Refraction and Rainbows

For this part of the lesson, I give students 2 glass beakers and 2 pencils, although any straight object will work. (I prefill the beakers since my classroom only has one sinc.  I fill one beaker with water, and leave the other empty.) Next, I instruct students to place the pencil into the empty beaker and observe it from the side.  I direct students to write some observational notes in their science notebooks about how the pencil looks.  Then, I direct students to put the other pencil in the water and look from the same angle. Students should be able to see a bend in the appearance of the pencil, especially if they focus at the water line.  I instruct students to write brief observational notes in their science notebooks about the pencil in the water. 

Listen in as this students tries to explain what is happening.  He notices a difference in how the pencil looks but struggles to come up with exactly what he wants to say. 

Next I show students the refraction handout  (Refraction handout Explanation) and lead a brief discussion about refraction.  I ask students to explain refraction in their own words by writing about what they observed in their notebooks. 

Next, I tell students that rainbows form when light is refracted off raindrops. If the sun is at the right angle, different drops will refract different colors.  Then I show this video about how rainbows are made to help clear up misunderstandings about refraction.  

insert student video of refraction definition here)