Table Of ContentA School Program for Grades 4-8
A Science
Curriculum
C^UPPLEMENT
J"
w
A Three Lesson
Plans
Ideal for a
Guest Speaker
INTRODUCTION
VISION, a series ofthree lessons for grades 4-8, is part ofa nationwide public education program to mark the
25th anniversary ofthe National Eye Institute, part ofthe Federal government's National Institutes ofHealth.
This curriculum supplement can be used by a teacher and/or a guest speaker. The lesson plans are designed to be
flexible. You may select a few activities for one classroom session, or use the entire supplement for several classes
on vision.
To the Teacher
To arrange for a visit from a vision researcher or eye care professional, contact the public affairs department of
your local university, state association ofophthalmology or optometry, medical association, or hospital.
To the Guest Speaker
A
Contact your local school principal or the science supervisor for the school district to arrange a classroom visit.
Share your expertise with students and demonstrate the vital role science plays in their world.
TIPS FOR THE GUEST SPEAKER
Afew weeks before your visit:
A
Call the teacher
A
Discuss the lesson plan/s you have selected.
A Find outhow much time will be available foryour class session.
A
Discuss the materials you need or will bringwith you to the classroom.
A Make overhead transparencies or posters ofthe student handouts. This will help the students follow along
with the activities.
In the classroom:
A Introduce yourself. tell students what you do where you work. tell them about your training.
.. ... ..
AMake eye contact students love the personal contact.
...
A Smile and relax tell amusing anecdotes kids love a good laugh.
... ...
A
Organize materials in advance kids have a hard time waiting.
...
A Distribute handouts only when it is time to use them...so students will not be distracted.
AUse student volunteers to set up and distribute materials...kids love to feel important.
AAsk ifthere are any questions after each activity.
Set guidelines:
A Students must raise their hands to participate.
A
Set time length for group discussions.
AUse a prearranged signal to stop discussions (bell, clapping, etc.).
A
Give the entire class time to think about the question before calling on a student to answer.
A Call on as many members ofthe class as possible...everyone wants to be involved.
A
Praise good behavior.
Enjoy the students, their enthusiasm, and their sense of wonder...they have a fascinating
perspective on the world.
uuiuuiiuJ| The National Eye Institute's mission is to improve the prevention,
VIS
diagnosis, and treatment of eye diseases. Today, the Institute
N
l_0 supports more than 80 percentof all eye research conducted in
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the United States.
LESSON PLAN
#1
The Eyes and the Great Brain Connection!
Goal: Students will identify the parts ofthe eye and Activity 3: Ideal for all ages. Allow 10 minutes.
explain the visual system ofthe brain.
Pupil dilation: Divide the classroom into pairs. Ask
students to observe their partner's pupils
Materials Needed: paper, pencils, colored pencils, or
automatically get larger and smaller as the
crayons.
classroom lights are turned offfor 10 seconds, then
turned back on.
Classroom Activities: Select two to three activities
per classroom session.
Explain that the black spot in the middle ofthe
— —
Activity 1: Ideal foryounger students. Allow 15 iris the pupil is really a hole through which
minutes for students to work in pairs. Allow 5 light enters the eye. The iris is a muscle that
minutes for classroom discussion. expands and contracts to control the amount of
light that enters the eye. In bright light, the iris
Divide the classroom into pairs. Ask students to expands and the pupil shrinks so that only a little
examine their partner's eyes and to draw a large ofthe available light enters the eye.
picture ofone eye, putting in as many details as
they can. Have them notice the color and texture of Activity 4: Ideal for all ages. Allow 15 minutes.
the eye, and use crayons to lightly color the Classroom or Take Home Activity: Distribute
drawing. Students can compare the similarities Handout: OpticalIllusions. Review the handout
and differences in the color, shape, and texture of with the class.
each other's eyes. Circulate through the room
duringthis activity and stimulate discussion. Activity 5: Ideal for all ages. Allow 15-20 minutes.
Classroom or Take Home Activity: Distribute
Activity 2: Ideal for all ages. Allow 15-20 minutes. Handout: Scramble and Word Search. Review
DistributeHandout: TheAnatomy oftheEye. the handout with the class.
Ask students to fill in the parts ofthe eye. Review Activity 6: Ideal for older students. Allow 20
and discuss the definitions with the students. minutes.
DistributeHandout: The Visual System. Review
with the students.
Just for Fun: Distribute Handout:Eye Opening
Facts.
AnswerkeytoHandout: TheAnatomyoftheEye Answerkey toHandout: Scramble and WordSearch
1. dyelie=eyelid
2. siir= iris
3. Ipuip=pupil
4. onarce =cornea
5. rsleca=sclera
6. nesi = lens
7. aclamu = macula
8. stivoruemhuro =vitreous humor
Cornea 9. ovafe=fovea
10. pocitverne =opticnerve
Sclera 11. drohcio=choroid
12 Retina 12. tranie = retina
LESSON PLAN
#2
The Imperfect Eye
Goal: Students learn about common visual disorders Pencil Test: Have students hold a pencil in one
and diseases. hand, extended in front ofthem. Place the other
Materials Needed: petroleumjelly, paper hand above the pencil and lower one finger down
onto the tip ofthe pencil. Repeat the exercise
towels/wipes, sunglasses (ask students to bring in
with one eye closed. (Note: Some students may
sunglasses), ping pongballs (one ball for each group of
three students), eye patch orblindfold, pitcher of have difficulty with this exercise since not all
students see with both eyes at the same time;
water and a cup, paper clips, paper, and pens.
covering their better-seeing eye can make this
Classroom Activities: Select two to three activities especially difficult. Discuss the following
)
per classroom session. questions afterward:
A
Activity 1: Ideal for all ages. Allow 20 minutes. Did you notice the difference between using
one eye as opposed to two eyes?
Ask students the following questions about their
classmates, families, and friends: A What types ofactivities would be more
How many wear glasses or contact lenses? difficult to do with only one eye?
A Do theyknow why? Ball Toss (works best with eye patch orblindfold)
Do any ofthem have cataracts, glaucoma, age- Divide the class into groups ofthree. Before they
related macular degeneration, diabetic begin, ask students to guess how manyballs they
retinopathy? will catch with both eyes and with one eye. Draw
How the sample score card (below) on the blackboard.
old are these people?
Ask students to copy the score card and record
Discuss answers to their questions. how many balls they catch.
Activity 2: Ideal for all ages. Have students toss the pingpongball around in
Simulate impaired vision with students. Ask groups ofthree first with both eyes, then with
students to make observations and record one eye blindfolded or patched. Ask students ifit
information. Following each ofthese activities ask was easier to catch the ball with one or two eyes.
students: How did it feel? What activities could you Can they explain why?
do with impaired vision? What couldn'tyou do?
Activity 3: Ideal for older students. Allow 20
Impairment in both eyes: Allow 15-20 minutes. minutes.
Rub petroleumjelly on a pair ofsunglasses. DistributeHandout: The ImperfectEye. Review
Have students wear the sunglasses while tr3dng with students. Ask for their comments on the eye
some common daily activities (e.g., reading a disease simulations. How are they different from
book or newspaper, pouring water from a pitcher the normal vision picture?
to a cup, making a paper clip chain, signing their
names, making a paper airplane). Just for Fun: DistributeHandout:Eye Opening
Facts.
Discuss the following questions afterward:
How did you feel while you were wearing the
glasses?
What was the most difficult task to do?
Impairment in one eye: Allow 10 minutes for each BallTossScoreCard
activity. Numberofthrows Catcheswith botheyes Catcheswithoneeye
Followingthese exercises, explain that vision
with one eye results in problemsjudging depth
and distance.
LESSON PLAN
#3
Eye Safety
Goal: Students will identify possible eye injuries,
Credits
their causes, first aid tips, and ways to prevent
SourcesusedforVISION include the following:
injuries.
TheBrightEyeKids
Classroom Activities: Select two to three activities Minnesota Societyforthe Preventionof
per classroom session. Blindness andPreservationofHearing
St. Paul, MN, 1988
Activity 1: Ideal for all ages. Allow 15 minutes.
EyeFacts:Eye Trauma
Divide students into small working groups and ask
UIC DepartmentofOphthalmology
them to discuss situations in their homes, schools, TheUniversityofIllinois
or communities that could result in eye injury. Ask College ofMedicine atChicago
them to identify protective eyewear that could be Chicago, IL
worn to prevent injury.
EYE
Q's:Activities with Vision
TheFoundationoftheAmericanAcademyofOphthalmology
Discuss their answers. List them on the
San Francisco, CA, 1992
blackboard.
ExploratoriumPathways: TheEye
Activity 2: Ideal foryounger ages. Allow 15 minutes. SchoolintheExploratorium:IdeaSheet, TheEye
Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA, 1977
DistributeHandout:Eye Safety
FlightintoSight
Discuss with students how the eye protects itself StuartR. Dankner, M.D., Pediatric OphthalmologistBalti-
from injury. more, MD
Discuss first aid tips with students. AGuide toEyeSafety
Review illustration with students. Ask them to Krames Communications
SanBruno, CA
identify six activities that are harmful and discuss
ways to prevent eye injuries. AJourney Through YourEyes:
ACurriculum Guide
Extension Activity: Ideal for older students. American OptometricAssociation
St. Louis, MO, 1992
Have students prepare a mini-presentation to
younger students on eye safety. ProtectingYourEyesAtHome,At Work,AtPlay
Ask the students to write to an eye care TheUniversityofIllinoisatChicago
Chicago, IL, 1992
professional and request information on first aid
tips for eye injuries. Have students review and The OpticalIllusionBook
discuss this information when it becomes available. SeymourSimon
WilliamMorrow and Company, Inc.
Just for Fun: DistributeHandout:Eye Opening NewYork, NY, 1984
Facts.
SharingScience with Children:ASurvival GuideforScien-
tistsandEngineers
TheNorth CarolinaMuseumofLife and Science
Durham, NC
VisionforYourFuture
AmericanAcademyofOphthalmology
SanFrancisco, CA
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HANDOUT
Optical Illusions
ometimes your eyes playtricks onyou. The pictures on this page are called "optical illusions."
Optical means vision. An illusion is somethingthat isn't what it seems to be. An optical illusion is something that
plays tricks on your vision. Optical illusions teach us about how the eye and brain work together to create vision.
In our everyday three-dimensional (3-D) world, our brain gets clues about depth, shading, hghting, and position to
help us interpret what our eyes see. But when we look at two-dimensional (2-D) images that lack some ofthese
clues, the brain can be fooled.
Can you figure out these optical illusions?
3. Is the hat taller than it is wide? 4. Are the up and down lines straight or bent?
Use a ruler to check.
Scramble and Word Search
Scramble
Unscramble the parts ofthe eye hsted below. Hint: The location ofeach is shown on the diagram.
1 . dyelie
2. siir
3. Ipuip
4. onarce
5. rsleca _
_
6. nesi
7. aclamu
8. stivorue mhuro
9. ovafe
10. pocit verne
—
drohcio
1 1 .
12. tranie
WORD R A C L N E R V E
1
SEARCH E E Y E Y T E A 0 Y
R E T N E A C A C C
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words? 1 History Tells
N E S R N Y N 0 E R
Us...
IRIS
A P V A R T N N
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CORNEA E A S U 0 E R T V first pair ofeye-
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MACULA
T E C R A C U L A P glasses cost about
PUPIL 38 cents.
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Next, the light rays go through an opening called the pupil. The
pupil is the dark round circle in the middle ofthe colored part of
your eye. The colored part is called the iris. The pupil is really a hole
in the iris. The iris controls how much light goes into your eye.
Continuedon nextpage
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T E c R A C U L A P glasses cost about
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0 D D U T E S D A
CELL 1
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