Hi all, my name is Eileen. I was teaching 1st and 2nd class this year. I am hoping to get some new ideas from the course for next year.
One of my favourite inquiry based learning science activities I have used in the past is a photo hunt. When teaching about materials and their properties, I first discuss what materials the children know about, their uses and where they might see them around school. Then we walk around the school and take photos of different materials with the iPads. When we get back to the classroom, we discuss & sort them by their materials or functions. We discuss why some materials are used for different things e.g. metal is used for the sink, why not wood or plastic?
Photo hunts are also great for Maths & are a great way of getting a movement break in too.
My favourite space fact is the average star is between one and ten billion years old!