Victoria A. Raucci
Lesson 1: Asking Scientific Questions
Objective: Students will understand the difference between the three types of questions: Verification, Significant/Theory, and Experimental questions.
The students will pose different questions that they will categorize into the three different types of questions. Verification questions are basic data collection questions. Significant/Theory questions increase knowledge of a subject, but require prior knowledge to build upon. Experimental questions require in-depth answers that require testing.
77
Lesson 2: The Visible Light Spectrum
Objective: Students will be able to understand how light travels and what makes light and color visible to the human eye.
The students will use a jump rope to simulate how light travels in waves. By moving the rope very slowly (to the point where it barely looks like it is moving), or so quickly that the movements are almost blurry), they can demonstrate the effect of what is visible to the eye and what is not. Students will follow up with questions about what the effects of movement have on the colors we see.
To illustrate that white light is made up of colors of the visible light spectrum, students will use lamps with colored light bulbs (green, red, and blue). They will combine the colors on a plain white surface to create "white light". This will illustrate that colors can be combined to create white light. Students will be given opportunities to create questions and make predictions before experimenting with combinations of the colors of the light bulb.
Students will also separate white light into the main colors of the visible light spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) by using a prism.
Follow up activity will allow the students to experiment with combining colors of paint to see if the colors combine in the same manner as light.
Lesson 3: Properties of Light
Objective: Students will understand that there are three basic properties of light (refraction, reflection, and absorption) and how those properties affect how we see objects.
To illustrate refraction, shine a laser pointer in a jar that is filled half-way with water. Observe how the beam of light appears bent in the water. Allow students to reflect on how refraction can be utilized to see objects in a new and different way (glasses, telescope, etc.)
To show reflection, shine the laser on a mirror and observe how the angle of the light hitting the mirror correlates to the angle of the reflection.
To discuss absorption, ask students to think about what color shirt they like to wear on a hot summer day. Most students understand that black shirts keep them hotter. Allow students to reflect on absorption of light can be utilized in everyday life (light can be converted to heat as a fuel-efficient energy source).
Finally, the students will use the color light bulbs that were used in lesson two. By placing the light bulbs into lamps and shining them on a white surface, students will notice that the color of the light bulb is reflected back. Students will then write questions before they get to experiment with shining the colored light bulbs onto surfaces with the same color background as the light.
Lesson 4: The Anatomy of the Eye: Human vs. Canine
Objective: Students will be able to identify physical differences between a human eye and a canine eye to discover the impact on vision in both creatures.
The students will examine both exterior pictures of a dog and a human for visible differences in the eyes, including location of the eyes in the skulls. They will also look at diagrams of the eyes for each and note the differences between the main parts of the eyes (basic shape, lens size and shape, cornea shape, location of lens), and then create questions about the impact on vision of the two creatures.
Next, the students will compare diagrams of eyes of various creatures from G.L. Wall's "The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation", with particular emphasis on noticing differences between diurnal, nocturnal, and crepuscular creatures. Students will consider the advantages of the individual structure of each eye for the vision of the given creatures.
Students will also compare diagrams of the retinas and photoreceptor cells of the human eye to the canine eye. They will consider the behavior and individual needs of both dogs and humans and will create questions of why the eyes are structurally different.
Lesson 5: What Does it All Mean?
Objective: Students will reflect on previous lessons and will apply their knowledge to determine the reasons for given situations.
Students will look at given photographs and explain the reasons for the situations: Photo of a dog that shows light reflecting from the eyes (retinas reflect the light twice to illuminate the image in low light); picture of a dog jumping over blue and yellow hurdles during agility test (these are the colors a dog can clearly distinguish due to the type and number of cones in the dogs' eyes); picture of a dog catching a Frisbee in mid-air (dogs have a great sense of motion based on the number of rods in their eyes); pictures of red apples and green apples (to explain the absorption of all colors except for those being reflected back to the eye); images of a frog's eye and a human eye (external) and explain the reasons for physically different locations on the skull (prey needs to be able to scan for predators approaching from different angles, while predators need binocular vision to run and jump).
8
