Activity

Eye study

Summary
Students look at their own eye in a mirror to find identify visible parts. Use a flash light to change the size of the pupil.
Science content
Biology: Features, Adaptations of Living Things (K, 1, 3, 7)
Biology: Sensing, Organ Systems (4, 5, 6)
Lessons activity is in
Materials
  • mirror each
  • flashlight for each pair
Procedure

Students look at their eye in the mirror.
Ask them to find their pupil. That is where the light comes in. It looks black because no light comes out again.
Find the iris, the coloured part. This is a muscle that opens and closes the pupil. What colour is your iris? What colour is your neighbour’s iris? Different people have different coloured iris muscles.
Students can find other parts of their eye e.g. eyelashes, sclera (white of the eye), eyelids.

Students can draw their eye.

We regulate how much light is coming into our eye by changing the size of the hole, the pupil.
Look at your eye in the mirror. Move the flashlight onto your pupil, then away, watching it.
Look for the pupil changing size. It should get smaller when the light shines on it, and larger when the light moves away.

Notes

Hard for Ks to manipulate mirror and flashlight - try in pairs.

Grades taught
Gr K
Gr 1
Gr 2
Gr 3
Gr 4
Gr 5