Light Activities KS2 Education & Cultural Services Department Ripple Effect (Year 3 to 6) The ripple effect is an idea whereby you create a set of events which trigger off other events, and the children have to foresee what could be the consequences and how they could minimise the risks – a bit like a risk assessment but more interesting. The idea can be used throughout science and is a tool for teaching scientific knowledge.

Consequences—What Could Happen Next? Mr.Jones has made some serious mistakes in his house. Read his story carefully! Mr.Jones keeps meaning to fix the fuse box for the electrics but keeps forgetting. He has some battery-powered lamps which he uses in case of emergency, but he hasn’t tested the batteries for over a year. Mr.Jones has some candles in his bedroom next to the pile of papers which need to be sorted out. The matches have been left downstairs from his sons birthday party. The street lamp outside his house is not working, and the council are coming round tomorrow to fix it. The television in Mr.Jones’ house isn’t working properly, and only has a black screen when you turn it on. His emergency torch is downstairs in the cupboard under the stairs. The moon can hardly be seen tonight. The cat always sleeps on the top step of the stairs. Mr.Jones’ son left a toy car on the floor downstairs. The phone is downstairs in the lounge. One night, Mr.Jones thinks he can hear noises from downstairs. He decides to go and investigate. What might happen ?

Light Activities KS2 Education & Cultural Services Department Light Travels (Year 6) L3 - Arrange, by trial and error, the position of a mirror to direct light in the required direction L4 - Know that the angle of light beam hitting the surface is the same as the angle at which it is reflected L5 - Explain reflections using ray diagrams (1)Give the children some mirrors, plastiscine and torches. Tell them they have to send the light from the torch all around the table in a complete circuit. What do they see? Draw a ray diagram to demonstrate the path of the light. (2) Extension – give the children a mirror and a torch. Ask them to position both so that they can see the torch behind them. Now draw a ray diagram to show how the light enters the eye.

Light Activities KS2 Education & Cultural Services Department Light travels and Reflects (Year 6) L3 –know that light travels in straight lines from a variety of sources L4 - L4 - Know that the angle of light beam hitting the surface is the same as the angle at which it is reflected L5 – To know that the direction of a beam of light can be indicated by a straight line with an arrow Set up a shoe box with a mirror at one end and 3 holes cut out at particular points. Get the children to shine a torch through each hole and determine whether light can be seen at each hole. Why? Children could make more holes and experiment themselves. Children can draw ray diagrams to show direction of light.

3 Useful Websites - Curriculum/Science.htm Sammy’s Guide To Light L Roby