By Sameena Rehman.
Sameena is always looking for engaging hands-on activities and meaningful assignments for her students, especially in the applied level classes. These help students understand the principles of science and remember them more easily.
This assignment involves using the laws of reflection in the Optics strand. Students have to design a laser security system for a diamond exhibit following the given conditions. Sameena has used this assignment successfully with both the academic and the applied classes; it has appealed to all the different kinds of learners in the class. They learn how to correctly measure and draw angles using rulers and protractors, as well as learning the laws of reflection of light. Students can get very creative with decorating the gallery (one student glued colourful crystals for the diamonds!) as well as naming the security system. A healthy competition arises in using the least number of mirrors while still protecting the diamonds. The completed work can be displayed for a gallery walk.
Sameena Rehman is currently teaching Science-Physics and Math at John Polanyi C I. She is interested in making science, especially Physics, easy to understand with hands-on activities and demos. Sameena can be reached at Sameena.rehman@tdsb.on.ca .