Light Energy Lesson Module

In the Light Energy module, students learn that light energy is the energy that allows them to see the matter around them. Through interactive lesson and activities, students explore the differences between natural and man-made light.

Core Concept

Light energy is energy that can be seen and is generated by natural and manmade sources.

Essential Vocabulary

Light energy, generate, manmade, natural, opaque, reflect, reflection, shadow, surface, transparent, wave

Lesson Plan

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Interactive Demos

Reflect and Produce

This Elaborate session allows students to apply what they have learned to new situations. In this session, students participate in a selection of activities that focus on science process skills and content understanding. To complete the session, students work independently, or with peers, to complete an offline activity that reinforces science process skills.

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Light Energy Song

This Elaborate session promotes the use of formal definitions and explanations in a format not traditionally used in science instruction. In this session, students view an animated literature piece and use their digital Notebook to record their ideas. Students also participate in a teacher-led discussion that emphasizes the science content. To complete the session, students participate in offline activities that reinforce the connection between science, literature, and the arts.

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Professional Development

Science4Us provides the essentials that teachers need to confidently and effectively lead a classroom in any science lesson. This demo shows:

One section of the "Teacher Explain"
One of the 40 teacher support documents

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Additional Information

Light energy is energy that can be seen and used to see the matter around us. It can be manmade or natural, like the light from the sun. In this module students are introduced to the characteristics and properties of light energy, its uses, and various sources of manmade and natural light.

By completing computer and hands-on activities, students experiment with the concepts of transparent and opaque objects, shadow and reflection. As they record what they’ve learned, students build math and science skills by measuring length and making a graph to log results.

Take the online material further by making use of the professional development available in the form of printable teacher guides. These teacher guides include hands-on activities, follow-up discussion questions and more to help students recall information and enhance the online activities.

Additional professional development is available in the form of Teacher Lessons. These help you prepare for each lesson by allowing you to go over the student material prior to implementation. In addition, you will get a chance to review best practices, vocabulary extensions, content background and more. Reviewing all the covered concepts will help your students enhance their learning, improve retention and ensure clarity, preventing common misconceptions. For example, students may have the misconception that light is something they can touch or hold. In fact, light energy, like all forms of energy, is the result of matter interacting and cannot be held in their hand.

Correlations to K-2 Standards Free K-2 Science Resources Sign up for free!