Grades: 1-6
*This is a lesson I taught to first through sixth grade students as part of a weeklong science camp.
1. Use a microscope or magnifying glass to view insect eyes. Discuss how there are many lenses, usually more than two eyes, and discuss how some insects have their eyes in different places on their head so they can see behind and to the sides of their body.
2. Allow students to look at a picture through a bundle of straws. This is like looking though many lenses like an insect.
3. Split students into groups. Designate one student in the group to be the insect. Have the other group members try to sneak up on the insect.
4. Now give one student in each group a pair of glasses that have mirrors attached so that they have see behind themselves (like rear-view mirrors). Tell them that the insect is going to wear these while the other group members try to sneak up on the insect. Have them predict what will happen.
5. Instruct the other students in the group to try to sneak up on the insect with their glasses on. Discuss the results.
6. Give each student a turn to be the insect.
7. Have students record their predictions on the worksheet. Also, have them describe what it’s like to be able to see behind their body.
