Magnify It

This resource is a lesson plan to present the use of a magnifying glass in doing observations. The students do a comparison between using their eyes to do the observing and then using the magnifying glass to aid in the observation. In this lesson, students will view objects of various sizes from several viewing distances to discover that their visual field is limited. Students will record what they see and will compare their observations with classmates in an open, nonjudgmental forum. They will have the opportunity to speculate about and experiment freely with magnifying glasses and will also conduct more structured experiments.

 

Weblink address (URL): 
Magnify It

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 

Students will:

  • understand that there are limits to what the eye can see and that a magnifying glass can help extend those limits.

 

Essential and guiding questions: 

Which object is easiest to see? Why?

Are objects easier to see up close or far away?

How small would the object you observed have to be before you couldn't see it any more? How far away?

What are some things you have trouble seeing?

What can you do if an object is too small or too far away for you to see?

Do you know of any tool that might help you see objects more easily?

Are your two sets of drawings the same or different? If they are different, in what way?

How did the magnifying glass affect your vision?

How might people use magnifying glasses in real life?

What other tools do you know that help people use their senses and bodies better?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Understanding
Extension suggestions: 

This lesson may be supplemented by the related Science NetLinks lesson Scientific Inquiry, which is designed to introduce students to the skills of gathering, recording, and communicating observations.

Science, Optics & You can help you extend students' experience with and understanding of magnifying glasses. This site includes an interactive tutorial that allows students to move a magnifying lens closer to and farther from an object and observe how that affects the size of the image they see.

Helpful Hints

Materials needed:

  • Common objects of various sizes and shapes, such as blocks, coins, pencils, books, and erasers
  • Yardstick
  • Masking tape
  • Magnifying glasses

References

Contributors: 
Jennifer Hassell
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation