A trade book relating to a black and white world gives students a hypothetical stiuation on which to reflect, draw, and write. The second stage leads with color blending to review vocabulary and introduce new light and color words. Food coloring, crayons, and assorted cellophane are used in assorted activities. Words are integrated into weekly spelling tests while emphasizing meaning with definition poetry, science pictionaries, and additional trade books. The viewer bag consists of a wearable paper grocery bag with a section cut out in front to insert various fabrics.
Students then write about life in a viewer bag.
Partners can opt to write together about a realistic or science fiction day. The third stage relates the idea of light and color to the human eye. Rainbow activities, optical illusions and making a model eye all come into this stage as students begin to understand the relationship light and color have with one another. The culminating activity involves making an easy and effective kaleidoscope. The primary benefit of this unit is that is allows students to use hands-on experiements to discover their world around them, and simultaneously incorporate understanding through language arts activities.