Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Look into my eyes!
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/eyes/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/eyes/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Name the pupil, iris, cornea, lens and retina.
- Know that the pupil changes size with the light.
- Know that the eye sends messages to the brain along the optic nerve.
- Observe carefully and safely.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: look at a friend's eyes. What colours can you see? |
| 10 min | Read the text with a big eye picture on the board. |
| 15 min | Watch the pupil change, in pairs. |
| 5 min | Game: Big pupil or small pupil? |
| 10 min | Quiz and worksheet. |
Materials for the experiment
- A partner
- A normally lit classroom (no torches or lamps)
- A pencil and the results table
Safety: Never shine a torch or any light into someone's eyes, and never look at the Sun. Don't touch or poke eyes. Be gentle and kind: only watch.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| The pupil is a black dot painted on the eye. | It is a hole that lets light in. |
| The eye sees by itself. | The eye turns light into messages; the brain makes the picture. |
| Glasses make eyes stronger. | Glasses help the eye make a sharp picture; they do not change the eye. |
Worksheet answers
- An eye with a coloured iris and a black pupil in the middle.
- Smaller.
- The optic nerve.
- The pupil was big at first and then got smaller.
Quiz answers
- What is the coloured part of your eye called? The iris. The iris is the coloured ring.[1]
- In bright light, your pupil gets… smaller. The iris makes the pupil smaller in bright light.[2]
- Where are the cells that turn light into messages? In the retina, at the back of the eye. The retina is at the back of the eye.[1]
- Which part makes the pictures you see? Your brain. The eyes send messages and the brain makes the pictures.[1]
- Which cells see colours? The ones that need more light. The cells for dim light see only grey.[2]
Going further
Repeat the pupil experiment by a window and in a darker corner of the room. Where does the pupil look bigger? Draw both.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] How the Eyes Work (National Eye Institute (NIH, USA)): reliability High
- [2] Biology 2e, 36.5 Vision (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [6] Types of Refractive Errors (National Eye Institute (NIH, USA)): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/eyes/sources/
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