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ASSIGNMENT
Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module:
- Science skills and School Self Evaluation
- Online resources and tools
- Hands-on classroom themed activities
How would you use the activity in your classroom? Or What further steps might you take towards a STEM focused SSE?
Post a reflective piece (150 words min) to the forum as a reply to this post. You may include digital records of the activities.
Also, please respond to one other participant’s post. -
Online Resources and Tools
Stellarium-web.org
I would use this website for virtual stargazing in the classroom. I would display the night sky on the IWB and let the children explore different constellations and stars. I would encourage them to point out patterns in the sky. They could then use peg boards or chalk and black paper to recreate the constellations.
Milo and Marvin
I would use Milo and Marvin in role-play activities in the classroom. I would encourage children to dress up as Milo and Marvin or create alien-themed props for imaginative play. I would support them to act out scenarios from the stories or come up with their own space adventures with the alien characters.
ESA and ESA Kids
I would use this website for storytime in my classroom. We would choose appropriate stories about space exploration, astronauts, and the wonders of the universe. I would incorporate these stories into reading time to inspire curiosity about space in young learners.
I would also use this website for space themed arts and crafts using the images on the website for inspiration. Children could look at a variety of pictures and create their own rockets, alien creatures, or planets using art materials/junk.
I would also play the interactive games and solve space-themed puzzles as a whole class. This can be a fun way to reinforce learning about space in a playful manner.
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Fantastic ideas Saoirse. Milo and Marvin is a very child friendly online resource.
I also look forward to using Stellarium-web.org. I was fortunate to see a presentation while on a school tour to Blackrock Castle Observatory. It was fascinating to watch the sky change from day to night and to see the constellations, planets etc pointed out clearly, without the light pollution. The children were very engaged, this online resource could be adapted for use at all class levels.
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Thanks for sharing your great ideas. I really liked your Stellarium pointing also the patterns in the sky. I thought the Contellation Art button was fantastic and something the children would enjoy exploring greatly. They could extend the lesson by desgning their own constellation on a geoboard, for example, naming it and also creating the art to go with it. Being capable of viewing the sky from different locations around the world is simply amazing.
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In Junior Infants we have a six week block based on Space as part of our Aistear programme. I look forward to adding some of these activities into our planning.
Online resources: ESA kids has some great interactive games online that students can explore both with the teacher or independently
Investigations: The use of Vaseline to introduce how animals adapt to their environment would make for a very fun messy table explorative station
Story Time: Marvin and Milo are new characters we could introduce for story time.
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Hi Siobhan, this is a great idea. As a new JI teachers I was wondering how best to go about gathering resources for certain Aistear themes. People have so many toys and equipment at home that they would only be delighted to get rid of. I’ll definitely put out an email asking parents and its good to give plenty of notice too.
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Great idea to let parents to know in advance so that they can start sending in materials such as kitchen/ toilet rolls, large plastic bottles to make oxygen packs and any tin foil they have to spare. In my school we are lucky enough to have 2 infant store rooms where we can store Aistear resources and we can add to them each year.
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Online Resources and Tools
Stellarium-web.orgI would utilize this website for virtual stargazing sessions in the classroom. By projecting the night sky onto the interactive whiteboard (IWB), students can explore various constellations and stars. I’d encourage them to identify patterns in the sky. Afterwards, they could recreate these constellations using peg boards or chalk and black paper.
Milo and Marvin
I would incorporate Milo and Marvin into classroom role-play activities. Students could dress up as these characters or create alien-themed props for imaginative play. I’d support them in acting out scenes from the stories or in creating their own space adventures featuring these alien characters.
ESA and ESA Kids
I would use this website for storytime, selecting appropriate stories about space exploration, astronauts, and the wonders of the universe to share with the class. These stories would be integrated into reading sessions to spark students’ curiosity about space.
Additionally, I would draw upon this website for space-themed arts and crafts, using the images as inspiration. Students could create rockets, alien creatures, or planets using various art materials or recycled items.
Finally, I would engage the whole class in playing interactive games and solving space-themed puzzles from the website. This would be a fun way to reinforce learning about space through play.
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The ESA Kids website can be a fun and engaging resource to ignite your students’ curiosity about space in the classroom for multiple ages! Here’s how I might use some of the resources available effectively in my own classroom setting:
1. Capture their imagination: Take them on a virtual tour of space with ESA Kids’ and explore the planets, peek inside rockets, and witness the wonders of the universe together.
2. Spark learning: Browse the website’s space news section for age-appropriate articles. They can be a great springboard for discussions on astronomy, physics, and even history of space exploration.
3. Get hands-on: The website offers downloadable resources like various downloadable activities and worksheets. These can be used for individual or group projects, letting your students explore concepts like phases of the moon or building a model rocket.
4. Differentiate learning: The ESA Kids website is available in multiple languages. This allows students with different cultural backgrounds or language skills to participate and learn at their own pace.
5. Bridge to the curriculum: Many of the activities on ESA Kids can be linked to core science topics like gravity, our solar system, or the importance of the sun. This reinforces classroom learning and makes space exploration relevant to their studies.
By incorporating ESA Kids into your lessons, you can transform your classroom into a launching pad for a lifelong love of space exploration!
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Louise,
you can also check the wonderful ESA ISS Primary Education Kit, available in a selection of European languages. Scroll down the page to see the languages.
Also check out some of the European projects that have been implemented, they often involve producing material for children in the partner’s languages. I was involved with PolarStar, which has material in Irish as well.
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A space themed aistear station would be very interesting and there are lots of great ideas and activities to engage discovery learning for younger classes here. I particularly love the idea of introducing constellations to infants as I think they may have some concept of planets and the moon and aliens, so adding in constellation songs, stories, making constellations and exploring their names will be top of my list for planning.
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Frances, thank you so much for sharing the above Aistear pictures, Sometimes I feel in schools topics like space etc. are assumed to the senior classes however integrating space in the junior classes is exremly effective. Our senior infant teacher had space as a theme this year for aistear and she mentioned that it was one of the most engaging themes of the year. She found the pupils enjoyed using the vocab to do with space, planets etc. Our school uses the Big Box Adventures and one of the books The Spaceship ties in perfectly with this theme
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We also use space as a theme for Aistear. I am in a boys school and the pupils love it. They become really creative and love everything space! We were very fortunate to have astronauts visit our school a couple of years ago and we have lots of pictures to add to the theme. The children when they see the photos of other pupils with a ‘real life’ astronaut in the classroom!
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nice one Siobhan. Getting an astronaut to visit is huge – we were fortunate to connect with an astronaut for a rocket launch activity we did a few years ago, and have retired astronaut Dan Tani around a fair bit since his wife is from Cork, so they visit the grandparents a lot.
Did you know that there are only a bit more than 600 people who have ever trained as astronauts? There are now space passengers who can book to go on a sub-orbital flight. William Shatner (of Star Trek fame) was one of those – he flew to space when in 2021 when he was 90. You can read his account here.
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Oh my God, getting an astronaut into the school – that would be amazing! I would love to be able to speak to someone like Chris Hadfield. . I just looked up irish astronauts and Norah Patten has ben chosen as the first irish person to go into space in 2026- 2027. We might hear more about her and how schools might connect with her in the next couple of years. What a way to engage kids.
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That is an unbelievable fact Francis. I read the article tpu posted. Very poignant read and wasn’t expecting it. I could anticipate the blackness of the unknown but from my own limited perspective. Definitely not from a space afficado and the concept of the overview effect is fascinating to read. Thank you for sharing this.
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Pity I’m not in school Frances, we have a superb space theme display in our junior hall. The teacher who created it with her class is extremely artistic. I’d need to see it to even be able to explain it to you as I cant think off hand the materials used, I’d need to take a closer look. Its quite large.
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I think a space themed aistear station would be a brilliant idea and one which I will consider for next year. There is lots of scope for development and providing the children with meaningful ways to develop their understanding of space. These photos are great to get an idea of how it could be set up. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Saoirse,
would you use the actual experiments that Marvin and Milo try out? or would you be asking children to pretend to be Marvin and Milo (a cat and a dog) in versions of activities that they are already familiar with?
Is there a particular Marvin and Milo that you think they would enjoy (out of the 100+ available)?
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STEM has an extraordinarily strong role to play in schools. STEM underpins every part of our lives, its everywhere in the world around us. With STEM in mind, the emphasis should be based on skills such as questioning and problem solving which can lead to better creativity and greater innovations. It builds resilience and boosts confidence, and it enables children to embrace their mistakes as part of the learning process. It also encourages many other factors such as experimentation, tech-use and teamwork.
One website I have used quite often is http://www.sciencebuddies.org/stem-activities. It has loads of fun, hands on STEM activities, challenges and demonstrations for kids. Most materials are easy to find and most activities take no time at all. Some of the experiments include build a balloon car, build a paper rocket, elephant toothpaste, walking water, build a sandcastle that can support a brick, can you catch a bubble, turn milk into plastic, make a miniature water cycle model and many more.
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I agree Eleanor. I have learnt about so many great resources here on this course and I’m writing the list down in a separate notebook for reference and to remind that it’s there and readily available.
Stellariun is really cool. I’ve downloaded it now on my laptop so will come in handy to use on the IWB and the kids could use the stellariun web browser on the chromebooks. -
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Weather- infant classes
We will start by discussing and identifying different types of weather.The children will become aware of different types of weather.
We will use power point presentation and videos to show the children different type of weather.
We will discuss the seasons and weather normally associated with seasons.
We will discuss the differences between hot and cold weather
The children will complete a variety of activities associated with weather and clothing. The children will identify clothing associated with different weather and materials. For example rain- raincoat needs to be waterproof, sun- sun hat and sunglasses, dress, shorts, etc.
We will also discuss the differences of living in a hot or cold place- eskimos live in cold places and wear warm clothes as the temperature is very cold. Hoods are needed to protect their heads from the cold.
1. Children will role play being on the weather boy or girl and provide the class with a weather forecast each day.
2. The children will have dolls and a variety of clothes. They will need to dress the dolls appropriately for the weather. The children will spin the wheel and see what weather they get sun- sun hat, sunglasses, shorts. The children will use both cards and baby clothes for this activity.
Art: The children create their own clothes using materials, Fashion wheel- children spin the wheel and create outfits.
Aistear- Weather girls/ boys in the news room and dress up after the weather forecast, Clothes shop.
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Hi Sharon,
I was reading about Inuit hood ruffs – apparently they are designed to disrupt the air flow around your face so that you stay warmer! Different Inuit groups have different styles, so the ruff on the parka tells you where someone is from!
Not this article, which is if you really want the details.
We created an activity around designing clothing for Polar regions as part of Polar Star. You can find it here in English and Irish and other European languages too,
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In my classroom, I would incorporate hands-on activities that align with the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum to promote experiential learning and foster curiosity. For instance, I would assign a project-based learning activity where students design and build their own simple machines using everyday materials, such as cardboard boxes, rubber bands, and marbles. This activity would allow students to apply their understanding of scientific concepts, such as gravity and motion, to real-world problems. Additionally, I would encourage students to design and conduct experiments to test the effectiveness of their machines, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills. To further integrate STEM into my teaching practice, I would collaborate with other teachers to develop interdisciplinary lessons that incorporate math and science concepts with literacy and language arts. This would provide students with a comprehensive understanding of STEM principles and their practical applications in everyday life.
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Online Resources and Tools
Some of the resources I would love to use with the pupils would be the Stellarium web site and Astronomy picture of the day. As an introduction I would show an astronomy picture each day and encourage discussion about the details of each picture. I think with older pupils it would instill a sense of wonder and curiosity. I would follow up by using the Stellarium web to give them a platform to investigate the night time sky by clicking on an image in the sky which will bring up instant information and identify on what they are seeing at that moment. They can zoom into the landscape to identify objects or focus on the constellations. As a follow up activity, I would use drawings to assess understanding from the EU Universe awareness programme using the pre-activity template before observing the night-time sky and using the post activity template after observing the sky. Another follow up activity from the EU universe awareness programme I would use are the Astro card game for identification and classification of planets, star clusters or galaxies. I also like the feature that they can keep a record of their observations using the log book, they can use their own location or view from any other location and they have the option to change the time and date. I am looking forward to using this fantastic resource in the classroom.
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Yes I agree. Towards the end of the year I began using various images as part of my morning routine. For alot of children getting to school and all that comes with it can be challenging. So I began using morning meetings with the children where they could just come to class knowing we weren’t going to launch into a topic straight away. It also allowed the late comers a chance to settle in. I had an image/simple activity (such as drawing a rainbow in your free writing copy) and an oral language activity up on the IWB. The children chose what they wanted to do. I think that the astronomy picture of the day would be a fantastic resource for this and intend to use it this way.
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The activity that I choose is: Online Resources and Tools. As I will be working with a Junior Infant class this year I have decided to choose ways in which I could use the Resources and Tools for this age category
Marvin and Milo – we could do one of the Marvin and Milo challenges such as ‘To lift the water from the saucepan without sucking’, ‘Sew a Ice Cube’ / ‘Magic Balloon’ to learn how about properties of matter or the spinning egg challenge to learn about ‘Force and Motion’.
Stellarium-web.org – this would be used to show the children the different constellations and stars. We will also look at shapes and see if anyone can firstly spot the saucepan/plough, then the Great Bear and small bear (looking at the Ursa major and the Ursa Minor), the Drake, the Seven Birds etc. We would also look at the planets and discuss what we know about planets and where they are positioned.
ESA Education – The younger children can use the ESA website to play games such as ‘Space memory game’ and ‘Milky Way match’. We would also watch one of Paxi’s informational videos such as ‘how the Earth interacts with the sun’ or ‘The Solar System’ – asking a number of lower and higher order questions throughout.
Other resources I could use include ”Universe Awareness’ for example Universe in a Box and Space Scoop.
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School self evaluation
I think the 6 step process for school self evaluation is an efficient and targeted way for a school to find out what is their starting point for Science learning and STEM activities across the school. From gathering data to analysing results and then formulation of targets for the school to work toward.
This SSE process could be completed as a staff as part of Croke park hours where teachers can work in class groups to define the scientific skills that can be attained at each class level. In our school there is a Science committee who work to implement the targets set out by school for Science and STEM learning. As per the SSE steps it is very important to have focused SMART targets for the staff to work toward together.
I think nowadays there can be many competing initiatives and programmes being implemented in primary schools and there is often a feeling of overwhelm and curriculum overload at trying to achieve many goals across many curricular subjects among teachers.
I think the Curious Minds awards gives a structured and focused way for schools to improve science teaching and learning and also means that teachers know they are engaging in best practice and keeping development of science skills as core learning as they can use the resource lesson plans plans on curiousminds.ie and have the framework of enquiry there as record.
It would add to the sense of achievement to display children’s investigations, artwork, learning logs in school and hall and invite parents in to see all the work and have children explain it to them.
I think the curious minds awards are a very clear and accessible tool to progress science teaching within a school
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I would choose : Online Resources and Tools.
Marvin and Milo – we could do one of the Marvin and Milo challenges such as ‘The Straw Gun’ (how air keeps the same pressure so water is blown from the straw), ‘Alka Seltzer Rocket’ – the gas build up and the lid of the canister is forced off) and ‘Spot a raw egg from a cooked one’.
Stellarium-web.org – This website is incredible. It is so interactive and you feel like an astronomer navigating through the stars and space! We would begin be looking at the constellations, next would be the atmosphere and then Deep Sky Objects. I like the way there is a search feature and I searched for ‘Sirius A’ which is twice the size of the sun.
ESA Education – I would use ESA – Space for Kids which has fantastic resources to encourage children to become scientists! A lovely activity about planets is right here ESA – Space for Kids – The Solar System and its planets.
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Online Resources and Tools
Stellarium-web.org.
This is such a brilliant resource. The students can navigate and view different planets, stars and constellations. For example, I zoomed in on ‘Vega’ and it gives information on Vegas distance from Earth (25 million light years).
Milo and Marvin
Falling Bubble
Fill a bottle with water so it is very nearly full
Put the lid on tightly and throw the bottle in the air. Watch it carefully on the way up and down
The air inside the bottle will form a spherical bubble as it’s falling!
When the bottle is in free-fall, surface tension forces the air into a bubble with the least possible surface area – a sphere. In space, the same effect can be seen with liquid drops in air.ESA and ESA Kids
Could we live on Mars
In this activity, students compare Earth and Mars in the context of geography and science, while also designing their own life forms that could thrive on Mars.
Astrocrops – Growing plants for future space missions | Teach with space – This is a great lesson ( I saw the film The Martian and the main character who is a Botanist has to grow his own food as he is stuck on Mars). This activity is part of a series that includes “AstroFood”, where students investigate other possible future space foods, and “AstroFarmer”, where students explore growing plants in space and factors that affect plant growth.
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Cillian,
check your units – Vega isn’t that far away! it is only 25 light years.
Vega is one of my favourite stars and is so easy to see in the sky in the Summer – just look straight up when it first gets dark.
It is great to compare it to Deneb, which appears a little bit dimmer, but is 1400 light years away. This makes you think how bright it must be, if it is so much further away, yet looks only slightly dimmer.
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I would use the Where is my Home? activity. As I currently teach Junior Infants I would be covering the topic of Houses and Homes as one of the play based learning activities. I would use this for station teaching. Normally, I have one oral language station with different images of different types of houses and homes and the children discuss these and talk about them. I would have another station where I would get the children to design and draw their dream house. This is a great activity and great fun. The children come up with great ideas with toy shops and swimming pools etc all forming part of their dream home. I would have a second oral language station which might include a game of bingo or a game of headbands of items that you would find in the houses and homes. The final station then would be construction and STEM related whereby the children build their houses and homes. Following from this module I might adapt this station to allow the children to create models of the houses and homes using modelling clay as this way they could be displayed in the classroom for awhile and then the children would later get to take them home.
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Online tools and resources:
ESA
During storytime in my classroom, I would use this website to choose stories about astronauts and space. We would include these stories in our reading sessions to pique the interest of our younger students in space.
I would also get ideas for space-themed arts and activities from the pictures on the page. The kids might look at different images and use art supplies and recycled materials to recreate these images. This could be an Aistear station.
As a class, we would also play interactive games and work through riddles with a space theme. This would offer an enjoyable and light-hearted approach to reinforce space education.
I will definitely use the Stellarium resource. The children can view different stars and constellations. We could then create Art based on what they see/ find.
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Anna,
thanks for prodding me to go look at more of the art/pictures at ESA Kids. I love that it downloads with the “Work of Art” name.
https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Colour_with_Paxi
and of course, a free source of colouring pages themed on space!
Thank goodness for the Moon being the correct way around for an early evening night time from the northern hemisphere.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/nov/25/moons-astronomer-christmas-cards
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Great ideas for different lessons Saoirse. I hadn’t heard of the Stellarium website before this course and just looked at it-The students will love looking at the stars and will be so engaged. Great idea to use role-play activities with Milo and Marvin. The Smeds by Julia Donaldson would be a great story to read with the children during this topic too!
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Online resources and tools.
Milo and Marvin: these cartoon characters and their “groovy” experiments would make for very exciting lessons and experiments. I would sort the children into groups and we would read Milo and Marvin’s instructions and make a lava lamp using peanuts, lemonade and jars. Thr children would enjoy watching the peanuts dancing and it would be great to write a recount afterwards during one of our literacy lessons.
Stellarium: I would use stellarium as a star gazing lesson during which we could look at realistic simulations of the night sky, point out and examine the the constellations and learn about the stars in our galaxy. I would use this as a focal point for an art lesson and the children would draw and paint their own constellations.
ESA kids: this is a fantastic resource full of interactive activities, multi media and competitions for kids. I would use ESA kids to teach them about The Big Bang and the birth of the moon. ESA could be used across the curriculam- for oral language lessons, STEM, Visual Art, History, Drama and Gaeilge.
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Hi Catherine,
This is the lava lamp link (https://spark.iop.org/lava-lamp), it is suggested for 11+, but I agree that it can be used by younger children as it is very similar to Dancing Raisins from Curious Minds:
https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/dancing_raisins.pdf
I think there could be really interesting discussions about the behaviour of the peanuts vs the raisins, do they both rise? which one is faster? is the speed related to the number of bubbles? size of bubbles etc.
From these observations (which could be in the ‘explore’ part of the inquiry framework) children can then ‘go deeper’ with a slightly different set up to verify their understanding.
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Hands on classroom themed activities:
Hot & Cold:
Trigger: 2 pieces of card on the whiteboard, one red & one blue. What do they represent to the children. Elicit the words hot/cold.
ESERO 12 activity: Move the red sheet beside the window & the blue sheet to the shade and read the statements on ESERO 12 and children go to the most appropriate colour.
Discuss hot/cold weather and record vocabulary on the board. Elicit from the children how the sun gives heat.
Experiment: Placing one ice cube by the window and the other in the shade. Predicting which will melt faster and why. Children place the sticky notes near their prediction.
What else can help to melt ice? Refer to Marvin and Milo’s experiment on sew an ice cube. Children complete this and discuss. Explain to the children that this is similar to when the roads are salted during the winter to allow us to travel and also why people would use it on our driveway but as we can see from the experiment if the temperatures do not rise the water will freeze again.
Finally discuss clothing that can be worn in hot and cold climates. Record what vocabulary they have & show images of other items of clothing that they may not have the vocabulary for -saree/parkas etc.
Another lesson could include materials and what materials work best for clothes in different climates.
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Catherine:
Sew an Ice Cube is here: https://spark.iop.org/sew-ice-cube.
Clothing for different climates is covered really nicely in the SEAI activity for 3rd/4th class, so you may chat to colleagues to see who would like to cover this.
https://www.seai.ie/plan-your-energy-journey/schools/primary-school/resources-for-teachers/
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Incorporating hands-on classroom themed activities is an effective way to engage younger students and enhance their understanding of basic STEM concepts. One activity is the “Plant a Seed” exercise. This activity involves students planting seeds, nurturing them, and observing their growth. Through this project, students learn about plant life cycles, the importance of sunlight and water, and basic plant care.
To connect this lesson to the weather, we would discuss how weather affects plant growth. Key concepts would include how sunlight provides energy for plants to grow, how rain provides water, and how temperature and wind influence plant growth.
In the classroom, we would start with a story about plants and their growth – ‘The Tiny Seed’, then discuss what plants need to grow, emphasizing weather elements like sunlight and rain. Students would plant cress seeds, water them, and place them in a sunny spot. They would observe and record changes, using drawings and simple words. We would also track daily weather and discuss its impact on plant growth.
To integrate a STEM-focused SSE, I would use a simple evaluation framework. This could involve students drawing predictions before planting and comparing them to actual results. We could also use a weather chart to record daily observations and discuss patterns. Gathering student feedback through class discussions would help gauge engagement and understanding.
Using digital tools like a class blog for students to post pictures and share observations can enhance the learning experience. This approach makes learning interactive and fun, while fostering observational and communication skills in a supportive environment.
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Hi Laura. It’s clear that you appreciate the benefits of incorporating hands-on classroom activities to engage younger students and enhance their understanding of basic STEM concepts. The “Plant a Seed” exercise, which involves planting and nurturing seeds while observing their growth, aligns well with your enthusiasm. By connecting this lesson to weather elements like sunlight, rain, temperature, and wind, you demonstrate a holistic approach to teaching. Your intention to integrate a STEM-focused Student Science Experience (SSE) through prediction drawing, weather charting, and student feedback reflects your commitment to effective teaching methods. Additionally, leveraging digital tools like a class blog for sharing observations shows your dedication to creating an interactive and supportive learning environment. Keep up the great work!
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Laura,
from my experience with second level students please take care in distinguishing what a seed needs to germinate vs what a plant needs to grow.
These get muddled all the time (I used to mark Junior Cert papers!) so it is worth separating out the ideas and really letting the children explore germination first (since it does not need light) and then plant growth.
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I think that I will find that ESA kids will be very helpful to me in planning my future classes. It is great that ESA Kids provides engaging space-themed activities and resources for young children, making learning about space exciting and educational for both teachers and students.
Here are some ways I might use this wonderful resource.
Rocket Launch Simulation:
Create simple paper rockets with students. Discuss rocket science concepts like thrust, aerodynamics, and trajectory. Use the ESA Kids app to simulate rocket launches virtually.
Orbit Exploration: Explain orbits using a hula hoop or a circular object. Have students simulate orbits by moving around the hoop. Discuss how satellites stay in orbit around Earth.
Solar System Models: Build a scale model of the solar system. Assign each student a planet or moon to research. Use ESA Kids resources to learn about each celestial body.
Astronaut Training: Set up an obstacle course to simulate astronaut training. Discuss the challenges astronauts face in microgravity. Explore ESA’s astronaut-related content.
Space Art and Crafts: Create space-themed art using materials like paper, paint, and clay. Design alien creatures or futuristic spacecraft. Explore ESA Kids’ coloring and creative activities.
Mission Control Center: Role-play a mission control center. Students can take on roles like flight director, communication officer, or engineer. Use ESA Kids’ interactive missions as scenarios.-
I haven’t used the ESA kids App – is it just for phones?
I’ve made a lot of paper rockets, but find that they need fine motor skills, so don’t tend to use them with anyone younger than 3rd class. For younger children Rocket Mice is my go to.
The ESA ISS Education Kit has an outline for paper rockets on page 57.
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I love the ‘Animals in the Cold’ lesson. I teach Junior Infants and we look at this topic every winter. The children really enjoy it. We trap polar animals in ice and have them free them during play time. We also set up a polar animal small world area. Adding in the ‘Animals in the Cold’ lesson would add another dimension to our theme. We normally just focus on penguins but I love the idea of comparing and contrasting the white animals in the North Pole with the dark animals in the South Pole. Using Vaseline to show how penguins and polar bears repel water is something the children would really enjoy. This would lead on nicely to the What Clothes to Wear lesson. The children could think about how the penguin and the polar bear repel water and then use this knowledge to find a suitable waterproof material for teddy’s raincoat.
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Activity: Online Resources & tools
There are so many great resources here that I would like to use in my classroom.
Space Scoop: What really stood out for me here were the lovely images on this site. These would be a great discussion starter for units of work on the solar system or stars.
Marvin & Milo: What a great way to introduce comic strips as a style of writing in literacy. I think the children would love these characters. They could be the classroom scientists, ‘What would Marvin & Milo do?’.
Stellarium: This is a fantastic resource and so many ideas came to mind when exploring this software. It’s a great tool to help teach infants the concept of day and night and discuss the differences between day/night as you can view the same image at sunrise/sunset. You could do some lovely art lessons using this resource. Explore the constellations and draw various different constellations. Create a silhouette of the image you are exploring. -
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Hands on activities
Weather — ‘Animals in the cold ‘ ‘Clothes to wear ‘
I would start the lesson by discussing different weather .The children could talk about different things they do in each season and how they dress . I would explain that some places are always cold .I would then show the children pictures of animals who live in the cold like arctic foxes, penguins and polar bears. I would ask them to describe what they see in the pictures -their body covering , size, shape, colouring . Get their opinions on how they keep warm .
Then I would introduce the 3 ideas of extra fat layer, extra deep thick fur or feathers and water proof coating .Use the Vaseline on the child’s hand to demonstrate water proofing .
I would then revise what they have learned about animals adapting to the weather where they live. The follow on lesson would focus on humans and how they adapt to different weather by wearing different clothes for season changes. The dress up box would be a lovely hands on activity to use to demonstrate clothes for different temperatures.
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What further steps might you take towards a STEM focused SSE?
While we generally have robust Whole School Curricular Plans, with the introduction of the new curriculum framework, in particular the move to group subjects under the heading STEM, our school has identified that SESE overall needs an overhaul to ensure cohesive practice in which all children have ample opportunity to develop the maths and science skills they will require in the Ireland, and the world, of the future. At the crux of the SESE programme is STEM. Furthermore, it is particularly topical with the introduction of the Primary Maths Curriculum which has been described as an ‘inch wide but a mile deep’.
Having identified SESE/STEM as its focus, the school will first gather evidence from the school community. The staff feedback will be obtained during a staff meeting where people will work in their class levels to discuss what is working well and what needs improvement. The children will be consulted, some by focus group and some feedback forms. These may include responding through the visual arts, in particular for the younger children. Parents will be consulted using a Google forms survey.
The results of all of the feedback will be analysed by a team of interested parties and judgements will be made, with the LAOS document steering the priority areas. At this point, one or two key, practical actions will be agreed upon and communicated with the school community. Together, we will work on implementing these while monitoring at regular intervals by taking photos of the progress and filing them in a shared drive folder. It will appear on every staff meeting agenda to ensure SESE & STEM remain key foci and its success will be monitored and reviewed at regular intervals.
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I hadn’t heard that description of the new maths curriculum – but you are so right!
I’m also interested to see how moving Geography and Science apart a bit will work, since I think there are so many similar skills between Geography and Science (and of course, Earth and Space is a topic in SESE Geography!).
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Hands-on classroom themed activity:
“In the sky, I can see”
How I would you use the activity :
I would use this as a whole class activity in infants. Discussion at first, brainstorming what we might see – outdoor activity – lying down on yoga mats and looking up the pupils spend 5 mins uninterrupted, looking up with the focus to return to a drawing activity from the activity sheet for what I see by day.
Following on from our lessons on constellations, I would then ask them to discuss and draw what we could see with the eyes at night.
Drawing on the activity sheet.
I would use the following : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNDUPDtrkjQ
to discuss daytime and nighttime and consolidate the activity with the pupils showing their drawings and explaining what they see.
I can see lots of linkage opportunities using this activity – oral language development, maths – time, vocabulary – opposites, pe – outdoor activities, sphe – mindfulness while looking , visual arts – looking and responding, drawing.
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Love this idea. Kids would absolutely get on board with this. I know our kids would love it. great idea to link it with home and to do the night sky with parents/guardians. I love home school linkage- I always ask parents to email me photos so all the children can see what the other children have been up to.
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I liked the activity set for weather on what clothes to wear. This could be used in 2nd class and could be adapted to be more challenging for the children. I would begin the lesson by discussing the different seasons of the year. Focussing on Winter and Summer, I would discuss the most common types of weather in Ireland (Sunny, Cold, Rain etc). Firstly, I would do different experiments on the different materials of clothing. Using pipettes after making predictions, I would check which materials are waterproof or absorbent. We would then discuss which materials would be best for different types of weather and what materials would be best if we were designing a coat.
This could be furthered as a STEAM activity in the classroom to make clothing for different seasons. An activity like Junk Couture would be a brilliant way of incorporating this. In the classroom, children could be split into small groups to discuss and design an outfit using recyclable materials for a certain type of weather or season. This could be furthered as a whole school STEAM activity where one child walks along a runway in the school hall where another child or children could speak about the outfit and introduce their idea to the school.-
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I love your idea of incorporating a Junk Couture project into the weather activity! It’s a fantastic way to combine creativity with practical learning. Engaging students in group work to design and present their outfits would not only enhance their understanding of materials but also foster teamwork and presentation skills. Great suggestion! Could also be a buddy activity where the more senior classes link up with the junior classes.
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Lesson on the different types of houses and where people live through hands-on activities.
· Pictures of houses
· Lego, big blocks, jenga etc
Circle time – Talk and discussion about their house – size/ colour/ rooms. Show the children pictures of different houses. Divide the children into four groups and distribute lego, jenga, big blocks and play dough. Each group will create their own model of a house using the materials provided. Informally using the globe and pictures they can be shown images of unusual homes in different countries. I will read the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and we will talk and discuss about the materials they used and what was/ wasn’t the best option and why. To conclude the lesson, the children will gather together on the floor to showcase their house models and share what they learned about different types of houses and where people live.
Songs – The Right Note ‘Gotta build a house now’
Cúigear fear ag tógáil tí
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Yvonne – there are some images of shelters in the ESA resource “Moon Shelter” which could be useful in this activity – they come from very different parts of the world, including the Antarctic shelters that scientists use.
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The activity I would choose would be different types of houses and where people live.
Introduction: Ask about various types of houses, do we all live in the same type of house or do people live in different kinds of homes, and recognize that homes can vary based on location and cultural differences.
Materials Needed:
Picture cards or posters of different types of houses (e.g., apartment, house, igloo, hut, castle, etc.)
A world map or globe
Construction paper, scissors, glue, and markers
Internet access for showing videos or animations (optional)
Notebook and pencil for each studentIntroduction to Homes:
- Start by asking the students, “What is a home?” and “What type of home do you live in?”
- Explain that people around the world live in different kinds of homes.
Show Different Types of Houses: - Use picture cards or posters to show various types of houses. Briefly describe each one.
Interactive Activity – Where Do You Live?:
- Show a world map or globe.
- Point to different regions and discuss the types of houses commonly found in those areas.
- Cold Regions: Igloos.
- Urban Areas: Apartments and houses.
- Rural Areas: Huts and houses.
- Historical Areas: Castles.
- Water Areas: Houseboats.
Encourage students to think about why different types of houses are built in different places.
Discussion:
- Have a group discussion about why people live in different types of houses.
- Consider factors like climate, culture, and location.
Ask questions like, “Would you like to live in a treehouse? Why or why not?” to encourage critical thinking and sharing of ideas
There are many ways in which this lesson could be expanded for example the children could create there own dream home using different art materials.
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Irene –
Depending on the children in your class, you could include images of houses from different countries. I grew up in Canada, where houses have to be designed to withstand snow in winter (it affects the roofline) and deal with hot summers. Timber frame is the norm there, so siding is often used on the outer skin of the house – quite different to here.
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How I would use this online tools as a teacher.
https://stellarium-web.org/
This is a fantastic online tool, the graphics are amazing, and the subject matter is breathtaking for kids especially those with an interest in space, however, I feel it would be best used in a teacher lead manner in the infant classroom. I would use this lesson after introduction lessons to the stars have been completed. We can view the stars above our town and let the children spot the patterns and families of stars they think they can see. They make draw the shapes on their whiteboards. We could then view the constellations patterns on screen and see did any of the children find similar shape patterns. Afterwards we could investigate if the night sky on the opposite side of the world has the same star families.https://spark.iop.org/collections/marvin-and-milo
Milo and Marvin resources are in great abundance here which plenty of easy, simple, experiments the children could explore.They are very child friendly with bright appealing characters. I think I will try a few of these out next year during Science Week. It is also a nice way for parents to get involved with Science investigations at home.https://www.esa.int/kids/en/home
https://www.esa.int/Education/Teachers_Corner/Primary_classroom_resourcesThere are fantastic space related art and crafts lesson ideas to be found across the esa kids page. The first thing I noted was the ‘A Ride to Space’ art competition which I know my children would love to take part in. I could use the site to explore rockets and their design before embarking on a design and make a rocket lesson with the class. I think the ‘At home with Paxi’ link is simply fantastic and can allow further learning for children with a keen interest in space related topics. There are lots of other links where teachers can explore items such as exoplanets, comets or even the aurora lights with the children. I feel the interactive games would spark a great deal of fun in class and would be a fantastic why to round up a lesson at the end. There is just so much content and resources to explore on these two sites all of which can spark wonderful lesson ideas for teachers of all class groups.
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Sinead, I completely agree with you on stellarium web being used by teachers – it is a complex site with lots of functions to show the night sky.
It looks great on a whiteboard, but if you have a spare data projector, take it to the biggest wall you can find in a room that can be darkened and point it to the wall for a huge display of the sky. Mindblowing and huge!
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Milo and Marvin offer interactive stories and activities designed to captivate children’s attention while teaching foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Their vibrant animations and relatable characters make learning fun and approachable for young children, helping to foster a positive attitude toward education from an early age.
ESA Kids is a fantastic resource provided by the European Space Agency, offering a wealth of information about space tailored specifically for young learners. The website features games, activities, and educational content that make complex scientific concepts accessible and exciting. It encourages curiosity about the universe and supports STEM education by introducing children to space exploration and astronomy in a playful, engaging manner.
stellarium-web.org is an online planetarium that allows students to explore the night sky from anywhere in the world. For infants, it can be used to introduce the concepts of stars, planets, and constellations in an interactive way. Teachers can use Stellarium to create virtual stargazing sessions, making astronomy tangible and fascinating for young minds.
Together, these resources provide a comprehensive suite of tools that support diverse aspects of early childhood education, from basic literacy and numeracy to inspiring curiosity about science and the natural world. Their interactive and visually appealing formats are particularly effective in maintaining the engagement and interest of infant learners.
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Where Do I Live?
Objective:
Students will learn about their home, their community, and their place in the world through interactive and engaging activities.Materials:
Book: “Homes Around the World” by Max Moore
Large world map/Globe
Markers or crayons
Construction paper
Glue sticksVarious construction materials: blocks/lego
Pictures of different types of homes (houses, apartments, huts, igloos, etc.)Introduction:
Gather students in a circle.
Show the picture book cover and ask, “Where do you live?”
Read the picture book aloud, discussing the various types of homes around the world.Discussion:
Talk about different homes: houses, apartments, huts, igloos, etc.
Ask students to describe their homes and what makes them special.
Show the large world map and explain that everyone in the class lives in the same country but in different types of homes.Activity:
Provide construction paper, markers, crayons, glue sticks, and scissors to half of the class. Ask children to draw their homes or a home from around the world. Encourage them to include details like windows, doors, gardens, and pets. use the book and pictures of different homes for reference and inspiration.
The other half of the class can work on making constructions of various homes.Perhaps the next day the children could swap over to allow each child to try both activities.
Sharing:
Have students sit in a circle and share their home drawings and their home constructions with the class.
Ask each student to say one thing they love about their home.Conclusion:
Sing a simple, fun song about homes e.g., “The House That Jack Built”.
Reinforce the idea that homes are important and unique. Encourage students to appreciate their own homes and understand that everyone’s living situation is different but equally valuable. -
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The inclass activity I would choose would be linked to the seasons and weather.
Trigger- I would bring in an assortment of clothes and get the child to initially explore different ways to sort them. (Tops/Bottoms, Different Materials/Textures etc.)
Wondering- I would ask the children about what the different weather/seasons the different clothes would be worn in. (This would probably already be discussed in their groups during the trigger but some children may have sorted them differently.)
Explore- Using different images of weather and seasons, we would explore what clothes are worn during different seasons and weather and discuss why.
Investigation- what materials would keep us warm/cool. Linking back to activities in previous modules: The Earth’s rotation and the Sun as a heat source. Provide the children with different materials and using ice-cubes to investigate keeping things cool and using something warm (not hot) to keep it warm.
Take the next step- as a follow on activity, I would ask the children to make a list of different objects at gome that keep things warm and keep things cool. A list would be compiled then of all the different items. This list could then be used as a trigger for a lesson on designing a space suit to keep an astronaut warm in space.
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Hi Fiona,
have you seen the SEIA resource on different clothing for different climates?
The full set is here: https://www.seai.ie/community-energy/schools/primary-school/resources-for-teachers/
and the material on clothes is designed for 3rd and 4th class. There is a flipchart for the IWB and a ppt version.
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The activity I would choose would be different types of houses and where people live.
Objectives: the child will be able to demonstrate an understanding of differences in houses by:
– naming the kinds of houses that people live in.
– naming materials houses are made from around the world.
– constructing a house.Introduction – I would introduce the lesson by asking the children to describe what type of house they live in. The children will draw their houses and compare with others in the class.
Development – Read the story ‘Different Homes Around the World’ by Pamela Rushby. Show the children pictures of houses around the world: Igloo, reed, river houses, nomad, rain forest, and houses in towns and cities. The children will discuss what materials they think are used to build the various houses. A matching activity of the hands on materials and pictures of the houses is then completed in small groups by the children.
Conclusion – In groups the children will be given a range of materials to construct a home. There will be toothpicks and marshmallows, lollipop sticks, cardboard and glue and lego blocks. They must construct a house and discuss the materials they used and why.
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ESA Kids is a great teachers’ resource for anything space related. I like the Solar System Explorer game. https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Solar_System_Explorer I would allow the children to access this website themselves during Space Week and let them explore all of the fantastic facts, games and videos such as Excercising in Space etc. https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Multimedia/Videos/Paxi_on_the_ISS/Exercising_in_space
Stellarium: I have used Stellarium software before in the classroom and it is so beneficial and also fun. I love the different features of it, showing the night time background etc. I would use it as a whole class/ teacher led lesson on the interactive whiteboard for younger classes but would have the children use their own ipads too to access the software through teacher’s ipad using the Apple connection/ code to share.
Marvin and Milo:I think the characters make learning fun for young children. I like the Alka Seltzer Rocket activity for my 1st class. I would introduce them to rockets and show them pictures etc first. https://spark.iop.org/collections/marvin-and-milo?__cf_chl_tk=atlaPcqgCQm2X58iI3nxhM3gJ83ltmOnO_mbFl40rRk-1719954924-0.0.1.1-4116
Although non space related, I was also very interested in the DIY Chromatography activity-as I have a previous degree in Forensic Chemistry and did a lot of chromatography in the lab so I may try this with my class next year, bringing my Forensic based skills to them and creating a ransom note to test and maybe fingerprinting too.
Back to Space!….I think the boys in my school will love all of these stimulants and activities based on space. They really enjoy learning about the topic. -
ESA Kids is a great teachers’ resource for anything space related. I like the Solar System Explorer game. https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Solar_System_Explorer I would allow the children to access this website themselves during Space Week and let them explore all of the fantastic facts, games and videos such as Excercising in Space etc. https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Multimedia/Videos/Paxi_on_the_ISS/Exercising_in_space
Stellarium: I have used Stellarium software before in the classroom and it is so beneficial and also fun. I love the different features of it, showing the night time background etc. I would use it as a whole class/ teacher led lesson on the interactive whiteboard for younger classes but would have the children use their own ipads too to access the software through teacher’s ipad using the Apple connection/ code to share.
Marvin and Milo:I think the characters make learning fun for young children. I like the Alka Seltzer Rocket activity for my 1st class. I would introduce them to rockets and show them pictures etc first. https://spark.iop.org/collections/marvin-and-milo?__cf_chl_tk=atlaPcqgCQm2X58iI3nxhM3gJ83ltmOnO_mbFl40rRk-1719954924-0.0.1.1-4116
Although non space related, I was also very interested in the DIY Chromatography activity-as I have a previous degree in Forensic Chemistry and did a lot of chromatography in the lab so I may try this with my class next year, bringing my Forensic based skills to them and creating a ransom note to test and maybe fingerprinting too.
Back to Space!….I think the boys in my school will love all of these stimulants and activities based on space. They really enjoy learning about the topic.
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The lesson I would use in my classroom would be the ‘What clothes to wear’ lesson.
I would introduce the lesson with the story ‘ four seasons in one day’
We would discuss how the various seasons .
Then I would distribute the colouring pictures depicting different seasons.
Children would be encouraged to discuss the various seasons whilst colouring.
After colouring we would compare the pictures and explore the different types of clothing that is being worn in each picture.
Then we would sit in a circle and use our class dressing up box which has lots of different clothes suitable for the various seasons.
I would place an open suitcase beside the clothes.
I would tell a story of a little girl who is going on holiday in the spring – what kinds of clothes should she pack?
I would repeat this for Summer, Autumn and Winter.
I would initate questioning as to why we wear warm clothes in the summer and lighter clothes in the winter.
As a conclusion to the lesson I would divide the class into four groups and give each of them a piece of paper with one season written on it . Each group then has to select clothes suitable for the season from the dressing up box and the other groups must guess which season they are dressing for.-
Carol Anne – how great to have a stocked up dressing up box!
Alternatively children could find images of different clothing and use collage, but being able to handle the clothing and describe why it would be suitable is so vital.
If you didn’t have the clothing, you could include the Curious Minds Pass the Parcel activity created with a range of different fabrics or clothing items.
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Hi Carolanne,
I love this lesson. Having worked in an infants school for quite a while this would definitely be a fun and hands on lesson children would not forget for both boys and girls. I will definitely be incorporating a dress up box into my Junior Infant class this year which can be used across all subjects in the curriculum and therefore you can incorporate integration.
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Incorporating hands-on classroom themed activities is a fantastic way to engage students and promote learning. For senior infants in a STEM-focused setting, you could introduce an activity where students design and build their own paper airplanes to learn about basic principles of flight.
To expand on this activity and further enhance the STEM focus, you could incorporate elements of science by discussing the different forces that act on the paper airplane during flight, such as lift and gravity. You could also introduce math by having students measure and compare the distances their airplanes travel. Additionally, you could incorporate technology by using video resources to show real-life examples of airplanes in flight.
Continuing to integrate hands-on, theme-based activities like this can help foster a love for STEM subjects at an early age while simultaneously developing important skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
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An activity that I would like to use in my classroom would be the ESERO5 activity- Where do you live? Before engaging the children in my classroom in this activity I think it would be important for me to develop the children’s descriptive language, considering i teach infants. In order to do this I could use a storybook. A storybook that I could use could be ‘If I built a house’ by Chris Van Dusen. Discussion about this book could stimulate the children’s thinking about the different features of their house and therefore develop their descriptive language in discussing their homes. Following dicussion about their homes the children would use playdough to build their home. They would then progress onto making a village and having discussions about what a village is and what makes a village. I believe that the children in my classroom would love this lesson as they love storybooks and playdough.
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Thanks for the book recommendation. I found the author’s website and the book seems lovely.
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Module 4
For this activity, I would begin this topic by discussing the weather today. I would then elaborate this by discussing seasons, the environment and how we dress for the weather/seasons. As a prompt I would use a doll and dress the doll for the season that we are discussing and to reinforce vocabulary.
We will then discuss how weather affects us and what we do at home. Children will be encouraged to match activities to seasons, e.g. building a snowman, playing in the paddling pool, playing conkers, lighting the fire etc.
I would then have children complete the esero.ie worksheet “Where do you live? Children will be encouraged to draw and colour any weather-related activities in addition to colouring their house e.g. building a snowman in winter. Once pupils have these completed, the houses will be cut out and grouped by season. These will then be displayed in school as a seasonal collage. I will ensure to label with appropriate vocabulary. -
Clothes we wear
( I apologies for all spelling mistakes , the words I type are coming up or should I say not coming up on screen , the y are invisible and I have tried 2 different devised
As many of the children I teach are EAL, I would start by asking what they wear in the summer, winter , then what they wear in Ireland in the summer, winter. What they wear on a holiday to a hot country in the summer, hot country in the winter. We could then look at clothes around the world in winter, summer etc. next we will look at materials and properties. I would have a freely bag of materials and blinds folds. Ch to pick some material and run it on their face, how does it feel, is it light or heavy, think waterporoof or not? Blind fold off, look and describe the material. Next talk about animals clothes ? Where do they buy them ? How can they keep warm in winter and coolin summer if don’t have shop bought clothes ? Focus on an animal in winter eg. Polar bear, what protects it from the snow. What about a duck, how does it stay warm when wet ? Discuss. Next ch to carry out experiments using pieces of old clothing eg from a rain coat, pillow, wool etc which will be water resistant and why ? Which will absorb the most water etc…. Next lesson children can ensign and using appropriate scarps, make a water proof jacket for the doll
Discuss after-
Orla,
if you have issues with the platform, try working in a text editor and then paste as text into the box, rather than writing directly into it.
You can also drop cpd@teachnet.ie a line to see if they can help.
I like how you have connected the different experiences of the children to the clothing they wear, and then linked to animals and how they don’t wear clothing. You could ask any dog owners if their dogs have jackets!
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Activity set: weather
To identify prior knowledge I would ask children if they know any animals that live in the cold and what they look like.Then I would play the video How do Arctic Animals survive in cold weather? as a spark with the children to engage them and to get them thinking and talking about how these animals have adapted to the cold.
Show the pictures of the penguin and polar bear. Tell the children that the areas where the polar bears and the penguins live are so cold that this thick layer of fat is not enough. That’s why the polar bear also has a thick coat of fur and the penguin has a thick layer of feathers.
Brainstorm in pairs – what do people do when they feel very cold.
Discuss with the children that the penguin’s feathers and the polar bear’s fur are also covered in a layer of grease to repel water. Rub Vaseline on one of each child’s hands. Now the children also have a greasy layer on their skin. Drip some water on this hand. What happens to the water? Come to the conclusion that the water rolls off the hand with the greasy layer
Show the children the picture of the polar bear and penguin again. What do you notice? When they point out colour explain that the animals that live at the North and South Poles are often white, like the polar bear. This means they don’t stand out in the snow which helps them to hunt unseen. Penguins have a black back and a white front. So when they are swimming in the dark water they cannot be seen from above. And looking from underneath their white front blends in with the colour of the sky. This makes it harder to catch them.
Read the Rain, Wind and Storm story from What Clothes to Wear activity and get the children to do the actions.
STEM: design a coat that you could wear in Ireland. Consider different factors such as
-what season is it?
-what material will they use
-how can they make it practical
-first plan and draw the coat then create it by collage on card.
Experiment: do the Hot and Cold ice-cube experiment and record the results-
Is this the video Paula?
https://youtu.be/6IDeyAIjbbo?si=HLQISRQckuaWiapf
Designing coats is always a popular and rich learning activity. My social media feed has lately been full of the British Sewing Bee – I’ve been watching lots of fashion going by! The sequin bomber jacket could be a fantastic inspiration -the children could be asked if they’d wear something like that?
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Activity set:
Weather – Animals in the cold
To identify prior knowledge I would ask children if they know any animals that live in the cold and what their features are, Feathers, Fur etc.
I would read the book ‘If You Were a Penguin’ by Florence Friedmann Minor and Wendell Minor and ask questions throughout e.g. ‘How can they live in hot and cold places?’ ‘What allows them to do this?’
Discuss with the children that the penguin’s feathers and the polar bear’s fur are covered in a layer of grease/oil to repel water which also acts as a barrier against harsh conditions.
Blubber Glove Experiment
Objective: To demonstrate how blubber helps animals stay warm in cold environments.
Materials:
Two large ziplock bags
Oil/ Vaseline
Ice water
Duct tape
A large bowl
Activity:Fill a large bowl with ice water.
Take one ziplock bag and fill it with shortening, spreading it evenly inside the bag to simulate ‘blubber’.
Insert your hand into the second ziplock bag, and then insert this bag into the bag with the Vaseline.
Seal the bags together at the wrist with duct tape to prevent water from getting in.
Have students take turns putting their hands into the ice water with and without the “blubber glove” to feel the difference.
ORIce Cube Insulation Challenge
Objective: To explore different materials’ insulating properties.Materials:
Ice cubes
Various insulating materials (cotton, wool, tin foil, plastic wrap, etc.)
Small containers or cups
Thermometers (optional)
Activity:Divide students into small groups.
Give each group several ice cubes and a variety of insulating materials.
Have students wrap the ice cubes in different materials and place them in containers.
After a set time (e.g. 30 minutes), check to see which ice cubes have melted the least.
Discuss which materials provided the best insulation and why. -
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I would do the lesson ‘what to wear combined with animals in the cold’ while also integrating some of the key words as Gaeilge for 1st and 2nd class.
I would start by discussing the weather in Ireland and in other parts of the world incorporating the words as Gaeilge into the discussion. We would then discuss the types of clothes to wear for each type of weather and the seasons that we are most likely to have these types of weather.
To follow this we would talk about animals in both hot and cold weather but concentrate on the cold weather animals linking in to the main location of the animals. Students would think about how they would keep warm in the cold such as wearing more clothes, and contrast this to how the animals can’t just put on an extra layer of clothing, we would then discuss how the animals have adapted in order to survive in the cold including the colour of their fur and feathers.
To assess the students learning they could complete a quiz or make a mind map of what they have learnt including the integration of Gaeilge.
A follow on the lesson could include some native animals in Ireland and how they have adapted to survive in their habitat.
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These are some of the steps I would take to further develop a STEM-focused SSE.
1. Define Objectives: Clearly outline the specific STEM skills and knowledge you want students to achieve.
Set Benchmarks: Establish benchmarks for measuring progress, such as student engagement levels, proficiency in STEM subjects, and participation in STEM activities.
2. Curriculum Review: Conduct a thorough review of the current STEM curriculum to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Alignment Check: Ensure that the curriculum aligns with national STEM standards and educational goals.
3. Integrate Hands-On STEM Activities
Inquiry-Based Learning: Implement more inquiry-based and hands-on learning activities that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving.
4. Digital Tools: Incorporate more technology tools and resources in the classroom, such as coding programs, robotics kits, etc.
5. Parent and Community Engagement: Involve parents and the community in STEM activities, such as science fairs, STEM nights, and guest speaker events.
6. Student Assessment and Feedback
Formative Assessments: Use formative assessments to gauge student understanding and adjust teaching strategies accordingly. Implement mechanisms for students to provide feedback on STEM lessons and activities.
7. Collect and analyze data on student performance in STEM subjects, participation rates, and the effectiveness of STEM initiatives.
Conduct regular reviews of the SSE process to ensure continuous improvement and adjust strategies as needed.
8. Showcase Achievements: Celebrate student and teacher achievements in STEM through assemblies, newsletters, and social media.
Best Practices: Share best practices and successful STEM strategies within the school and with other schools. -
For this module, I would use the lesson ideas for What Clothes to Wear (ESERO)/Investigating Children’s Coats (Curious Minds) in my own classroom.
The lesson plan suggests using the Colour the Seasons activity, but you could use pictures of clothes or actual clothes and put them into categories according to whichever season they might be worn. You could have a discussion about the type of material, how heavy the clothes item is? Would it keep you warm/dry/cool. Where you might wear the clothes item and why would you choose one item above another?
I really liked the What Clothes to Wear? activity. This involves the children choosing appropriate clothes for each season from the dress-up box and using teacher questioning to informally assess understanding. For example – Why do we wear fewer clothes in summer? Do you need to put your coat on to go outside in the winter? Why?
When teaching about the seasons you could link this to other curricular areas. The obvious one being Geography-Hot countries/Cold Countries. What animals would we find in each different environment.
Maths- Money and shopping- How much would you need to buy this coat for Winter/ What change would you get out of a set amount of money? Data-drawing graphs –How many people prefer winter/summer/spring/autumn? Ditterent clothes during different seasons
Music –Listening to ‘the Four Seasons’- Linkage to Art draw how the picture makes them feel/ Describe different emotions
PE – Playground games –If you are wearing blue you can cross the river, if you are wearing a jumper….etc
Gaeilge –An Aimsir and the new vocabulary to be learned about this topic.
Art – I have also linked this topic in with art lessons where the children divide a blank piece of paper into four sections and draw in all four seasons. I have found this great for discussions on the different colours that we associate with the four different seasons. -
Activity Set: Weather- What Clothes to Wear for an Infant Class.
Book: A Stroll Through the Seasons written by Kay Barnham is lovely book to explore the different types of weather we can experience in each season and to get the children thinking about what clothes would be appropriate. This is a great way to determine what language the children have already around the seasons and clothes.
Weather and Clothes sorting activity with Teddy. Each group gets a teddy bear with clothes. They spin our interactive wheel on the whiteboard and they are ‘given’ a season. They then need to decide what to dress Teddy in from a bank of clothes. A selection of baby clothes works for this so that they fit Teddy.
Fine motor- cut and stick season sort activity.
Art: Children pick a season and create a tree using a handprint and their arm and decorate their tree to show their chosen season.
Literacy- Weather report each day for the week.
Aistear- Clothes Shop to explore different types of clothes. -
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I would use the hands on classroom activities like where do you live to get the children to think where they live along with examples. They would then use playdough to create their own house. I would use animals in the cold alongside a book to stimulate interest in the topic. I would connect this to the different clothes we need for winter and summer and connect hot and cold to it. We would conduct the experiment investigating childrens coats as a real life example.
We would conduct a weather record and record weather over the period of a month and see if there are any similarities or differences or see if the children can spot any patterns in the weather. I would also use Stellarium to engage childrens interests alongside a Kahoot quiz relating to weather, clothes we wear in different seasons and hot and cold.-
I love using playdoh or mala as a an area in Aistear. The children are so creative and it improves their fine motor skills. I also think recording the weather would be an interesting activity for the children to do. I love doing experiments such as whihc material would make the best coat, building a shelter for the animals.
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Your approach to hands-on classroom activities is excellent! Using playdough to create their own houses will definitely help children think about where they live in a fun and creative way. Introducing the topic of animals in the cold with a book is a fantastic idea to spark their interest. Connecting this to the different clothes we need for winter and summer, and conducting an experiment with children’s coats, provides practical, real-life examples that enhance understanding.
Recording the weather over a month to identify patterns encourages observation and analytical skills. Incorporating Stellarium to explore astronomy adds an exciting element that will captivate the children’s curiosity. Finally, using a Kahoot quiz to review weather, seasonal clothing, and temperature concepts makes learning interactive and enjoyable. Your comprehensive plan effectively combines creativity, practical experiments, and technology to engage and educate the children.
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As part of Aistear I have used the theme of Cold Places . This allows the children to look at the North and South Poles. I introduce the topic by having a Globe for the children to look at and discuss land and sea and places they may be familiar with and where their families may have orginally came from . We then would listen to the Seven Continents song and say we are going to learn about Antarcticia. Children are shown picture promps of animals and the environment and a discussion follows about how animals could survive and what they would need to live in such cold conditions.
Short clips of the film’ March of the Penguins ‘ could be shown and questions raised about how they keep warm asked . I have found that children are very interested in nature and may have many good answers .
I have used the Mystery Science site where children pose questions to be answered it is excellent and one such mini lesson is ‘How do polar bears survive the cold ‘ the children love this and are fully engaged throughout as during the lesson they are posed with questions to discuss before you move on .The National Geographic for kids have many short videos full of facts for kids .
We also carried out experiments using plastic animals to see what is waterproof using vaseline ,cooking oil, toothpaste and other products to see what is the best .Children hace also brought in feathers and we have tested them to see if they are waterproof .We finish off the lesson of a story like Little Penguin ,The Emperor of the Antarctic .
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As a junior school educator, I love themes and am all about integrated playful learing expereinces.
Stellarium-web.org would be a great introduction to the theme. Displaying the night sky on the IWB with music and let the kids relax into this theme. Allow the children to take in the visuals and enjoy the sky. I would encourage them to point out patterns in the sky. We would then investigate more closer constellations and using chalk and black paper attempt to recreate the constellations.
Milo and Marvin is a good starting point for role play. The students love dressing up and engaging in role play. Dressing up as aliens and having a selection of items that can the students can feed their imaginations and space time in our our role play corner. I have had a space theme before and will be adding Milo and Marvin this year.
ESA and ESA Kids website was of particular interest to me. It offers a strong collection of downloadable resources that are ideal for our junior school aged students. It also allows for group projects as well as more individual tasks during integrated playful experience time. Students would be encouraged to explore concepts like phases of the moon or building a model rocket.
I would also use this website to support designing and creating their own aliens to have a mix of space fact and fiction is always a worthwhile activity. This increases students awareness of what is real and what is not. I would also use this website for space themed arts and crafts using the Images from this website are ideal for other project such as building a space shuttle or investigating the 4 phases of the moon or the planets. So much on this website it is worthwhile having a good look and picking a few things to really work on through SESE.
The interactive games could further enhance and spark the children’s interest.
Space is a wonderful theme and using ESA and ESA Kids provides the teacher with suitable ideas and supporting materials to have a successful spaces theme in any classroom.
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The activity set I have chosen is “Where Do You Live? & Weather? I teach Senior Infants and the concept of where we live can we be a hard concept to grasp for many children. WE say we live in our homes, our estates, our towns, our counties, our provinces, our countries, our continents and our planet. That’s a lot of places for a child. I have seen an activity online which could be completed whole class or even individually over the course of a week or so. I have attached an image below. This activity is a great one to ground the children and show them where they exist in the world. Following this the children can present their circles project to the class. The children will notice that their immediate circle (their home) is different, but that some children live in the same estate. Most of the children will live in the same town and beyond that all the cirlces will be the same. We can then name a variety of known figures to the children and then compare what their circles might look like.
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I think a School Self Evaluation regarding the SESE curriculum is effective as the curriculum is broad and is composed of 3 subjects. It is important each subject receives equal teaching time. Prior to carrying out a School Self Evaluation, I think it is important to gather information from teachers and students and facilitate both teacher and student voice surrounding current teaching of SESE within the school. This can be done using a survery. Findings from this will then help steer the Self Evaluation Plan. I think it could be effective to devise a whole school approach to SESE across the class levels. For example:1st and 2nd class. In 1st class there is a focus on particular strands and strand units across history, geography, and science. In 2nd class, there is a different focus. By the end of 2nd class, children have engaged with all strands and strand units of the SESE curriculum. By doing so, it means some strands are not forgotten about and some are not covered multiple times. Another thing that could arise from a School Self Evaluation is a focus on different events at different times of the year such as Space Week, Engineering Week, and so on.
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Alyson, I really like how you have linked Space to many areas of the curriculum. I think maths could sneak in there too.
There is this lunar mission timeline – but it’s pretty wide.
Depending on the age of the children you could find a mission that launched when they were born and have them track what their personal time line has been as it travelled across space.
Or you could use JUICE which launched last year and will do several gravity assists before getting to Jupiter in 2031 and have the children think about what they will be doing in 7 years time.
NOTE: this was made in response to a post that has now moved to Module 5 forum.
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Oh wow, I love the idea of looking at and waiting for JUICE! The infant room love learning about the solar system, and Jupiter is a always a “big” favourite! But it would be a lovely lesson to do at infant level, and then save their work and bring it back to them when they are in 6th class. It would be their entire lifetime, and more meaningful because of it!
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The weather is a common and (in Ireland, at least!) ever changing topic and theme in the infant room. In my multi-grade scheme, a lesson very similar to the “What Clothes To Wear” is already a part of my Gaeilge scheme. Since it is, it would be very easy to adapt it to include the science suggested in this module. Not only that, we could link it to P.E. and have group races to see who could put the winter clothes on a volunteer the fastest! It would certainly help me out at break times, if I had more skilled zippers and buttoners in the room! After this, it would be lovely to have the children design their own coats, and suggest ways that would make putting on their coats easier for them. We could explore different types of fasteners in a sensory bin, and base our suggestions on our findings there.
(I[m also very taken with the earth ball activity – I’m on the hunt for a little penguin and polar bear to blu-tac onto our class globe!) -
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Animals in the Cold & Weather *possibly link to Santa and North Pole
I would love to do this as an Aistear topic possibly in November as I would also like to do Space (looking at planets and stars also).
I would try to do a hook which I did with my own son where some animals are stuck in ice and the children have to chip away at the ice to set them free.
We would look at some footprints and see if they could recognise which animals they come from..
They could then learn about the different animals that live there and look at how they keep warm. What is their fur? Coats. What do humans use and why?
This would then link with weather and weather in different places/countries. Try to get children to identify where the artic and Antarctic are and if they can recognise on a globe.
Some of the aistear stations which I would have: Playing with the animals in white rice (ice), role playing visiting an area to work as a scientistic and needing lots of clothes, experiment station (have ice water and fat), junk art (making animals), another station could be interactive games on white board to do with weather/animals.
Experiment: Gloves on each hand dip one in fat (don’t dip the other) and then put both in bowl with the ice and one gets colder much quicker….why? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XLuhN7L7g
More experiments here on weather which I would change daily for the experiment section.
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https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/space.html
I would use the science kids website for some quizzes to complete after the lessons. There are also some amazing projects and experiment ideas on this website to give the teacher new ideas. The website includes super videos for the children to enjoy and resources are easy to find as they are grouped into topics.
Wow science has some interactive games and activities for the children to complete. There are some apps linked on the website, one which the children can monitor and investigate the sun and complete hands-on DIY activities to give a greater understanding of the sun. I would use this online resource to do a lesson on investigating the sun and moon – linking with maths night and day in the junior classroom.
I would use GetEpic! for storytime in the classroom. This website has a plethora of science themed books that are very engaging for children as it highlights the words as you read along with it.
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Thanks for sharing these links Rebecca.
Is the Sun this one? https://wowscience.co.uk/resource/diy-sun-science/
This links to a free app from Lawrence Hall of Science (who are fab) for iPad.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/diy-sun-science/id836712493
I checked and you can also get it for iPhone and Android at
and that also has pdfs that you can download for some of the activities. I like that fact that they have ages on the activities, so some of the age 7 and up could be used.
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I am looking forward to using the great tools in this module in the classroom next year.
Stellarium – I would use this software as a virtual planetarium. This is a wonderful tool for the classroom. The children would be very excited to see the night sky and point out star patterns, once they had been introduced to constellations previously. This could also be a very calming tool for the classroom with music playing also.
ESA Kids- is also an excellent tool for use in the classroom. I really liked the videos provided on the website especially the video which is the view of earth from an astronauts perspective. I would use the video to introduce the space theme to the class. ESA Kids could also be used for story time. -
For this Module i choose activity How do animals keep themselves warm? ( ESERO)
You will need the photographs of the penguin and polar bear
. Discussion types of weather
Ask the children what kinds of weather they know. Talk about sunny weather, rain, and snow. Explain that some kinds of weather occur more often in some places in the world. Some places get lots of rain, while other places are very dry. Some places are very hot and others very cold. At the North and South Pole, for example, it is often extremely cold. Do they know any films (cartoon films) about the North or South Pole? What do the children know about these places on Earth? The children find out how animals that live in cold places keep themselves warm.
How do animals keep themselves warm
Ask whether the children know of any animals that live in cold places. Show them the photographs of the polar bear and the penguin. What are these animals called? How do the penguin and the polar bear keep themselves warm? Discuss the ideas put forward by the children. Explain that the animals have a thick layer of fat under their skin to keep themselves warm. However, the areas where the polar bears and the penguins live are so cold that this thick layer of fat is not enough. That’s why the polar bear also has a thick coat of fur and the penguin has a thick layer of feathers.
Question: ‘What do people do when they feel cold?’ People put on an extra jumper or a thick coat. Polar bears and penguins don’t put on a coat. Their fur and feathers act like a kind of coat that they are always wearing.
The skin of the polar bear is black, because dark colours absorb more light and heat than lighter ones. The penguin’s feathers and the polar bear’s fur are also covered in a layer of grease to repel water. Rub Vaseline on one of each child’s hands. Now the children also have a greasy layer on their skin. Drip some water on this hand. What happens to the water? Come to the conclusion that the water rolls off the hand with the greasy layer.
Discuss with the children what they have learned. Come to the conclusion that the penguin and the polar bear have three ways to keep themselves warm: a thick coat of fur or feathers, a thick layer of fat under their skin, and a greasy layer on their fur or feathers.
Explain that the animals have adapted to the conditions that they live in. White animals . Show the children the photographs of the animals again. What do they notice? Explain that the animals that live at the North and South Poles are often white, like the polar bear. This means they don’t stand out in the snow which helps them to hunt unseen. Penguins have a black back and a white front. So when they are swimming in the dark water they cannot be seen from above. And looking from underneath their white front blends in with the colour of the sky. This makes it harder to catch them.
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Dressing for Different Weather Adventures
Introduce the topic to the children and explain brifely each of the five stations.
Dress-up Relay Race: Divide the children into teams and set up stations representing different climates (e.g., sunny, snowy, rainy, windy). At each station, place a basket of clothes suitable for that climate. The first player from each team runs to the station, puts on the appropriate clothing as quickly as possible, and returns to tag the next player. The team that completes the relay race first wins! Afterward, discuss each climate and the specific clothing items used.
Weather Dress-Up Game: Create weather cards representing various conditions like sunny, rainy, snowy, windy, and cloudy. Spread the weather cards on the floor. Have the children take turns picking a card and dressing up in clothes suitable for that weather. Encourage them to explain why they chose those clothes and how they protect against specific weather elements.
Match the Outfit: Prepare flashcards with images of different clothing items and weather conditions. Mix them up and lay them face-down on a table. Each child takes turns flipping over two cards. If the clothing item matches the weather condition, they keep the pair. The player with the most pairs at the end wins. Use this activity to discuss why certain clothes are suitable for specific weather conditions.
Weather Charades: Write different weather conditions on slips of paper and place them in a hat or bowl. Each child takes turns choosing a slip and acting out the weather condition without speaking. The other children try to guess the weather being acted out. Afterward, discuss appropriate clothing choices for each weather condition.
Create a Weather Wardrobe: Provide each child with a large piece of paper and art supplies. Ask them to draw a wardrobe with several doors or compartments. Label each door or compartment with a different weather condition (e.g., sunny, rainy, snowy). Then, have the children draw or cut out pictures of clothing items that would be suitable for each weather condition. They can stick or tape the clothes behind the appropriate doors or compartments.
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I would like to try the ESERO activity set, about animals in the cold. I think this would be a really lovely lesson for junior infants, and also integrates nicely with Geography, and our Aistear theme of Antarctic. I would begin by having a group discussion about weather, different types of weather and how different parts of the world can have different climates. This is a good way to illicit prior knowledge from children. We can then focus in on the North and South pole and look at these places on a map of globe. Using the pictures of the polar bear and the penguin , we can this discuss how these animals keep themselves warm, and compare to how we stay warm…does a penguin put on gloves or a coat? for example. To then extend the learning even further, I would tell the children that these animals have a layer of grease covering their fur, which repels water and helps with staying warm. This is when we could to the hands on part of the lesson, using Vaseline. Rubbing a little bit of Vaseline on the children’s hands, and then pouring small amounts of water over that hand, so they can see the water glide off.
This lesson could also be followed up by nice art activities making polar bears and penguins. There are also a huge number of books and rhymes that have polar bears, snow bears, ice, etc which can lead to even further integration. I like how the lesson has a multi sensory approach, and it encourages the children to become aware of their senses when talking about weather. Feeling hot, feeling cold, feeling wet and cold etc.
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The online resource that I am looking forward to using next year is ESA and ESA kids.
This website has so many ideas and topics that would be of interest for children and teachers alike.
It would be a great resource to use for a guided research activity about a space topic. Children could read and search for information on a webpage and report back to the class their findings. There are also lots of interactive games that the children could play to reinforce learning about space.
The website has lots of educational news, videos and animations that explain space concepts that can be used to begin or end a lesson.
The ESA website would also be very helpful for me in my planning of lessons as it has plenty of teacher resources and lots of ideas to like space topics to other areas of the curriculum (e.g. art)
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I loved the lesson idea ‘Hot and Cold’ as it involves using the sun to learn about it whilst also introducing even the youngest of children to scientific experiments and fair testing.
I would begin the lesson with a song to engage the children’s interest: ‘Mr Golden Sun.’
We would continue as per the lesson with the discussion on the sun as a light and heat source. I would of course make sure that the lesson took place on a warm, sunny day. I would proceed with the investigative part of the lesson – by using the ice cubes to determine if the sun gives off heat.
We would return to the classroom to discuss our predictions and results and elicit further learning on the sun as a source of heat.
I loved the short story activity (which links nicely to drama) where the children must decide if the situation refers to a hot or cold day.
I would finish the lesson with a simple art activity; providing the children with a large circle and inviting them to use yellow and orange crepe paper and glue to fill in the circle and create a sun. -
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For this assignment, I would use the hands on themed activities in the Animals in the Cold section. I think this lesson would be so enjoyable for junior classes.
As we in Ireland are all experts on talking about the weather, the class discussion at the start of Animals in the Cold would be at full speed! Lists of films etc set in the North or South poles would be ideal. Then the pupils could brainstorm about what animals they would expect to find there. A list with pictures can be compiled at this point.
When thinking about these animals keeping warm, the personal experience of the pupils can be drawn on in terms of how they keep warm themselves, whether it is on yard, at home, going to the supermarket, etc. I would lay coats, jackets, scarves, hats, gloves, etc. on their tables and have a discussion about what makes these items effective against the cold.
Moving to the animals, we can then explore the natural coats and fat they have instead of our manmade ones and that they keep them on all the time. (Some pupils who have cats at home might have noticed that they moult in summer but their coats become thicker and plusher in the Winter to keep as much heat as possible.)
The vaseline is a super idea here. It demonstrates so well the waterproof properties of grease/fat. I would do a before and after at this stage of the lesson so they experience the immediate effect of the vaseline on their hands.
The idea of camouflage will be very well illustrated with the penguin and polar bear. We could also chat briefly about any other animals they are aware of where camouflage is used.
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This hands-on themed activity is excellent for engaging junior classes, as it combines practical learning with the relatable topic of weather, which is a favorite discussion point in Ireland. I would use this lesson to help students understand how animals in cold climates stay warm by comparing their natural adaptations to the winter clothing we use, reinforcing concepts with activities like the vaseline demonstration for waterproofing and discussions about camouflage.
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The ESA resource for weather and climate is a valuable tool for understanding and studying these phenomena. It provides a comprehensive collection of satellite data, imagery, and models that enable scientists and researchers to analyse and monitor weather patterns and climate change. The accessible resource offers a wide range of information, including atmospheric composition, cloud cover, sea surface temperature, and precipitation which can be used with pupils of all ages and abilities. It also provides access to data on climate variables, such as temperature and greenhouse gas concentrations. The ESA resource is an essential asset for improving pupils’ knowledge of weather and climate dynamics.
To set up a weather station on the school grounds, I would start by asking pupils to choose a suitable location i.e. an open area away from buildings and trees. We would then decide on the instruments to use to record the weather. We would install a weathervane on a tall pole to measure wind direction, and an anemometer to measure wind speed. We would also make and place a rain gauge to measure precipitation, and a thermometer to measure temperature. We would ensure regular and accurate records were kept and we would display the weather data for the school community to access and learn from.
Setting up a weather station on the school grounds involves several STEM skills. These skills include:
1. Science: Understanding the principles of meteorology, such as wind patterns, temperature, and atmospheric pressure, and how they affect weather conditions.
2. Technology: Familiarity with data loggers, computers, and software to collect, store, and analyse weather data. Knowledge of sensors and instruments used in weather monitoring.
3. Engineering: Designing and constructing the weather station, including selecting appropriate locations for instruments, installing poles, and ensuring proper calibration and maintenance.
4. Mathematics: Analysing and interpreting weather data, including calculating averages, trends, and correlations. Understanding statistical concepts to make accurate predictions and forecasts.
Overall, this activity integrates various STEM skills to create a comprehensive understanding of weather patterns and their measurement.
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Louise,
your description of weather stations seems a little high-tech powered for the Junior classes. I’d suggest more direct measurements using simple materials.
Infants could start with “moving air” to see if they can make puffs with different strengths – and be asked to use this knowledge to design and make a device to measure wind speed.
ESERO have this class weather station – for 3rd/4th class – but could be adapted for younger children.
Met Eireann have excellent resources on making weather instruments at https://www.met.ie/education/school-resources.
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An activity from this module that I will do in my Senior Infants classroom next year will be the Investigating our Coats idea. I would do this as a whole class lesson ideally at the end of a unit of work on materials so the class would have already carried out other investigations on materials and be familiar with the various characteristics and vocabulary such as hard, soft, furry, fuzzy, rough, smooth, shiny, waterproof, colour words etc. I would begin by getting ready for yard or home-time earlier and singing our Cuir ort do chóta song as a trigger, then gather the children in a circle for the lesson with the game; If you are wearing a pink coat join the circle, a coat with a zip, buttons, shiny coat, furry coat etc etc. to revise and further explore the materials / coats vocabulary.
We will then investigate the types and characteristics of the coats further with question such as What colour do we see most in our coats today; predict and count/ make a data chart if time permits. I would then ask the children to make up other questions about the coats for us to “predict and count how many”, I could extend this by prompting them to include more than 1 characteristic – how many coats are pink with buttons? Make a real Venn diagram with hoola hoops for the children to step into each time if time permits.
A follow up activity for the week after in Aistear would be for the children to design their own coat for one of the dolls in Junk-Art using materials such as felt, plastic, cotton wool, pipe cleaners, sequins, pencils, crayons, buttons, fabric and fibre; discussing what season/weather it is and why they are choosing particular materials for the coat; and where she may be going in it. -
Hands on activities
Weather and where do you live- Infants
Introduce the lesson with a youtube video about different types of weather. Talk and discussion about the different types of weather and when we usually see them. Discuss the seasons and what we might wear in the different weather/seasons.
Show some pictures of different weather around the world and the different types of houses people live in- Dry climate-mud house, tepee, Polar climate-Igloo, continental climates-white wash etc. Discuss why they might live in these type of houses.
Visual Arts- using various materials such as cotton wool, sticks and paper, paint children will design a house for one of the above three different climates.
Follow on activitiy: Design an outfit for teddy in the winter and the summer-
Anita,
I see that you have planned this as a visual arts activity – but it would be very easy for the children to include the science skills of Design and Make and explain how their houses are good for cold weather / windy weather / rainy weather etc. They could carry out simple tests on their constructed houses to see if they would withstand wind. Amazing Triangles would be a good activity to share with them.
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These are great suggestions Anita.
For infant classes it’s amazing how many stories and fairytales you can link with such topics. Houses – the three little pigs. Hot and Cold – Goldilocks and the three bears.
Then you can go and discuss animals too and how they cope with different weather. Polar bears/penguins/seals in Antarctica/The Arctic – their fur/fat etc. Camels in the heat and their eyelashes etc.
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Stellarium & ESA Education Kids: I would use these websites in my previously noted lessons on stars from the last module. I would show videos from ESA Kids on space, differentiating them based on the topic. Stellarium would be used to star gaze, to look up the school on specific days where we are given report of a new phenomenon in the sky like when we saw the Aurora Borealus or when different constellations can be seen. We would map them out, draw them, construct them using playdoh and toothpicks, etc. I would the children identify different constellations by only giving them the name of the constellations and letting their imagination do the rest.
Milo and Marvin: For Marvin and Milo I would put on stories as revision and let them watch the cartoons during lunch breaks. It always amazes me the amount of information the children can gather visually and auditive.
I would also play the interactive games and solve space-themed puzzles, use the art themed props and craft ideas, as well as the different print outs and activities shown on ESA and ESA Kids to further develop and strengthen their knowledge on Space and the world around us.
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I decided to focus on the topic ‘online resources and tools for my assignment. I looked at the recommended Stellarium site and found it to be a powerful and user-friendly software that offers several advantages for teaching primary school children about space:
Interactive Learning:
Stellarium allows children to explore the night sky interactively. They can click on stars, planets, and constellations to learn their names and details, making learning more engaging and memorable.
Realistic Visualization:The software provides a highly realistic view of the night sky, simulating the positions of stars, planets, and other celestial objects. This helps children understand what they see in the real sky and relate it to their learning.
Time Travel Feature:Stellarium can simulate the night sky at different times and dates. This feature helps children understand the movement of celestial bodies over time, including concepts like the rotation of the Earth, the phases of the Moon, and the changing positions of planets.
Constellation Illustrations:
The software includes illustrations of constellations from various cultures. This not only helps children recognize and remember constellations but also introduces them to different cultural perspectives on astronomy.
Educational Resources:
Stellarium provides detailed information about celestial objects, including their mythological backgrounds, physical characteristics, and scientific data. This enriches the learning experience with both scientific and cultural knowledge.
Accessibility and Ease of Use:Stellarium is available on multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android), making it accessible to a wide range of users. Its user-friendly interface ensures that even young children can navigate and use the software with minimal guidance.
Enhances Visual and Spatial Understanding:
By manipulating the sky view, zooming in on objects, and seeing how the sky changes with location and time, children develop a better visual and spatial understanding of the universe.
Encourages Curiosity and Exploration:
The immersive experience provided by Stellarium can spark children’s curiosity about space and encourage them to explore further. This can lead to a deeper interest in science and astronomy.
Overall, Stellarium serves as an excellent resource for primary school children to learn about space in an engaging, interactive, and visually appealing manner
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Kevin – it is also really easy to put your own constellations into Stellarium.
You can go to the folder where the constellation art is found, make a copy of those files (so you have the original!) then edit your copies. The software will use your revised versions.
You can find Patricia Reiff’s “Quick Controls” hint sheet here, and the link to the Western colour constellations is https://mst.rice.edu/ASTR530/materials/stellarium-modern-color-art.zip
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Module 4:
Activity: keeping warm
I will introduce the topic of animals keeping warm by reading the storybook ‘Big Bear, Little Bear’ by David Bedford & Jane Chaptman. I will explain to the children that we will be learning about Polar Bears. I will ask them what they first know about polar bears. I will then read the storybook. We will then discuss what life is like for a polar bear in the Artic. I will get the children to tell me what additional information we now know about polar bears. I will then show the children real photos of polar bears in the wild. I will ask them what they notice about the colour of their skin? Why do they think it is white? What effect does this have?
We will then create our own polar bears using painted paper plates. We will then display this around our artic classroom board. We will write up facts we have learnt about the polar bears around the board.
I feel with the new maths curriculum, there is now a renewed focus on stem in schools at present. It is very easy to integrate stem across lots of subject such as aistear activities, maths. Stem could easily be a priority for schools through the SSE evaluation process. -
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I enjoyed exploring many of the online tools in this module. This is how I plan to use some of them in my classroom.
This online tool offers fantastic graphics and engaging subject matter related to space. It’s particularly appealing for children interested in astronomy. For an infant classroom, I recommend using it in a teacher-led manner, as it is a complex site to navigate. After introducing lessons about stars, I would have students observe the stars above our area, identify patterns, and draw shapes on whiteboards. We could explore constellation patterns on screen and compare them to what the children observed. Finally, consider investigating whether the night sky on the opposite side of the world has similar star families.
https://spark.iop.org/collections/marvin-and-milo
I really enjoyed the Marvin and Milo cartoons and these are very relevant for my school as we are a junior school so they will be a fun and engaging way to help younger learners understand topics. I will be using these videos next year. I think they are a nice way to engage parents in their children’s learning. I will discuss how our HSCL teacher could use these with some of our parents.
https://esero.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/07_Animals-in-the-cold.pdf
I think the resource “Animals in the cold” will integrate nicely with one of my Aistear themes ‘arctic explorers’, this will help me to develop cross curricular learning for the children and broaden my scope for developing this theme.
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Module 4 assignment
Online resources and tools: How would you use the activity in your classroom?
Stellarium is really cool. I think this would suit the children in 2nd class. I think it’s graphics and engaging space related subject matter will be really appealing to the children. I have downloaded the Stellarium app which will come in very handy to use with the IWB to show the children the night skies and the beautiful star constellations. They can then use the stellarium-web.org browser and the unawe.org website on the chromebooks for individual exploration and stargazing.
ESA Kids is a fantastic resource by the European Space Agency that I will definitely be using with the children next year. They will really enjoy the online games as well as the arts and craft lesson activities. The rocket lesson in particular has excited me and I think the children will really enjoy designing and making their own rockets. I also really like the Solar System Explorer game. https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Solar_System_Explorer
The various Paxi videos and the Milo and Marvin cartoons are fantastic. I will also use the Astronomy Picture of the Day resources during Science week and Space week.
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Anne- have you tried to play the Paxi game? I crashed 5 times and have given up. Different set of skills!
Stellarium is great- and as I like to point out, once it is downloaded you don’t need the internet, so you can let children explore away. I agree that 2nd class would make better independent use of it than younger children.
APOD is super – I heard a suggestion of using it as a prompt for descriptive language.
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I have decided to focus on Hands-on classroom themed activities-Animals in the cold
I would use this activity in the classroom and explore animals in the cold in a very fun, engaging and interactive way. I would use ideas from Animals in the cold climate-Lesson 7-Esero and also add in my own ideas.
Introduction: I would firstly explore different types of weather in general and show the pupils a video based on weather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfamR09Jklw
We will discuss key vocabulary i.e. sun, rain, clouds, snow, thunder, lightning, hot, cold etc.Development: Look at a map of the world and point out Ireland-discuss our weather. Point to various places and guess what the weather is like e.g. North Pole, South Pole. Ask the pupils can they think of any films/cartoons with these places in them? Point to Antarctica-pose the question? What would the weather be like here? Hot or cold? What animals would live there? Show the pupils the story of Polar Bears and Penguins-A Contrast Book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nKKbz_wSg0
Application: Recap one the polar bears’ and penguins’ key features for survival in an extremely cold climate/weather conditions. Ask the pupils to sketch their favourite-a penguin or polar bear and label the parts of their bodies. I will display key vocabulary on the board for the pupils.
Conclusion: Hot-seat a penguin or polar bear and ask it questions e.g. What is your name? What age are you? Where do you live? How do you survive?
I could further incorporate STEM by providing opportunities for the pupils to incorporate technology into the lesson and further explore the life of penguins and polar bears on apps such as National Geographic Kids and Kiddle.
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The activity I have chosen is ‘Activity set weather’ for hands- on activities in the classroom with junior infants.
Introduction: Look at the 4 seasons and what types of weather occurs in each season. Refer to weather chart at top of class. Get one of the children to tell the forecast for the day and discuss what they have worn into school.
Main: Teacher brings in a variety of objects and clothes. Tell the children that Teddy is going on a winter holiday. We need to sort the clothes and objects Ted needs for his holiday.
Children must look at the varied materials and sort them correctly into Teds suitcase while the other clothes go back in the box for Summertime, Autumn and Spring.
Plenary: Children can play dress up going on holidays.
Other games I have done is weather boy/girl and map of Ireland with pictures of different weather- Role play
Matching games – match clothes to the correct weather on worksheets. To consolidate learning.
Arts and crafts- create a windmill,
Science- create waterproof clothes for Ted in Autumn. Look at varied materials and what is waterproof.-
I like the idea of the children in role being a weather presenter. This is a great idea and makes it a more interesting and engaging way to teach about weather. They would need lots of preparation for this, in terms of acquiring the appropriate vocabulary but you could watch videos of the weather forecast on television and gather some pointers.
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Activity Set:
Animals in the cold.
I would begin a set of lessons related to this activity with pictures of penguins in polar regions. A discussion about the weather conditions and how children keep warm would occur. Together with the pupils, I would brainstorm how they think these animals stay warm. A video of penguins huddling would be displayed and the pupils would be brought outside to experiment if huddling makes them feel warmer. I would read the story ‘Pierre the Penguin’ to the children, about how a penguin lost its feathers and struggled to keep warm. For an art activity, the pupils would be asked to glue and stick feathers onto a penguin to keep it warm. During Aistear, the story of Pierre the Penguin would be dramatised. These lessons could then be extended into hibernation and what clothes to wear.
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Rachel, how simple and how much fun to re-created huddling on a cold day.
Lots of opportunity for children to express themselves and work out how they can incorporate the views of everyone – and have to consider their own spatial position relative to the group.
Ideally you could photograph this from an upper window of the school and have a record that they could refer to. I’m thinking they could have cards with their names on it and could hold them up so they can see if they were middle (and feeling warmer) or outer edge and feeling cooler.
I wonder if there is a minimum size huddle to feel warm ? and there is a “take the next step”….
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I would look at the activity set ‘Where you live? And Weather’ for this module. The lesson I have focused on is Hot and Cold – Use the Sun. This is a lesson I would do during the summer term when there is more heat coming from the sun and the weather should be better. We would begin the lesson by having a discussion about the sun itself and what we know about the sun. We would discuss what the sun looks like, when we see the sun, when we can’t see the sun, why it is important etc. We would then discuss ways we can shelter from the sun and what we should do to protect ourselves on sunny and hot days.
For the experiment itself we will investigate if an ice cube will melt quicker in the sun or in the shade. I will have two bowls and will place an ice cube in each. One will be placed in direct sunlight and the other in the shade. Children will decide which ice cube they think will melt first and will sign their name to a piece of paper picking either the sun or the shade side. Children would also give reasons for their choice. We will then watch the two bowls and discuss what is happening during the process. Following on from the experiment we will go outside and spend time in both a shaded area and also an area that is in direct sunlight and discuss how the areas feel different. To finish off the lesson, back in the classroom we will discuss our predictions and discuss the results. Children will realise from this that the sun gives off both heat and light and that it is important that we have the sun but children will also be reminded of the dangers of the sun especially on hot days.-
Laura,
for Junior Infants this activity lets them share their understanding and check it in a simple way – which is what inquiry learning is all about. Since this likely to be the end of the school year – I wonder if you could return to it with a class the following winter — and help them to look at the more complex ideas of how the temperature depends on sunlight but also on time of year.
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I really enjoyed exploring the online tools in this module. I particularly like the Stellarium website and i was unaware that this existed. I will definitely use it next year with my 1sn and 2nd class. I like the fact that you can put in a location on it and you could use the childrens own families to explore the sky in different areas. You could elicit from the children if they have family in other parts of the world and explore what the sky looks like in those areas. I also really like the idea of using the astronomy picture a day website and it was really good with the explanation of each picture. It was also good that you could go back to pictures from previous days too.
I used the Lets Discover book this year with my class and the experiments with Hot and Cold were very good and I liked how they could be integrated easily with other subject areas. -
Hands-on classroom themed activities
Activity: What clothes to wear- Seasons
I really like the idea of letting the children engage in this type of active learning and would enjoy using these lessons in my classroom.Introduction: To introduce the lesson to the children I would ask the children what the seasons are. I will then open a discussion about the different seasons and what the weather is like at certain times of the year. I would ask the children what clothes might you wear when it is raining, when the sun is shining etc.
Main: I would then give the children flash cards with a variety of clothes and ask them in small groups if they could match the clothing with the different weathers. E.g rain coat for rainy days, sun hat for warm days and so on.
Conclusion: I would ask the children what their favourite season and type of weather is. Then I would ask the children to draw themselves in the close they need for this particular season/weather and why they choose it.
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Sarah,
to have this more closely match the science curriculum (Materials >Materials and Change > Heating and Cooling 1st/2nd class)
become aware of and investigate the suitability of different kinds of clothes for variations in temperature
recognise that some fabrics keep us warmer than others
design and make or assemble an outfit for someone who is going on holiday to a very warm or cold placethe children could be enabled to test the various clothing to see if it keeps them warm or cool. This can be linked to heat transfer – but heat transfer is mostly covered in 5th and 6th class, so I’d keep this simple.
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This module has been great for providing excellent online resources for teaching about space. I look forward to using the stellarium app, astronomy picture of the day and Marvin and Milo resources. Marvin and Milo would be particularly good for building home school links and encouraging families to engage in science activities together. The activity set I would choose would be on weather and the lesson on what clothes to wear. I would begin the lesson with a visual presentation of pictures on the interactive whiteboard. We would discuss the different types of weather we see and introduce vocabulary surrounding weather. We would then chat about the seasons and briefly discuss the weather we would expect. I would then use the colouring pictures from the lesson, I would distribute them and tell the children to see if they can identify the season from the activity and weather. We would discuss our findings. From this I would choose one season to focus on, either summer or winter and have a bag of clothes ready to sort together. I would set the scene and tell them that I have to pack for my holiday to a very warm place, what would I need? The children then help to pack appropriate clothing and discuss why. As an extension of this lesson over the following days, we could discuss materials suitable for warm weather clothing and the children could design an outfit they would like to wear on holidays. You could teach about each season in turn in this way. The children could also do a weather study and each day you could record the weather for a week. I would use lots of songs and stories to support my teaching if this topic also.
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Lesson idea for ‘Where do you live?’
Introduction: The children would think pair share about where they live. Invite various children to discuss where they live. Then display a PowerPoint of the different types of homes that people live in (house, hotel, caravan, etc.).
1. Invite the children to draw a map of where they live. On the map invite the children to mark the important places like their home, school, parks and draw roads that they take daily.
2. Invite the children then to focus on their home. Invite the children to draw a picture of their home. Invite the children to label the different parts of their home. Once all of the children have completed this activity, the children can gather in small group and discuss their home to the other children. The children can describe their home and children can ask questions about their home. This will develop the children’s oral language skills.
3. Display all of the children’s homes together on a display board and create a mini village, invite the children to add other things in their area, such as, shops, school, parks, etc.
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Padraig,
have you much experience with map work with 2nd class? I was doing some simple map activity with my Brownie Guides (ages 8-10 – most are 1st-4th class) and was surprised at how complicated they found the maps. They found it very difficult to give directions to a place from a map of the local area (that we had walked through the previous week) -I wonder if they are driven so much that they don’t have a sense of turning left or right at junctions to be able to navigate.
Near me, the Tidy Town associations have local maps and that is what we use. I have also generated my own map of the local area from Open Street Map, which is copyright free: https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/51.89989/-8.40296
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Module 4 Assignment:
Activity: Animals in the Cold (ESERO 7)
• I would introduce this topic in Winter as part of our Oral Language programme (The Arctic) and when discussing different types of weather in each season.
• I would show the children pictures of penguins and polar bears? I would ask them questions like Where do they live? Are they alike? How are they different and what characteristics have they in common?
• We would look at the powerpoint presentation ‘How animals keep warm in the winter’ (Twinkl) and discuss the findings.
• The children would then do the Animals in the Cold experiment and discuss and record how their hands felt with the Vaseline and what effect water had on their hands?
• I would get the children to make an Arctic Sensory Bin to include Arctic figurines, ice cubes of various sizes and get them to experiment with the ice cubes with Vaseline applied to their hands.
• I would conclude the learning by reading ‘The Snowman’ by Raymond Briggs.
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As a Junior Infant teacher I think hands on themed activities are a must in the infant classrooms across the country. In our school, we ensure that we chose a theme each month to explore with the children. For example, ‘The Weather station’, ‘The Science Lab’, ‘Space’ etc., We thematically plan our subjects to incorporate this theme into our lessons for the month. Thus, from exploring the online resources and tools from module 4 I have gained and explored a number of activities and resources/websites that will enhance my thematic planning for the year going forward. When focusing on the theme ‘The Weather station’ in our classroom we look at the various types of clothes we wear during each season by using real everyday life clothes that the children already wear (to elicit prior knowledge/learn from own personal experience). Various types of clothing (that the children bring in) are displayed around the classroom and each group must find their appropriate type of clothing for the season they are exploring (i.e. the foxes are exploring the theme of ‘Summer’ they must find clothes suitable to wear in the summer). As we can sometimes wear the same type of clothes in various seasons, it is up to the children to explore and pose wonder as to why we may need a jumper sometimes in spring/summer. We then explore/discuss with why we wear these clothes and reflect and consolidate our learning by drawing a portrait of ourselves with clothes that we love to wear during a season we enjoy throughout the year (these portraits are then displayed in the classroom which also incorporates the theme of ‘myself in SPHE.
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Teaching infants, as we know, is predominantly done through hands on activities. I will defintely be using the Stellarium website for stargazing, particularly seeing as a lot of my children live in a built up town and don’t often have the opportunity to see the stars clearly. I will also be using peg boards to create constellations. Great idea!
I will also encourage the children to poke out constellations on paper or card and then shine a flashlight through them in a dark classroom to let the children see and guess their own constellations
I think it is so important to see aspects that they can relate to to get a better understanding. I always show children the outfits they wear in space and also what they eat and how they live in space. Tim Peake, Karen Nyberg and Chris Hasfeild have some brilliant videos where they demonstrate eating, sleeping, brushing their teeth, washing in space and the children love it
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I would like to do weather as a theme in my class for a fortnight.
There are lots of activities that could be integrated into this theme.
First, I would discuss all the different types of weather that the children know of. Discuss the elements of weather- wind, ice, rain, snow, sunny etc.
I will ask the children to record the weather for the fortnight. They will record this on a sheet with pictures.
The children will become aware of some of the effects of the weather on humans, animals and plants. We will do this through pictures/ videos and growing plants in the classroom. Seeds need warmth, moisture and oxygen in order to germinate. The connection between a seed and a plant- seeds are alive. Experimenting with them- putting them in different positions in the classroom to see what place provides best what they need.
Discuss the differences between living in a hot/ cold place- the penguin and the polar bear and how they keep warm etc.
Observing the wind turbines in our area and their purpose.
Aistear: dress up role play- dress for cold weather/ dress for warm weather. Clothes shop. Role play the weather forecast.
Art: Make pin wheels- gauge the wind, rain gauge, streamers to show the direction of the wind. -
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Module 4 Assignment:
I would use the activity set for the Weather and focus on what clothes to wear. This could be used in 1st class. I would discuss the different seasons and focus on hot and cold seasons. This would lead to discussing different types of suitable clothing for hot and cold conditions. This would lead to discussing the need for warm clothing in cold conditions, and why we wear warm clothing. There is a lovely science activity that would be suitable for this topic and it is called Keep the Ice Cube cold. In this experiment pupils take an ice cube and place it into a yoghurt pot, they then use different materials to wrap around the pot for example paper, bubble wrap, tin foil, plastic. The pupils would use a timer to see how long it takes for the cubes to melt fully. The materials being used helps the pupils to understand the role that different materials play in insulating things and helps them understand why we wear different materials/clothes for different weather conditions.
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Module 4
Activity: Animals in the Cold.Start lesson with a discussion of how we keep warm when it is cold, allow children to share their answers with each other. Then lead them on from that with ‘I wonder how animals keep themselves warm especially in the North and South Pole.
Next show them two videos from youtube about the animals in the Arctic and Antarctic. ‘Walk in the Arctic for kids’- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-9xDztBhzE and ‘How do Animals survive in the Antarctica’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waasDglAZ04
Recap on what animals live in the north and south pole? What do we know about them? How do they keep warm? Blubber, Thick fur, huddling together. About how the penguin’s feathers and the polar bear’s fur are also covered in a layer of grease to repel water.
Main activity:
Fill a large plastic box with water, ice cubes, and small plastic animals that live in cold environments. Let the children explore the sensory box. Encourage them to touch the ice and move the animals around. Talk about how the cold water and ice feel, and how these animals live in such environments.
I think the Vaseline idea from the esero activity is a great way to demonstrate how the water rolls off the hand with the greasy layer and I will definitely use this idea in the future with my class. -
Hands on classroom activity – exploring hot vs cold in an infant classroom
I would start with a simple discussion about temperature, asking students if they know what “hot” and “cold” mean. Show examples, such as a picture of the sun and a snowflake. We would then read the book “Hot and Cold” by Susan Canizares together.
Experiment – I would fill one bowl with warm water and another with cold water.
Place a few small plastic toys or objects in each bowl.Students take turns feeling the water in both bowls.
Ask them to describe how the water feels (e.g., “The water is warm/cold”).
Ice could also use thermometers to measure the temperature of each bowl.
I would show these to the children and perhaps print large image of a thermometer and colour in the reading we took to display.Kid identify which bowl felt warm and which felt cold.
Discuss how we use our sense of touch to feel temperature.
Use chart paper to create a visual chart of objects that are hot and cold.Ask students how they feel when it’s hot outside versus when it’s cold.
Discuss the importance of dressing appropriately for different temperatures.Summarize the activity, emphasizing the difference between hot and cold.
Reinforce that temperature is something we can feel and measure.
To finidh off I would have students draw pictures of things that are hot and cold.-
Katie- Jo, this is perfectly pitched to allow children to explore
• recognise the difference between hot and cold in terms of weather, food, water and the body
The water offers them a direct experience, and you can ask them what really hot water might look like – and how they should be careful around cooking pans etc.
I had a student once doing soldering with me at a summer camp. Despite numerous cautions that the soldering iron got really hot, he still decided to touch it. The blisters were something else! I can only think that he had no experience with hot/cold before! (he was 10!).
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Lesson on Weather and Suitable clothes
We would spend a few days previous to this lesson tracking the weather of the day, e.g. rainy, cloudy, cold, sunny, hot etc.
I would show the children a picture of each season on the board and we would discuss what children are wearing in the photo. i.e. winter- hats, scarves etc, Summer- Sunglasses, shorts, swimming togs.
I would question the children on clothes they wear In different seasons. We would spend a bit more time on the spring and Autumn pictures as these can be a little less clearcut than the contrast between Winter and Summer.
We would use our Aistear dress up box so that children could take turns picking out different clothes they could wear in different seasons. I would question the children on why they think the wear less clothes in Summer time and extra layers in Wintertime. We would discuss how the sun heats our body.
To finish off the lesson, there would be a worksheet with Winter and Summer and the children would have to draw a suitable outfit and say why it is suitable. -
While the resources mentioned in the modules are fantastic to learn about, I have compiled a list of story books from suggestions in the forum post that I will be trying to add to my collection. It is fantastic to compile a list of resources from those teaching at a similar age level.
Homes and Houses
The ESERO resource on where do you live is a fantastic guide as to how I might go about teaching a lesson to children in my class.
Introduction: – We would read the story of the “The three little pigs”
We would talk about the houses that all looked different and were unique and were made from different materials.
Body of lesson: We will look at pictures of different homes and houses and I will ask the children to circle the picture that looks most like their house. I will ask them to use the colours to make the house look as close as it does to their own house.
I love the idea of giving the children the chance to build their own community by making homes and houses and we could then talk about what things are needed to make a community what it is.
In reality, this lesson would be spread over a few days and not one standalone lesson.
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Sarah,
I like how you realistically have gauged the time for this activity, and connected the story of the little pigs to the children’s own homes. You could even connect the wolf trying to blow their house down to weather in different parts of the world, and show them onshore winds and how that affects trees.
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Hands on classroom theme and activity: The Weather
Objectives; students will learn about the different types of weather and understand what types of clothing are appropriate for different weather conditions.
Intro: Sing a weather-related song like ‘whats the weather like today?’ Discuss what the weather is like today and how the weather makes the children feels.
Activity:
Picture book – read a picture book as a whole-class, engage by asking questions ‘what do you see in the sky? what do you think happens when it rains?’
Weather discussion – discuss weather flashcards ‘what can you see? what kind of weather is it?’
Clothes matching game – this can be either pictures of various clothing or actual clothing items. The children will choose the appropriate clothing to match each weather flashcard and explain why e.g waterproof.
Dress-up race – the class will be divided into 2 teams. Each team will be given a weather type and must rush to the pile of clothes and dress appropriately for that weather before the other team.
Conclusion: Review the key points we learned about weather. Create a weather journal that the children can fill in for the week.
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Title: Where do we live and weather
The objective of this lesson is to Introduce Junior and Senior infants to where we live and different weather types through engaging activities and discussions.
Activity 1:
Where Do We Live?
To introduce the lesson I would Show a world map, discuss different homes, and encourage children to share something they like about where they live.Activity 2: Different Types of Weather: I would Show the children pictures of weather conditions, discuss their characteristics, and use props to demonstrate their effects.
Activity 3: Weather Art: Provide art supplies for children to create drawings or paintings representing their favorite type of weather.
Activity 4: Weather Discussion and Reflection: Engage children in a conversation about weather, asking questions and encouraging them to share their thoughts and experiences.
Extension Activities: Create a weather chart, sing weather-related songs, observe current weather, or engage in simple experiments.
Adapt activities to suit children’s needs and abilities. Encourage curiosity and have fun exploring our home and weather.
I would encorporate various books into the lesson such as
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” by Judi Barrett
“The Wind Blew” by Pat Hutchins
“Little Cloud” by Eric Carle-
David,
weather is such a part of life in Ireland! Have you seen the weather activities from met eireann at https://www.met.ie/education/school-resources/
Some are for older children, but a simple anemometer could be made with the children that they could then use.
https://www.met.ie/cms/assets/uploads/2024/07/LP-Measuring-and-Recording-Wind-Speed.pdf
Is the type of thing you mean by “or engage in simple experiments.”
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Activity Set: Where do you live and weather?
1. Where do you live?
2. Weather Animals in the cold
3. What clothes to wear?
4. Investigating Children’s Coats
5. Hot and ColdI would begin to teach this unit of work by integrating the key vocabulary with our talk time programme/ word of the day. This vocabulary would include community, village, apartment, bungalow, dethatched, semi- dethatched, garden.
We will then read the three little pigs and talk about the different types of homes and materials that are best used for building homes.
We will then partake in the lesson and make models of our homes.
Before moving on to animals in the cold. We will investigate hot and cold and use the ice cube experiment to do this. Children will sort and classify items of hot and cold.
We will then read the story of the Emperor penguin, discuss where a penguin lives and hypothesis on how they keep warm. We will create a mind map based on our discussion.
I will then present the class with the Vaseline and ask them how do they think animals might use grease to help them keep warm.The penguin’s feathers and the polar bear’s fur are also covered in a layer of grease to repel water. Rub Vaseline on one of each child’s hands. Now the children also have a greasy layer on their skin. Drip some water on this hand.
What happens to the water?
To finish off this we will discuss what tools we have to keep us warm. We will then move on in the next lesson to investigating materials and change and make a raincoat for teddy as I outline in module 1.As part of our school self evaluation we have a theme of work to complete in SESE per term. We could include some of these lesson options and survey pupils and teachers to evaluate how effective our teaching practice is.
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Sinead,
I like your idea of connecting the waterproof coating for the animals to making waterproof clothes.
You could bring in some of the waterproofing sprays and children could test if they work.
https://www.woodies.ie/out-and-about-300ml-waterproof-spray
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Activity: Weather- What Clothes to Wear?
This is an excellent activity for exploring weather and the different clothes you wear for different weather. It begins to introduce materials and their properties also. The children will all receive a picture of various seasons and they will colour it. I will ask them different questions about their pictures e.g. is it hot/cold? What is the boy wearing? Is it wet?. I will remind them of the 4 seasons and we will try to match each picture they coloured to a season. These will be displayed on the wall underneath each season. The children will sit in a circle and there will be a dress-up box in the middle with various items of clothing in it. I will tell a number of short stories describing the weather and ask different groups of children to put on appropriate clothes to match the weather I have described. I will ask them to explain their choices and I will ask the other children if they agree. There will be a lot of who/what/when type of questions. By the end of the activity the children will be aware that the sun makes you hot so you need less clothes on sunny days and in the winter when it is colder you need more clothes to keep warm. I will then use the story included in the activity plan to incorporate lots of different types of weather. While reading the story the children will act out different parts and use their bodies and voices.
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Online Resources and Tools:
ESA Kids:
This website would be great for story-time in my classroom. We would choose appropriate stories about space exploration, astronauts, and the wonders of the universe. It also has fantastic facts about space and any ideas that the children would be wondering could be explored through this website. The ideas for arts and crafts on this website would be very beneficial- using the images for inspiration. Children could look at a variety of pictures and create their own rockets, alien creatures, or planets using art materials/junk. There are also online games: such as Space Clean up and Catch the craft and I think the children would love this!
UNAWE: Space Scoop is a web page that offers stories to be read to the children. This would be a nice activity at the end of a lesson.
Marvin and Milo cartoons:
I think the children would love this and it be a lovely way to introduce a topic/ activity/ experiment. I will definitely try and incorporate this into my science class. -
Hands on classroom theme and activity: The Weather and What to wear
Stimulus: A Stroll through the seasons.
Resources: Bag full of clothes appropriate for all different weather and seasons.
Introduction: Read the book about seasons. Elicit prior knowledge about seasons and the weather. ask the students to put four pictures of different seasons to the correct season.
Main body of the lesson:
Put masking tape in a cross on the floor. Label each section Spring, Summer, Autumn , Winter.Each student comes up to the bag of clothes and with a blind fold must select an item of clothing from the bag. Before removing the blind fold they must feel and discuss the item of clothing and make a prediction of where it should be placed on the seasons section.
Remove the blind fold to discover if they are correct.
Students role play a short drama about the season given. Other classmates have to guess the season.
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Ciara.
I love this
Put masking tape in a cross on the floor. Label each section Spring, Summer, Autumn , Winter.Each student comes up to the bag of clothes and with a blind fold must select an item of clothing from the bag. Before removing the blind fold they must feel and discuss the item of clothing and make a prediction of where it should be placed on the seasons section.
Remove the blind fold to discover if they are correct.
what a lovely way to bring out their descriptive language (if you ask them to describe what they feel) and to connect their ability to identify materials from touch.
This would help those children who don’t have a “minds eye” because it is quite concrete. (Aphantasia is thought to affect 1-2% of people – so there are probably a few in your school! https://psyche.co/ideas/i-have-no-minds-eye-let-me-try-to-describe-it-for-you)
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Following this module I decided I really liked the lesson ideas for What Clothes to Wear (ESERO)/Investigating Children’s Coats (Curious Minds) in my infant classroom.
I have found that a sorting activity always works very well while also providing the opportunity for a great discussion. In small groups, the children would have a variety of weather and clothes-related pictures which they would need to sort into the four seasons.
Following on from this, I really liked the What Clothes to Wear? activity. This involves the children choosing appropriate clothes for each season from the dress-up box and using teacher questioning to informally assess understanding. For example – Why do we wear fewer clothes in summer? Do you need to put your coat on to go outside in the winter? Why? Focusing on the seasons is relevant to infants but also allows for plenty of integration across the curriculum such as An Aimsir In Gaeilge,, during Aistear and also seasonal art activities. -
One way I have incorporate hands-on activities on the topic of space in my junior infant classroom is by creating a space-themed sensory bin. Fill a large bin with materials such as black beans (to represent outer space), plastic planets, toy astronauts, and glow-in-the-dark stars. Let the children explore the bin, sort the objects by size or colour, and create their own space scenes using the materials.
Another hands-on activity could involve creating a solar system mobile. Using various materials such as paper plates, paint, and string, have the children paint and decorate each paper plate to represent a different planet in the solar system. Once the plates are dry, attach them to a hanger or dowel rod to create a mobile that they can hang in the classroom.
I have also used and enjoyed reading here on the forum about different space-themed dramatic play areas in the classroom. Set up a space station with pretend astronaut suits, helmets, and a control panel. Encourage students to role-play as astronauts exploring outer space, communicating with mission control, and conducting experiments on different planets.
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The ‘What Clothes to Wear’ lesson would tie in nicely to the Materials lesson I focused in on earlier. In that lesson the children did further work on what materials would not soak up a spilt liquid to what material would be used to design a waterproof coat for teddy. Further work on this topic would lead to designing coats for the different types of weather we get here in Ireland.
We would discuss the practical uses for the coats depending on the type of weather we have chosen to design it for and this would lead to a lot of discussion on different materials and designs.
I like the way that this could also tie in with the lessons based on the polar bear and penguin and how they could argue over who would fall off the Earth because of where they are living (building a simple model of the Earth) and introducing the idea of gravity as a force.
We could talk about people living in warmer and colder climates also to extend this further and design clothes that would be suitable for their climates.
There is a lot to learn in this area about our planet and how where we live on it impacts out lives in different ways.
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Barbara,
I’m glad this material is useful for you and its great to see the connections being made from one module to the other.
Our place in space does indeed encompass an understanding of the diversity of our planet’s living spaces. Even more remarkable is that people only live on a fraction of the Earth’s surface and have modified only 14.6%
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/human-impact-earth-planet-change-development/
Children might use images of different parts of the world to suggest why people don’t live at or use most of the world.
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Incorporating hands-on classroom themed activities is a fantastic way to engage students and promote learning.
I would choose Weather as the theme for a hands-on classroom themed activity.
• Observe and discuss a variety of weather conditions
• Read some poems/ rhymes about the weather e.g. Wind Tricks or the Playful Wind.
• Record weather using a weather chart or a diary
• Make a weather vain/ sundial/ rain gauge etc.
• Become aware of the effects of weather on human, animals and plant life.
• Aistear: dress up for various types of weather conditions. Role play- weather forecast.
• Art: design various weather pictures using a variety of materials- make a collage using magazines etc.
• Music: ‘Four Seasons’ by Vivaldi. Discuss and listen to the various parts of this piece of music. Respond to the music through pictures and movement.
• PE- different movements.
• Drama – express a winter storm in drama or movement.-
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Hi Rachel,
That really is a cross-curricular way of teaching and learning about the weather. I like the idea of running the theme across all the subjects – there is so much scope there with lots of hands on activities and the different senses are being catered for with movement, music etc. This theme can be adapted for pretty much all age groups and it can be worked on over a period of time.
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I was particularly interested in the lesson ‘One Year on Earth’ – understanding seasons https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/edu/PR45_One_year_on_Earth.pdf.
I think this lesson would be useful in explaining the seasons in Ireland and would provide an opportunity for discussion of the weather and climate we have too. I think it would be suitable for a variety of ages and easily adaptable to many class groups. The weather and seasons are very relatable for children and easily linked to their everyday lives – what clothes they wear in each season, how they feel in each season, what happens culturally/in nature in Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter. It would really invoke discussion about the seasons and could be linked with Gaeilge to discuss weather in each season as Gaeilge too.
I think the question in activity 2 ‘Why does the Earth have seasons?’ is very interesting and again, relatable to children. The figures provided in this activity also show a useful visual. The hands-on activities ‘Build a sun-earth model’ and ‘one year on Earth’ are fun and engaging and by the end of the lessons pupils should become aware that the tilt of Earth’s axis affects the angle at which the Sun’s rays strike Earth and this is what causes the seasons.
I was also fascinated by the Astronomy picture a day on https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html and think there are many ways to regularly use this website in the classroom when discussing Earth and Space, constellations and the distance between stars and planets.
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Cliodhna, I’m glad you like the ESA education resource. There are lots of them, but unfortunately not always that easy to find on the ESA website. The ESERO Ireland site often has versions of them, so I’d check there first.
I maintain a list of all the ones I can find – and I find it easier to go to my list than to try to find them on the site.
I’ll see if I can make a shareable link to the list.
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The activity I would choose would be Esero 11, What Clothes to Wear & Curious Minds, Investigating Children’s Coats..
My prompt question would be that I’m feeling cold in class & have goosebumps. What can I do? This prompt will also be good for children to reinforce their interoceptive senses – how do I know I’m cold?
We can then look at some options in my room and decide which is the best item of clothing for me to put on – my cardigan, a raincoat or my winter yard duty coat. This will lead to discussions about materials in each and reason for them.
When I have warmed up, we’ll look at Esero 11 resources and follow lesson – colouring the season pictures, questions about pictures and clothing in each. Next will be the story “Rain, Wind & Storm”, children can pretend to be Lisa and do the actions for the story.
A follow up lesson could include the children designing their own coats/jackets (Investigating Children’s Coats, Curious MInds)with the following in mind – seasons, weather, temperature, materials, practical, fashion etc
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Using the ESERO “Animals in the Cold” Activity in the Classroom
Title: “How Do Animals Survive in the Cold?”
Introduction: Discuss Arctic and Antarctic regions, showing pictures or videos.
Introduce animal adaptations for cold environments (e.g., polar bears, penguins).Explain the blubber insulation experiment.
Hands-On Experiment:
1. Groups fill a plastic bag with shortening (blubber) and place another bag inside.
2. Students place their hand inside the double bag into ice water and observe insulation.
3. Record water and inside bag temperatures using thermometers.
Discussion and AnalysisDiscuss observations: how blubber affects temperature and its importance for survival. Explain insulation and heat retention.
Summarise the lesson and the importance of adaptations.
Students reflect by writing or drawing their favourite cold-weather animal and its adaptations.This hands-on activity enhances understanding of animal adaptations through experiential learning. To integrate it into a STEM-focused School Self Evaluation (SSE):
This approach fosters critical thinking, tech skills, and a holistic understanding of scientific concepts, preparing students for future STEM pursuits.
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Weather is always a great theme – lots of different activities to get the the children learning and also you can do it in Irish also
start by discussing all the different types of weather and discuss the daily weather- what season are we in and what clothes do we need for hot day / cold day / windy day etc – sort clothes into the different categories and maybe there are clothes we wear in spring and in summer and we could use this information in a simple venn diagram
we would keep a record on a daily basis of what the weather is like – even make a rain gauge is wonderful activity which incorporates stem – lots of predictions and language activities
poems like itsy bitsy spider/ raining it’s pouring / rain rain go away would be used in phonics lessons to enhance phonological awareness orthographie mapping and rhyme
on study ladder there are some wonderful weather activities to develop ICT through story / matching activities and experiments – definitely recommend this
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Activity set: Where do you live and weather
Children are very aware of the changes in weather, as it very much impacts their little lives! ‘Put on your sunhat / coat / raincoat / suncream’ are instructions they hear often, and often get tired of!
From montessori age, they have spent time working on the observation of a variety of weather conditions learning and using simple vocabulary.
They begin to identify ways in which weather influences the lives of people, outside of themselves. Children will all have stories to tell about storms, hot sun, tornadoes that they have heard from family and life experiences.I would engage the children with some different design tasks as they work through different types of weather:
Can we design a sun-protection device, or shade creator that keeps a small figure out of the direct light of the sun- this could be further developed into a sun safety lesson (Slip on a tshirt, Slap on a hat and Slop on some suncream) with poster design.
Can we design an umbrella – what materials are durable and waterproof? Opportunities for discovery learning here as materials are provided.
Discuss the suitability of different kinds of clothes for different weather conditions and subsequently become aware of and investigate the suitability of different kinds of clothes for variations in temperature.
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Hands on activity – “Weather – What Clothes to Wear”. This activity is perfect for helping students understand the relationship between weather conditions and appropriate clothing choices.
To start, I would introduce the topic with a discussion about different types of weather we experience in Ireland, using pictures and short videos to illustrate sunny, rainy, snowy, and windy days. We would talk about our personal experiences and favourite weather conditions.
Next, I would create a hands-on activity where students sort various clothing items into categories based on different weather conditions. Using a large chart, we could have sections for each type of weather, and students could place pictures of clothing items like raincoats, sunglasses, and boots in the appropriate sections. We would then look at the various materials and discuss which materials would be better suited for the weather type, i.e. waterproof materials and so on.
Additionally, I would encourage students to keep a “Weather Journal,” where they record the daily weather and draw or write about what they wore and why. This journal not only reinforces their learning but also helps develop their writing and observational skills.
The lesson could incorporate the Esero 11 resources and follow the lesson – colouring the season pictures, questions about pictures and clothing in each and the story “Rain, Wind & Storm”. The children could then design their own coats/jackets (Investigating Children’s Coats, Curious Minds) with the following in mind – seasons, weather, temperature, and materials. To extend the activity, we could have a dress-up day where students come to school wearing outfits appropriate for a randomly assigned weather condition, fostering creativity and practical understanding. -
I am really impressed with the ESERO lessons – Where do you live?, Animals in the Cold, What clothes to wear, and Hot and Cold. I feel these would be really interesting and valuable lessons to teach next year. In our Aistear we always do the topic of homes and I now think that I will introduce animal homes and environments into this Aistear topic next year. We always talk about different houses and where people live but I have never come across this lovely lesson where the children can cut out the model houses and make a little village. This would provide a lovely learning opportunity for the children and encourage them to think about different types of homes.
The lesson about animals in the cold is very interesting and I would love to experiment with the Vaseline on the children’s hands to demonstrate the greasy layer that penguins and polar bears have to keep them warm.
What clothes to wear is a lovely simple activity that children would love to do and would be simple to set up in the classroom. Letting children look at real clothes and decide what weather they would suit is so practical and would be an enjoyable task for them to do in school.
Hot and Cold is another very simple lesson but like all these lessons, it is well structured and easy to do with a class of very young children.
These are very simple and easy-to-follow lessons that are engaging for children. I will definitely be introducing them to the other teachers in my school next year.
In terms of STEM and SSE, I feel that it is our duty to start teaching children from the start about sustainability and protecting our environment. I feel we should all have some SSE aims to teach the children to become more aware of the world and how to protect at an age-appropriate level.-
Aisling,
I agree with you on the utility of the ESERO activities. On the main esero.ie site you can see lots of them, sorted by strand and strand unit. Use the number of the resource to get an indication of the age level it is suitable for – 1-20 for Infants, 21-40 for 1st/2nd class, but of course, you can adapt as needed.
With regards to SSE – I think the science environmental awareness strand could be an interesting focus.
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I agree with you Aisling. The ESERO lessons are a very good guide for teaching the topics outlined. It is great to have a resource that covers all the different levels of the Junior school curriculum. The lessons are so engaging for the children and comprehensive for the teacher. I also love the idea of the ‘What Clothes to wear’ lessons for children in Junior Infants as it would very engaging and practical for the children to take part in such a hands on activity using real clothing.
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I would like to use the ESA website and ESA Kids in my future lessons. The ESA website has a wealth of knowledge on different space related topics. It would help with my own learning about space before teaching a lesson. The ESA Kids website is very child friendly. It has monthly art competitions which could be entered as a class. It has up-to-date news on what’s happening in space exploration at the moment. It has articles on a variety of topics about space. It has whole school and class projects. It also has online games which kids would love to play while learning about space.
The Marvin and Milo comics would be a good way to introduce a science experiment. The two characters pose a question and then create a solution and test out their ideas. I think the comic would engage students at the beginning of the lesson while also showing them how to conduct their experiments.
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Hands on classroom themed activities
I chose this as the children I teach are very young and some have learning difficulties. As it is we record the weather every day. Children are taken to the window or outside to look at the sky and name what they see eg the sun, white/ grey clouds, blue sky, snowflakes etc. Then the child chooses the correct picture to record the weather each day. At the end of each week we count the wet/ sunny/ cloudy days and record this.
Google Slides : Weather pictures
Show Children pictures of different types of weather. Identify the type of weather in each picture. Follow this up by sorting hard copies of these pictures into categories – the seasons. Depending on the group I might only have 2 seasons winter and summer.
Drama: Role Play. Give a report on today’s weather.Coats: Bring in a variety of coats. Look at the coats – the colour, size, material. Ask questions like- what would the weather be like if I wore this coat? Will this coat keep me warm? Is this coat good for a rainy day?
3 Hoola Hoops with a card on each. Raining, Cold/frosty, sunny Sort the coats into the correct hoop.
Experiment with different materials. Have 5/6 squares of different materials e.g. plastic sheet, kitchen paper, cotton cloth, cloths from other materials, newspaper, magazine. When I pour water on which is best at soaking up the water/ best at staying dry?
ESA Kids: Just for fun children could play the Space Memory Game.We could also do the What clothes Activiy or explore the topic of Hot or Cold or look at animals who live in warm or cold parts of the world.
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Lucy,
You have identified a nice set of activities that fit with your classroom context of very young children. You can use selected parts of the inquiry framework as you see fit – here I like the way you have provided the starter question
“When I pour water on which is best at soaking up the water/ best at staying dry?”
and have structured the activity so that the children can describe how different materials behave when water is poured over them. Could you have even smaller bits of each material that the children could place on a GOOD AT SOAKING UP card or on a BAD AT SOAKING UP? (or similar – the ideal would be an image like the one of the cat looking at the tub of water in ESERO 4)
I tried to use AI art to make what I was thinking of (my drawing skills are stick men!) but I didn’t quite get it. I asked for saucers (and got tea cups too!)
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I very much enjoyed exploring the stellarium web. The children would really love looking at this.
While it is advanced for them they would certainly enjoy it.
They would be amazed by it. It links to the phasing of the moon and this is something that they can see clearly in the sky themselves. It would teach them so much about natural nature. The night sky and stars are fascinating and this website would nurture that innate interest we all have in the skies.
Follow up activities would be amazing. imagine how wonderful it would be for the children to draw the phases of the moon as they occur on a sheet of paper divided into sections. I think it is something they would remember for life.
Next year’s class will have a child from Australia. It will be really interesting for her to see what the moon will be like there.
This will all link to science. Gravity in previous module can be explored by looking at Australia on the globe and wondering why we don’t fall off!
This was the best module and website I have ever covered. It was so interesting!
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I was unsure of the best way to utilise the Stellarium resource as I felt it was more complex for the juniors but your lesson ideas are fantastic Helen. I really like how you will link to the new pupil from Australia which will be lovely for her and a great learning experience for the rest of the class.
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Last year, I used the ESERO 7 Animals in the Cold lesson with my Senior Infants class. The students were immersed in the theme of Polar Exploration for a period of six weeks. This lesson was incorporated as a station during our Integrated Learning through Play sessions. The children were particularly enthusiastic about the hands-on aspect of using vaseline in the experiment. They were fascinated by how it simulated the insulating properties of blubber, which helps animals survive in cold environments. Following the structured part of the lesson, the children were given time for child-led play. They eagerly used the water, penguins, and polar bear figurines that we had employed during the experiment. This free play allowed them to reinforce their learning through imaginative scenarios and role-playing. Overall, the activity was a hit and effectively combined educational content with engaging, playful experiences, making the concept of Polar Exploration both fun and memorable for the children.
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Online Resources and Tools
Marvin and Milo Cartoons:
I think the Marvin and Milo cartoons are a super resource, I can imagine the pupil’s joyous reaction to the cat and dog team! I particularly like the ‘Do try this at home’ motto, which would be really appealing to pupils. With over 155 to choose from the possibilities are endless! To link in with teaching space I would like to try out the investigations relating to properties of matter, forces and motion and earth and space including Alka-Seltzer Rocket, Wobbly Stick, Bouncing Balls, Homemade Sunset, Festive Star, Spinning Rocket, Anti-Gravity Maltesers and Falling Bubbles. The pdf of the cartoon could be printed out as a guide for groups to refer to when investigating.European Space Agency for Kids:
The range of interactive games on ESA Kids is great. I would use in Aistear stations for pupils to work in groups on the IWB and individually on ipads. They will really enjoy moving through the different levels which also facilitates in reinforcing the relevant vocabulary and facts.-
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Ciara,
have you particular games you like? I crash on the spaceship one, matching shapes is more my level!
https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Milky_Way_Match
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I really like the Space Memory Game, with the addition of vocabulary and pictures as you move up the levels.
https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Space_Memory_Game
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I think this space memory game is a really good one too Ciara, for differentiating in terms of the visuals but also reinforcing & consolidating planet names and spellings too. A lot of the games on the ESA website would be great for station teaching and you could have your QR codes printed off or just displayed on the IWB or teacher IPAD for that station linked to the topic/theme focus.
https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Colour_with_Paxi – also a good one for stations
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I have chosen to use the Activity Set about Weather.
I would begin by reading a story about weather, eg “Eva and the Perfect Rain” by Tatyana Feeney, or “What Will the Weather Be Like Today?” by Paul Rogers. Then we would discuss different kinds of weather. I would pick a “Weather Watcher” who will look out the window with binoculars and update the class weather chart daily. They will also pick suitable clothes for our class teddy display, e.g. wellies and raincoat for a rainy day, etc.
We would discuss the seasons. I would put a box of different clothes in the middle of the room and have the children pick out suitable clothes for Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Discuss why we need different types of clothes for different seasons, i.e. the weather changes and may be hot or cold, wet or dry.
I would ask “What are our coats made from?”. Next I would have children take turns to pick a material from a “Feely Bag” of various materials and describe what it feels like. Then ask children which material could be best suited to a coat for winter / summer.
They would then design a coat for a teddy. I would remind them to consider what season it will be for, what the weather will be like, what material they will use. -
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I would use ESERO 7 activity and resource ‘Animals in the Cold’.
Firstly, we would talk about the weather and the different types of weather we know. We would read the story ‘ When the Sun Goes Home’ and discuss these using the strategy of questioning. As I have 1st and 2nd class I would ask them to predict what might happen and probe them by asking higher order questioning such as what do you think would happen if our plants didn’t get any sun?
We would talk about different weather in different places and how we prepare for hot and cold weather.We would investigate hot and cold and do the cube experiment. I would show the class a picture of two animals , a penguin and a polar bear and we would talk about all the different ways they protect themselves from the cold.
We would do the vaseline activity where I would rub a little vaseline on the children’s hands , put water on it and talk about our findings!
To finish the activity we would recall and record the different way our penguins and polar bears mind themselves in the cold with their thick and fat layer of fur. -
Hands-on classroom themed activities: Clothes and Weather
How would you use the activity in your classroom? I would cover this theme in Aistear over a few weeks using the following stations:
1. Storytelling Station:
• Create Stories: Develop simple stories where characters need to dress appropriately for various weather conditions.
• Ask Questions: Pause during the story to ask the children what clothing should be worn and why.
2. Dress-Up Dolls Station:
• Paper Dolls: Use paper dolls with various clothing options. Have the children dress the dolls for different weather scenarios (sunny, rainy, snowy, windy).
• Magnetic or Velcro Boards: Use magnetic boards where the children can stick different clothing items onto a figure based on the weather conditions given.
3. Weather and Clothing Chart Station:
• Visual Charts: Create a chart with different weather types (sunny, rainy, snowy, windy) and corresponding pictures of appropriate clothing.
• Matching Activity: Have children match pictures of clothes to the appropriate weather type on the chart.
4. Role Play Station:
• Dress-Up Play: Provide a box of various clothing items (coats, hats, boots, sunglasses, raincoats) and let children physically dress up based on the weather scenario you call out.
5. Art Station:
• Art Project: Let children create pictures of themselves dressed for different types of weather.
6. Songs and Rhymes Station:
• Weather Songs: Use simple, catchy songs and rhymes about dressing for the weather. For example, “If You’re Happy and You Know It” can be adapted to “If It’s Raining and You Know It, Wear Your Coat.”
• Movement Activities: Incorporate actions into songs, like pretending to put on a raincoat or sunglasses.
7. Weather Reports Station:
• Daily Weather Chart: Have a daily weather chart in the classroom. Each day, discuss the weather and ask children what they would wear.
• Student Weather Reports: Use a microphone and TV screen to let children take turns being the “weather reporter” and suggest appropriate clothing for the day.
8. Games Station:
• Weather Bingo: Create Bingo cards with different weather types and clothing items. Call out weather conditions and have children mark the corresponding clothing.
• Sorting Game: Provide a mix of clothing items and ask children to sort them into categories based on weather.-
Grace,
you’ve given a comprehensive list of possible activities for Aistear stations.
Do you have a bingo game ready made? Or would you create one with https://bingobaker.com/
This one has clothes and weather mixed, but could be modified I think.
https://bingobaker.com/view/6239146
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Science skills and School Self Evaluation
I believe the school self evaluation process needs to be used to examine STEM practice in a school because STEM is an area that has changed greatly in recent years. It is important to find ways to improve science teaching and learning with reference to modern science skills. The first step would be gathering and analysing evidence of good practice relating to science in the school. A school’s participation in Curious Minds Award program and staff participation in whole staff CPD workshops could be two targets for a SSE. Another target could be ensuring all teachers engage in practical investigation when they are engaging in scientific activity of any kind within their classrooms. Teachers could be supported by school leaders to the scientific approach of observing, hypothesising, predicting, investigating and analysing. A uniform school wide approach to this scientific approach would be best. Using ESERO’S Framework for Inquiry would be best to use. A STEM Improvement Plan would be a great idea to create an achievable timeframe for the achievement of targets. The SSE would then allow the school to report to the whole school community about the STEM strengths in the school as well as its priorities for improvement and development.
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Orla,
the original idea behind the Discover Primary Science (now known as Curious Minds) was to promote hands on activities in the classroom for the new (at the time) Science Curriculum. The activities very much make a point of using every day materials that can easily be sourced. The awards of excellence were introduced to let schools get recognition for what they are already doing, but for schools that have received the awards multiple times, the latest Platinum tier really challenges schools to a greater STEM awareness across their communities.
As their website states:
The Platinum Award is a significant step up in terms of effort from a Gold Award. Entrants must choose an outcome at the beginning of the year, achieve that outcome and then demonstrate its impact.
Annual applications for the Platinum Award will be capped at 30 schools. Sign up early to avoid disappointment.
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