, diagram, or physical example — for instance, showing a clear plastic sheet alongside the word 'transparent.' Provide directions for investigation tasks in short, simple steps and use gestures or physical demonstrations to clarify expectations before students begin. Where possible, allow students to discuss observations with a partner who shares their home language before sharing with the class.
At Risk (RTI)
Ground new concepts in familiar, everyday experiences — such as noticing shadows on a sunny day or hearing sound through a tabletop — to activate prior knowledge before introducing scientific vocabulary and investigation procedures. Simplify the number of variables students are asked to track at one time, and provide structured observation frames with sentence starters or labeled diagrams that scaffold how students record and communicate what they notice about light and sound.
Gifted & Talented
Encourage students to move beyond describing observations by developing their own questions about light and sound and designing simple tests to investigate them, such as exploring what happens to a shadow's size when a light source moves. Students can be challenged to consider real-world applications of how materials interact with light or how sound travels through different materials, connecting unit concepts to engineering or environmental contexts at a deeper level of analysis.