Lesson Planet
Search educational resources
  • Sign In Try It Free
  • AI Teacher Tools
    • Discover Resources Search reviewed educational resources by keyword, subject, grade, type, and more
    • Curriculum Manager (My Content) Manage saved and uploaded resources and folders To Access the Curriculum Manager Sign In or Join Now
    • Browse Resource Directory Browse educational resources by subject and topic
    • Curriculum Calendar Explore curriculum resources by date
    • Lesson Planning Articles Timely and inspiring teaching ideas that you can apply in your classroom
    • Our Story
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
  • Pricing
  • School Access
    • Your school or district can sign up for Lesson Planet — with no cost to teachers
      Learn More
  • Sign In
  • Try It Free

Hi, what do you want to do?

Create a lesson plan
Create a lesson plan
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Find a teaching resource
Find a teaching resource
The Camera Obscura Lesson PlanThe Camera Obscura Lesson Plan
Publisher
National Gallery of Canada
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
7th - 9th
Subjects
Visual & Performing Arts
1 more...
Resource Type
Lesson Plans
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
2 hrs
Instructional Strategies
Discussion
1 more...
Lesson Plan

The Camera Obscura

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This The Camera Obscura lesson plan also includes:
  • Activity
  • Graphic & Image
  • Rubric
  • Vocabulary
  • Join to access all included materials

You can create a camera with even the most unassuming materials. Learners view photographs and talk about the art. Some background information is included about the camera obscura for you to present before individuals make their own cameras with tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls. Using their cameras, they make observations about light.

16 Views 12 Downloads

Concepts

properties of light, light

Additional Tags

properties of light, camera obscura, concepts of photography, visual and performing arts

Instructional Ideas

  • Once your class members have completed the camera-creating process, take it another step and have them make art using images they see in their cameras
  • Create your own slide show of the provided images so that pupils can see the photos in greater detail

Classroom Considerations

  • You may wish to begin planning this in advance so that kids can bring in tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls to use to make their cameras

Pros

  • Click around the tabs on the resource webpage to find many supporting and additional materials

Cons

  • None

See similar resources:

Lesson Plan

Light in Painting

Huntington Library
How do painters use and manipulate light in their artwork to give emphasis and establish mood and emotion? Pupils will analyze a few examples of landscape and portrait painting in order to explore the how light is used in art,...
4th - 8th Visual & Performing Arts
CCSS: Adaptable
Activity

Create Dynamic Art Using the Eclipse!

Big Kid Science
What happens to light as it passes through a hole? This is the main question centered around the designing of a solar eclipse dynamic art piece that uses a solar eclipse and paper to create a pinhole projection of the art.
K - 12th Science
Instructional Video

Dissecting The Camera

Crash Course
An episode of a film history playlist looks at camera technology and the roles of the various operators. The narrator presents an overview of different types of film camera lenses, apertures, shutter speed, frame rates, ISO, and codex....
9 mins 8th - 12th Visual & Performing Arts
CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Video

How Art Can Help You Analyze

TED-Ed
"Close study of art can train viewers to study thoroughly, analyze the elements, observe, articulate them succinctly, and formulate questions to address the seeming inconsistencies." Show your young learners how the study of art enhances...
5 mins 9th - 12th Social Studies & History
Activity

Lesson 3 - Lighting Design

Curated OER
The final lesson in a series on theatre design spotlights how lighting is incorporated into a production. After watching videos that focus on lighting fixtures and their positioning, individuals create a basic design plan for a scene,...
6th - 12th Visual & Performing Arts
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Lesson: Younger Than Jesus: Understanding, Looking at, Making Abstract Art

Curated OER
Before the class makes abstract art, they see contemporary examples and analyze them. They look at art made by abstract artists under the age of 33 then use similar techniques to create an interesting collection of their own. The lesson...
9th - 12th Visual & Performing Arts
Lesson Plan

Art: Interactive Art

Google
What would the Mona Lisa say if she could talk? Scholars create a digital story within the Scratch block-based coding program. They make famous paintings talk and move when viewers click on them to complete the third of eight parts in...
5th - 9th Visual & Performing Arts
Lesson Plan

Art Criticism: Understanding Wayne Thiebaud's Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts

Curated OER
Analysis consists of an understanding and interpretation of evidence and elements found in any number of expressive mediums. Upper graders critique the work of American Realist Wayne Thiebaud through a series of excellent guided...
9th - 12th Visual & Performing Arts
Instructional Video

Building Analysis Skills Through Art

Teaching Channel
Useful teaching strategies abound in this inspirational, informative video! Walk step by step through one teacher's two-part lesson in her special education/ELL class as they develop text analysis skills by first beginning with...
13 mins 6th - 12th English Language Arts
CCSS: Designed
Unit Plan

Islamic Art; Exploring the Visual Arts of the Middle East

Yale University
The intent of this unit is to demonstrate some of the traditional arts of the Middle East. Extensive background information on the religion, culture, and nature of Islamic art found throughout the Middle East is provided. Each of the...
5th - 8th Social Studies & History
Try It Free
© 1999-2026 Learning Explorer, Inc.
Teacher Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Resources

Sign up for the Lesson Planet Monthly Newsletter

Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • Health
  • Language Arts
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Special Education
  • Visual and Performing Arts
View All Lesson Plans

Discover Resources

  • Our Review Process
  • How it Works
  • How to Search
  • Create a Collection

Manage Curriculum

  • Edit a Collection
  • Assign to Students
  • Manage My Content
Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use