Afterimages

An afterimage is a faint impression that you continue to see after looking at something bright. This activity invites K–5 students, in both English and Spanish, to explore this phenomenon and investigate the question, “How can we predict  the color of an afterimage?” Students explore by staring at colored images on a screen and investigate by drawing and staring at their own colored images. The investigation video introduces color-light mixing to help students answer the question.This activity supports the 4th grade science standard on the senses and information processing.

Teachers can use this activity in virtual or in-person environments, with minimal prep time and readily available online tools. Slides scaffolding the student experience can be modified to suit different learning contexts.The accompanying Teacher Support Guide contains suggestions for how to use the activity, support for sense-making discussions, content background, and connections to ELA, math, and the 4th grade science standards.