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8th Grade  Project 2 weeks

Kristians Photography Project

Camille V
Updated
6-8.AF.1.1
MS-LS1-6
MS-PS3-2
VA:Cr1.2.8a
Effective Communication
+ 4 more
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Purpose

Students investigate the essential question, “How do cameras work to capture light and turn it into a photograph?” through observations, testable questions, and hands-on exploration of light, reflection, and image formation. Teams collaboratively create a labeled 3D camera model showing the path of light from a scene to film or an image sensor. Students present their model or supporting poster and explain one key improvement in camera design from the past to today. At the end of each session, they write or record one learning about how cameras capture light and one question they still have.

Learning goals

Students will investigate how light travels, reflects, and forms an image on film or a digital sensor to answer how cameras turn light into photographs. They will ask testable questions, gather evidence, and build a labeled 3D camera model showing the path of light, then explain how one camera-design improvement changed image capture over time. Students will connect light capture to photosynthesis as a process that moves energy into living systems and use models to examine how changing the arrangement of interacting objects affects stored potential energy. Through collaborative design, presentation, feedback, and end-of-session reflections, students will communicate discoveries, identify remaining questions, and refine their work.

Standards
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] 6-8.AF.1.1 - Ask questions (a) that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information. (b) to identify and/or clarify evidence and/or the premise(s) of an argument. (c) to determine relationships between independent and dependent variables and relationships in models. (d) to clarify and/or refine a model, an explanation, or an engineering problem. (e) that require sufficient and appropriate empirical evidence to answer. (f) that can be investigated within the scope of the classroom, outdoor environment, and museums and other public facilities with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on observations and scientific principles. (g) that challenge the premise(s) of an argument or the interpretation of a data set.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] MS-LS1-6 - Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] MS-PS3-2 - Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
  • [National Core Arts Standards] VA:Cr1.2.8a - Collaboratively shape an artistic investigation of an aspect of present-day life using a contemporary practice of art and design.
Competencies
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.

Products

Teams will create a functional 3D camera model that traces reflected light from a scene through an aperture and lens to film or an image sensor. They will add labels or a companion poster explaining light, reflection, image formation, and how the model answers the essential question. Each team will present one evidence-based improvement in camera design from the past to today and connect it to a present-day use of photography. Students will also keep a brief written or audio reflection after each session describing one learning about how cameras capture light and one question they still have.

Launch

In teams, use a safe pinhole viewer to observe how reflected light from a well-lit scene forms an inverted image, never aiming it at the sun. Compare an early camera image with a smartphone photograph, then ask investigable questions about light, reflection, image formation, and design improvements guided by: “How do cameras work to capture light and turn it into a photograph?” Introduce the challenge to create a labeled 3D camera model showing the light path from scene to film or sensor, plus a poster or presentation explaining one key improvement from past to present. End the session by writing or recording one thing learned about how cameras capture light and one remaining question.

Exhibition

Host a “Camera Science Gallery” where teams display their labeled 3D camera models and trace how light, reflection, and image formation turn a scene into a photograph. Each team presents one evidence-based improvement from an early camera to a modern design and answers the essential question using its model or an accompanying poster. Students rotate roles as greeters, model demonstrators, and question collectors while classmates, families, or another class leave feedback and questions. Afterward, students write or record one thing they learned about how cameras capture light and one question they still have.