An inquiry based lesson that I would try with my Junior Infant class is ‘waterproof materials’. Science would not be one of my stronger subjects and that is why I decided to do this course. I have Junior Infants next year and really want to try my best at improving my teaching in this area as I understand and appreciate how wonderful ‘Science’ is as a topic.
The Trigger: Rain by Carol Thompson. We will read the book and then discuss what might help us keep dry in the wet weather.
I will share the learning objective with the children and then we will explore different materials that might help to keep us dry and what might not.The children will be able to name a variety of everyday materials and which ones keep us dry in the rain – rubber, wax and plastic. We will then look at items such as wellingtons/waterproof jackets/umbrellas and discuss what material we think they are made from.
From there we will start testing whether or not an item, such as a small toy figure, is waterproof. We will wrap it in different materials we have at hand and place them in water to see which one is most effective. We will then take it out to see if it is wet or dry. We will record our findings by drawing a happy or sad face beside the image of the material on a sheet reflecting what material protected the figure from getting wet and what material didn’t. I will then introduce a teddy to the children. In groups of three the children will think and decide upon what materials the teacher should use when creating a jacket for teddy. The teacher will create a jacket using the materials suggested. We will then explore how effective the jacket is by pouring water over the teddy using a watering can – simulating rain.