Learning about Lenses

The first thing I did was open my pouch and leave out the materials for a couple of days. Fifth student asked what all the glass was for. I told him that he would see, but if he wanted to look at them meanwhile he could if he was extra careful with them. So, by the time I gathered them for the first lesson in optics,

a few days later, they were ready to hear about...terms such as concave and convex...
and transparent, translucent, opaque and reflection and prism
because they now had a use for the words. They enabled them to talk about the discoveries they had made and continued to make.

It took their discoveries from individual observations to shared experiences,

and we could transfer all our discoveries over to everyday things...

such as a single drop of water.

(If you would like a more guided method, these discoveries are outlined in Real Science 4 Kids Physics Pre-Level I, Experiment 9: Splitting Light)