35mm Black Plastic Film Canister (usually free at camera stores)
Cardboard from Cereal Box
High Gloss Clear Plastic (ex: salad bar container, toy packaging, or overhead projector transparency)
Black Construction Paper
Matte Board (scraps are free at frame stores)
Margarine Tub Lid (translucent kind)
Straight Pin
Set of Permanent Markers
Ruler
Scissors
Awl or Knitting Needle
Journals
Crayons or Colored Pencils

Example of a Kaleidoscope
White Board (or piece of white paper taped to the board)
Colorful Dry Erase Markers (or permanent markers)

    Ask the class if they have ever seen a kaleidoscope. Next ask them what it does and what it produces. (They should be able to tell you that it produces colorful pictures when you look through a hole at one end and turn the wheel on the other end.) Look into your kaleidoscope and draw a picture of what you see as best you can either on a white board with markers or on a piece of paper that is taped to the board. Begin to discuss the properties of symmetry that you can see in the drawing (kaleidoscope). Discuss how the kaleidoscope reflects light to create a symmetrical picture. Finally, tell your students that they will be making their own symmetrical designs by making kaleidoscopes.

    1. To begin creating their kaleidoscopes instruct your students to cut three-7/8" x 1 7/8" rectangles each of the cardboard, plastic and construction paper. Then have them cut one rectangle of the same size out of the matte board. (You may want to do this along with your students as you give the instructions to help give them a visual of what they are to be doing.)

    2. Once they are all finished cutting, ask the students to use the awl or knitting needle to puncture an eyehole in the center bottom of the film canister. Tell them that the hole should be about 1/4" in diameter. (You may need to explain how big 1/4" is if your students do not grasp that concept.)

    3. Next, tell your students to slide the three rectangles of cardboard into the canister so they form a triangle. Then, do the same with the construction paper, then the plastic. Explain to them that they should have a three-layered triangle with the cardboard as the outermost layer and the plastic the innermost. (This would be a good time to show an example of what you are explaining by holding up the one you are creating.)

    4. Tell them to set aside their containers and begin to make a colorful design on the outside of the margarine lid using the permanent markers provided.

    5. Once they are finished with their designs, have them push a straight pin all the way through the center of the lid and keep it there. They then should stick the pin into the edge of the 7/8" side of one piece of matte board.

    6. Tell your students to slide the matte board into the film canister along side one of the cardboard pieces. (Again, a visual example would be helpful.)

    7. Finally, once they have put their kaleidoscopes together, tell them to hold their kaleidoscopes up to the light and slowly turn the wheel (margarine lid). The three "mirrors" should symmetrically reflect the pattern on the lid, which produces the kaleidoscope effect.

    8. To wrap things up, ask your students to take out their math journals and either colored pencils or crayons. Ask your students if they can see symmetrical lines in their designs. Tell them to draw a picture of one of the designs they are seeing in their kaleidoscopes (like you did on the board at the beginning of the lesson) and then write a short paragraph about what they see in their design. (Remind them to draw it as accurate as they can because you will be checking for symmetry in their drawings.)