Presents activities and experiments that can be performed with mirrors to illustrate the nature and behavior of light. Includes diagrams, directives and investigative questions. (ML)

Simple laboratory investigations are given which expose elementary students to optical crystallography techniques. Procedures and materials are designed for sixth-grade students. (SA)

Provided are hands-on activities on light, simulated emission, light radiation, and common uses of lasers. Directions and materials are discussed. Included is a diagram of a laser model. (CW)

Presents two views about lenses and optics in attempt to clarify a story written by Carolyn Hermann, "Through the Magnifying Glass." Cites two references for additional reading on students' optics difficulties. (RT)

Activities used to teach optics to fifth and sixth graders are presented. Moon phases and solar and lunar eclipses are included. (SA)

Uses a projector, a prism, and two screens to demonstrate the composition of white light and detect color. (MDH)

This book contains 25 experiments designed to help students understand some of the science used every day. Each experiment includes a list of materials, a series of easy-to-follow steps, an explanation of the scientific principle demonstrated, and additional scientific facts and information. No special or expensive materials are required.…

Presents a demonstration to show the formation of images in the retina in normal vision, in farsightedness, and in nearsightedness using only a 35mm slide projector. (MKR)

Features science concepts with accompanying activities teachers can use in the classroom. Presents a lesson in optics that utilizes optical illusions to illustrate scientific points and allows students to use the following processes: observing, communicating, controlling variables, hypothesizing, and gathering and interpreting data. (ET)

Decscribes a project to make kaleidoscopes. (CCM)

Describes an exercise in which students can use flashlights, mirrors, and colored paper to discover scientific principles regarding optics. Addresses the concepts of angles of incidence and reflection, colored vs. white light, and mirror images. (WRM)

This paper describes a curriculum unit developed in the domain of geometrical optics which has been incorporated into an activity-based physics course for prospective elementary teachers. The instructional goal was to help students develop a set of powerful ideas that could be applied both verbally and diagrammatically to account for optical…

This article reports on a study that was designed to describe prospective elementary teachers' prior verbal and diagrammatic knowledge about various aspects of light, seeing, shadows, and mirror images. Data were collected through individual interviews using simple apparatus. Included are some inferences about how students' ideas may have emerged…