On April 3, National Find a Rainbow Day will send students home on a mission – find a rainbow!
Lesson – National Find a Rainbow Day – April 3
The mnemonic ROYGBIV helps us to remember the color sequence of a rainbow. A rainbow occurs when white light bends and separates into red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo and violet. These seven colors are usually cast across when the sun shines through raindrops after a storm creating a beautiful display of nature.
For your assignment, find a rainbow around you at home, in your backyard, where you play or study. Sometimes a rainbow is caused by the way the light is cast through a window or a glass of water. Does the light off a pair of sunglasses create a rainbow? Maybe all the vegetables in your supper line up just right to create a rainbow on your plate.
Using the honor system, see how many rainbows you can find. Make sure the colors are in the correct order. Keep track of the number of rainbows you find. Report where you see your rainbow and if your rainbow was the kind caused by light, explain what you think may have caused the colors to separate.
Scoring:
Rainbows caused by nature (a passing storm or puddles caused by a storm) – 5 points
Rainbows caused by other water sources – 3 points
Rainbows caused by man-made objects (refracting off eyeglasses, jewelry) – 2 points
Self-created rainbows (only 1 per student) – 1 point
Other rainbows (rainbows found in food, artwork, clothing, accessories, etc.. – 1 per student) – 1 point