Teachers' Lounge
Help spread awareness of healthy sight in your community. Together with Transitions Optical, we’re proud to offer a complete school program kit, including lesson plans for teachers and eye doctors to present either individually or together at schools.
Why is healthy sight so important for school-age children?
Children who have undiagnosed vision problems can suffer from low self-esteem. They can become frustrated more easily, have trouble concentrating on reading, feel stupid, experience frequent headaches, or rub their eyes until they smart. Once their vision is corrected, children with eyeglasses hold their heads high and exude confidence — if the adults around them are positive and supportive.
How can I help my students feel better about the need to wear glasses?
Check your own attitude about glasses first. Don't assume your students won't want to wear them. Eyeglasses have come a long way since the "coke bottle" lenses of our parents' generation. With the advances in thin, lightweight plastic and photochromic lenses, and so many cool frames, your students could very well be enthusiastic about wearing glasses to emulate older kids or to express an individual sense of style.
Some teachers say that they have found it more beneficial to quietly compliment a student on his or her new glasses, rather than make a fuss.
What else do I do to boost their self-esteem?
Many popular characters from works of children's fiction wear eyeglasses. These can serve as role models for students.
- Harry Potter
- Meg in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time, A Wind In the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet
- Beverly Cleary's Ramona
- American Girl Dolls' collection books about Molly
As you know, kids can always find reasons to tease each other — whether it's a new pair of eyeglasses or a growth spurt. As you also know, these types of teasing incidents are usually short-lived and don't require your intervention. You can help by providing tips for the student who is being teased to handle the situation on his or her own. Maintaining a sense of humor helps.
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Lesson Guides
The Vision Council of America (VCA) and Transitions Optical, Inc., through VCA's Check Yearly. See Clearly. and Transitions' Eye Didn't Know That! public health campaigns, have joined together with Scholastic Publishing — the largest publisher and distributor of children's books in the world — to create a teaching guide entitled "Our Amazing Eyes."
Three different versions of the guide are available at the appropriate levels for grades 1-3, 4-6, and 7-8.*
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Free Educational Materials
Educational Posters*
Download our free educational posters:
Fun Facts [PDF]
ABC's of Healthy Vision [PDF]
Lesson Plans*
The first three lesson plans of our school program are available for
download.
Lessons in this kit include:
Lesson 1 - Anatomy of the Eye
Lesson 2 - Seeing is Believing
Lesson 3 - Fun in the Sun
Each lesson includes objectives, a materials list, instructions, an activity, and topics for a class discussion. Reproduction of this program is permitted and encouraged.
The lessons in this kit can be presented by teachers or eye doctors. Teachers should reach out to local eye doctors to invite them to speak to students. Eye doctors can contact local schools, youth organizations, or parent-teacher associations and offer to present a lesson to students. By combining forces, teachers and eye doctors can provide a dynamic and important learning experience for students.
ABCs of Healthy Vision Kit*
Youth Vision Kit [PDF]
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Eyecare Discovery Activity Guide
Find oodles of activities for little kids, bigger kids, and anyone who wants to explore how eyes work. It’s great for teachers, doctors, and parents too!
Part 1: Eye Innards
The information and activities in this section introduce you to the parts of the eye and how they work. You’ll find the point in your eye where things can disappear, watch the iris of your eye open to let light in, see the shadows of blood vessels inside your eye, look inside a cow’s eye, find out how to exercise your eyes, and more.
Part 2: Seeing Stuff
The information and activities in this section give you a chance to explore how your vision works. You’ll discover how to see in the dark, when you can (and can’t) see color, what happens when your visual system gets tired or doesn’t get the information it needs, and how you can tell a real smile from a fake one.
Part 3: Looking Through Lenses
The information and activities in this section let you experiment with lenses and reflectors, find out how sunglasses work, see what happens when you bend light, and find the lenses and reflectors that are around you every day.
Part 4: Fooling Your Eyes
The information and activities in this section explore how your eyes and brain work together. You’ll discover your ability to see faces where there are none, watch people seem to shrink and grow, see colors that aren’t really there, and more.
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Provided by Eye Didn't Know That!, a public health campaign of Transitions Optical, Inc.
