Back in April, my two student teachers were planning and teaching our unit on Lights and Shadows. They introduced me to the fascinating world of light sensitive paper.
Waiting for what seemed like endlessly for a sunny day, the students selected three items and ventured outside with their light sensitive paper in hand. They placed their chosen objects on the paper, waited for two minutes, and then immediately placed the paper into a bin of water for one minute. The paper was left to dry, and over time became imprinted with their objects.
Not only were they excited to see their finished artwork, but as was I. In all of these years of teaching this unit, I had never even heard of this paper prior. It was such a fun and engaging activity, and something that I know my students will remember for years to come.
In the past few weeks, they each created a reflection on the experiment, describing how it worked, the steps they followed, and what they created on their paper.
In their reflections, their learning was evident and the concepts were clear. Plus, it was a great way for me to model that even as teachers, we can always learn something new!
Out With Erin 