Inventor's Lab
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
More Than Magnifiers
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Program Overview
The Delta Science Module (DSM) series has 51 life, physical, and earth science units for grades K-8 that emphasize science concepts, science content, and process skills. The series includes 12 modules for grades 5-6 and 8 modules for grades 6-8. Each requires about 3 to 4 weeks to complete and includes a teacher's guide and materials for a class of 32 students.
Teacher's Guide
Recommended grade level:
5-7.
In Lenses and Mirrors, students investigate the refraction and reflection of light by lenses and mirrors as they come to understand how light can be manipulated to help us see things. In this module students investigate how light rays behave when they strike a reflective surface. They discover the connection between the location of an object and the apparent location of its reflection. Then they construct a pinhole viewer and learn why rays passing through a very small hole produce an inverted image. Students discover what happens when light is reflected off more than 1 mirror, investigate the reflection patterns produced by 2 mirrors joined at 1 edge, examine the reflections produced by 2 vertical mirrors and 1 horizontal mirror positioned to form a 3-way corner mirror, and observe the results when light rays strike concave and convex mirrors. In other activities they investigate lenses and discover that lenses change the appearance of things by causing light rays to converge or diverge. They also learn the difference between real and virtual images and the types of lenses and mirrors that produce them. They learn the different parts of the eye and how they work with the brain to produce images, and then learn how eyesight is tested and discuss how lenses are used to correct eyesight. Finally, students design and conduct their own experiments with lenses and mirrors.
The 12 activities in Lenses and Mirrors take 30 to 60 minutes each and can be done by students working individually or in groups. In addition to direction for activities, the teacher's guide provides a module overview, a schedule of activities, objectives for each activity, background information, materials management and preparation tips, sample answers to discussion questions, teaching suggestions, and reinforcement activities. Also included are reproducible activity sheets for student work and a performance-based assessment. A "connections" feature at the end of each activity provides suggestions for extending or applying the concepts addressed.
Key to Content Standards: 5-8 (see app. C)
UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES: Evidence, models, and explanation; change, constancy, and measurement.
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY: Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry; understandings about scientific inquiry.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Transfer of energy.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Abilities of technological design; understandings about science and technology.
Prices:
Teacher's guide (ISBN 0-87504-115-9), $27.95. Kit, $379.00. Refill package, $33.00.
Publisher/Supplier:
Delta Education.
Materials:
Available locally, from commercial suppliers, or in kit.
