6.1 Light & Matter
Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?
Lesson 1 - Day 3
Prep Work
Make Charts
Initial Class Consensus Model
Related Phenomena
Slides
Run Down
15 Min
FORM A SCIENTISTS CIRCLE AND DISCUSS CLASSROOM NORMS
Arrange the classroom and students in a Scientists Circle. Before developing a classroom consensus model, develop explicit, shared norms for the learning community.
18 min
DEVELOP AN INITIAL CLASS CONSENSUS MODEL
Stay in a Scientists Circle while students share their diagrams. Facilitate a Consensus Discussion to develop the Initial Class Consensus Model.
12 min
BRAINSTORM RELATED PHENOMENA AND ASSIGN SELF-DOCUMENTATION
Generate a class list of possible related phenomena and experiences. Assign home learning for students to document related phenomena in their lives over the next few days.
Assessment Opportunities
Formative Assessment
Consensus Model
What to look/listen for:
Areas of agreement:
One side is dark and one side is light, and this is probably important.
The light side is the side where you see a reflection.
The dark side is the side where you see through the material.
The one-way mirror material can be both a mirror and a window, and this is likely related to the light.
Areas of disagreement or uncertainty:
arrows showing what you see or showing what the light is doing, but little agreement about how to
use arrows
what the one-way mirror does that allows us to see through it and also see a reflection on it
how different amounts of light in the two rooms contribute to the outcome
how light’s interaction with the one-way mirror causes the phenomenon
What to do:
As your students suggest ways to represent how the one-way mirror works, use probing questions, particularly when they suggest using a line or arrow (e.g., Where does the line need to start and stop? or What direction is the arrow pointing? and Why does it point that way?). Allow both “line of sight” (LOS) and “path of light” (POL) suggestions on the Initial Class Consensus Model. Use this moment as a pre-assessment of your students’ prerequisite 4th-grade understanding of light. Continue to monitor their use of lines and arrows in Lesson 2 to help you decide if you need to take advantage of the additional Building Prerequisite Understanding activities offered. These modifications can be used to ensure all students have the necessary foundational understandings to move forward in the unit.
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