DISCUSS: How do you think a rainbow is made?
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity and exploration which you just completed.
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DISCUSS: How do you think a rainbow is made?
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Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity and exploration which you just completed.
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In this mini-lesson, students discover how water acts like a prism, splitting white sunlight into all the colors of the rainbow. In the activity, Chasing Rainbows, students create their own rainbows using cups of water, sunlight, and plain white paper.
Preview activity| Chasing Rainbows(Grades 2-3) printout | 1 per student |
| Chasing Rainbows (Grades 4-5) printout | 1 per student |
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Chasing Rainbows (Grades K-1) printout
For this level, we have also created a script for you to use when leading your class through the activity. |
1 per student |
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Blank Paper (8.5 x 11")
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1 sheet per group |
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Clean-up Supplies (Eg. Paper Towels)
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1 roll per class |
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Crayons
Each group needs the colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). Colored pencils also work.
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Details
6 crayons per group
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Pitcher
For filling cups with water.
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Details
1 per class
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Clear Plastic Cups (10 oz)
Avoid cups with frosted or ridged sides.
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Details
1 cup per group
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Index Cards (3x5)
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1 card per student |
You will need a sunny day and access to water for this activity.
We recommend students work in groups of four. Homeschool students can work on their own.
This video shows how to set up a cup of water so that sunlight passing through the water separates into rainbow colors.
Make sure that your chosen location will be sunny at the time of day that you plan to do the activity.
If you are working with a class, make sure each group will have space for their own glass. If you can’t find a place that will accommodate students working in groups, you can opt to do the activity as a demonstration and encourage students to try it at home.
Before you try this with a class, do a trial run in your chosen location or in another sunny spot.
After you complete the lesson and activity, try this extension.
How is a rainbow made?
What did this lesson make you curious about? What other questions do you have about rainbows?
After you complete the lesson and activity, try this extension.
You can create rainbow colors at home! Squirt a dime-size amount of dish soap into a bowl. Add water. Use a straw to blow some bubbles. Can you see colors in the bubbles? Look carefully! If you can’t find colors, move the bowl to a spot with different light. Like a rainbow, the colors that swirl in a soap bubble come from white light. The surface of the bubble splits the light into many colors!
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