Teach Science With Fergy

Engagement Through Application

Teaching Optics

Optics – Day-By-Day Walkthrough

Below you’ll find my daily unit walkthrough. However, if you’d like the resources that go along with the plans, you’ll be interested in my membership.

Inside my membership you’ll get access to all the resources listed below and so much more, including

  • Over 1000 science lessons
  • 100+ video lesson walkthroughs
  • Additional day-by-day teaching outlines, activities, projects, quizzes, tests, and more all organized by subject and type

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If you’re looking to flip your classroom or are teaching online, you’ll be interested in using my Complete Lesson Walkthrough Videos. To simplify this document, I’ve added the lesson videos as homework which can be assigned if desired.

If you decide to use the video lessons I would suggest you spend the first 10-15 minutes of class the next day to review the key concepts.

If you’d like the resources that go along with the plans, you’ll be interested in my membership. It includes the tests and quizzes in addition to the presentations, activities, worksheets, and full video lesson walkthroughs.

Day 1:

  • Day 1 – Pinhole Camera
  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 1 – Light
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 2:

  • Review – Lesson 1 – Light
  • Day 1 – Pinhole Camera
  • HW
    • Watch – Lesson 2 – Lasers, Absorption, and Transmission
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 3:

  • Review – Lesson 2 – Lasers, Absorption, and Transmission
  • Laser demonstration reiterate ideas about lasers from PP compared with light from a ray box
    • Use a flashlight to show light rays in all directions (1/4πd2) and Laser
  • Laser Maze
    • I create small groups and give each group a laser and a mirror for each member. I then place a target on the wall and instruct them to manually hold the mirrors so that the laser beam reflects off each one and hits the target on the wall.
  • Day 2 – Pinhole Camera
  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 3 – The Production of Light
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 4:

  • Lab Station Activity – Light Optics and the Production of Light
  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 4 – Ray Diagrams, Reflection and Plane Mirrors
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 5:

  • Day 3 – Pinhole Camera
    • Start Building

If you’d like the resources that go along with the plans, you’ll be interested in my membership. It includes the tests and quizzes in addition to the presentations, activities, worksheets, and full video lesson walkthroughs.

Day 6:

  • Day 4 – Pinhole Camera (½ day)
    • Last Day – Everything needs to be done by today

Day 7:

  • Quiz Lesson 1-5 – 2 DAYS
  • HW:
    • Complete your pinhole camera project – due next day
      • Upload your video and a picture of your answers to the Day 3 questions to the submission box
    • Watch – Lesson 5 – Reflection in Curved Mirrors
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 8:

  • Quiz Lesson 1-5 NEXT DAY
  • Review Pinhole Camera videos
  • Review – Lesson 5 – Reflection in Curved Mirrors
  • Concave Mirror Demonstration
    • I usually just get some concave mirrors and show the students firsthand the images they produce. This would also be a good time for a lab if you have one available.
  • HW:
    • Mirrors Ray Diagram Practice – Walkthrough video included

Day 9:

  • Quiz Lesson 1-5
  • Curved Mirrors Practice Problems
  • HW: 
    • Watch – Lesson 6 – Refraction – Part 1
    • Watch – Lesson 6 – Refraction – Part 2
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 10:

  • Review – Lesson 6 – Refraction
  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 7 – Snell’s Law
    • Complete Student Notes

If you’d like the resources that go along with the plans, you’ll be interested in my membership. It includes the tests and quizzes in addition to the presentations, activities, worksheets, and full video lesson walkthroughs.

Day 11:

  • Review – Lesson 7 – Snell’s Law
  • Snell’s Law Worksheet
  • HW:
    • Snell’s Law Worksheet

Day 12:

  • Snell’s Law Lab
  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 8 – Lenses and Focal Point
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 13:

  • Review – Lesson 8 – Lenses and Focal Point
  • Student Activity – Lenses

1)     Draw rays for both lenses

2)     Find focal point

3)     Measure focal length

4)     Repeat with converging lens at a different distance from ray box

  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 9 – Lenses – Ray Diagrams
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 14:

  • Review – Lesson 9 – Lenses – Ray Diagrams
  • Ray Diagram Lenses Worksheet
  • HW:
    • Any unfinished work from today
    • Watch – Lesson 10 – Thin Lens Equation and Magnification
    • Complete Student Notes

Day 15:

  • Review – Lesson 10 – Thin Lens Equation and Magnification
  • Thin Lens and Magnification Worksheet
  • HW:
    • Thin Lens and Magnification Worksheet

Day 16:

  • Optics Unit Review
    • This would be a good place to assign textbook questions or other review sheets.
  • HW:
    • Watch – Lesson 11 – The Eye
    • Complete Student Notes
      • The Blindspot Activity is in this folder too. For the activity, it’s important to follow the instructions exactly for it to work.

Day 17:

  • Review – Lesson 11 – The Eye
  • Review Day
    • Optics – Behaviour of Light Review

Day 18: 

  • Optics Test

Click here to access all these resources plus a lot more inside my membership.
– Over 1000 science lessons
– 100+ video lesson walkthroughs
– Additional day-by-day teaching outlines
– Activities, projects, quizzes, tests, and more all organized by subject and type.

Join us, you know you want to 🙂

Click here to learn more about my membership and how it will help you.