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Virtual and Augmented Reality

Seventh graders explore the difference between virtual reality, which drops you into a made-up world, and augmented reality, which layers digital things onto the real one, plus how the headsets track you and where the tech is used.

Grade 7Virtual and Augmented Reality45 minutes1 class periodUse → Modify → CreateExplicit teaching4 StandardsCSTA
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Tell VR from AR.
  • ✓See how tracking works.
  • ✓Name real uses.
  • ✓Weigh the trade-offs.
Essential Question

A VR headset puts you on a mountain that is not there; AR drops a dinosaur into your real classroom. What separates virtual from augmented reality, and what do we trade for them?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore VR and AR · Interactive

Explore VR and AR

Project this and open each card to explore what VR and AR are, how they work, and the trade-offs.

🥽 Explore virtual and augmented realityTry it

The Lesson · Use → Modify → Create (a coding progression with Unplugged practice)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — A Different Reality

5 min

Put on a VR headset and you are standing on a mountain that is not there. Hold up a phone in AR and a dinosaur appears in your classroom. Both change what you see. How are they different?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Describe a VR moment.
  • Describe an AR moment.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Explore VR and AR

12 min

Students explore how VR and AR work.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Explore VR and AR.
  • Open each card.
  • Note the ideas.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explore.
  • Read.
  • Note it.
3

Modify — VR, AR, or Neither

13 min

Students classify examples.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a tech example.
  • Say if it is VR, AR, or neither.
  • Explain how you know.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
4

Create — Design an Experience

15 min

Students design a VR or AR idea.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick a problem or subject.
  • Choose VR or AR to help.
  • Sketch what the user would see.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Choose.
  • Sketch.
5

Reflect — Real and Virtual

5 min

Students reflect on VR and AR.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • What is the main difference between VR and AR?
  • Name one helpful use and one risk.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and ISTE Standards for Students.

CSTA
2-CS-01

Describe how internal and external parts of computing devices connect to support interaction.

CSTA
2-IC-20

Compare the trade-offs associated with computing technologies that affect everyday activities.

CSTA
2-IC-21

Discuss issues of bias and accessibility in the design of new technologies.

ISTE
1.4.a

Innovative Designer: use design processes to imagine new solutions with technology.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • VR / AR picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ reality ___ the real world.”
  • Explore one card at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with VR vs AR.
  • Sort a few examples together.
  • Explore one idea before the next.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Compare the sensors VR and AR each need.
  • Research a real training use of VR.
  • Debate the privacy trade-offs of AR glasses.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🥽VR / AR example clips
  • 💻Explore VR and AR
  • 📱A phone AR demo
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

virtual realitya computer-made world that replaces what you see, through a headsetaugmented realitydigital things added on top of the real world you seeheadseta wearable screen-and-lens device for VR or ARimmersivefeeling surrounded by and inside an experiencetrackingfollowing your movements so the view updatessensora part that detects motion, position, or the world around yousimulationa safe, computer-made version of a real situationtrade-offa benefit you gain by giving up something else
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is the main difference between VR and AR?
VR replaces the real world with a computer-made one; AR adds digital things on top of the real world you still see.
QUESTION 2
Name one helpful use and one risk of VR or AR.
Use: safe training for pilots or surgeons, or seeing a 3D model to learn. Risk: cost, motion sickness, or privacy from cameras and sensors.
QUESTION 3
Why does a headset need to track your movements quickly?
So the view updates instantly as you move; slow tracking makes the world lag and can cause motion sickness.

Create: design an experience.

Have students pick a problem or subject, choose VR or AR to help, and sketch what the user would see, so the tech connects to a real purpose. A printable VR-and-AR worksheet is in the Computer Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Virtual and Augmented RealityFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Virtual and Augmented RealityQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Virtual and Augmented RealityPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: augmented reality, headset, immersive, sensor, simulation, tracking, trade-off, virtual reality
  1. feeling surrounded by and inside an experience
  2. following your movements so the view updates
  3. a safe, computer-made version of a real situation
  4. a benefit you gain by giving up something else
  5. a wearable screen-and-lens device for VR or AR
  6. a part that detects motion, position, or the world around you
  7. a computer-made world that replaces what you see, through a headset
  8. digital things added on top of the real world you see

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is the main difference between VR and AR?
  2. Name one helpful use and one risk of VR or AR.
  3. Why does a headset need to track your movements quickly?
Answer key — Part A: 1) immersive · 2) tracking · 3) simulation · 4) trade-off · 5) headset · 6) sensor · 7) virtual reality · 8) augmented reality
Part B: 1) VR replaces the real world with a computer-made one; AR adds digital things on top of the real world you still see. 2) Use: safe training for pilots or surgeons, or seeing a 3D model to learn. Risk: cost, motion sickness, or privacy from cameras and sensors. 3) So the view updates instantly as you move; slow tracking makes the world lag and can cause motion sickness.