Yes! School windows is a good idea to test as well!
Another great way to use the sensor!!! I am working on an integrated unit that is solving problems to help us get from Earth --> moon --> Mars. I could see us using this to learn how to develop an investigation and they would need to select the best material to make a visor for the astronaut helmet. We could use the lenses of the sunglasses to investigate.
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I just posted mine before reading your response. Great minds think alike! 
What a fun and practical activity! I would pair this activity with my activity measuring light levels in our classroom. How do different materials used as blinds in the classroom affect these readings?
This has tons of practical applications, and includes a straightforward use of the sensors. I donât think there would be many difficulties for the students. I see this providing a quick win for the boys in terms of sensor set up.
I would love to use this as a springboard activity and challenge the boys to explore further about how they could use and display data.
I agree about the need for specific support when using data to create graphs. My boys need the same support, despite repeated graphic activities!
This lesson was a true eye opener because the glasses I used daily did not do so well in this experiment. For students this was the quickest one which helped me to focus on the content more and be able to go back to discussion with students. There is no area right now where this would fit since I do not talk about UV rays at all; however, this would work really well when we talk about making predictions and see how it turns out as well as using this for proper note taking.
The parts where students would need support is being able to determine how to keep the position consistent. Group work again saved the day with this. Some students came up with the idea of attaching it to cardboard so it would stay still.
Mainly for this task, I as the teacher would prompt students thinking about other ways they can use this and what other conditions we can measure using this sensor. The students worked on understanding the new terms discussed and completing the tasks. This was a fun project for them because they got to get up and go by the window or for some classes, outside.
@TechTchr Thatâs a good idea to have students create visors. This would be an excellent engineering design challenge. I love how much I can learn from others on here!
I used the paper tube as well. It was a good option. Kept it consistent for mine a bit more.
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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
I think this was my favorite of all of the lessons in this course. Itâs so simple for the students to setup, it demonstrates how the Seeduino can easily collect good data, and itâs a topic that my students would easily understand and be interested in. I would include this during our unit on the electromagnetic spectrum and the properties of light.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
I donât think there are any areas of this lesson that would prove to be overly challenging for my middle school students. I would need to remind them about the importance of keeping certain variables constant (such as the distance between the sunglasses and the sensor, keeping the angle of the sunlight coming in the same, etc.) throughout the experiment.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I think I would be a facilitator for this lesson - available to answer questions as needed. I would circulate and ask questions to determine my studentsâ knowledge of the topic.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your studentâs role during the class. What does âstudent successâ look like?
Student success for this experiment would be to be able to make the sensor, collect the data, and analyze the data to draw a conclusion.
There are lots of possible extension ideas for this lesson:
-Do different colored lenses affect the UV protection?
-Is the UV light different at different times of the day?
-Are there any indoor lights that give off UV rays?
This lesson would be an easy lesson to implement in the classroom. Students would enjoy testing their own sunglasses. The Seeduino was able to rapidly collect data that students could use to evaluate their sunglasses.
The biggest challenge for them would be in trying to keep the glasses the same distance above the sensor so that the test would be âfairâ. I could extend the lesson by having them use different colored lenses, polarized lenses, and maybe even glasses made for eclipses.
Successful students would have devised a method to keep each pair of glasses equidistant from the sensor. They would have collected their data and analyzed it to make a conclusion.
- Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
We are talking about the light sensor, UV sensor, and photoresistor sensor in my Technology class. I can perfectly fit this as one of the activities. I really enjoy this lesson. It is very simple to do it and the students can work on their own. I will probably encourage them to compare the reliability of the sensors (Ardusat vs Arduino sensors). See if they can read the same.
- Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
If we are going to do the comparison between Arduino sensors and Ardusat, my students might need extra support with the code and wiring up. For this lesson, I donât see any areas of struggling. Just a friendly reminder of keeping the distance and angles.
- If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I will demonstrate the lesson, so they know the importance of keeping the same distance between the sunglasses and the sensors as well as the angles. This is a lesson for independent practice, so I will monitor and ask/answer questions.
- If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your studentâs role during the class. What does âstudent successâ look like?
This is a What if? lesson. The students should be active learners. This is an activity that should be completed in one period (45 minutes). The students should be able to plug the sensors, run the code, perform the experiment, collect data, analyze the data, and draw conclusions. This lesson is perfect to try with other variables such as the school windows or cars windows.
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I was really excited for this activity as our school has recently received a tower garden for our STEAM Lab.
Lots of students have been commenting on how bright the grow lights are and that they might need to wear sunglasses in the STEAM Lab!
I am hoping to use this activity after this weekâs Spring Break where we are focusing on âWelcoming Springâ in the STEAM Lab. This will be a great opportunity at the âTeacher Tableâ where I will have students in small groups to explore. Students will be able to make a hypothesis, test their choices, and then we will be able to compile the data as a school.
I would do a mini-lesson on UV light and have the OLED and battery back ready to go for students. I would model how to test the sunglasses and then students would get to take turns to test out the different glasses. This would be exploratory as well and we would see what students noticed and wondered. I am very much looking forward to this!
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Thatâs pretty cool and a great idea. We also recently received a tower garden. I didnât think of tying it to the sunglasses experiment âŚuntil now! Thanks.
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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)? Iâm working on Science journals and this seems like a great experiment to use to demonstrate how there is not necessarily a ârightâ answer ⌠and the importance of recording the data you find. Another connection I was thinking of is in our art lessons when we talk about colour and the light spectrum.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful? I think students might need an example but mostly, I think the execution of the experiment could be done by themselves. The results and interpreting might require support.
**If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher do during this lesson?**I think this is a hovering one. Mostly I would just circulate through the class and offer small tips and hints.
**If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your studentâs role during the class. What does âstudent successâ look like?**Being engaged. Thinking of new things to try ⌠different sunglasses, placements etc.
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Where does this lesson fit in with your curriculum (if the lesson is not a fit for the class you teach, how could the lesson be modified so that it is applicable to your curriculum)?
This lesson would fit in with the K (Sun and Weather) and grade 4 (Energy and Waves) NGSS standards. It could also fit in at the 2nd grade level when looking at properties of materials.
Which part or parts of the lesson would your students need extra support in order to be successful?
They may have a little difficulty being consistent holding the glasses in the same manner each time in taking the readings. We would talk about how we could build a device to hold the glasses so we could better control outside variables.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your role during the class. What does a successful teacher actively do during this lesson?
I would be there to facilitate and question students as to their data collection and findings. Ask them what they are noticing and wondering.
If you were to teach this lesson to your class, describe your studentâs role during the class. What does âstudent successâ look like?
Students being engaged and excited about finding out what the readings reveal. I would be super excited if my students went home and brought more pairs of sunglasses to test out the next day. They may even think of extensions for this lesson like testing windshields and windows. I might direct them to look at a bulletin board and wonder why there are color variations on it. This experiment will make it apparent on why the bulletin board paper has dark rectangles on it when the papers are taken off of the board.
I loved this lesson and now want to go test out my eclipse glasses!
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Great idea! How did you receive a tower garden? Was it through a grant?
Great ideas! I have a GrowLab in my classroom and you inspired me to check the readings with that. Are you going to use your tower lighting with the sunglasses experiment or take the kids outside? I think my lightbulbs are some kind of florescent light, but Iâm not sure how that light wave compares to a UV wavelength and it made me wonder if my bulbs have any special coating to make them safe to use in classrooms. This experiment sounds like it has a lot of potential to cover many standards from light waves to energy to plant growth to material science!
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This lesson fits in with a unit I present about summer safety. My students would probably need help setting up the equipment. During this lesson, my role would be to explain the activity and then help where needed. I think it is important to let students explore as much as possible on their own. Student success would be for students to make a hypothesis and then be able to use the data they collected to help explain why their hypothesis was correct or incorrect. Student success would also be evident if they are engaged in the learning and develop additional questions as a result of the activity and can design new experiments to find the answers to their questions.
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I like your extension ideas!
This was a fun one to try with my kids. We looked around the house and picked a few different quality sunglasses and made our best hypothesis as to which ones would block light and UV better. Both of my kids picked a pair of prescription sunglasses with a reflective coating over my nice oakleyâs and I was surprised that their pick was indeed better.
This would be a great little test to try for junior high science - Light & Optics at the grade 8 level, loved the idea of testing the TowerGarden lights - I would do that with my grade 7âs in their Plant unit. It even is a great scientific method intro at the start of the year. I connected to this activity more than some of the previous ones as I found it a practical experiment for the age of students I teach.
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I like the idea of testing different types of sunglasses - those for everyday wear (high to low priced), ski goggles (Iâm in Alberta, our Rockies are magnificent ski environments), sunvisors, solar eclipse glasses, prescription (astigmatism sensitive to light).
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