What if there were no windows?

What if there were no windows?
Lesson narration:
English Spanish
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How`would`your`life
be`different`if
there`were`no
glass?

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Sort`your`materials
Worksheets

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Which`ones`were
hard`to`decide?
Where`did`you`put
them?

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Anchor Connection In the past lesson, you put things into three categories. The scientific term for each is in a yellow box. Look around the room you are in, then discuss. What is one thing that could go into each of these categories? Use the scientific terms.
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Think back to the alligators in the Everglades. Discuss. Are alligators transparent, translucent, or opaque? How do you know?
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Alligators are not see-through. The word for this is opaque. Alligators are opaque, so we cannot see into their bodies. If they were transparent or translucent, we would be able to see into the alligator’s body!
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There is another animal for us to see in the Everglades. This kind of animal has a body that is very, very different from an alligator. We have to go to a new spot in the Everglades to find it.
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You can’t hear this kind of animal. You can only see it. One of the best times to see this kind of animal is at night when it is dark. So it is best to turn the lights out in your room. When it is completely dark, watch closely.
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This kind of animal is very different from an alligator. Let’s try to figure out what is going on here.
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Get a new See-Think-Wonder Chart, or make your own with a large sheet of paper. Your teacher will add your ideas to the class chart. You won’t need your alligator See-Think-Wonder Chart now, but you will later in the unit.
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Discuss. What did you see? Your teacher will record your answers in the See column of your chart.
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What kind of an animal do you think we see here? How many of this kind of animal do you think we see here? And, do you think it is transparent, translucent, or opaque? Why do you think that? Your teacher will record your answers in the Think column of your chart.
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What do you wonder about this kind of animal? Your teacher will record your questions in the Wonder column.
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Save your chart. You will use it after the next lesson in this unit.
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More Fun with Paper Stained-Glass

Making paper stained-glass art is even more fun with these additional materials.

  • Cut up colored cellophane (available here). Use it in place of or in addition to tissue paper to make artwork that lets more light through.
  • Add opaque materials cut in interesting shapes. We like using star-shaped stickers to add dark stars to any paper stained glass project.

Ask students why adding these materials changes how their art looks.

You can also make art using a different pattern, such as a heart, a star, or a fish .

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Everyday See-Through Materials

Ask students to find all the places in their lives where see-through materials let light through. Here are some examples.

  • Eyeglasses, binoculars, and telescopes all have clear lenses.
  • Light bulbs, headlights on cars, flashlights, traffic lights, and lanterns all have clear covers over something that’s making light.
  • Bottles and jars are often see through.
  • Water is clear. (If it wasn’t, how would fish see?)
  • Jello is see through, just for fun.

What other examples can you find?

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glass


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a material people make that's easy to see through
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metal


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a natural material that is often shiny and you cannot see through it
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wood


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a natural material that comes from trees
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material


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what something is made of, like metal, wood, or plastic
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light


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what comes from the Sun and lamps and makes it possible to see things
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transparent


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you can see through it, such as with glass
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opaque


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you cannot see through it, such as with the walls of a building
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translucent


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you can kind of but not completely see through it, such as with tissue paper
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Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Exploration
bedroom by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Iriana Shiyan
living room by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Gorin
window by Roger Mommaerts
car in driveway by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Imagenet
kid acting surprised by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: saisnaps
transparent glass by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Syda Productions
office building windows by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Peshkova
lady driving a car by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Monkey Business Images
viking house by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: jps
wooden board by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Dagmara_K
rock by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: J. Schelkle
baking tray by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Paper Street Design
white wall by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: horiyan
small house by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Thomas Photo
stained glass window by Crammed with Heaven
stained glass by Image used under license from 123rf.com: Darja Vorontsova
window by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: mtr
cathedral glass making by LambertsGlas
glass making by kogvideo
glass making video by kogvideo
glass pouring by Bo Countryman
glass bottles by Penglai Industrial
attic by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: John Wollwerth
Activity
oak finish window by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: kenny1
stained glass inside of a house by Making it Lovely
shaki khan palace by Urek Meniashvili
Credits
Lesson narration:
English Spanish

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students consider materials from the perspective of how much light they let through. In the activity, Paper Stained Glass, they use these materials to create a work of art.

Preview activity
Number of students:

I have a Mystery Pack

Flower Shape printout 1 per student
Sorting Sheets printout 1 per group
Opaque Materials
Cardboard or aluminum foil.
Details
1 item per group
Translucent Materials
Wax paper, tissue paper, cloudy plastic.
Details
1 item per group
Transparent Materials
Clear bottles or food containers, colored cellophane, clear report covers, plastic bags, CD cases.
Details
1 item per group
Glad Press 'n Seal
12" per student
Various Colors of Tissue Paper
3 sheets per pair
Prep Instructions

For the main activity, Paper Stained Glass, you will need windows so you can display students' artwork.

Prepare Materials for a Short Sorting Exercise

This lesson includes a “Seeing & Sorting” exercise to get students thinking about light and materials before they make their Paper Stained Glass. We recommend you prepare a variety of opaque, translucent, and transparent materials and divide your class into groups of 2 to 4. Cut materials up so that each group has samples of all the materials. Materials do not have to be exactly the same size or shape. When you are cutting up flat materials, we suggest making squares measuring about 3” x 3” (about 8 cm x 8 cm).

Prepare Materials for Paper Stained Glass

Using scissors or a paper cutter, cut tissue paper into small squares and long strips. Watch this video to see how we did it. Watch this video to see how we prepared Press ‘n Seal squares.

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Vocabulary

Activity

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