ALEX Lesson Plan Resources

ALEX Lesson Plans  
Subject: English Language Arts (1), or Science (1)
Title: What Makes Light?
Description: This lesson is an introduction to the concept of light sources (both natural and man-made), as well as levels of light (bright, dim, dark, pitch black). Students will explore these concepts through a children’s literature read-aloud, discussion of personal experiences, brainstorming and sorting activities (with optional technology use), and hands-on activities with lightboxes. Students conclude with a narrative writing assignment. This lesson can be divided and taught over the course of several days, or integrated into multiple subject areas (reading, science, and writing blocks) as time permits.   This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Subject: English Language Arts (1), or Mathematics (1), or Science (1)
Title: Light and Sight – Why We Need Light to See
Description: In this lesson, students will investigate objects’ appearances in varying levels of light to help them construct an explanation that objects can only be seen when light is available to illuminate them. Students will discuss why objects look different in a dark room and graph their preferences for sleeping with a light on or off. Then, they will investigate how an object’s appearance changes in different lighting conditions in small group centers. Finally, they will model the moon’s path around the sun to see how light from the sun causes the moon’s appearance to change as it orbits Earth. At the conclusion of the lesson, students will use their experiences as evidence to explain that light is essential for sight. This lesson results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.

Subject: Science (1)
Title: Can you catch your shadow?
Description: This is an interdisciplinary lesson about shadows and light where we track the motion of the sun across the sky. It involves components of sunrise, sunset, involving Mathematics, Science, and English Language Arts. This lesson will involve NASA resources, hands- on inquiry, and observational data. This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.