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What if there were no windows?
Lights & Sounds Unit | Lesson 3 of 6

What if there were no windows?

Lights & Sounds Unit | Lesson 3 of 6
Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
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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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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
Lesson narration:

Grade 1

Light, Sound, & Communication

Light, Materials, Transparent & Opaque

1-PS4-3

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

Exploration

10 mins

Grade 1

Light, Sound, & Communication

Light, Materials, Transparent & Opaque

1-PS4-3

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