1st grade · Science · Unit 2 of 7
Light & Sound
Bright, dark, loud and quiet
What your child practices
Sources of light and sound, loud and quiet, high and low sounds, shadows, and how light passes through glass but not walls.
Alaska content standards learning standard: 1-PS4-1; 1-PS4-2; 1-PS4-3 · sound and vibration, seeing only with light, and how materials block or let through light
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- The sun, a flashlight and a candle make their own light.
- We need light to see colors.
- Light passes through clear glass but not through a wall.
Example: Does a spoon make its own light? A spoon can shine, but only when light hits it. It does not make light. Answer: no
Light & Sound in Alaska
In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 2 of 7 in 1st grade Science, after Animal Survival and before Sky & Seasons.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Move your hand closer to a lamp. What happens to its shadow?
💡- 🔵it turns blue
- ⬇️it gets smaller
- ⬆️it gets bigger
⬆️ it gets bigger
Hint: The closer your hand is to the light, the more light it blocks, so the shadow grows.
Question 2
Does the moon make its own light?
🌕- ✨Yes, it glows by itself
- ☀️No, sunlight bounces off it
☀️ No, sunlight bounces off it
Hint: The moon has no light of its own. It shines because sunlight bounces off it.
Question 3
Which one do we use to make music?
- 🧦sock
- 🥁drum
- 🖍️crayon
🥁 drum
Hint: When you tap a drum, it makes a sound. Boom, boom!
Question 4
Which one wakes you up with a sound?
- 🪞mirror
- ⏰alarm clock
- 💡lamp
⏰ alarm clock
Hint: An alarm clock rings loudly to wake you up.
Question 5
Is the sound loud or quiet? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 📢 loud · 🤫 quiet
- 🚒fire truck siren
- ⛈️thunder
- ⌚ticking watch
- 💬whisper
- 🥁drum
- ❄️snow falling
📢 loud: fire truck siren, thunder, drum · 🤫 quiet: ticking watch, whisper, snow falling
Hint: Loud sounds are big and strong. Quiet sounds are soft, and you have to listen closely.
Question 6
Does it make its own light? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: ✨ makes light · ⬛ does not make light
- 🪨rock
- 💡light bulb
- 🥄spoon
- 🔦flashlight
- ⭐star
- 🌙moon
✨ makes light: light bulb, flashlight, star · ⬛ does not make light: rock, spoon, moon
Hint: Light sources glow on their own. The moon and mirrors only bounce light back.