Activity set: The Moon
I have chosen The Moon activity set as it is engaging and provides lots of opportunities for active learning and opportunities to examine and investigate space phenomena first-hand. I particularly loved the flour activity where the children used different-sized balls to create craters in flour which resemble the different-sized craters on the surface of the moon. I would use this activity as a starting point to look more closely at the moon and generate further opportunities for discovery.
The moon is an excellent starting point and introduction to astronomy. Its spherical shape reflects the spherical shape of the Earth and the moon is easily observable, especially on September and October mornings. The children could easily observe the changing shape of the moon as it passes through its phases, not to mention that they would enjoy using the telescope to observe the moon daily.
I think that using the moon activity set would provide many opportunities for extension activities and linkage to other areas such as time in maths; the lunar cycle marks the passage of time as a month.
Children are fascinated by the lunar missions and watching them in class would be an enjoyable learning experience. Studying the lunar missions could also lead to even more extension activities, discussing how maths was used and needed to get to the moon, the space race, artwork and designing and making rockets. All of these activities could open up endless questions to explore. We could explore questions of physics, geography, forces, materials, chemistry, an endless list of child-led inquiry-based learning.
Not least we could also examine the moon’s cultural significance around the world, throughout history exploring stories, poetry, myths, legends and songs. As well as the many possibilities for child-led, inquiry-based exploration, the Moon Activity set would offer countless opportunities for cross-curricular linkage and integration.