OVERVIEW

Activity Overview:

This lesson is going to be a supplemental lesson to our OpenSciEd Light and Matter unit that we are implementing this year. In this lesson, students will be playing around with microbits to assist them in creating their own Pepper’s Ghost Illusion.

Meta description

• Subject Area: Science
• Grade Level : 6-8
• Computer Science Domains:
  • Algorithms and Programming
• Computer Science Principles:
  • Fostering an Inclusive Computing Culture, Collaborating Around Computing
• Materials:
  • Micro:bit
• Considerations:
  • Have a basic understanding of the microbit programing, knowledge of light and matter, and familiarity with the Pepper’s Ghost Illusion.

Lesson Plan

Overview

This lesson is going to be a supplemental lesson to our OpenSciEd Light and Matter unit that we are implementing this year. In this lesson, students will be playing around with microbits to assist them in creating their own Pepper’s Ghost Illusion.

ASSESSMENT PRE/POST-TEST

What is the path that light takes that allows us to see your Pepper’s Ghost Illusion in the piece of glass?

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to explain the path that light takes in order for them to see their Pepper’s Ghost Illusion on a piece of glass.

CATCH/HOOK

Students will be shown a Pepper’s Ghost Illusion created by the teacher using either their computer or a microbit that is coded by the teacher. After this illusion, students will begin to wonder how/why the image appears on the piece of glass. Some initial ideas may be that there is a reflection from the light on the glass, but we will be diving a little deeper into this idea.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

• After the hook, draw on student’s past background knowledge. Say, “so far this unit we have learned that in order for us to see an opaque object light must first reflect off of this object and back to our eyes.” Then, encourage students to discuss with one another how they think the light was interacting in the Pepper’s Ghost phenomena from earlier. • After students have generated ideas, introduce the microbits and give student pairs an 8 x 11-inch piece of glass. Have students play around with the microbits and code their own Pepper’s Ghost. • Next Class: After they are satisfied with their microbit creation, have students work with their partner to try to manipulate their light system to make the illusion appear on the glass without the illusion being behind the glass. • Once students feel like they have figured out how to get the illusion to work, they will draw a model showing the path of light and how it is interacting with the glass and their eyes to allow them to see the illusion. • Lastly, students will watch a video of the Pepper’s Ghost Illusion as used by Disney Theme Parks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s61R31LNI5s&t=314s (start at 5 minutes and 14 seconds and end at 9 minutes and 30 seconds).

Supplements

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REVIEW

The review is going to be a discussion/share out of the models the students have come up with. Students will talk about how/why they modeled the path of light and why they did it that way. Then, the teacher will facilitate a class consensus model showing the correct path of light or the Pepper’s Ghost Phenomena.

STANDARDS