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Spatial Requirements: Regular classroom setup: little or no space required
Activity Type: Object lesson
Grades: 2-12
Group Size: 2 or more
Time: 5-10 minutes

Introduction: Seeing over the wall is about having a clear vision of where you are going or what you want to accomplish.  This activity is designed to help illustrate how things are much more complicated and difficult when our vision isn’t clear.

Materials:

  • Sunglasses
  • Vaseline
  • 3 blown-up round balloons

Activity: 

Prepare for this activity by rubbing Vaseline on the outside lens of a pair of dark sunglasses to create “shady shades.”  It will work best if the Vaseline is rubbed on in a circular motion.

Give one of the students a balloon and have him/her bounce it in the air. Add the second balloon. For older students, you may even add a third balloon. The object is to see if the student can keep all of the balloons in the air at one time. He/she should be really successful with one balloon, and somewhat successful with two. Now collect the balloons, and tell the class that the student will now have to juggle the balloons with some shady shades on. 

Now have the student repeat the activity wearing the sunglasses. 

You may want to allow other students to repeat the activity so they can see for themselves how much more difficult the activity is with bad vision.

For an added layer of difficulty, have three students attempt it at the same time. 

You can vary this activity by having students do different tasks without the glasses, then repeat with the glasses.

Processing the Experience:

  • How much more difficult was this activity with the shady shades on? 
  • How did you feel while you were working without the sunglasses? How did you feel while working with the sunglasses? Why?
  • What are some other things that would be difficult to do if you couldn’t see clearly?
  • How is this activity like seeing over the wall or not seeing over the wall?
  • What are some goals you would like to accomplish? In what way would not having a clear vision of your goals affect your ability to accomplish them?
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