Let light shine

What you'll need

• Laptop and projector
• "Light helps us see" slideshow
• "Stained glass" teacher instructions

Craft

Recommendation: teacher to prepare an example of the stained glass craft before class.  This is beneficial because it shows the students exactly what they are expected to do.

• Wood craft sticks (or popsicle sticks), 4 pcs per student
  • Optional: Use black construction paper if preferred
• Paint brushes, 1 per student
• 8.5 x 11” wax or parchment paper (used as contact paper) enough for the class
• Colored tissue paper ripped into small pieces or pre-cut to approximately 2x2” squares with paper cutter or scissors
• 1 container of watered-down white liquid glue per group of students (ratio 4:1 glue to water)
  • Pour a small amount of glue into a small container (e.g. yogurt containers) and mix in some water until the consistency is runny.   If the students are sitting in groups, 1 container of runny glue may be used per group.
• Newspaper or a disposable tablecloth to protect the tables
• Scissors

1. Use a laptop and projector and open "Light helps us see" slides on the board. Start by asking students to think of ways light is important to us.

• It makes us feel good.
• It helps us concentrate and learn.
• It provides energy for plants to grow. 
• It allows us to see.

3. Explain how humans need light to see. In slide 2, illustration shows a bedroom with the lights on and the lights off.  Imagine you lost your favourite toy in one of these rooms. Let students pick which room they would be able to find their toy (the one with the lights on).  We need the light to travel from the lamp, reflect on the toy, and into our eye to see.
4. In slide 5, explain that some light is natural, and some light is artificial. 
   • Natural light sources are found in nature.  Ask students examples of natural light (the sun, moon, stars, lightning, jellyfish, fireflies - some animals light up naturally).  Let students share their personal experiences (Example: ask “Have you ever seen a firefly light up at night?  Have you ever seen a full moon?”)
   • Artificial light sources are made by humans. Ask students examples of artificial light.  Let them share examples from their personal experience. Some examples are: lights in the classroom, computer screens, the projector, light bulbs, lamps, flashlights, holiday decorations, glow sticks, TVs, phone screens.
5. Refer to the diagram on slide 6.  Show the path of light and how it travels to the eye.

• Have students imagine being outside looking at flowers in a garden on a sunny day.  The sun shines its light on the flower.  Light travels to the flower and “bounces back” to your eyes, which allows you to see it.   This means the light “reflects” into our eyes.
• Let students think about trying to look at the same flower at night, without the sun. It becomes much harder to see the flower. This is because there is a lot less light.

Craft activity

1. Start by showing a ready-made example of the stained glass craft. Optional:  you can pass the ready-made example around the classroom.
   • Hold up the craft against the window to show natural light shining through. 
   • Hold up the craft against the light from the projector to show artificial light shining through. 
   • Use body language to show the path of light traveling from the sun, “bounce off” or reflect on the coloured paper, and into our eyes.   
2. Ask students “what does it mean for light to “bounce off of things” to let us see? Ask students to say the new word out loud together: reflect.
3. Lay down newspaper or a tablecloth to protect the students’ tables.
4. Hand out 1 stained glass stencil per student. If they are sitting in groups, hand out 1 container of cut-up or ripped up tissue paper per table and 1 container of watered-down glue per table. The colours can be mixed up in the container. Hand out 1 paint brush per student.
5. Give each student a piece of wax or parchment paper. 
6. Use the paint brush to brush a thin layer of runny glue on the wax or parchment paper. Ask students not to use too much glue because it will cause the wax or parchment paper to rip.  Explain that it’s okay when problems happen. Stay positive because there is always a way to find a solution! If the paper rips, use a small piece of dry wax or parchment paper to seal up the tear.
7. Ask students to be creative and attach different colours on the wax paper. The different pieces of tissue paper may overlap. Continue doing this until the entire square is covered in coloured tissue paper. Here are some possible variations that the teacher may suggest: 
8. Students may rip the paper into different shapes. Use a mixture of small pieces and bigger pieces.
   • Students may use a combination of squares and ripped pieces.
   • Students may overlap different colours to make new colours, example: pink + blue = purple
   • Students may create different shapes, example: hearts, stars
9. When students are done, ask them to cut out the stencil.  Glue the stained glass pattern onto the back of the stencil. Allow the glue to dry for at least 4 hours.        
10. Ask students to gently hold up their crafts against the window and again use the light from the projector or the lights in the classroom. 
11. Wrap up by asking students to explain in their own words how light travels and reflects, and what they observe about their stained glass art. Optional: Ask students to write their names on their craft. You can make a display of everyone’s craft by sticking it against the window.