Lesson Plan

Grade/Subject: 1/Science

Unit: Senses

Lesson Duration: 1 hour

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General Learning Outcomes:
Student will:
1-9 Use the senses to make general and specific observations orally and by producing captioned pictures.
1-10 Describe the role of the human senses and the senses of other living things, in enabling perception and action.
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Student will:
1. Describe ways that people adapt to limited sensory abilities or to the loss of a particular sense; e.g., colour
blindness, inability to see objects at close range.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will:
1. Identify problems that can occur with our eyes.
2. Identify aids that can be used to combat eye problems, specifically blindness.

ASSESSMENTS
Observations: While going through the worksheets
make sure the students are following along,
participating, and completing the assignment.

Key Questions/Considerations:
What problems can occur with our eyes?
What aids do people use to combat those problems, specifically
people who are blind?

Written/Performance Assessments:
-Completion of the Master #11 (front and back) worksheet Braille Practice

LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Resource #1: Grade 1 Topic D: Senses Edmonton Public Schools Lesson Resource

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

Unit Booklet (Worksheets: Master #10)

YouTube VIDEO Ginny Owens: How I See It: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfuxuxmoGXU
Lentils
Braille Alphabet
Smartboard

PROCEDURE
Introduction (5 min.):
Hook/Attention Grabber: clapping game/ review of what senses are used when we clap back the patterns.
Assessment of Prior Knowledge:
SAY: The last couple of lessons we have been learning about the 5 senses. We have learned what they are (See, hear,
touch, smell, and taste), what body part goes with each sense, how our brain controls our senses through the nerves
connected to our brains, how our senses can warn us of dangerous situations and keep us safe, and how we can
describe objects only using our sense of touch! Weve talked about our favourite things to touch and how we can
identify all the different textures around us.
ASK: Who remembers what we learned about in our last lesson?
SAY: Today we are going to be learning more about our sense of sight. Weve talked a little bit about the parts of the
eye and how our eyes work. Weve learned how our eyes and our brain work together to allow us to see the way we
see.
SAY: Today we are going to be talking about how people who have trouble seeing or who might not even be able to
see at all are able to live their every day lives just like you and me.
ASK: What problems could people have with their eyes? (Discuss things like needing glasses, colour blindness,

blindness, etc.)
Transition to Body: continue to discuss ideas with the class

Body (50 min.):

Learning Activity #1: Discussion/ Video Ginny Owens: How I See It
SAY: Those are all great ideas. Did you know that inside the pupil or your eye is a lens? The job of the lens is to bend
light that comes into the eye. The lens helps the rays of light focus on the inside back of the eye. (In some cases, lenses
that are incorrectly shaped bend the rays of light too much or too little.)
SAY: When this happens, the images become blurry. This is when eyeglasses are needed to change the way light is
bent.
SAY: A person who is nearsighted is able to see things close up, but faraway objects appear fuzzy or blurry. A
farsighted person is able to see things far away, but not up close.
ASK: Have any of you heard of someone who is colourblind?
SAY: Colourblindness occurs when people dont see colour correctly. They may see green as the colour red for
example, or not be able to distinguish the difference between colours. This happens because of problem with what is
called the cones in your eye, or sometimes with the nerves that connect the eye to our brains.
ASK: What is it called when people arent able to see at all?
SAY: People who are legally blind are people who even with glasses arent able to see very much at all. Some blind
people can still tell if its light or dark outside, but they wouldnt be able to look at the clock, for example and tell what
time it was.
ASK: What can people who are blind do to function like you and me?
DO: Discuss things like guide dogs, white canes, and BRAILLE
SAY: The Braille alphabet is based on a rectangle made up of six dots, numbered one to six. By changing the number
of dots used, and raising different ones, Louis Braille came up with enough combinations to represent the alphabet,
numbers, and punctuation marks.
DO: Have students think back to the touch receptors activity. We found out that the fingertips are extremely sensitive
to touch. This enable blind people to recognize Braille easily.
SAY: Today Im going to show you a short clip about a lady who is blind and uses Braille every day to read and
function in her life. Shes going to show us a Braille cookbook, so look closely at the paper she is reading by running
her fingers across the Braille dots.
DO: play VIDEO Ginny Owens: How I See It: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfuxuxmoGXU
Transition: have helpers pass out booklets and open up to the appropriate page.
Behaviour/ Management HELP: If students are being too loud or Im unable to get their attention quickly try teaching
them the Hands on top/ that means STOP! saying.
Learning Activity #2: Braille Practice Worksheets
Assessment: Make sure to monitor the students progress.
DO: Pass out the Braille Alphabet sheets and explain how they work.
DO: Go through the second side of the worksheet together and decode the message in Braille. Explain to the students
that we are going to decipher Braille by colouring in the dots that would normally be raised for blind people to feel.
DO: Once the decoded message is complete, turn to the front side of the paper and have the students write out their
names on the lines provided. Then have them colour in the appropriate dots according to the Braille alphabet.
DO: Once the dots are coloured in, pass out the lentils.
DO: Have the students get out their glue, and have them glue a lentil on the dots that they coloured.
SAY: Your dots are going to need time to dry, so dont touch them just yet, but weve created a representation of what
Braille might FEEL like for a blind person. Just like you guys are learning your letters and alphabet, a blind child
would learn the Braille alphabet and be able to read a book written in Braille, just like you would be able to read a
book written in print!
Transition:
SAY: Leave your booklets open on the corner of your desks so your Braille can dry. Ill find a place for them when you

are at recess. Please return your Braille Alphabet sheets to the middle table and return to your desks.

Closure (5 min.):
Consolidation/Assessment of Learning:
SAY: Today we learned about problems that can occur with our eyes. We talked about needing glasses, not being able
to see colour, and not being able to see at all! We identified aids that can be used to combat eye problems, specifically
blindness. We learned about the Braille Alphabet and how blind people can use it to function just like you and I can.
Transition To Next Lesson:
SAY: Thanks for being such good workers for me today, Grade Ones! Its almost time for gym, so when (the helper)
sees youre ready we can begin our end of the day routine.
Feedback To Students/ further assessment: while students are in gym, look through the booklets and circle any wrong
answers on the completed worksheets, so they can fix any mistakes before beginning the next science lesson.