LP2microscopes

Reference Materials Recommended (texts, workbooks, picture books,
maps, videos, websites, audio materials, etc.): Images of objects taken with
high-power microscopes, The Usborne Internet-Linked Complete Book of the Microscope
(available from Usborne or Scholastic)

Additional Notes, Suggestions or Comments about the Unit: This unit
requires that there is at least one microscope per two children. Microscopes are affordable
and can be purchased at local toy stores or from on-line stores such as Toys R Us or Nasco.
For microscopes that don’t have lights, be sure to bring some flashlights or small lamps to
help focus the light.

Materials Required: Microscopes, slides, coverslips, tweezers, small amount of water in
a jar for wet-mount slides, objects to observe under the microscopes (news print, newspaper
photographs, feathers, insect wings or legs, leaves, grasses, flower parts, fabric, pond water,
dust, etc.), rags for cleaning up. Photographs taken with high-powered microscopes (from
library books or Internet).

Class Content and Activities:

Show the class photographs taken with high-powered microscopes and have children
and parents try to guess what the objects are.
Introduce microscopes -- the different parts and their functions, how they work, what
to be careful of, what to do, and what not to do, etc. Important parts to point out
include the eyepiece, objective lenses with different powers of magnification, stage,
focusing knob and mirror/light.
Set up the microscopes. Explain how to make a wet mount using a cover slip; explain
how to focus, etc.
Give the children objects to observe starting with some news print and newspaper
photographs. Follow with feathers, insect wings or legs, leaves, fabric, pond water,
dust, etc.

Have children think of other things they would like to look at up close. List on the board.

Homework: Assign children different categories of items to prepare for the following
week's stations (crystals, fur, water samples, fabrics, insects, blood, etc.). Also, have
children write about how they feel about using microscopes and look at the Usborne
Internet-Linked Complete Book of the Microscope.

Class Content and Activities:

Set up Microscope Stations: Children and parents set up microscope stations of items
the children have brought in. Set up the slide(s) of objects to be viewed.
Children go from station to station and draw a sketch of what they see in the circles on
the Microscope Exploration reproducible.

Homework:

police and detectives -- p. 17 (see the Everyday Items section and read about Hair) and
p. 20 (Website 2)
archeology -- p. 18 (British Museum)
food -- p. 50, Food microscopy (esp. Microorganisms)
space scientists -- p. 66 (U. of Michigan Web site about life on Mars)
computer science -- p. 75
medicine -- is anyone’s relative or friend a nurse? if so, interview them.
other -- does anyone have a friend or relative who uses a microscope at work? if so,
interview them.

Materials Required: High-power photographs of salt, sugar, ajinomoto, makeup powder
or other similar looking powder or other similar looking substances seen under a microscope
(from books or Internet).

Class Content and Activities:

Children sit in a circle and in turn explain what they learned about how microscopes are
used at work.
Guess the White Substance!

a. Hand out a work sheet with sample photos taken under high-powered

microscope.

b. Children and parents set up microscope stations and slides for different white

substances. Each station is given a different white mystery substance.

Children sketch what they see at each station, then compare results with the sample

photos

and guess which white substance is which.