Experimenting with a Motion Detector Kathleen Hogan 1st grade Hyattsville Elementary School
Today we will make some observations and talk about what we observe when someone stands in front of a motion detector that is attached to a computer. A motion detector is something that can tell when another thing is moving in front of it-it detects motion. Think about those doors that open all by themselves at the store. There is a motion detector attached to those doors that can tell when you are in front of it. The motion detector is attached to a motor that pulls open the doors. We will explore to find out how a motion detector works. As we explore, we will discuss what we see on the computer and why we think it is happening. Then we will write and draw about it. As a person moves in front of the motion detector today, it will record a line on the computer screen. This line, along with the person who is moving in front of the motion detector, will help us in our discussion and help us make some predictions. 1. Now that we have moved in front of the motion detector and have seen the lines we made, draw and write about it. ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. Watch the computer screen as someone stands still in front of the motion detector. What happened? When the person stood still in front of the motion detector ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ 3. Watch the computer screen as someone walks towards the motion detector. What happened? When the person walked towards the motion detector the line ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 4. Watch the computer screen as someone walks away from the motion detector. What happened? When the person walked away from it ____________________ ____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________. 5. Watch the computer screen as someone walks towards the motion detector and then away from it. What happened? _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 6. Think for a minute and then make a prediction. What do you think the line will look like when someone walks away from the motion detector and then towards it. Draw what you THINK it will look like. Now draw what it REALLY looked like. Were you right?____________________ 7. This box is for making your own line and trying to recreate it as you stand in front of the motion detector. Did you do it? Write your answer here. ____________________________________________________ Name_____________________________Date______________ Homework Today at school we played with a motion detector that was attached to a computer and the Smartboard. We observed and discussed what happened when someone stood in front of it. We wrote down our thoughts and made predictions before and after someone moved in front of it. Look at your classwork paper. Use the information you wrote down to answer the questions. 1. Draw what the line looks like when someone is standing still in front of the motion detector. 2. Look at this drawing. Is the person moving toward or away from the motion detector? 3. Look at the next drawing. Finish the drawing if the person went away, then toward, and then away again. 4. Write a few sentences telling about this activity. Tell what you did. What was your favorite part? Did you like doing it? Would you like to do it again? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________