Duration: 45 minutes
SPIRIT Skills:
- Critical thinking
- Valuing people and nature
- Curiosity
- Creativity
Brief Description:
Based on the experiences gained during the experiments, students individually or in pairs create a rainbow-themed drawing that illustrates how the rainbow was formed, what they observed during the experiments, and which tools they used. They may add a short written or oral explanation next to their drawing. This is followed by a class discussion, where students share their experiences, and the teacher facilitates guided reflection and self-assessment through open-ended questions!
How does this develop particular SPIRIT skills
- Critical thinking: Analysing observations, connecting them to prior knowledge, and correcting misconceptions.
- Curiosity, sense of wonder and openness: Engaging with new phenomena and exploring multiple perspectives.
- Valuing people and nature: Sharing creations respectfully and appreciating diverse interpretations.
What do we want to achieve regarding SPIRIT skill development (student understanding and/or behaviour)?
As a result of this activity, the following students’ skills will be developed:
- Critical thinking: Describe and interpret observations, connect them to prior knowledge, and refine understanding of natural phenomena.
- Creativity: Express understanding and observations through art, exploring imaginative ways to represent concepts like light, refraction, and colours. Students interpret experiences freely and explore imaginative ways to express observations.
- Curiosity, sense of wonder and openness: Engage actively with natural phenomena, asking questions and exploring how rainbows form.
- Valuing people and nature: Reflect on observations, appreciating both the natural environment and diverse perspectives from classmates.
Academic/Curriculum Objective connection
- Visual Arts: Depicting gradients, forms, and light effects
- Environmental Studies: Processing natural phenomena
- Language and Communication: Oral or written summaries, vocabulary expansion
- Self-awareness and Identity: Sharing experiences, self-assessment.
Materials and tools needed for implementation
- White drawing paper or watercolour paper
- Coloured pencils, watercolours, brushes, water cups
- Example rainbow photos
- Sentence starters for reflection (e.g. “In the experiment I saw that…”, “The rainbow was formed because…”).
Preparation notes
- Prepare sample drawings in different artistic styles
- Support students who struggle with writing by offering sentence starters or templates
- Allocate time for peer or class-level presentation
- Display student artwork as posters on the classroom wall or bulletin board.
Guided Questions
- Which experiment did you choose to draw? What did you observe in it?
- What happens to light when it meets water?
- Why do we see the colours in an arc shape?
- What would you explain to a friend who wasn’t here today?
- Which tool did you find most interesting and why?
Stage Debriefing Questions (Optional)
- What did you learn about rainbows that you didn’t know before?
- What was your most surprising observation?
- Which tool helped you understand the most?
- If you could do it again, what would you try differently?
Tips and Tricks for dealing with stage challenges
- For students with weaker drawing skills: Provide templates or pre-printed outlines
- For fast finishers: Encourage them to add extra explanations or draw a second experiment
- For shy students: Use pair-sharing instead of whole-class presentation
- To maintain motivation: Hold a short “gallery walk” at the end where students view each other’s work
- Simple assessment idea: Use emotion icons (🙂😕🤔) for self-evaluation of understanding or enjoyment.