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Project Playbook: Educator Edition
Kaleidoscope & Periscope (1 of 2)
Explore the properties of light and vision.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – LEVEL 2
Have you gazed through a kaleidoscope before? Watched a fractal reality twisting on itself? How does it work? The kaleidoscope is an optical instrument with reflective surfaces angled to each other in a way that objects at the end of the device are reflected in a geometric pattern through the optic lens.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
❏ Cardboard tube
❏ Firm clear plastic sheet
❏ Hammer and nail
❏ Clear glue
❏ Plastic wrap
❏ Tissue paper
❏ Wrapping paper (Transparent)
❏ Clear plastic pieces, beads, or scraps
DIRECTIONS:
- Draw a rectangle on the clear plastic sheet the length of the tube and two and a half times as wide.
- Draw lines dividing the rectangle into 3 parts lengthwise.
- Fold the plastic along the lines drawn, making a triangle. Use tape to hold the shape.
- Place the plastic prism into the tube, use tape to secure.
- Decorate the outside of your tube.
- Cover the bottom of the tube with a piece of black construction paper. Use tape to hold it in place. Carefully punch a small eye hole in the center of the cover.
- Cover the top end of the tube with plastic wrap. Gently push the center of the plastic into the tube to make a little cup.
- Place small pieces of transparent colored plastic in the cup. Beads work well here.
- Cover the top with transparent or wax paper. Hold in place with a rubber band, cut off excess material, and tape in place.
- Point the tube at a light source and look through your eye hole; turn the tube in your hands and watch the pattern change.
OBJECTIVE: Students will construct kaleidoscopes to observe that objects are only visible when illuminated by light.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
- What allows an object to be visible?
ENGAGE / EXPLORE
- Have students design and create a kaleidoscope
- Students shouldn’t look through it YET!
- Ask students to attach a dark piece of paper over the light hole
- This is to block any incoming light
- Ask students to draw or say what they see
- They should see nothing or blackness
- Ask students why they do not see anything
- Ask students to draw or say what they see
- This is to block any incoming light
- Remove the cover and ask them to share what they see
- Students should draw and articulate what they see
- Evaluate
- Observations
- Creating conclusions that are supported through observations
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
NGSS CONNECTION:
1-PS4-2. Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects in darkness can be seen only when illuminated.
COMMON CORE CONNECTION:
ELA/Literacy
W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
W.1.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).
W.1.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Mathematics
MP.4
Model with mathematics.
DOK:
Level 3: Strategic Thinking
