Tried and True Science Activity: The Rainbow Lab

I love this back to school lab.

It is perfect for my 6th graders the first full week of school. This lab has been around for decades, but I feel that is a sign that is tried and true!

I use this lab to reinforce measuring liquid volume, reading graduated cylinders, following experimental procedures, practicing lab safety, working with a team, and proper clean up procedures.

I have my students complete the lab using a Google Form, but this could easily be adapted to a paper version. I was a bit concerned about their devices being so close to the sinks and large beakers of water, but they did wonderfully.

I gave my students 20 minutes to complete the lab and 10 minutes for clean up. I felt this was too rushed, and will do the prelab the day before so they have more time to complete the activity. I th

ink a solid 45 minutes is ideal for this activity. This year, my students required a little extra reinforcement on reading graduated cylinders, so I added a mini lesson on this to my slideshow.

Grab this lesson freebie and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do each year!