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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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This was the themed corner I did for aistear.
I made a console using cardboard and printables from a well known teachers resource page. I using old sheep medicine canisters as jetpacks. I used a carseat for the rockets seat. To the right was the investigation station for the moon rocks, rocks or different shapes and sizes and tinfoil balls.
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Activity – Where do you live?
We would begin the lesson looking at a powerpoint presentation on different types of homes around the world. We would pinpoint the countries on the globe. Next I would ask the children to describe in detail their homes naming their features. Then I hand out worksheet 5 and ask the children to circle and colour in the house that looks most like the house they live in. We could discuss other homes and amenities in their community.
I would explain that they’re going to make a model of their home using modelling clay. Encouraging the children to express as many features possible from their own house.
Finally group all the homes and explain they have made an entire village. Discuss what amenities may be missing – schools,shops etc. Encourage them to design the models of missing buildings.
Books that could be read are Let’s Build a House – Mick Manning, Building a Home -Polly Faber/Klas Fahlen, Iggy Peck, Architect -Andrea Beaty.
Follow up activity:
Invite parents/past pupils(architect/quantity surveyor) to talk to the children about designing homes/buildings -
We see day to day how vital STEM truly is, it is everything around us and in the future . Therefore it is incredibly important that it is taught properly in schools and not brushed over as it not a compulsory subject such as English or maths . I always try to make sure when teaching lessons involving science that I give the same time and preparation that I would for any other subject. Because of this I find online resources incredibly helpful a classroom aid to add creativity and fun to science lessons . It’s incredible to think as a teacher that we are helping to educate the next generation of scientists, engineers and so much more ! A website I love to use is Science for Kids – Fun Experiments, Cool Facts, Online Games, Activities, Projects, Ideas, Technology . I find great experiment ideas , learning games and project ideas to incorporate into my lessons ,which the children always seem to love and interact with well. I have found amazing experiment ideas for example harnessing gratification electricity with balloons .
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Is this the website?
https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/
Is this the static electricity activity?
I don’t find it easy to search – how do you find what you need?
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Activity-Based Lesson: Animals in the Cold
Materials:
Pictures of Arctic and Antarctic animals (polar bears, penguins, seals, etc.)
Printable animal worksheets
Crayons
A large bowl of ice water
Rubber gloves
Short video about Arctic animalsIntroduction
Engage: Show a short video about Arctic animals. Discuss what they noticed about the animals and how they survive in the cold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-9xDztBhzE
Development
Animal Adaptations:
Show pictures of different Arctic and Antarctic animals.
Explain how each animal stays warm. For example, polar bears have thick fur and fat, penguins huddle together, and seals have blubber.
Interactive Discussion:
Ask questions like, “Why do penguins huddle together?” and “How does blubber help seals?”
ActivityInsulation Experiment:
Explain the concept of insulation.
Have a student put their hand in the ice water without gloves, then with rubber gloves, to feel the difference.
Discuss how the gloves act like blubber to keep the hand warm.
Worksheet Activity:
Hand out worksheets with pictures of cold-weather animals.
Students colour the animals and draw one feature that helps the animal stay warm.Conclusion
Review how different animals stay warm in cold environments. Answer any questions. Draw and describe their favourite cold-weather animal and how it stays warm.
Extension:
Classroom Huddle: Simulate a penguin huddle by having students group closely together to feel how warmth is shared.
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Michelle,
thank you for sharing the video link, what a lovely, informative video it is to act as a clear prompt for the children.
The questions that you ask and the children can then wonder allows them to share what they understand as they pose their own starter questions.
Blubber glove can be a very clear way to show the effect of insulation.
Some of the concepts will also be covered by older classes, particularly in relation to adaptation for environmental conditions, but this is such a clear theme that is very suitable for younger children.
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All the resources in this module would be useful. I really like the idea of using Stellarium, it can be very abstract to talk about space and the night sky during the daytime. This resource is great to put an image with the discussion.
The activity I would use with first and second class is ‘Where do you live?’. I would begin with identifying rooms and features in a house. We would do a walk around the school and tick off any of these features we see in our school. We would then extend this by completing a walk of our locality. On this walk the children would complete a checklist of features they see, flat roof, tiled roof, slate roof, conservatory, bay window, solar panels, two storey, bungalow, terraced, detached, semi-detached, etc. When we return to the school we would discuss what we noticed and how many of these features exist in our own houses. Finally the children would complete models of their own homes using play doh or junk art materials.
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Sinead,
having recently been very interested in family history, I have been spending a lot of time with the Irish census. Did you know that in the 1911 census, housing was evaluated? You could share one of the census images and ask the children to engage with the table on house and building descriptions.
This is a random sample.
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002019173/
from the main search page: https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
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I have chosen to answer how I would conduct a whole school science self evaluation. In order to conduct a whole school science skills self evaluation I would firstly observe classroom activities to provide insight into teaching methods and student engagement, focusing on inquiry-based learning and hands-on experiments. I would conduct surveys and interviews with teachers and students to gather data on their experiences and perceptions. Analyzing assessment results, including both formative and summative assessments, would help evaluate student progress and the effectiveness of teaching methods. Reviewing professional development records would determine if teachers are receiving adequate training in current science education practices. Additionally, examining the use of resources, such as technology, would highlight any gaps. Finally, gathering feedback from parents and the community on their involvement and support in science activities would provide a comprehensive view of the overall learning environment and identify areas for improvement.
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Eoghan,
given the changes that are coming with respect to STEM in the Irish primary curriculum, I think it is important to assess where your school currently is on STEM.
There are changes around SESE vs Science, Technology, and Engineering Education and Social and Environmental Education which have changed the time allocation over a month. As this course has tried to show, Geography Skills and Science Skills work so well together, so that may be a way to continue to offer science within the 3h 20 min to 4 hours a month that is suggested for junior classes.
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Online Resources & tools
This module has been so helpful and informative about practical things that can be done in the classroom. There are so many brilliant resources that I am really looking forward to using in my class.
Marvin & Milo: My class absolutely loved comic strips this year and we did a lot of work around them as a style of writing in literacy. I think the children would love these visuals when undertaking a science experiment, it is laid out in a very child friendly way. I also think the students could make their own comics at the end explaining the steps they took when conducting their own experiments.
Stellarium: I was really impressed with this resource and felt there were so many options on how it could be used in the classroom. I feel it would be a brilliant stimulus to a lesson about space to really grab the students attention. It could lead to great discussions and development of oral language skills, discussing the difference with night and day. I also feel there would be great opportunities to link in art- creating a picture with chalk/paint. -
Module 4 – Assignment
In a Junior Infants class, I would like to use the Activity set, Weather – Animals in the Cold, to introduce children to the concepts of weather and animal adaptation. I would start with a picture book, such as The Polar Bear and the Snow Cloud by Jane Cabrera, to engage the children with a story about polar bears and penguins living in cold environments. This sets a context for learning and sparks curiosity.I would then explain how these animals live in cold environments and the special features they have to stay warm, such as blubber and fur. I would then engage the children in a hands-on activity where they experiment with “blubber gloves” made from plastic bags and lard or butter, simulating how blubber insulates animals from the cold.
Following this, I would create a simple craft project where children make their own penguin or polar bear using paper and cotton balls, reinforcing the concept of insulation. Throughout the activity, I would incorporate discussions about the weather, comparing cold and warm climates, and how different animals adapt to their environments. This interactive approach makes learning about science and nature fun and accessible for young learners.
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I would choose the “Hands-on classroom themed activities” option. I would use this activity to create a STEM-focused School Self Evaluation (SSE) in my classroom by incorporating hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences that align with the science skills and school themes. For example, I could set up a “Design a Bridge” station where students have to design and build bridges using different materials, testing their strength and durability, and then reflect on what they learned about structural integrity and engineering principles. This activity would allow students to develop their problem-solving skills, work collaboratively, and think critically about real-world applications of STEM concepts. As a follow-up, I would also conduct a reflection activity where students would write about their design process, what they learned from the experience, and how they could apply those skills to other areas of their lives.
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I have chosen to look at the online tools I was particularly interested in Stellarium. It can be hard to ask children to stargaze because not everyone will be able to do it, in my class last year a stargazing event had been on in the town but only one child was able to attend. Stellarium makes stargazing accessible for all during the school day. I also like that it could be used at all class levels. The children could be asked to note the changes in the stars based on time or location. When the planets are visible could be investigated and constellations could also be examined along with the stories that accompany these. I also loved the Astronomy picture of the day. One of these could be used to engage children in conversations on astronomy at the beginning of a lesson. For space week one photo could be looked at and discussed every day and would be a great way to spark children’s interest and curiosity in astronomy.
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Muireann,
Did you know that teachers who register events on spaceweek.ie are sent a special image, taken with our telescope at BCO, with a classroom resources to support it. Last year’s picture was one of the Messier objects and the supporting document is here.
Of course, this may spark discussion about astronomy images, and are they “real.” Some telescopes (I’m looking at you Hubble and Webb) are able to detect light that is different to the light that our eyes can see, so, no, not every astronomy image is the same as what we would see.
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I agree with Muireann, Stellarium is a really effective tool to help children to see and explore the night sky. Asking children to go stargazing isn’t always possible and by exploring this on class this could spark their interest. I think it is very accessible across a variety of class levels and could be a more in-depth analysis/ learning for the older classes.
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I chose to look at the animals in the cold activities. I would start by reading the book ‘The Mitten’ (https://youtu.be/uVdHH-hGBQw) to engage students at the beginning of the lesson. We would talk about how the animals in the story used the mitten to stay warm, I would then ask if students knew any examples of how animals keep themselves warm. Then there would be a class discussion about how there are different kinds of weather in different places and that animals need certain features to be able to survive in their climate. I would then show students the pictures of the penguin and polar bear provided in the activity set while they talk about how they stay warm in the cold (fur or feathers, fat, and grease layer on skin). Then I would ask students why they think the polar bear is white? Why might that be a good thing for an animal who lives in a snowy environment? Students could then create paintings of the penguin and polar bear on a snowy background, maybe even try to camouflage the animals in the background of the painting.
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I’d like to describe a hands-on classroom activity that I would use as a lesson on the theme of weather while incorporating STEM.
I would first discuss with the children different weather we experience in different seasons. I will question the children to elicit responses.
Afterwards, I will set up 4 different coloured hula hoops, each signifying a different season. I will have different items of clothing and as a whole class activity we will sort the different clothes into the correct hula hoop. Afterwards, I will split the children into small groups, and we will do an activity. This activity will comprise of a set of pictures with each season and different items of clothing. The children will sort the items of clothing in the season that they’re meant for.
Then, I will hand out some whiteboards and marker and individually the children will design an item of clothing that would be appropriate for the season that we are in. This would incorporate stem into our lesson. They would then get some modelling dough and could make their item of clothing that they designed. If time allow, I would use the scientist’s chair (variation of the artists chair) to allow a couple of children to describe why their creations would be appropriate for the season in question. -
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What further steps might you take towards a STEM focused SSE?
I decided to think about how the teaching and learning of STEM could be improved in our school. I tried to think of ways to enhance teaching and learning while elevating the status of STEM in our school.
After an examination of STEM practice in the school by gathering and analysing evidence including teacher reflections, teachers’ and children’s views and ideas and children’s work samples/portfolios, we can get a better picture of where our children and teachers are at in terms of STEM and science skills in particular.
Are children able to apply their science skills to new scenarios? And what is their disposition towards STEM subjects?
I can think of several ideas that could be implemented to enhance the status of STEM in our school among teachers and students.An initial stocktake to ascertain the availability of resources would be useful. Identifying the skills, qualifications, confidence, and disposition of teachers is also a useful step. This could involve conducting surveys, reviewing educational materials, and observing classroom activities. Additionally, seeking input from stakeholders such as parents and students could provide valuable perspectives on areas for improvement.
Having established what we are doing well and identifying areas for improvement we could initiate plans. Ideas like ‘Science Week’ or ‘Space Week’ could be implemented across the whole school and the establishment of a STEM Club or maybe an Astronomy or Space Club could enhance the status of STEM in the school. We could utilise these fora as a space for conducting informal and fun inquiry-based learning. We could maybe, introduce ‘Question of the Week’ to stimulate inquiry-based learning. Children and teachers could conduct investigations and ponder questions. We could make use of the tools and resources identified in our stocktake, not least the resources found in the downloads from this course. Implementing these initiatives would help to support our SSE target of better whole-school integration across the STEM subjects.
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I have chosen to use the activity set ‘Weather’
Link to other subjects – literacy different weather books, music nursery rhyme (Doctor Foster, Incy Wincy Spider..), Geography (climate), Maths (gathering and analysing data)
As I work in the junior end of the school we would begin the week by talking about the weather. Read the story ‘Doctor Foster’ together and discuss all the different weather and what effect this had on him (sun = burnt on his nose, fog= he couldn’t see…) The children could then recall a time when it was sunny, snowy, foggy, frosty and see other children’s experiences. Then using the resource ‘What clothes to wear’ ESERO 11 the children would use Doctor Foster and discuss the different clothes needed for the different weather. Talk about advantages and disadvantages of each and why one would be more suitable. Including some scientific language like temperature and material is important. The children could then design and make the clothes for their chosen weather type in small groups. After making they could present to the class to ensure further learning.
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Using online resources and tools like Stellarium-web.org and ESA Kids will greatly enhance teaching a lesson about space to senior infants with engaging and specific activities.
Stellarium-web.org Activity
Introduction:
Start the lesson by explaining that we will use a special tool to look at the night sky.
Open Stellarium-web.org on the IWB.
Exploration:
Show students how to navigate the star map.
Identify and highlight specific constellations such as the Big Dipper and Orion.
Point out visible planets like Venus and Mars.
Discuss the moon’s current phase and its appearance in the night sky.
Interactive :
Ask students to choose a constellation they find interesting.
Use Stellarium to zoom in and explore these constellations in more detail.ESA Kids Activity
Introduction:
Exploring the ESA Kids website.
Explain that we will watch a video and play a game about space.
Video:
Show a short video from ESA Kids, “Paxi on the ISS” which gives an insight into life aboard the international space station.
Interactive Game:
Downlaod the Paxi in Space app when the class have the school ipads.Guide students to an interactive game like “Solar System Exploration” or “Milky Way Match”.
Allow students to take turns playing the game on an interactive whiteboard or classroom ipad.Discussion:
Conclude with a discussion where they share their favourite space facts and the teacher records them on a poster to display .-
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Deirdre,
Stellarium-web.org is the version that works in a browser, would you consider downloading the Stellarium app (which does not require internet once installed) and allowing the children to explore freely?
At BCO we have used it with children from 2nd class up, and for all ages of space enthusiasts at our summer camps. For some children, it is the highlight of their visit as they can ask a question and then explore the tool to find their own answer.
Pointing out cardinal directions and relating them to the position of the Sun in the sky and the time of day is very easy to do with the software.
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I have chosen hands-on classroom themed activities for this assignment. I haven chosen this as in September I will be stepping into the Junior Infant classroom, so I believe that hands-on activities is most suited to this age group.
Aistear is one of the main areas where I would choose to focus on the theme of weather. I would create one area for the children to focus on being a weather reporter. This would entail a background of a weather map and a microphone. I would use another area for art where children have to draw pictures based on. the clothing that they see suited to each weather forecast – e.g. raincoat for rain. I would also create an area of dress up where the children create their own play using clothing associated to summer/winter (sun hat, sunglasses, wool hat, scarf, gloves). I would create another station where the children have an activity based on weather – perhaps a colouring activity or join the dots of different weather scenarios.
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The Stellarium website has really impressed me! I will definitely be using it in school as a resource and at home on a clear night too!
Here is how I might use it in my 2nd class classroom.
I would use images of the old Greek depictions of the constellations as a stimulus. I would ask the students what they think they are and how they think they might link to our theme of ‘space’.
I would introduce the students to the Stellarium programme, displaying it in the interactive whiteboard. I would show them the night sky from the previous night over Cork. I would ask them if if they could guess what time sunset was the previous night and what time sunrise was that morning, and then show them how it can be displayed on Stellarium.
I would show them major constellations, such as the Big Dipper, Orion and Cassiopeia. I would ask students to pick specific stars or objects in the night sky that they would like to know more information on. We could select them and find out more information on them such as if they are a satellite or a star, and their name, characteristics, etc.
I would draw the children’s attention to the fact that the constellations appear to move across the night sky and see if anyone can suggest a reason for why this appears to be happening (i.e. due to the Earth’s rotation).
I would pause the night sky at a set time and display the constellations on the board at that time. On a black piece of paper, I would get the students to choose some constellations to draw and label from the night sky at that time using white chalk. They would entitle it ‘The Sky above Cork at 1 a.m. on 18th of September looking North’ (or similar).
Following on from this activity, I would try to deduce from the students how you might use the stars and constellations to find directions.
The Stellarium programme could be used for many more applications than just investigating stars though. It could also be used for sunrise/sunset, seasons and the shortening of the days, planets, Earth’s rotation, etc.
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I hope you enjoy your Stellarium experience and agree with you that it is a very useful tool. I like the sheer number of possible ways you intend to use it, that really shows that you have taken the time to explore its features.
If you would like to construct your own DOME to use, you can find details on one of our European project pages: https://dome.nuclio.org/
Another option is to use a regular data projector and shine onto the largest wall in a dark room. This can be very impressive.
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Online Resources and Tools
The main online resource that I learned about in this module is Stellarium. In the senior end I have often used “Sky View” and the children found it very interesting. It introduces the children to the fact that the stars, planets etc are always there but we do not always see them. The children live to point the camera to the ground to see what stars and plants are underneath us.
Stellarium is a great step above the app the I usually use.
I love that you can change the dates so that you can see into the past and future. This option would be great for a history lesson in the Greeks for example.
In the coming year I can definitely see myself using Stellarium as a teaching tool. I also like that this app can be used without having to use a web browser as Internet connection can sometimes be an issue. -
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The Marvin and Milo ‘Do try this at home’ comic series seems like a fantastic addition to the 1st&2nd classroom. There are so many brilliant aspects to this comic series. It will certainly trigger a sense of wonder and intrigue in the children. When initially introducing the series, I would have the #21 strip displayed on the IWB. I would reveal the top half of the comic strip and briefly discuss what Marvin means when he says ‘This bowl can drink on its own’. We would then continue to read each panel, clarifying the meaning of words like ‘submerge’ as we go. For the first few weeks, we would do the same investigation in small groups at the same time. As time goes on, depending on abilities we could let the small groups read the comic strip themselves (laminated A4), perform the investigation (with all materials at hand) and discuss and reflect on what they observed. Each week, one group could demonstrate what Marvin and Milo had taught them this week.
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Aine,
I really like your idea of the children sharing what Marvin and Milo have prompted them to discover.
There is a book version if you have children who’d like to immerse themselves!
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I will choose to complete hands-on classroom themed activities based on weather. I teach 1st class in a DEIS school and I have to cater for a wide range of learning abilities in every lesson.
I think weather is a very broad topic that has many cross curricular opportunities.
I would begin by starting a mind map with the children to see how much vocabulary relating to weather they already know.
I would read the story “whatever the weather” from Twinkl to start a discussion about types of weather and appropriate clothing.
I would set up a sorting activity. The children would work in mixed ability groups for sorting out bags of clothes. They would assign each piece of clothing to a particular season. There would be a sheet with the name of one season on the wall in the 4 corners of the classroom. we would then work as a whole class to discuss which clothing they assigned to each season.
I would then set up an experiment for the children to explore which materials are waterproof. Again in mixed ability groups, they would explore a range of materials and see which ones are waterproof. Which materials would make a good umbrella? They would record their results on a simple checklist.
We would then discuss as a class which materials would be most suitable for an umbrella.
The children would then design and make their own umbrella in groups. They would use appropriate materials that are waterproof . They could use straws to make the parts of an umbrella that hold up the material.
Another STEM activity would be to design and make a house to protect your favourite toy from weather. In small groups, children could use blocks, magnets, lego etc and design houses with aa waterproof roof.
Recording the weather daily on a weather chart is another SESE activity that would link well with this topic.
As an art lesson this could be further extended to painting an umbrella, mixing primary colours to create the colours of a rainbow for their umbrella.
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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?I found the hands-on themed class resources to be very practical and useful for infants. ESERO 5 Where Do You Live? could be used across subjects. We look at different houses and buildings in Geography and we examine the local community so that would tie in perfectly with this activity. I also think it would be a great starter for the children to discuss and analyse what we have in the local community. ESERO 7 Animals in the Cold would link in really well with the theme of winter in December. We already look at animals in the arctic and the antartic so this activity would be a great way to cover this topic. The Curious Minds Investigating the Children’s Coats is a fantastic way to combine subjects, I love the connection with data. I would complete this activity as I am always looking for a way to teach data by incorporating the children’s lives and interests. ESERO 12 Hot and Cold is a very fun experiment for infants to experience completing an investigation.
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SSE and STEM: We are currently evaluating how we teach STEM in the school.
-How it ties into oral language…what language the children need when engaging in STEM projects., e.g, in 1st class, the children have roles in their groups “Builder, Director, Engineer, Supplier”… they needed to understand what each term meant before they could take on the roles.
-STEM and ICT: we reviewed it in June and decided we want to engage more next year with Beebots and Scratch
-STEM in Aistear…we try and build in a STEM lesson into each topic. Following on from this course, I will be recommending the use of the Curious Minds framework.
I would like to think that we provide many opportunities to the children to be active in their learning. However, I can see that there are gaps, particularly in infants. This course has opened up a lot of resources and information for me around space and the stars especially, to enable more hands on learning which I will share with colleagues in September.
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Activity set: using online resources and tools
Trigger – How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers and the rhyme “Twinkle, twinkle little star”
Discussion about when they can see stars, where they can see stars, do they know the name of any stars. Introduce the word ‘constellation’ – this is a group of stars. Use the photo of the day from The Astronomy picture of the day to prompt questions and discussion.
Using Stellarium or Stellarium- web.org, we could look at the stars above where we live. I think it would be best used by the teacher on the IW board. For infants I would show them The Plough and then how to find the North Star (Polaris) from The Plough.
Small group activities:
Use i-pads to explore the app/ webpage further
Draw The Plough and The North Star on black paper – they could add other constellations too.
Using pegboards – creative their own constellations and name them.
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The ESA Kids website is a fun resource to stimulate your students’ curiosity about space in the classroom. There are several ways in which this could be used in the classroom.
I would take the children on a virtual tour of space with ESA Kids’ and explore the planets, and have a look at the rockets the astronauts use. The website has a wide range of downloadable activities and worksheets. These can be used for individual or group projects, letting your students explore concepts like building a model rocket.
One of the fantastic things about The ESA Kids website is that it is available in multiple languages. This allows students with different cultural backgrounds or language skills to participate and learn at their own pace. I will definitely be sharing this with my colleagues as we have a high proportion of EAL learners.
The Milo and Marvin cartoons are also fantastic and are something I can see myself using over and over again. They require only a few items for each experiment and explain the scientific process involved in a very effective age appropriate manner. -
Children put their hands in the drawstring bag (‘Feely’ Bag), with the
various materials in it. They pick one piece and, without taking it out
or looking at it, describe what the material feels like, e.g. smooth/
fluffy, hard/soft, silky, etc.
2. Having talked about the children’s coats, and asked them some of
the trigger questions, they could be asked “What is the commonest
colour of coat here today?”
They should first predict, and then a bar chart could be made of the
colours of their coats. They should now answer the question.
(a) The children could then be asked what else they would like to
discover about the coats in the classroom, e.g. “I wonder if all
the red coats have hoods?” or “Do all the waterproof coats have
pockets?”
A Carroll diagram, or a Venn diagram with two circles or hulahoops could be made. Questions such as “How many red coats
have no hoods?” can then be answered quickly.
(b) The children could be asked what material would make the
perfect coat for a cold wet winter.
They may suggest ‘soft, warm, waterproof’. A Venn diagram with
three circles could be made. This could be done with real coats by
using chalk or hula-hoops on the floor. Alternatively the children
could wear their coats and BE THE VENN DIAGRAMI love the idea of the children designing their own coats as a follow on from this activity especially focusing on what material they might use. This could easily be done through Aistear, with scraps of material for children to create with, especially for theme’s such as Spring.
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We began an informal school self-evaluation on science more specifically STEM at the end of the 2021/22 school year. It was a useful exercise as it allowed us the opportunity to see as a school what we were doing to teach and encourage science through the school and also made us conduct and develop an inventory of the resources we had as a whole school. We were able to identify our strengths and weaknesses.
The evaluation has lead to improved teaching strategies, better curriculum alignment, and more effective use of technology and resources . It Helped a small bit in identifying and addressing gaps in students’ knowledge and skills. Training and upskilling for teachers has been th most important outcome I feel of the process. Reading and learning a little about the EU-UNAWE program I am excited to use this as a way to evaluate the teaching and learning about space specifically in our school.The program emphasises Making learning about space fun and interesting, increasing student enthusiasm for science. Provides well-designed materials that simplify complex astronomy topics. Equips teachers with the knowledge and tools to effectively teach astronomy. It allows a way for us as a school to target and assess learning with the outcome of improving students’ comprehension of scientific concepts.What I am most excited about is the opportunity to create whole school and home/community involvement through events like stargazing nights, creating a broader interest in science.
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I liked the Esa Spacecraft assemble and the Milky Way Match games for the younger classes. They had a short activity with quick results, perfect for the attention span of younger children. They were also great for giving bitesize information while the children are completing an activity. They also gave an opportunity to practice visual and motor skills for junior classes. Follow up activity locating the satellites on the Orbitrack app could be explored. Milky Way match and the Space Memory Game are perfect for junior infant classes.
I have to admit that I found it difficult to control the Paxi spacecraft in the Space Cleanup and the Solar System Explorer games and died repeatedly! I am sure the children would be far better at it. The Catch the Craft game was easier to control and I think they would enjoy the destructive side of it. It requires concentration and impulse control which are important skills for children to develop.
Overall I liked the Esa games site as it allows for children of varying abilities to choose and work at their own level and learn about space in an indirect and engaging way. Even if they all don’t understand the language or names they are becoming familiar with them.
Unawe.org was good for older classes perhaps. Catchy titles and activities like Your Birthday on another Planet. I really liked the activities on Marvin and Milo and will try them when I have an older class. -
I would choose the Activity . Weather. What clothes to wear?
In Early start each day , one child goes to the window and looks outside , then reports to the others what our weather is like. We look at the sky ? Is it cloudy or clear.? Is it raining? Is the sun shining?. Are the trees blowing in the wind? We then choose a picture card to represent our weather today and stick it on our weekly chart.
Having done this for some time we can introduce the idea of the clothing we need for the day. Have a discussion each day about “what did we wear coming to school today?”. Noticing if we needed a raincoat, did we wear light clothes, did I wear gloves etc.
Activity. Bring in a box of various types of clothes, and footwear. A box for all seasons.
Place the box in the center of our circle and ask a child to choose clothes for a specific type of weather, eg.. hot , cold ,wet .
Other children can offer suggestions as to what is best to choose and why.
Discuss choices.
Follow up Activity;Set up two areas in the room. our summer sun section, and our winter cold destination. Choose the clothes we need to wear.
Have fun dressing up for and playing.
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Hi Frances,
Many thanks for sharing these photos. I have a Space themed corner in my senior infants class too. We have the following props in it; a standing rocket, astronaut suits, a control station, space food, tool kit, planet photos.
The kids loved dressing up and going to space in the rocket. We often watch clips from the NASA and inside the international space station while the kids were eating their lunch. This would inspire their play at this corner.
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Using the picture book Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYUQzzULHg4 I would start by reading this book with the children in senior infants. We would look at the following animals in the story; the squirrel, horned owl, shrew, deer, mice, moles, hare, bullhorn frogs, bear and chimp monk. We would discuss about how the animals in the story keep themselves warm in the snow such as their feathers/fur/fat and grease layer on their skin. We would also categorise the animals into two groups; the animals that live over the snow and those under the snow.
We could discuss about how there are different kinds of weather around the world and how animals have different features to keep them warm.
We could talk about the animals that live at the North Pole and the South Pole. Ask the children know any of the animals that live in cold places. Show them photographs of the polar bear and penguin. How do these animals keep themselves warm. Discuss the ideas that the children put forward. The children could also categorise the animals that live over and under the snow in these areas. -
Online Tools and Resources
The ESA website for kids is fantastic. There is a lovely range of sections that can be used in the classroom. Children most especially love interactive lessons and this website has huge scope. I think they would engage really well with the virtual tours. It is also a website that they themselves can use at home with their parents, as an alternative type of homework assignment. The News section is great too as the children can check in on any recent missions. The videos, animations and visuals on the website are lovely in that they explain complex topics in layman’s terms for the kids! The games quizzes and hands on activities are very doable. Older classes would benefit from using this website when completing project work.
Milo and Marvin. I like the literacy links elements here. The read aloud can be used for discussion on the plot, characters and space concepts in the story. After reading allow the children to think critically about the story and its space related theme. The videos and animations are really nice where M&M explain various space topic which can be discussed afterward to reinforce the learning. The children again get to partake in games and quizzes which is always a winner! There are many drama opportunities too when using this resource. I haven’t used this resource in the past but would love to try some of their activities next year as I tend to use the same experiments over and over again.
I would like to familiarise myself some more with the stellarium website over the summer but at this point I think that I would use it live in the classroom on the IWB to point out visible planets, stars, and constellations. -
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Where do you live & weather.
We would begin with a discussion about our own houses. What they look like, size, how many rooms etc? I work in a rural school so I would ask about houses in cities to see if they are aware of living in flats/apartments and why they are common in cities but not in the countryside. We would look at images of different houses from around the world and name them e.g. detached house, terraced, igloo etc.
We have a huge box of Lego (donated by parents) so we would work in groups to make some houses from this. I would tie this in with an Art lesson by making houses from clay. We would line them up to make a village and discuss what is missing/needed to complete the village. We would learn the words for the different types of house as Gaeilge – teach scoite, leathscoite, arasán srl.
I really look forward to using the online tools and websites especially Stellarium.
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I really enjoy using the resource Stellarium, mainly because once it is downloaded you don’t need the internet. It is amazing that this resource can show a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you might see with the naked eye or a telescope. In our school we may an iPad trolley so the children can use the iPad for their own exploration of Stellarium. I have the Stellarium app on my interactive whiteboard, allowing me quick access without internet issues.
Another online resource that I hope to use in September is Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). This online tool can be used with infants and a colleague used it every day last year as a warmup activity. On APOD, you can show a bring and encourage children to make observations for a few minutes. This can lead nicely to a whole class discussion or pair discussion. I have heard the language can be tricky for younger students so I would change the language to suit the children’s abilities. -
I would choose Hands-on Classroom Themed activities.
I feel these activities would work very well in a Junior School.
Through a hands-on approach , many Science skills such as analysing, observing, predicting and recording are more readily engaged in by the children.
Topic=- Hot and Cold
Class- Senior Infants
Beginning- I would put the children in groups. I would give them a blue and a red large sheet of paper. I would give each group the same set of pictures- various items of clothing. They must sort them into clothes you would wear when it’s warm versus clothes for the Winter. I would circulate the room during the activity and ask some questions- ie. Why would you not wear a scarf in the Summer
Middle- Each group will share their answers. I will ensure to question the children during the share session- Why would we usually wear a t-shirt in the Summer etc. Each child will then get a page and they must draw various clothes depending on the weather icon on their page.
End- Children will share thir work. Finally we will play the feely bag game. I will have a large sack filled with clothes and each child will get the chance to pick out an item of clothing and put it in the ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ pile.
Integration-
Gaeilge- Eadai
Art- Fabric and Fibre. Winter/Summer pictures
Maths- Data- Favourite months of the year
Music- Songs/Rhymes around weather
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I really enjoyed working my way through all the various activities and activity sets outlined in this module and I think there are many very worthwhile and practical activities that I would really like to try in my classroom in the coming year.
One activity in particular that I would definitely like to try is the activity based on clothes for different seasons. I think this is a very concrete and hands on activity that would really appeal to the children as clothes are something that are part of their everyday life. I would begin by discussing the different seasons with the class and the characteristics of each season. I would then present the dress up box with all the clothing and the children would work together to sort them based on which season they are appropriate for. Following this we would discuss why they chose each item for a particular season. I would then encourage the children to draw a picture of themselves wearing their favourite item of clothing for the current season.
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As a start to school SSE we could introduce ‘Astronomy Picture of the Day/Week’ across the whole school to inspire wonder and interest. Stellarium.org could also support a space fact per week. The data gathering element of SSE would be handled as follows:
TEACHERS: a SWOT analysis to gather opinion on current practice
STUDENTS: Sample Questionnaire for Pupils – Science
This questionnaire might be used with pupils in an evaluation of provision in SESE. Schools could adapt the questions to suit their own context or the specific focus of their evaluation.School Self-Evaluation Questionnaire for Pupils
Please put an X in the correct box:
I am in: SI 1st 2nd
I am a: Boy Girl
I am good at Maths and Science
I like at Maths and Science
I would like to spend more time in school learning about space
We solve lots of problems in maths
I like solving problems in maths and I am good at it
During maths and science lessons I often work with other people
During maths and science lessons I often use equipment to help me
During maths and science lessons we usually use the text book
During maths and science lessons I often use the computer or a tablet
I know which skills are important to become better at Maths and Science
Finish these sentences with the word or words that you think are right for you
When my teacher says it is time for the math’s and science lesson, I feel _________________________________________.
The best thing about Maths and Science is ________________________________________________.
The worst thing about Maths and Science is ____________________________________________________.
What do you like doing most in Maths and Science lessons?
What do you find hard to learn during Maths and Science lessons?
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As I will be teaching Senior Infants this coming year, my focus in the classroom will be on hands on activities as much as possible. With the unit on Weather there are a lot of hands on activities which could be explored. I think first the whole class discussing the weather and the seasons with the help of pictures would be a great place to start. For example, “Is the weather hot or cold? How do we know? What season do we think this is? Why? What are they wearing? Why?” etc. This could be followed by a quick game of Around the World with questions starting with “Something I’d wear when….”. We could follow this using a sorting activity. I love the idea of doing this using real clothes and maybe a dress up box, making a hot weather pile and a cold weather pile. (However depending on the number of items available this would no doubt also work with pictures of the clothing.) This could be followed up by challenging pupils to find and put on something for a cold day or a hot day. Finally the activity from Esero where they recommend handing a picture of different season to each child to colour and individually asking them about their picture, the weather and the season could provide a great assessment for the teacher. Equally asking the child to draw a picture of themselves on a hot or cold day and asking them to explain what they are wearing and why would also be a great way to assess their understanding.
This learning could be extended into Aistear by providing the dress up box for one of the stations and helping the children decide what weather they will dress for that day. It would also link with Eadaí in Gaeilge, Music through learning songs such as “Mr. Golden Sun” or “Frosty the Snowman” depending on the time of year, and any number of Art activities such as Fabric and fiber to make a collage of some clothing using different fabrics.
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Module 4: Assignment –
Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module. How would you use the activity in your classroom?
I am keen to used Stellarium-web.org in my classroom in the upcoming academic year. I would use it to do a virtual tour of the night sky, fostering an interest in astronomy and enhancing their understanding of celestial objects and constellations.
I would begin by gathering the students on the carpet and asking them if they have every looked up at the night sky. We would briefly discuss what stars, planets, and the Moon are. I would then introduce Stellarium Web on the interactive whiteboard as a tool to help us explore the night sky. I would show students how to navigate the interface: how to move the sky view, zoom in and out, and identify objects. Then, demonstrate how to find the Moon, a few bright stars, and planets visible at the current time. Highlight a few constellations and explain that constellations are patterns of stars.
Students would then use tablets to explore Stellarium web on their own. I would provide them with a simple scavenger hunt list of objects of find, such as the Moon, a bright star (like Sirius), and a visible planet (like Jupiter or Saturn).
After then interactive use with tablets, students would be provided with printable star charts of a few simple constellations (e.g. the Big Dipper, Orion). Students draw and colour the constellations that they learned about.
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I have gained a wealth of information and knowledge about how to teach the topic of Space. This course has made me aware of so many fantastic resources and sample lessons to do with younger pupils. Prior to beginning this course, I wouldn’t have known where to begin when teaching a lesson about Space to younger classes. I have been shy to conduct experiments with younger classes due to behavioural issues in the classroom and being apprehensive of how successful a Science lesson could be, but having learned how simple these lessons can be, I am excited to do many more experiments in the coming academic year. The same can be said for projects, I associate projects with senior classes, given that they are more independent and have more experience doing such tasks. However, I now understand that it is not as difficult as I thought and perhaps I need to release the responsibility on to the pupils to be free in their investigations and explorations. I am particularly keep to use resources such as ESA Kids, Stellarium Web, Marvin and Milo, ESERO activities, Curious Minds.
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Making a topic like Space hands-on is a real challenge. Unfortunately, we cannot bring our children into space to have a nosey around. They cannot touch, smell, taste, hear or see ‘Space’. This makes it difficult to teach. The hands-on classroom activities outlined in this module are therefore a useful resource for teachers going forward.
I teach first class and some activities I look forward to using in my classroom are:
The Marvin and Milo collection. Making it personal and familiar with the use of repeated characters will definitely increase motivation, engagement and play. It also uses a medium of reading that children don’t get exposed to enough – comics. Automatic interest generator.
Astronomy picture of the day is a fantastic idea. It will ensure we are improving our oral language with discussion and allow us to revisit the topic of Space as and when needed.
Stellarium is such a rich resource. I found teaching cardinal direction so tricky with 3rd class two years ago. We were repeating “rises in the east, sets in the west” but I found it hard to find a video that showed this clearly. I will definitely be using this (alongside my globe & torch!)-
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Hi Sinead, I am really looking forward to using the Marvin and Milo collection too and I was thinking the same thing, its so lovely that the children are exposed to comics again. It is often rare to see a comic these days! The Paxi videos on the ESA kids website are also really good as they are a mixture of animation and real life. I found some other lovely videos from Chris Hadfield that are amazing when teaching children about life in space. They are fantastic as he shows how to brush your teeth in space, make a sandwich and sleep in space. In case you are interested for your 1st class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bCoGC532p8
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Activity set : The weather – infants station teaching approach
Station 1: weather report
Every day the children take it in turns of giving the weather forecast to the rest of the class. We have simple cut out cardboard box for this and a microphone and they absolutely love these simple props . I have a map of Waterford where we live and I have named the local areas on it and the children have simple cut outs of rain, cloud, wind, sun etc to stick on when they are giving the weatherStation 2: keeping a weather diary in their groups for a week or 2 week period . They take it in turns of drawing in the weather everyday
Station 3: Dress the teddy for his holiday in the sun and his holiday to the North Pole . Children have to sortnthe clothes into 2 piles – and then take it in turns of dressing teddy appropriately. The results can be photographed .
Station 4: weather in other countries and
How people adapt . Build an igloo , build a beach house , what must people wear to protect themselves from the cold weather and hot weather ? This could be an oral language lesson followed on by a painting lesson of their findings .Station 5: children could also be given an iPad in a small group and play one of the many games suggested on this module by Esero and curious minds . This could be done in pairs or individually.
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The activity I would like to undertake with my class next year would be ‘Animals in the Cold’. I always find that classes enjoy learning about animals and this activity seems like one they would actively engage with. As I have second class and work in a Gaelscoil I would focus on the vocabulary associated with the different types of weather first so that the children have the ability to discuss the types of weather that occur more often in some places in the world.
The focus would then move onto the animals (again learning the vocabulary first so they can discuss the different facts) and how they keep themselves warm. I would connect it to other subjects like music, art and drama to ensure the pupils active participation in their learning. Scoilnet has a few resources linked to these which would be helpful. The children would have the opportunity to learn about the lifecycles of the penguin and polar bear and I would encourage them to find other animals that live in the cold.-
Fiona,
Would this site that includes a video from TG4 weather forecast by useful for your class?
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Lesson Plan: Exploring the Universe with APOD and Stellarium
Objective: Enhance students’ understanding of astronomy and develop STEM skills through interactive learning.
Introduction (10 mins):
Begin with a discussion about the universe and its wonders.
Show the day’s image from the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) and encourage students to share observations and questions about the image.
Exploration (20 mins):Introduce Stellarium, an online planetarium tool.
Demonstrate how to use Stellarium to locate celestial objects seen in the APOD image.
Guide students to explore different stars, planets, and constellations, emphasizing the scientific method: observing, hypothesizing, and verifying.
Hands-On Activity (20 mins):Assign students to work in pairs. Each pair uses Stellarium to find a specific celestial object or event.
Students present their findings, explaining the object’s significance and its appearance in the APOD.
Reflection (10 mins):Discuss how tools like APOD and Stellarium can enhance our understanding of space.
Encourage students to think about careers in astronomy and other STEM fields.
Assessment: Participation in discussions, accuracy of Stellarium explorations, and clarity in presentations. -
Online Resources and Tools
Stellarium-web.org : I thought this was a fantastic website and I could see how it would engage the children and give them the opportunity to star gaze virtually. It lends itself to many integration possibilities; drama and art in particular. I would allow the children to imagine and act out their journey through the stars – who did they meet and what did they see? I would give the children the opportunity to recreate some of the star patterns that they observed, using either black sugar paper and chalk or a 3-D version using marshmallows and toothpicks. I also thoroughly enjoyed exploring the websites ESA and ESA Kids. I bookmarked many activities that I would love to try out with my own class. The interactive games and puzzles would be a great way to hook the children and engage them in the topic. I would also use them as a conclusion to the lesson, to consolidate the children’s learning. The wide range of stories available on these websites also offer many possibilities for integration across the curricular strands. The interactive activities on Milo and Marvin allow for the topic of space to be explored in many subject areas including Numeracy and Literacy.
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Hands on classroom themed activities based on the weather.
Introduction:
What type weather do we experience here in Ireland?
What is your favourite type of weather?We will also look at measuring rainfall.
Development:
They will be keeping a log of the rainfall over a course of a week. This will be done by providing each group with a clear container. They will put a mark at the top of the water each day and measure how much fell. The volume of rain can be measured in a clear gradiated cylinder.
They can also keep an eye on rainfall via apps such as Accuweather.The Accuweather app gives a 15 day weather forecast. This will allow the children to predict the rainfall.
There are also some excellent resources on the Met Éireann website. There are fun facts on the rain that explains how rain is made.
Conclusion: On which days was the rain the heaviest?
How do we keep a log of the weather?Extension activities.
English:
Poems based on the rain
Art:
Paint splattering to create a picture depicting wet weather.
Music:
Songs based on the rain-‘Raindrops keep falling on my head’ -
This lesson would be aimed at the junior end of the school – probably Senior Infants to 2nd Class. I try and read a story to the children at the end of the day so the day before I planned to do the following lesson I would read the story of the Three Little Pigs to them and for homework ask them to go home and discuss with their parents what type of house they lived in and if they had any pictures of their houses that they could share with the class.
The following I would gather the children in a circle and show them pictures of my house and ask them what type of house was? Does it have an upstairs? Is it big or small? What materials is it made of? Etc.
I would then ask them what types of house they lived in?
I would show them the video Mr. Puell – Different Types of Homes – YouTube and discuss the different types of houses shown.
I would divide them into groups and give them a picture of a particular type of house, give them a few minutes to discuss among themselves and then ask them to give a description of their house and reasons why they would/wouldn’t want to live in this house.
To finish I would get the same groups to build the type of houses they were given using Lego and other materials I had gathered for them.
To finish we would look at all the different types of houses the groups built.
This lesson could be expanded to incorporate Science – materials, Geography – houses from around the world? Maths – number of rooms/doors/ windows on these houses, History – houses throughout the ages, Music – Madness – Our House e.g. , English/ Gaeilge – write a description of the house the live in
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Pól,
I like how this activity has been planned to access a range of curricular objectives, including Science / Materials – I presume Infants > describe and compare materials, noting the differences in the colour, shape and texture
and 1st/2nd class: begin to explore how different materials may be used in the construction of homes suited to their environments
It could be interesting to survey the local area if any houses are currently under construction. Or, you could use images from Google Maps of the area or historical images from Google Earth to find houses under construction. (see here for a guide: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/travel-back-time-google-street-view/)
There is this area near to Blackrock where new apartments are being built:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.8831256,-8.3879657,460a,35y,271.6h,44.82t/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
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Some really good online resources and tools in this module. I’ll definitely be setting up a space themed Aistear area this year and I’ll be using lots of the activities and resources from this course to engage the kid’s interests and learning. The Astronomy picture of the day is a great idea that I could use for oral language development during Aistear. In small groups, we can discuss the pictures and talk about what they see. It would also be a great way of exposing them to space and science from a young age as lots of young children wouldn’t get to see such images otherwise.
I really liked people’s ideas of using pegboards for exploring the different constellations which would also enhance their fine motor skills. This could be done during Aistear or as a morning routine activity. A junk art station could also be set up to make space shuttles and rockets, they would really enjoy this.
Stellarium looks like a wonderful star gazing tool that I hadn’t heard of pre-course. I plan to use this for some science lessons as the boys will enjoy the 3D images and videos.
Lastly, Marvin and Milo is another great resource for the younger classes and I intend on using this for role play activities. These characters could also be incorporated into Gaeilge lessons using puppets perhaps? -
The activity I have chosen is ‘Activity set weather’ for hands- on activities in the classroom with junior infants.
To being we would look at the 4 seasons (Winter, summer, autumn and spring) and what types of weather occurs in each season. The children can refer to the seasons chart that is displayed in our class. Then i would ask some of the children to tell the forecast for the day and discuss what they have worn into school.
I will then use a variety of objects and clothes. Tell the children that we are going on a winter holiday. We need to sort the clothes and objects that we will need for his holiday.
Children must sort them correctly into the correct suitcases for each holiday.
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- We make rainbows. We can also make waterproof clothes by looking at varied materials and what is waterproof/ not waterproof. -
Activity set: Where do you live and weather.
Display images from the local community and as a whole class describe the images focusing on their features. Ask students to think, pair share and describe where they live using the keywords. Next give students modelling materials and ask them to begin creating their houses. Give each table images of houses to use as inspiration. Model this activity first. Next ask students to describe the features of their modelled houses to their partner.
In the next lesson, display images of animals in the cold orally describing where they live and the weather they see in the pictures. Ask students to brainstorm how the animals would stay warm. Ask them what they do when they feel cold, can animals do this too?
Give each group a mat with the four seasons and have the students collaboratively match the clothes to each season.
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Maeve,
you could go a bit deeper into how houses are adapted for different climate and weather conditions, perhaps by using
which has images of shelters from around the world to be matched with weather.
The language of this resource is a bit beyond Infants, but the selection of images is super.
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I would like to try the activity set about animals in the cold. I think this is a lovely topic for junior classes in particular and can be integrated into so many other subject areas aswell as Aistear. I would teach this lesson during the winter months and I would begin by reading one of the books I have in my school library about penguins/polar bears and we would discuss the type of climate they live in and how they adapt to it. We would also discuss the weather in our own country and how we adapt to the cold by dressing appropriately etc. We would explore the theme further during Aistear time. For art we would make penguins/polar bears and to link English writing we would write a few sentences on the animals also.
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Forgot to add we would also do a science experiment on blubber to give the children a greater understanding of how animals keep warm in these icy conditions. This experiment uses shortening (a type of fat), zip lock bags and bowls containing iced water. It can be found on http://www.sciencefun.org and is called the Polar Bear Blubber experiment.
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Linda,
by including the blubber activity you are connecting the children’s science understanding to a testable investigation.
Polar Bear Blubber – Science Fun
has the “Extra Experiments” which could easily arise as ‘take the next step’ and in each case the children could make predictions to their own starter question and extend their learning.
Try to use other types of insulators such as butter, cotton balls, or sand. Which one works as the best insulator?
Try using room temperature water or water that is 100 degrees Fahrenheit (Be careful with hot water when you are testing it). Does the glove work in these situations?
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Online resources and tools:
PDST Science Strand Glance Cards –
I think this is an excellent resource for teacher planning and seeing which objectives you would like to achieve with your class level.ESA Kids:
I would definitely use this as a stimulus for my lessons. There are many different topics to choose from and videos that you can show the children to spark a discussion.Marvin and Milo:
I love this resource as it is very child friendly and tells children ‘do try this at home’ encouraging them to investigate and explore through Science. There are lots of experiments for the children to try out and they are simple instructions.APOD:
I love the idea of using the Astronomy picture of the day to promote talk around space and hear the opinions of children. This is a nice lesson starter / conclusion which could be used alongside Stellarium web also. -
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ESRO resource ‘Where do you live?’
For these series of lesson I would start off by doing a class trip to our local village. The children would make drawings of the things they see in their village.
As a class will compare and contrast ariel maps of three other villages in Ireland.
Then we would start using the ESRO resource by thiking about or homes. What is it made of, what location is it in in the village, how many doors and windows and what are the main parts of the house.
Children will make their house using recycled materials. Children from 5th class will come and help the class with this.
Once we have made our houses we will put them on display. Drawing attention to what is missing from our village children will brainstorm what they would like to have in their village to make it a community.
Children will make models of the things that they want to add to their community; parks, playground, bakery, restaurants, cafe, pharmacy, schools, clubs and community centre.
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Chloe,
I really like your outline, this touches on parts of SESE Geography for Infants as well as leading towards 1st/2nd class Science>Materials begin to explore how different materials may be used in the construction of homes suited to their environments.
A variant of children drawing what they see that I have done, is to have photos of objects in the immediate area and have the children try to find them.
I really like your idea of comparison of aerial images of other villages. They could be within Ireland, or perhaps of other places that the children have visited / come from. I grew up in Canada, so like to share images of Canada in winter.
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ESA and ESA Kids
I would allow the children some autonomy here while using ESA Kids. I would hand them out an iPad and let them have some fun exploring the many great resources here. In the older classes, I would ask them to report back to their neighbour about some of the things they learned.
Astronomy picture of the day
This would be a brilliant resource to use as a prompt for discussions around Space Week. I would display the picture of the day each morning as the children file in and they could discuss what they see with their classmates before school starts.
Stellarium-web.org
I find this website brilliant for displaying the night sky in the classroom, which is obviously impossible to do outside on a school day! The children would find it fascinating to stargaze and pick out some of the constellations and stars after teaching them about this topic beforehand. The fact you don’t need the internet is also a great benefit.
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Bríd,
if you have astronomy picture of the day available on ipad you could ask the children to find the link that goes to a picture of an animal (one link each day does!)
Today’s APOD had a link to this image!
https://i.chzbgr.com/full/9047697920/hF7BB9AC7/
With Stellarium Web you will need internet access, but if you download the full Stellarium package, then you do not.
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Hands on Activity: What clothes to wear.
I think this activity would be a great opportunity for integration. In terms of Maths, it would be very help with teaching the seasons and for sorting/analysing (clothes for winter, summer etc. Art would also be a great way to integrate, through designing a coat for Teddy etc. Additionally, it can be linked in with teaching Eadaí vocab in Irish.
I would begin by starting to discuss the weather that day, why you decided to bring/not bring in a coat, hat, gloves, etc. We would then engage in the colouring activity mentioned, getting different groups (the different Seasons) to display and explain their pictures one by one. We would then engage in a whole class discussion about the seasons, what we associate with them and what the weather is like in each.
I really like the sorting dress up box circle activity. I feel this also would have great potential as a station in Aistear, to pack the suitcase/ design Teddy’s outfits for his holidays. Another variation of that is the packing the suitcase drama activity, where I might suggest that we are going on a trip (perhaps using the different school holidays as a basis for different seasons). The children would suggest what will be needed.
I would integrate the weather story as an activity in PE, making it active.
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Activity Set based on Weather- Animals in the Cold (Esero 7)
Introducing the topic by showing the children a picture of the arctic and discussing the weather and how hot/cold they think it might be there.
We will read the story Arctic Animals by Jill McDonald. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qlU7VDlzPg
We will identify each of the animals adaptations to stay warm including how Polar bears have thick fur and blubber to keep warm, arctic foxes have thick fur and small ears to reduce heat loss, penguins have feathers that help keep them warm, and they waddle instead of fly to conserve energy. Seals and walruses have blubber and layers of skin to keep warm in the water.
Children will sort a group of pictures into arctic animals or pets etc.
We will create a class book about arctic animals and their adaptations to stay warm.
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I hope to use Stellarium with my second class next year in order to help them to identify planets and basic constellations and to understand the movements of the night sky. I will begin ny asking my class if they have ever looked at the night sky and ask them what they have noticed/seen – and explain to them that we are going to use a program called Stellarium to help them to understand the night sky. I will instruct them in how to use controls and toolbar to search for well known constellations and we sill examine the difference between how stars and planets look and move in the sky. we will ‘time-travel’ by changing the date and time to help them to understand that the night sky changes over time. After using tellurium we will use stickers and charts so that the children can create their own constellations. I am looking forward to getting started with this!
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Nicola,
Stellarium is a powerful tool and children can use it on their own. We have used it to show the effects of light pollution and to give children a scavenger hunt of objects to find. A similar hunt is here: https://pacificsciencecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cah-sky-search.pdf
With older students we have used it to plan observing sessions (similar to this: https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/sites/default/files/discover/stemclubs/secondary/NSO-Secondary-Silver-S4-PlanningObs.pdf)
We produced a guide to using Stellarium to find Messier Objects for Space Week 2023, see here: https://www.spaceweek.ie/space-week-resource-pack-2023/
And, it is part of our outreach StarDome experience, where participants are seated in the inflatable dome with Stellarium projected onto the interior of the Dome.
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I will be teaching a class that I had last year and I found them to be particularly interested in learning about animals. Therefore I would undertake the activity ‘Animals in the Cold’ with them in second class. I would first focus on us and what we do to keep warm in the cold creating a mini fact file on it. I would then focus on the animals listed in the activity (penguins and polar bears) and get the children to create fact files in pairs on each of these animals and how they keep warm in the cold weather. When this activity was completed I would move onto other animals that live in the cold and encourage the pairs to research them (using our school tablets and guiding them to specific search websites; kidrex for example) and create fact files about their chosen animals. They could then present them to the class/their groups and we could have a class ‘book’ on the different animals in the cold.
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ESRO Resource – Where do you live?
We would look at the homes in our locality and draw a map of our homes. We would discuss materials used to build homes in the west of Ireland – what would we need to use to insulate / keep air tight etc
Then I would look at other homes around the world – how they are build differently to adapt to different climates. In pairs I would encourage children to construct different houses – using various materials. Compare differences & similarities between the homes. We would use Google maps to use street view on different homes. Using a variety of aerial photos / maps and personal photos to view and discuss. I would invite parents in from different countries to talk about their homes & cultures.
This would tie into the theme of Sa Bhaile & Réamhaisnéis na háimsire. Link to Music Cúigear féar ag tógáil tí.
Link to ART construction of a village using different boxes.
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Maria,
You have integrated Geography and Science in a seamless way with this activity on houses and homes, with plenty of opportunity to include families. Nice work, may we include it our our end of summer summary?
Thanks for sharing the song suggestion
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This is looks like a great integrated theme that could be covered over a couple of weeks. It would also be a great opportunity to introduce young children to the Global Goals (SDGs)
There are some nice ideas on this website.
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There was a huge amount of resources and activities provided in this module! I particularly liked the online tools to support science and space. As a teacher I could see myself using the ESA website, it is very well laid out and informative. I think the children would enjoy the ESA kids site. Some of the games here such as ‘Milky Way Match’ would be lovely for a station in Aistear (using I pads).
I also loved the Stellarium software. I love that you can view the sky from and point in the world …. We have pupils from other countries …it would be lovely to view the night sky from their home town. I also liked the nice simple explanation given for finding the north star. I will use the idea of asking children to take a selfie with the north star behind them. I also liked the way you can show the constellations with/without their ‘picture’. The calendar function would also be handy for observing the phases of the moon also. This excellent resource would be great for senior classes.
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Where do you live ESERO 5.
I have completed a lesson in my class this year based on where do I live. I introduced the lesson by reading the pupils the story of The Three Little Pigs. We listened to the story and looked at the pictures. We then discussed the different types of homes mentioned in the story, drawing attention to the types of materials used in the three houses. As an extension activity to this lesson, the pupils recreated the houses belonging to the pigs using a variety of different materials.
Following on from this I asked the pupils to relay to the class the type of house that they lived in. We discussed similarities and differences. I also told the pupils that I live in an apartment but that I grew up in a bungalow and showed them pictures. I think by relating it back to their lives it makes the lesson more relevant and more interesting to them.
I then brought up on the whiteboard an array of different homes, some that they would not have been aware of and asked which was their favourite and why.
We finished the lesson by using lego to create houses and had a show and tell to end.-
Lorraine,
thank you for sharing your relevant and detailed account of Houses / Where do you Live?
It is imperative for students to begin with what they themselves are familiar. In identifying different kinds of houses, it gives a focus on different types of houses, suited to different environments and different climates. I love the planning, designing and making of 3D models of the different pigs’ houses and then their own houses.
By sharing their own house styles, this can lead to comparisons and discussions. An “Architect’s Walk” of the local area would enhance learning in this area too, and also embed new vocabulary learned. There is a nice overlap with other lessons on weather and climate, on materials, and of course on art and on make & design activities.
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I really enjoyed looking at the Milo and Marvin resources for younger children. Using Milo and Marvin in younger classes is a delightful way to engage students in early learning. These characters captivate children’s attention through their vibrant stories and relatable adventures. By integrating their tales iinto lessons, educators can enhance literacy skills and foster a love for reading. The interactive activities and storytelling elements promote creativity and critical thinking, allowing students to explore new concepts in a fun, accessible manner. Moreover, Milo and Marvin’s diversee scenarios encourage empathy and social development. Overall, their presence in the classroom enriches the learning experience, making education both enjoyable and impactful for young learners.
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Matthew,
I see Marvin and Milo as more of a science kick starter rather more than literacy, since they are tagged as “DO try this at home” so I would use them as practical impetus. Are there particular ones that you would consider using or sharing with your class?
Other teachers have mentioned balloon rockets, but I like the homemade sunset: https://spark.iop.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/32%20-%20Marvin%20and%20Milo%20-%20Homemade%20Sunset%202019.pdf
Do note, that sometimes the language can be a bit complex, as in Eerie Blue Water (https://spark.iop.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/62%20-%20Marvin%20and%20Milo%20-%20Eerie%20Blue%20Water%202019.pdf)
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The hands on classroom themed activity that I teach every year is ‘Where do you live?’ I like that it integrates Geography with Science, these subjects interlink so well together.
Firstly, we usually spend time looking at a globe & map to identify Ireland and our own county Donegal. Our next lesson is based on our town, types of buildings/homes we see on our way to school. We look at some similarities and differences. New vocabulary is introduced and pictures of different types of homes are shown to the class. Children spend time drawing their own home and then recreating a 3 D model of their home. This design and make activity allows children to construct their homes using cardboard boxes,some children might use modelling clay for this.
Eventually we place the houses/homes together to form a village. Children discuss their own home counting windows, identifying 2 D shapes. We go outside and look around the area to identify types of homes. We can see bungalows/detached/semi detached/terraced houses from the school yard. Children create houses from lego in their play and also enjoy the small world dolls house. We always integrate Gaeilge as well as other subject areas. The Three little Pigs is a storybook that we read to reinforce materials, types of materials and their properties.
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Finola, I love this theme of Where we Live. It completely engages children as it is obviously so relevant to them and they love finding out about other homes and houses – all over the world. It is also so practical as the children can design and build a home in art or do the same through play, using so many different objects. It’s a great general theme, for Aistear and across the curriculum and a lovely way to get to know them all after a couple of months, when they are settled in.
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Hands-on classroom themed activity – Weather – What clothes to wear
I really like the activity set weather/what clothes to wear as I feel it is can be integrated very well across the curriculum. I am planning this lesson for a junior infant class. I would start the lesson by discussing weather and seasons. I will ask the children what type of weather do we have in Ireland. I will give each group a season to work on. They will have to discuss this season and, with help from myself and our support teacher, fill out a very simple and infant friendly mind map. They can draw pictures or write some small words if they can. Each group will share their mind map with the class and after every group has spoken we will ask the class if they have anything they could add to that mind map. Each group will then be asked to dress our class teddy. Using lots of different materials and perhaps even stuff from out junk art station the children will dress our class teddy for the season their group is working on. We can then check if the clothes are suitable for the weather of that season by checking the mind map again to see what weather that season. We can use a watering can to mimic the rain/ flashlight to mimic the sun/ etc to see if their clothes are suitable. We will fill in a weather chart all week and discuss on Friday which clothes would have suited teddy best this week. This lesson can be linked with SESE/Gaeilge/Aistear/Art.
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An activity that I would use in my classroom is the one based on hot and cold. We spend a lot of time in the infant classroom discussing the weather each day. I feel it is a good way to develop oral language and children like the routine of going to the window every morning to discuss the weather. For this lesson I would incorporate it into my theme of The Toy Shop in Aistear as we already do an experiment where we explore floating and sinking-Which toys will float on the top and which will sink to the bottom. We also then freeze the container with the toys in it and spend a lot of time discussing what will happen to the container when it goes in the freezer and how will we get the toys out of the block of ice again. I find this lesson really helps to develop children’s thinking around hot and cold, freezing and cooling and in turn develops their oral language. I like the idea in the lesson of the different scenarios where they must decide whether is it hot or cold. The movement to different areas of the classroom for this activity would be particularly great for junior infants. I think this could also be linked to Gaeilge and the theme of An Aimsir.
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Aideen,
thanks for sharing your classroom experiences and how you have linked different activities into a coherent thread.
It occurs to me that a variant of hot and cold / how do you feel, what are you wearing… could be achieved by collecting the grocery magazines and identifying food that you eat when it is hot vs food that you eat when it is cold, or items that you would use in the summer (bbq, sun parasol, camping gear, swimming pool) vs winter (ski clothes, e….)
These are online, so you could even save the images and share this on the whiteboard
https://leaflets.aldi.ie/view/105160728/
Summer treats: https://leaflets.aldi.ie/view/765436005/
Dunnes website even has a section right now for Summer! https://www.dunnesstoresgrocery.com/sm/delivery/rsid/258/categories/summer/summer-picnic-id-54681
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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.
Introduction Video-How do artic animals survive in the cold weather? This will capture the audience and get the children thinking about different coats on different animals and how they are suited to the climates the animals live in. We will then study animals living in the arctic circle and their different features. We will look at the composition of their coats and the colours that suit the habitat e.g. Polar bears are mainly white which allows them to camouflage in the snow. We would then look at our own weather and clothes that are suitable for us to wear in our climate. Examples of waterproof materials such as a waterproof coat could be tested to observe how it doesn’t absorb moisture and the water runs off the fabric. We would then record our findings. we would then design different clothes suited for different weather and the children could design outfits for different weather sets and present them to the class. This could be linked with a fabric and fibre lesson and the children could use different fabrics on their outfits.-
Brenda,
have you a particular video you have in mind? A search for that title brings up a few options:
Ranger Rick: https://youtu.be/6IDeyAIjbbo?si=5VDTDNqySlEosblo
Mystery Science: How do Polar animals survive the cold?: https://youtu.be/6suM2QMwjUE?si=bqAz9vj08DfTl3Bg
this has a nice connection to humans and has ‘pause the video and discuss’ to promote discussion amongst the children.
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There is so much that we can cover using all of these resources. A month long theme of Space is definitely needed. This could be preceeded by the Where do I live and Weather lessons.
We would start with a book like Where we Live or even the Three Little Pigs – I feel that a Homes theme might be a good introuction before we discuss the world around us.The children would discuss their homes, types of houses, gardens, country versus city, etc. Then they could choose to draw or make a 2d or 3d version of their own home or the home they’d like. This could take a few days and involve lots of oral langugae and discussion / planning.
Each child could then stand up and tell the others about their home. I have one non national in my class, so it would be beneficial for that child and the others to learn about homes in another country. The child would need to do lots of prep work on the language needed, with the SET.Another week’s work could start with the weather where we live and how we adapt to that weather – our homes and clothing.
We could do the Animals in the Cold lesson, where we compare living in the polar regions and how animals and even humans adapt. I love the fact mentioned above about the Inuit’s having different shapes on their coats to identify themselves!
We could follow up the next week with the clothes we would wear in these conditions and in other places around the world. The dress up race would be a fun way of getting the children to think about different weather conditions.
Finally, as the chidlren would connect the sun with hot climates, we could focus on the Hot and Cold lessons – hotter in the sun and cooler out of it. The ice cube lesson could consolidate this.
The above would probably take place over a month, as there is so much in each topic and we know how children love to ask questions and find out more!
There is lots of scope for OL, writing, art and song in these lessons. Geography is an integral part of the lessons. It is so broad. -
Lesson: What clothes to wear.
To begin I would use this song to get the children active https://youtu.be/_BkkzF9z4-g?si=Azf_M1H3PRis-Yqa
Next I would use an activity similar to the one in ESERO 11 where I would have a box of clothes and 4 teddies. I would divide the children into 4 groups and give each group a teddy and a season. They then have to dress the teddy in clothing suitable for that season. They will then explain to the class the reasons for their choices.
I will then play Guess the Season. One child dresses from the clothes box and the rest of the class have 4 response cards with a season. They hold up the season they think the child is dressed for.
Next I would use the rain, wind and storm idea from ESERO 11 where you describe a season using a story. I would start it off and get the children to continue it on.
Finally I would give the children the colouring pages based on the seasons and use the Artists Chair where certain children come up and explain why these choose certain clothes and colours to represent each season.
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Having the opportunity to experience the space dome at our school, I know the children love looking at the stars and the night sky. This is how I know that they would really enjoy using the Stellarium website. First, I would introduce the students to Stellarium and explain that it is a virtual planetarium they can explore. We would start by identifying familiar constellations like the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt, using the search function to find them easily. Someone mentioned using peg boards to recreate some of the constellations so I think this is an activity that they would really enjoy too.
Next, we’d use the time-travel feature to show how the night sky changes over days and months, helping them understand the movement of stars and planets. We could also explore different locations on Earth to see how the night sky varies around the world.
To make it interactive, students could take turns using the controls to zoom in on planets, moons, and other celestial objects. We’d discuss interesting facts about these objects as we explore. Finally, students could draw their favorite constellations or celestial bodies, reinforcing what they’ve learned.
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Ciara,
do you have enough computers for the children, or would you be setting this up as a station that the children can visit? The nice thing about stellarium app is that you don’t need the internet to use it, so you can install it on a device and freely let the children use it.
We had a set of 10 laptops at BCO that we used to use with Stellarium – so I have seen a lot of children get quite lost in the sky and in time. This is when you need to know the short cut of ‘Press number 8 to return to now.’
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I would generate interest and elicit prior knowledge of weather by observing current weather outdoors, wondering if we will get outside to play today. Then I will take the children outside to observe the weather using all their senses. We might observe through guiding questions that the grass feels wet today, the flag is blowing strongly, how the sky looks, how things smell, the type of outerwear adults are wearing etc.
Reflect on observations in the classroom. Make a display of the weather words used. Gradually through discussion, categorise students’ descriptions of weather according to weather factors such as temperature, precipitation, wind, and cloud cover.
Children should be directed towards knowing that they can use their senses to detect thevweather. “How do I know what the weather is?” e.g. I feel the sun warning my skin.
Finally children take turns to record the weather daily on a classroom chart, having explained to the class how they observed it.
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Mary,
what a lovely set of observation guided weather activities. So fitting for junior classes, with a connection to Science/Heat Infants – recognise the difference between hot and cold in terms of weather, and also for 1st/2nd: measure and compare temperatures in different places in the classroom, school and environment.
and by linking to senses you have included Living Thins/Myself: use all the senses (touch, smell, sight, taste, hearing) to become aware of and explore
environments.There is even the option to include Materials: observe and describe materials when they are wet and when they are dry (soil and paper).
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Online resources and tools
I would introduce the children to the night sky, focusing on stars, constellations, and planets using the Stellarium online tool. Starting first with a simple question: “Who has looked up at the night sky and seen stars?”,then show large images or a short video of the night sky to capture their attention. Explain that the night sky is full of stars and other interesting things we can see. Follow with the picture book about stars and constellations, such as “How to Catch a Star” by Oliver Jeffers. Have a short discussion on the story briefly, focusing on what stars are and how they form patterns called constellations
Continue with the explanation of what the Stellarium tool can do: helps us look at the night sky on the computer. Then we would set our location and click on some bright stars and constellations, looking at their names and shapes, like the Big Dipper or Orion.We would then finish with an activity Create Your Own Constellation, where the children design their own with black paper and stars.
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Fionnuala,
Stellarium (the main app) has a function whereby you can turn off the ground to see all the stars that surround the Earth – not just the ones above the local horizon. That would be useful for spotting Orion, since some of the time it is below the horizon, and in May/June it is behind the Sun altogether.
On stellarium web, look for the white shape of two trees at the bottom, and click it to turn off the ground.
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I would definitely try the Activity Set on Weather. Animals in the Cold, What clothes to wear?, Hot and Cold. I visited Lapland last December so I would use some of the photos I took.
We would use lots of teacher lead discussion using pictures and books as stimulus. I would share the facts about polar bears and penguins and discuss their colours and why they are these colours.
We would discuss how these animals stay warm and how we as humans keep warm. We would give the little experiment using Vaseline a go and deduce what we learned.
We could discuss what clothes to wear to keep hot and integrate this with Gaeilge.
We could also integrate with Geography and learn a bit mote about North and South Poles.
I would conclude the them of work by doing an English First Steps Writing Report on the Polar Bear or Penguin. -
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I would definitely try the Activity Set on Weather. Animals in the Cold, What clothes to wear?, Hot and Cold. I visited Lapland last December so I would use some of the photos I took.
We would use lots of teacher lead discussion using pictures and books as stimulus. I would share the facts about polar bears and penguins and discuss their colours and why they are these colours.
We would discuss how these animals stay warm and how we as humans keep warm. We would give the little experiment using Vaseline a go and deduce what we learned.
We could discuss what clothes to wear to keep hot and integrate this with Gaeilge.
We could also integrate with Geography and learn a bit mote about North and South Poles.
I would conclude the theme of work by doing an English First Steps Writing Report on the Polar Bear or Penguin. -
If I were to teach a lesson on different types of houses to junior, senior, first, and second classes, I would incorporate hands-on activities to engage the students fully. I would start by using an excerpt from David Walliams’ novel “Space Boy” as a stimulus, sparking a discussion on how we might introduce our “home” to an alien visitor.
We would then talk about the different types of homes in Ireland and around the world. I would invite children from different countries to share their experiences, allowing for a rich exchange of cultural perspectives.
For the hands-on activity, I would provide materials such as play dough, lollipop sticks, sugar cubes, pipe cleaners, and junk art supplies. The students would build houses for new inhabitants, which would offer a fantastic opportunity to link with science by discussing the properties of the materials used and determining which options were the best and why.
To extend the learning experience, I would invite the more senior classes to get involved by having them act as mentors for the younger students. They could assist in the construction process, offering guidance on design and material selection based on their advanced understanding. Additionally, the senior students could prepare short presentations on different architectural styles from around the world, further enriching the discussion on global housing.
Each group could first build their house using ICT, tying in the popular game Minecraft to create digital models of their designs. This would engage students who enjoy playing Minecraft and allow them to explore architectural concepts in a virtual environment before moving on to the physical construction.
To wrap up the lesson, the children would gather to showcase their house models. They would share what they learned about different types of houses, where people live, and how they would explain houses to aliens.
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Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module:
This lesson is based on the assumption that we have been covering the topic of weather in the classroom. It is also based on my special educational needs setting.
*Hands-on classroom themed activities*
Learning objective: To name and recognise different types of weather conditions.
Introduction: we would sing the weather song that easily breaks down the weather in Lámh signs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADfEZt7HumQ
After singing the song the children, in pairs, will ask their friends what’s the weather like today using the Lámh signs from the video.
Activity 1: Teacher asks the children to lightly jog around the room, when teacher calls out a weather sample the children stop and do the Lámh action. (sunny cloudy rainy windy snowy)
Activity 2: We would then make a sensory bottle. Asking the children what materials do they think could best represent the different types of weather.
Cotton balls- clouds
glitter-rays of sunshine
blue water- rain with small blue beads for rain drops
feathers- wind
snow-small white foam balls
Ask the children to shake the bottles gently to see how the different materials interact inside. encourage students to describe what they see.
Add in a music element whereby the children have to move and shake the bottle in rhythm to the music. We could sing “Mr. Sun sun Mr. golden sun” and “Rain rain go away…”
Conclusion: I would wrap up the lesson with a calming activity. I would do a guided visualisation where the children close their eyes and imagine themselves in a peaceful weather scene, a sunny day at the beach changing to a gentle rain shower in the garden, a winter wonderland surrounded by glistening snowflakes gently falling from the sky, the crunching sound of the snow on their feet and the cold crisp air on their cheeks etc.
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Thanks for sharing this outline Siobhan.
I am not particularly familiar with Lámh, so thanks for sharing the video link.
I fairly recently learnt about aphantasia and wonder just how common it is, this article suggests ~4% of the population experiences it. My son (age21+) fullly completed school before he realised he has it!
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Incorporating hands-on themes into classroom instruction offers numerous benefits for both students and educators such as enhanced engagement, improved understanding and retention, development of Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills, making real world connections among others.
In the past I have used many themes during aistear and linked the theme into all other curricular areas. I used the theme of the Rainforest.
To introduce the topic, I showed the children a video about the rainforest that highlighted its key features.
We then created a large poster of a rainforest cross-section, including the emergent layer, canopy, understory, and forest floor.
I then assigned the students to create cards about different animals and plants. Students then placed their cards on the appropriate layer of the rainforest diagram.
We also explored deforestation in our SESS lessons that linked in with our aistear play in socio-dramatic role play.
Having a theme resulted in a a broad range of activites experienced by the children and they got lots of opportunities to learn about the rainforest. -
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Activity set: Weather – What clothes to wear.
I would start the lesson by reading the book a Stroll through the seasons. This is a great place to start to determine the children’s prior knowledge regarding the seasons and clothing. Following the story we will engage in a sorting game. I would use my bosca draíochta and fill it with lots of various clothes for the different seasons. I will have four hula hoops set up on the ground (one for each season). The children will have to come up and pick something from the box and sort it into the correct season. We will have a whole class discussion to explain why we wear certain clothes in each season e.g. in winter you wear lots of clothes to prevent your body losing too much heat. To conclude the children will engage in a cut and stick activity – sorting the clothes into the correct season.
Oral Language integration: I have a bulletin board in my classroom of a ‘dress the frog for the weather’. This year as part of our morning meetings we dressed ‘Fred’ for the weather each day.
Lots of other opportunities to integrate with other subjects e.g. Gaeilge – éadaí.
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Learning Outcome:
To help children understand the concept of dressing appropriately for different weather conditions through interactive and sensory play.Introduction: The children sit in a circle and I will introduce the topic by showing them the weather chart. Discuss different types of weather and ask questions like, “What do we wear when it’s sunny?” or “What do we need when it’s raining?”
Story Time: I will read a short, engaging storybook about dressing for different weather conditions, such as “Froggy Gets Dressed” by Jonathan London. After reading, I will discuss the story and the different clothing items Froggy wore for each type of weather.
Interactive Weather Chart: I will show the children the weather chart again. I will explain that they will help dress dolls or stuffed animals for different weather conditions. I will present each weather card and ask the children to choose appropriate clothing items for that weather. The children will attach the clothing cut-outs to the weather cards using Velcro.
Dress-Up Activity: I will set up a dress-up area with a variety of clothing items. The children choose clothes to dress themselves, dolls, or stuffed animals according to different weather conditions.
I will encourage them to think about why each piece of clothing is suitable for the weather (e.g., “Why do we wear a raincoat when it’s raining?”).
Role-Playing: The children can role-play different weather scenarios. One child can hold up a weather card, and others can dress appropriately and act out activities for that weather (e.g., playing in the snow, jumping in puddles).
Conclusion: The children sit back in a circle and review what they learned. I will ask them to share their favourite outfit and why they chose it. I will recap the importance of dressing appropriately for different weather conditions and how it helps us stay comfortable and safe -
Weather
animals in the cold/clothes to wearAs an introduction I would ask the class to discuss today’s weather with a focus on temperature. Is today a hot day or a cold day? What is their preference and why.
I would then read a lovely story titled ‘Henry’s holiday’ about a penguin that didn’t like the cold. Henry who lives in a cold climate leaves his friends and family along with the snow and ice in search of warmer weather. When he eventually finds his warmer weather on an island he realizes he prefers the cold and makes his way back home again. The children discuss and compare the two different climates. Hot and cold. What did Henry need for each with a focus on clothing.
The class is split in two with one half drawing Henry in his cold climate while the other draws him in the hot climate. They compare and contrast drawing afterwards.
A lovely activity to follow on from this is called pack the suitcase. In groups of 4/5 the children race against the clock to pack two suitcases. One for a hot climate and one for a cold. A mixture of clothes including hats, coats, t shirts, shorts, gloves etc. are placed in the middle of the floor. The children must sort them into a hot or cold category by placing them into the correct back. They are timed on how face they complete the task and lose points for incorrect packing. It’s great fun.
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A STEM focused SSE would work well in any school to evaluate their teaching of science skills across all classes. Once the focus of improving teaching of science skills is identified, the next step would be to gather information regarding our current practices. This information could be collected from staff, parents and students. In our infant school, drawings could be used to assess understanding. This information could then be analysed and decisions made regarding the next step in improving student learning in this area. A plan would be written and shared to those in the school community to ensure everyone is aware of the changes occurring. The plan would then be put into place within a reasonable timeframe, with support provided as needed (e.g. professional development opportunities provided, a professional learning community established etc.). Lastly, staff would monitor the actions taken as part of the plan and evaluate the impact of the interventions. The cycle could then begin again as needed, with changes implemented based on the learning needs of the students in the school.
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The activity from this module set that I would be very interested in trying is the ‘Investigation Children’s Coats’ activity. I really like how there is multiple opportunities for integration within this activity, for example it focuses on developing the children’s descriptive language of materials using the Feely bag, and it also incorporates a maths elements, when collating data based on the number of children wearing each colour coat in our class, and displaying this data graphically, which would definitely suit the older side of the junior classes. We could have a class teddy/puppet who then arrives with a problem to the class; there is snow forecast for this weekend and he has no coat and is afraid he will freeze! I would allow the children, after a discussion on how we could keep teddy warm in the winter, to design and make a coat for teddy using a variety of different materials. Each child/group will present their coat to teddy, and put it on him, and they will explain to the class how they made the coat, what materials they used and why. Teddys assistant shopper (one of the children/the teacher) could then decide which coat they like the most!
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Aoife,
you’ve added some lovely touches that integrate several activities and build on the children’s understanding of weather and suitable clothing. Teddy’s personal shopper helping to decide the best coat is a nice inclusion!
On a much grimmer note, there are people who have suffered frostbite attempting to cross from the US to Canada in winter, so lack of clothing really is an issue. I wouldn’t necessarily share this with the children!
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This course has allowed me the opportunity to explore and engage with excellent online tools and resources to further the teaching and learning of science in the classroom.
The use of scientific investigative skills is transferrable across the curriculum, in particular the promotion and development of oral language.
I have successfully used the themes of weather and materials and their correlation with children’s clothes, properties and characteristic of material in coats and its relevance to the children’s own environment and experience.
With the children working in small groups they have experimented with basins of water and a variety of materials including plastic, nylon, cotton, wool paper and cardboard the children were asked to identify and investigate materials that absorb water and those that are waterproof. They were asked to explore the characteristics of materials in coats that were wet or dry and appropriateness to various different types of weather.
The groups were given templates to record findings and share this with the class. There was fun, interactivity, experimentation and teamwork. This in itself is true learning in every sense for the “real” world.
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The activity I have chosen for this module is ‘Online Resources and Tools’.
There are some fantastic online resources out there to help us to consolidate our teaching and these are all resources that I was unaware of.The ESA and ESA kids websites have a great selection of lessons that can be adapted to any age group. These lessons have various different elements and are based on a variety of topics to do with Space. An example of some of the lessons that I found the children would enjoy are ‘Up, up, up…Build and launch your own rockets’ and ‘A week in the life of an Astronaut’.
The UNAWE website has a fantastic set of educational videos that are aimed at younger age groups. Paxi is introduced to the children as a little alien who comes from planet Ally-O. He has come to Earth to make new friends and to take kids on an adventurous trip of space exploration. These videos really tie in with what we looked at in Module 3.
Finally, the Stellarium website is a powerful tool and resource that all classrooms would benefit from using. In general, children love stars. This website gives them an in-depth look at images of the entire sky, learn the constellations, explore the surface of the moon and zoom in on planets and satellites.
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The Week in a Life of an Astronaut is lovely – it is suggested for ages 8-12, do you reckon you could use it with infants?
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Online Resources & Tools
This module has been very beneficial and insightful and I’m excited to incorporate some of the resources it introduced into my teaching.
Marvin & Milo: I believe they will be captivated by these visual aids when conducting science experiments, as they are presented in a very child-friendly manner. Additionally, the students could create their own comics to illustrate the steps of their experiments, reinforcing their understanding and creativity.
Stellarium: I thought this was excellent! It would serve as a fantastic introduction to a lesson about space, instantly capturing the students’ interest. This resource could spark engaging discussions and enhance oral language skills, particularly when exploring the differences between night and day. Furthermore, it presents excellent opportunities for cross-curricular activities, such as art projects where students create space-themed pictures using chalk or paint.
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Coral,
if you have access to paint programmes on computers, you can actually edit the images that the Stellarium app uses. Copy them and give them out to the children to draw over and you will have personalised images!
There are instruction on how to do these at our DOME project:
https://dome.nuclio.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/D.O.M.E.-QuickStartGuide-Stellarium.pdf
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Activity-Seasons- What clothes to wear?
I would start by assessing the children’s prior knowledge about the seasons through singing the song the Seasons Song from Youtube. I would then ask some open ended questions about the song and how we might know what season it is. I would then read a book called ‘A Stroll through the Seasons’ by Kay Barnham. We would then talk about the seasons in the book and what they notice about the people’s clothes in the book as we go through the seasons. I wonder why we wear clothes? Why do people wear different clothes for different types of weather? The children will be given out the pictures of the seasons to colour in and we will use different types of clothes to dress teddy/dolly for different types of weather. We will finish off with a game in which the children will dress up for different seasons/weather and the rest of the class have to guess the season/weather.
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Rachel,
there are a few called the Seasons song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjpI6fgYSY
from Have Fun Teaching
with these lyrics:
Here we go, oh, oh
Seasons of the yearHere comes the spring with the rain pouring down
Here comes the spring with the flowers in the ground
Here comes the spring with the rainbow in the sky
Here comes the spring to bring new lifeHere comes the summer with the heat from the sun
Here comes the summer with the kids having fun
Here comes the summer with the warm breeze
Here comes the summer with the trees so greenHere comes the fall with the leaves changing color
Here comes the fall with the climate getting cooler
Here comes the fall with the leaves falling down
Here comes the fall with the wind blowing loudHere comes the winter with the ice and the snow
Here comes the winter with the freezing cold
Here comes the winter with the days getting shorter
Here comes the winter with the nights getting longeror
https://youtu.be/C_Sc5ZjdfFI?si=9LZBSfzyQDhtbjPQ
from Super Simple Songs
Lyrics:
Winter and spring, summer and fall.
No matter the season, I love them all.
There’s always a reason to wake up and say,
“What a lovely season it is today!”In the spring I love the flowers.
In the summer I love the sun.
In the fall I love the falling leaves.
They keep falling, one by one.In the winter I love the flurries of snow.
There’s a magic in the air.
When you open your eyes and look around,
there’s beauty everywhere.Winter and spring, summer and fall.
No matter the season, I love them all.
There’s always a reason to wake up and say,
“What a lovely season it is today!”In the spring I love the flowers.
In the summer I love the sun.
In the fall I love the falling leaves.
They keep falling, one by one.In the winter I love the flurries of snow.
There’s a magic in the air.
When you open your eyes and look around,
there’s beauty everywhere.Winter and spring, summer and fall.
No matter the season, I love them all.
There’s always a reason to wake up and say,
“What a lovely season it is today!”What a lovely season it is today!
What a lovely season it is today!
What a lovely season it is today!
What a lovely season it is today!
What a lovely season it is today!
What a lovely season it is today!
What a lovely season it is today!
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I was really fascinated by the https://stellarium-web.org/ website. Such an interesting site to navigate and I see that lots of participants thought the same too.
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Animals in the Cold:
Links to SESE; Geography and weather and North/South Pole, History: Tom Crean SPHE: myself: taking care of myself, clothes. Math: counting
Read: Over in the Arctic by Marianne Berkes and Jill Dubin
Discuss: how do you think the animals in the arctic stay warm? How do we stay warm? Do you think you could live in the arctic? Why not?
Encourage children to justify their explanations. Children to learn that animals in these conditions survive by developing some specialized features that help them stay warm. This includes insulating fur, layers of fat and oily skin coatings.
Children should understand that arctic animals use adaptations that are necessary for their survival.
Watch the Ranger Rick video:
Which arctic animal was your favourite?
Children to make their favourite arctic animal in art.
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Thanks for sharing the video links, your post got caught in pending, so sorry for the delay in it appearing.
Would you carry out a practical investigation about the layers of fat? Blubber glove has been described by a few other teachers.
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/blubber-gloves
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The activities from this Module that I would use in my lessons would be: Animals in the Cold and What Clothes to Wear/ Investigating Coats. The first thing I would do is engage the class in a discussion on types of weather, which would evolve into discussing how animals keep warm.
I would follow this with an activity that I have done with several classes: Blubber Glove experiment. This experiment shows children how polar bears and other animals that have blubber survive in such cold conditions. I take cooking fat or lard and place it in a zip-lock bag. This bag is passed around the class so that the children can touch it and help to squeeze and bash it. When each child has had the opportunity to feel the lard, I place the bag in a tub of ice water with the opening above the water line. Each child gets a medical- grade glove, and then takes turns dipping their hands in the water. The gloved hand will go into the bag of lard in the water and the other hand will go into the water. The child will not feel the cold in the gloved hand at all. This illustrates for the children how blubber works. In a subsequent lesson, we would have circle time in which the children would bring their coats into the circle. This would spark a class discussion involving what weather would require coats, what makes coats effective, etc. We would follow this up with the Investigating Children’s Coats lesson from Curious Minds/ Primary Science. -
I particularly liked the following resources/activities: What Clothes to Wear (ESERO) and Investigating Children’s Coats (Curious Minds) and feel these are activities which would engage my class.
I hope to use the resources to further enhance Science lessons – such as What Clothes to Wear and the dressing up box idea where children select suitable summer clothes and explain why these clothes in summer, and repeat the activity for winter. I will integrate this with oral language and also art and geography.
This will support the SSE process in school as I learnt how to examine science practice in our school and to find ways to improve science teaching and learning.
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Activity Set : Weather (Hot/Cold)
Start the lesson by discussing hot and cold, giving a simple definition of each word.
Watch the following video on youtube to help differentiate between hot and cold objects.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=is+it+too+hot+or+cold+youtube&mid=66A4322BDB20CABC790366A4322BDB20CABC7903&FORM=VIREUse the knowledge of hot/cold to discuss hot/cold weather.
Look at a selection of pictures and discuss what they think the weather is in the picture. Discuss how do you know this? What kind of clothes are the children wearing in the picture? What activities are they doing in the picture?
Create a hot and cold corner in the classroom for the children to partake in a walking debate. Explain that you are going to tell them some short stories. They have to decide if each story is about a hot situation or a cold one. Then
they have to run to the hot corner or the cold corner. Encourage the children in the blue corner to act as though they are feeling cold, by shivering and rubbing their arms. In the red corner they pretend that they are hot, puffing, and panting for example. After each story ask a number of children why they chose the red or the blue corner.Give the children a selection of different pictures showing a range of activities and have the children sort them (cut and stick activity), stick the activities that happen in hot weather on red paper and and the activities that happen in cold weather on blue paper.
I have also done a lesson similar to this before with more of a focus on clothing we wear in certain weather situations, once again carrying out a cut and stick activity to sort different types of clothes, learning songs/poems about hot/cold weather, getting a teddy bear ready for hot/cold weather or for different seasons.
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Lauren,
here is a direct YouTube link to that video:
https://youtu.be/CrKw2ysZUEo?si=BKTQCCbbQIgWWPLg
I like how you have linked the clothing that we wear in different weather conditions to the hot and cold theme.
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Activity Set: Where Do You Live?
I chose this activity as I feel its very hands on for the students in my class and very practical and a topic they can easily engage with as it is about their own homes.
I would begin with a matching task where we use parts of a house and match this onto a house template to create a house. I would ensure to use the labels for each part throughout such as roof, door etc. I would then sing a version of the song ‘This is the house that X built’ encorporating the children’s names.
Then we would look at the visuals of houses provided. Visuals are very important in my class as some of the students are preverbal. I would link with home here and ask parents to send me a photograph of the child’s own home. I would ask the child to identify through speech, pointing, AAC device their home. Then we would look at the images and see which house it is like. We would discuss colours and match which colour is their house. I would link it to my family and discuss who lives in my home.
Next using playdough or blocks (some children don’t like the texture of playdough), we would, with support build our houses. We would place these in our tuft tray to create Our Village. I would then give the children time to play with this as I interact with them. I believe play is so important to illicit knowledge from the children. For the children from a farming background I would encourage them to add farm animals. For the child who has a big garden we would add grass. For the child from an urban area we would add buses and traffic lights around their house.
We use our local area a lot so for our next lesson we would go for a walk around our local village and look at other buildings in our area. The local picnic area gives a great safe space to look around at nearby buildings. We would take pictures of local buildings such as the shop, restaurant etc and look at these where we get back to class. We would then add these to our village and again allow the children time to play with the ‘village’.
For our next lesson I would use the story The Three Little Pigs and examine the 3 types of materials they used to build houses. Then we could in small groups make houses from straw, wood, and lego blocks. Using teddies as the wolf we could try to blow the houses down and examine which material is the strongest for building houses.
For Art we could do varying art lessons to draw our houses. One student may paint their house, some may colour in a template of their house, others my use felt and crepe paper to stick together to make their house.
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To teach about weather while incorporating STEM, I would begin by discussing with the children the various types of weather we experience during different seasons. I would ask them questions to encourage their participation and draw out their observations.
Next, I would arrange four different coloured hula hoops on the floor, each representing a different season. I would gather various clothing items, and as a class, we would sort these clothes into the appropriate hula hoop corresponding to each season.
Following this, I would divide the children into small groups for an activity. Each group would receive a set of pictures depicting different seasons and various clothing items. They would work together to sort the clothing items to match the correct season.
Then, I would distribute whiteboards and markers to each child. They would individually design an item of clothing suitable for the current season, incorporating STEM concepts as they consider the functionality and material of the clothing.
To further enhance the activity, I would provide modelling dough so the children could create a 3D model of their clothing design. If time allows, we would finish with a talk and discussion show and tell session, where a few children could present their creations and explain why their designs are appropriate for the season.
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A resource I currently find very useful in my classroom with infants is the website http://www.sciencebuddies.org. If you go into the STEM Activities you can find some great hands on and child centred experiments around the theme of Space. An experiment my class particularly enjoyed doing last year was Launching home made baking soda rockets. Another good one is Build a paper rocket. I also find my Space themed Aistear corner a great way for children to learn lots of new vocabulary around the topic of Space as they get to participate in role play activities and they experience what it would be like to be an astronaut or to work in a space station.
A resource I’ve learned about through doing this course and I’m excited to use this coming year is the ESA kids website. It seems to be a very user friendly resource with lots of ideas how to capture the imagination of my students and encourage lots of quality learning in my classroom.
The games section will definitely be a huge hit with my senior infant pupils. I often think a game is a lovely way to conclude a lesson. Games I’m looking forward to trying out with my class are: Space clean up. I feel that this game will integrate nicely with the theme of recycling. Other fun looking games are Solar system Explorer, Spacecraft assemble and the Space memory games.
The learn section has lots of lovely lesson ideas such as The Universe, What is gravity? and Our nearest star. There are some great lesson plans for themes such as Day, night and the seasons and Why is Mars red? There are lots of fantastic downloadable activities and worksheets for the children to complete. I feel that this website is going to help make Space themed lessons much easier for me as the teacher to plan and much more enjoyable for my students.
I’m very impressed with the way the website has a Language section which translates the website into a number of different languages. This will be invaluable for children for whom English is not their first language.
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Hi Aoife,
I clicked into the website you suggested http://www.sciencebuddies.org and was immediately drawn in by the incredibly interesting STEM titles that I can actually imagine my previous class really loving such as Elephant Toothpaste/ Making Ice Cream in a Bag.
I always want to make science fun for the children and can sometimes become overwhelmed with programmes and curriculum objectives and school science plans (which don’t always help with integration) but this website has so many new ideas I had never seen before and makes the search for them so much easier. Instead of spending hours scouring through potential experiments online this website offers a great opportunity to pick out one very quickly and spend time productively preparing for and differentiating for the STEM activity. I have added the website to a science Symbaloo along with others suggested on this course. Symbaloo allows you to access all your links at the click of a button and ensures I won’t forget it come September.
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Stem School Self Evaluation:
As posts of responsibilities are now being restored, our school is lucky enough to now have a STEM co-ordinator. Our STEM policy is a work in progress but after this course it’ll be a great opportunity to share with my colleagues how we can improve access to free online resources such as Stellarium or Marvin and Milo. Like a lot of schools we have limited science equipment and is an issue for us to be noted in our self evaluation report.
We don’t engage with Space Week in October. So that is something we could in-corporate in our Improvement Plan.
As a school we often showcase our work in Irish or Literacy. So perhaps as a school we could showcase our practical work in science.
My school is based near the border and we definitely do take advantage of The Armagh Planetarium and W5 in Belfast when we plan educational tours for our pupils. That is to be noted and celebrated in our self evaluation report.
Using Aistear more to develop aspects of the STEM curriculum is something we could take on board also. -
The activity I have chosen is ESERO -where do you live?
I really liked this activity as it is a hands on learning experience for the children. It is an engaging way to further the students understanding of where they live in the world and where other peripheral live for example the other children in their class as this can be a challenging concept for children to understand. I also liked the many possibilities for integration this lesson has. This theme of where do you live could be linked across many different curricular areas for example in geography and history learning about the different types of Homes we all live in or different houses from the past.
I would begin this lesson by engaging the class in a group discussion about what their own house looks and asking questions such as what colour is your house? Does your house have a stairs ? I would also compare children’s answers for example okay so Tom’s house has an upstairs but Anna’s doesn’t etc to make the children aware of different types of houses. Then using the house worksheet in the ESERO lesson I would provide students with the different materials to create the house that looks the most like theirs on the worksheet. This activity is another great curricular link to art as the students are exploring different materials to build their house. To conclude the lesson I will ask the students to group their houses together and encourage the students to discuss what they see when all the houses are grouped together and look like where they live or is there some things missing from the village.-
Meadhbh,
I think the discussion could also be really interesting if they have visited anyone over the summer – is their house similar to other houses? If you are in a city school you might have children who live in flats, as well as the more suburban 3-bed semis or bungalows in the country.
Would you take a walk of the local area and look at the various styles of houses? Google streetview could do that if the weather is against you, or if you are very rural with only a few houses nearby.
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Animals In Cold Climates
To introduce the topic, I would read the story ‘ Little Polar Bear, Where Are You Going Lars? (Hans de Beer). This gives an opportunity to talk about different environments and introduce the idea about different animals and their adaptations due to a cold or hot climate.
Show the children some different animals that live in cold climates e.g. Artic Fox, Polar Bear, penguins. How have these animals adapted to the cold environment they live in ? e.g. Artic Fox (thickness of their fur, fur can change colour).
This short video about Polar Bears gives key facts about the Polar Bear and how they have adapted to their cold environment e.g. insulated by 10cms of fat, two layers of fur, a dense undercoat, black skin under their fur. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–xEE7K67Xo
A nice activity to finish with is the song ‘Polar Bear Pokey Song’ (a different take on the song Hokey Pokey song)
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One of the resources which I would use in my classroom is Stellarium. I think this would be an excellent lead on from some of the lessons about stars discussed in the last module.
I would teach about stars starting with a prompt like How to Catch a Star. I would ask the children to create an origami star as suggested by one participant in the forum and when completed I would hang them up in the classroom and discuss how many there are. We would then discuss if there are more or less stars in the sky, do we know how many stars are in the sky, would it be possible to count them.
Then I would tell the children we are going stargazing together. We would talk about what time we could go star gazing at and what we might bring. We would change the time on our clock to night time and get ready by putting on coats, bringing blankets, telescopes, binoculars etc.
I would make the classroom as dark as possible and ask the children to make the drama journey to outside at night time. I will get them sitting/ standing/lying as they wish and we will talk about how it is quieter at night. Why is that? Everyone is at home/ in bed etc.
I would then put on Stellarium and ask the children to discuss their observations of the sky. I would ask them if they think it looks exactly the same no matter where you are, would it be the same if we tried again a different day.
I would then ask the children to sketch the sky from their perspective and we would estimate how many stars we could see.
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The children will learn about various Arctic animals, their adaptations to the cold environment, and their roles in the ecosystem. The book: “Polar Animals” by Wade Cooper will be used as a resource for learning. Can you name an animal that lives in the Arctic? Why do you think they live there and not in Australia? Discuss the responses. Then show pictures and brief video clips of various Arctic animals (polar bears, Arctic foxes, seals, walruses, and snowy owls). Discuss key characteristics and adaptations: Polar Bears: Thick fur, fat layer, large paws. Arctic Foxes: White fur for camouflage, small ears. Seals: Blubber for warmth, streamlined bodies. Walruses: Tusks for breaking ice, blubber. Snowy Owls: White feathers, sharp talons. Use the map to show where the Arctic is located. Discuss how the extreme cold affects the animals and how they adapt to survive. Report Writing: The children will be asked to do further research on an Arctic animal of choice. They will be asked to include habitat, diet, adaptations and a fun fact. The children will present their reports to the class to share their interesting information and participate in question time to reflect on what they have learned.
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Topic chosen: Online Resources and Tools. I will be teaching Junior Infants for the upcoming year so I will look at how I can utilise these resources and tools for learning in the classroom.
Stellarium-web.org – I would use this resource to teach the class about the planets, stars and constellations. I would display various constellations on the whiteboard and the kids could try to recreate them using black paper and chalk, or use Nexus threading boards to map their shape.
Marvin and Milo – This can be used for a variety of fun and engaging science experiments. I would use the Do Try this at home resource to do activities such as the Magic Balloon and The Straw Gun to link to topics such as sound, forces and electricity.
ESA Education – I would use this website to spark the students curiosity and wonder for space exploration. I would use the games such as Space Cleanup and Solar System Explorer, and it could be used for story time also where we would explore stories relating to astronauts and space exploration.-
Catherine,
have you tried the Straw Gun or Magic Balloon . They are both suggested for ages 11-16 and look tricky enough to me. Would you adapt them for the children in your class?
They could be used as teacher demonstrations, to serve as the prompt for an inquiry, and then children could propose changes to the set up, make predictions about those changes and then check if that is what happens.
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I will use the ESERO activity Where Do You Live? with my Junior Infants class as it links really well with the Integrated Learning Through Play theme of My Home which we cover in September.
First, I will show the children some photos of homes on the whiteboard and point out details and ask them if they know what they are called, e.g roof, door, driveway. I’ll show them the painting The Yellow House by Van Gogh https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/children/van-gogh-colouring-pages/colouring-page-the-yellow-house and ask the children to describe the colour of their homes, are they on a street or in the countryside? The children will then work in small groups to describe what their own house looks like – what colour it is, is it detached or terraced, is it a house or apartment, is it a bungalow or two-story, does it have a garden etc. Then the children will use the ESERO activity sheet, drawing a circle round the house that looks most like the house they live in. Next, they will create a model of their house using recycled materials such as cardboard boxes and cards using their activity sheet as a reference. They will present their house to the class, explaining details and pointing out features e.g. roof, door etc. Their homes will be placed together to create a class village which will be displayed in class.
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Activity Set: Where do you Live and Weather.
This is aimed at the infant classes.
Introduction:
Discuss today’s weather. Discuss the clothes we are going to wear out to the yard at break time – are we going to wear our rain coats? Our warm, fluffy coats? Our sunglasses? Our sunhats? How do the clothes we wear tell us about the weather? Discuss as a class.
Activity A:
Children sit in a circle. Box of clothes in the middle of the circle. Pick out ½ children at a time and ask them to dress for hot/ cold/ wet/ dry weather. Other children speak about what they put on them and discuss what you might add to the outfit or change about the outfit. Next, get Child A to tell Child B what weather to dress for. Child B must dress themselves for this weather. The other children must guess what kind of weather Child A told to Child B. There is lots of fun ways to expand this activity.
Activity B:
Activity sheet. Colour the clothes you would wear on a hot, dry day red. Colour the clothes you would wear on a cold, wet day blue. Circle the clothes you could wear on both days.
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Clodagh, your lesson with the children dressing for the different weather is a fun and active lesson. The pupils are thinking about why they dress in different clothes instead of just ‘putting on’ what they are told to. It’s also very interactive and there’s lots of oral language learning going on with children having to communicate effectively about clothes and the weather.
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I would like to teach my first class children about hot and cold. I’ll prepare two ice cubes, identical small bowls, A3 sheets of white, blue, and red paper, name cards, and colouring pencils. I’ll draw a table on the white paper with columns labeled sun and shadow and hang the blue and red sheets on opposite sides of the classroom.
I’ll start by asking the children what the Sun looks like and when it’s visible. We’ll discuss why the Sun is important, and I’ll prompt them to respond to statements about the Sun, such as its size, light, and heat. This will help them understand key facts about the Sun.
Next, we’ll investigate whether it’s warmer in the sun than in the shade. I’ll place an ice cube in each bowl, one in the sun and the other in the shade, and observe which melts faster, showing that the Sun gives off heat.
Finally, we’ll discuss hot and cold using the blue and red sheets to represent these concepts. The children will colour pictures showing their understanding of the Sun’s heat.-
Conor,
This Hot and Cold activity from ESERO was originally planned for the youngest classes, with a 1st class you could use it as a prompt and then the children could take the next step by considering if other factors affect the speed with which an ice cube melts.
This could be connected to the concept of temperature, which appears in Science for 1st/2nd class.
• learn that temperature is a measurement of how hot something is
• measure and compare temperatures in different places in the classroom, school and environment.
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I will have junior infants this year and 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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Ciara,
the article: https://www.esa.int/kids/en/learn/Our_Universe/Planets_and_moons/The_Solar_System_and_its_planets
would be good background reading for an older class, and I love the poster and use it all the time.
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The activity set I would choose is Where Do you Live with first class.
I would begin by showing pictures of different types of homes found in Ireland on the IWB – semi detached, cottages, apartments, trailers etc. We would discuss similarities and differences among these. Pupils would pair up and talk about their homes, before sharing with the whole class.
Pupils would then be given the worksheet from the activity. They would pick the home that is most like theirs and colour it in.
Next the children would be given plasticine to make a model of their own house. They can refer to the worksheet previously worked on. Another option to plasticine would be to use pieces cardboard and cut out pieces of coloured card and paper. The children can make 2D models of their home using rectangles squares and triangles.
When finished, all of the homes can be put together on a large piece of card to create a village. The class would sit together to discuss what else we need in the village, what do we do here. Children could create the misding things like a school, library, shops, bakery playgrounds, fields to grow wheat and food. We would make a list of all things that make a village and name some of these in the local area.
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I have senior infants this year and I chose the ‘Animals in the cold’ lesson. The children. The children really enjoy this experiment as a we look at this topic when exploring winter. Polar animals are placed in water and frozen. During play time we would chose an area where the water would melt. Adding in the ‘Animals in the Cold’ lesson would add another dimension to our theme. To extend this activity, we would compare and contrast animals in the north/south pole and their opposite appearances. We would then use Vaseline to demonstrate how polar bears repel water. As an extension we would continue to ‘What clothes to wear’ lesson. The children could think about what materials would be repel water for those animals in the North Pole. Pupils would experiment and decide on a material that would be suitable as a waterproof coat for a teddy bear.
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Online resources and tools
There are many excellent online resources and tools that can make teaching science to primary school kids engaging and interactive.
One of the websites I have used in the past is the NASA kids club, not only does it show age based videos to children, it also has some interactive games and educational activities that compliment the learning. NASA also has an excellent YouTube channel for kids which explains missions and has videos of astronauts giving talks on astronaut life.
National Geographic also has lots of videos, games, and activities on a wide range of scientific topics including space.
The European Space Agency’s site for kids is excellent as it involves educational content about space missions and the universe.-
Luke,
I haven’t used Nasa Kids Club (is this it here: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-kids-club/) but love Nasa Space Place (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/).
National Geographic Kids is another that I am less familiar with: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/space where do you recommend to start?
From Nasa Space Place I have just written my own loopy story! I provided the italics words and the site put them into the frame.
Lights in the Night Sky
Last year I traveled so far north, I almost made it to the North Pole. It was so cold that I felt like a frozen pea! I camped in a big sewing machine and made sure to put a lot of paper on the fire to stay warm. One night, I looked up at the bright night sky and saw bright shiniest lights. There were streaks of pale yellow and bright purple. It looked like the colors were crying high in the sky. I thought that I must be bouncing I found out later that I was looking at the aurora borealis, a dark phenomenon that happens when children from the Sun collide with dogs in our atmosphere.
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This is lesson is planned as an ongoing lesson throughout the year observing weather and seasonal patterns
Introduction to Ireland’s Geography:
Show a map of Ireland.
Discuss Ireland’s location in the world (situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain).
Explain how its location affects its weather.
Understanding Weather:Explain what weather is (conditions like sunshine, rain, wind, and temperature at a particular time and place).
Introduce common weather terms: sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, snowy.
Ireland’s Climate:Explain that Ireland has a temperate maritime climate, meaning it generally has mild temperatures and is often wet and windy.
Describe the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) and how they affect the weather in Ireland.
Seasonal Weather Patterns:Spring (March to May): Milder temperatures, often wet.
Summer (June to August): Warmest season, but still rainy, average temperature around 15-20°C.
Autumn (September to November): Cooler, frequent rain and wind.
Winter (December to February): Coldest season, can be rainy or snowy, average temperature around 4-7°C.
Weather Symbols Activity:Show different weather symbols and what they represent.
Hand out coloring materials and ask students to color in different weather symbols.
Weather Diary:Give each student a weather diary template.
Explain how they will record the weather for one week, noting temperature, type of weather, and drawing the appropriate symbol.
Fun Facts about Irish Weather:Ireland can experience four seasons in one day.
The west of Ireland is typically wetter than the east.
Discuss how the Atlantic Ocean influences Ireland’s weather.
Interactive Discussion:Ask students to share their experiences with different types of weather.
Discuss how weather affects daily life (clothing, activities, etc.).
Conclusion:Recap the key points about Ireland’s weather.
Answer any remaining questions.
Activities:
Weather Map Coloring: Provide students with a blank map of Ireland and ask them to draw weather symbols where they think it’s usually wet, windy, sunny, etc.
Weather Diary: Each student will take home a weather diary template and fill it out over the week, then share their findings in the next class.
Assessment:
Participation in discussions and activities.
Completion and presentation of the weather diary.
Correct use of weather symbols and understanding of weather patterns.-
Orla,
I’m curious why you have referred to the rest of the world’s usage of seasons and which months are in which season.
Spring (March to May): Milder temperatures, often wet.
Summer (June to August): Warmest season, but still rainy, average temperature around 15-20°C.
Autumn (September to November): Cooler, frequent rain and wind.
Winter (December to February)When I moved here it took a bit of doing for me to learn that the first day of spring is St Brigid’s Day in February, but then it made sense that mid-summer is actually the middle of Summer. (so summer starts 1 May).
Weather diaries are suggested in the Science Curriculum for 1st/2nd class, as a topic where observations of gradual change over time can be made:
Skill: Observing: observe gradual changes in living things and familiar objects and events over a period
and observing weather can be linked to Materials in 1st/2nd with
become aware of and investigate the suitability of different kinds of clothes for variations in temperature.
And of course, appear as an explicit activity for Infants in Geography
record weather observations using a weather chart or diary
but the explanations behind ‘why the weather is as it is’ that are suitable for younger classes are much simpler than you have suggested
recognise that some weather patterns are associated with seasonal change and distinguish between summer and winter
In 5th and 6th class children would start to look at meteorological symbols and factors that influence weather patterns in Ireland.
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Online Resources and Tools
The Stellarium resource was something I really enjoyed looking at and one of those I can see being shared to colleagues throughout the school. It is a great resource for allowing students to see the real thing and get an idea of the constellations as they really appear in the night sky rather than in isolation. I can also see it being useful in allowing students to explore the night sky at home with family and then return to school to document their experience with the sky projected behind them.In addition to the above, the resource could also be used as a way to start children in creative writing exercises.
The Marvin and Milo resource looks brilliant in that it offers very kid friendly instructions that can be utilised as well as experiments that would be interesting and beneficial to learners. I feel the way it illustrates the experiments through a comic format is useful in that it helps you give learners that more independence and it also gives them another way to document their own observations.
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John,
Stellarium on a laptop is great outside. There is a little eye button that changes the display to be night sky friendly, so it can be taken outside and used on the spot for stargazing (no internet connection needed).
Of course, the user will have had to set their own location, but that is quite straight forward.
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I would like my school to focus on Science and STEM skills as areas for SSE.
1. It would be really good to gather information first by reviewing what is working well and prioritise areas for development. The teachers can complete surveys and a SCOT analysis. This would provide information on where development could take place, where CPD might be useful, attitudes towards Science and STEM. Teachers would be given the opportunity to reflect on what is working in their classrooms and within the school and offer suggestions on how it could be improved.2. A inventory of resources in the school could be taken and a wish list complied.
3. Pupils and parents could also be questioned on their attitudes to Science and STEM.
4. A Science team or committee could be created and they could look at results and analysis findings. The committee could report back to staff and Croke Park hours could be used to work on a whole school plan.
5. A self evaluation report would be completed detailing findings, areas prioritised, targets and reviews. A whole school approach would be implemented . The Self-Evaluation plan would be reviewed and monitored in the following year. CPD could be offered to staff in areas needing improvement.
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I choose the hands-on classroom themed activities for the activity set on where do you live?
To begin the lesson, I would show the children pictures of a variety of different homes and engage them in discussion about how the houses are different. I would be sure to incorporate the new vocabulary throughout this discussion. I would then ask the children to share what their houses look like. I would ask them how their houses are similar or different from the pictures of the houses. I would then engage the children in creating their homes using clay. I would then engage the children in painting their clay to look like their house.
As an extension activity, I would discuss with the children the facilities in the local area. I would also bring the children on a walk around the local area and would engage the children in creating the facilities in our local area in small.
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ASSIGNMENT
Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module:
Online resources and tools
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.In my school setting we use a lot of online resources and tools, especially as a majority of our lessons are beside. It’s great to have a toolkit on the ipad that can be easily transported. I use Mystery Science https://mysteryscience.com/ and SFI Declan Holmes youtube channel regularly.
I had not heard of Marvin and Milo before this course. I especially like that a lot of their activities are 15 minutes (this is a perfect amount of time for our students who can often get quite fatigued in hospital/school).
I like how visually appealing the Marvin and Milo comic strips are too, they are bright, engaging and the visual pictures of the characters are very appealing.
It would be nice to create grab and go type activity boxes for SSE. In the past we created grab and go Primary Science bags which were so handy and useful. It would nice to re create these boxes and to laminate the Marvin and Milo comic strip along with the instructions for the teacher or in a multiclass setting we could have the older child reading the instructions and collaboratively working with the younger child.
You could extend the lesson by having the children creating their own comin strip of their finding/ results using Canva or other comic strip generator websites -
ASSIGNMENT
Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module:
Online resources and tools
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.In my school setting we use a lot of online resources and tools, especially as a majority of our lessons are beside. It’s great to have a toolkit on the ipad that can be easily transported. I use Mystery Science https://mysteryscience.com/ and SFI Declan Holmes youtube channel regularly.
I had not heard of Marvin and Milo before this course. I especially like that a lot of their activities are 15 minutes (this is a perfect amount of time for our students who can often get quite fatigued in hospital/school).
I like how visually appealing the Marvin and Milo comic strips are too, they are bright, engaging and the visual pictures of the characters are very appealing.
It would be nice to create grab and go type activity boxes for SSE. In the past we created grab and go Primary Science bags which were so handy and useful. It would nice to re create these boxes and to laminate the Marvin and Milo comic strip along with the instructions for the teacher or in a multiclass setting we could have the older child reading the instructions and collaboratively working with the younger child.
You could extend the lesson by having the children creating their own comin strip of their finding/ results using Canva or other comic strip generator websites -
Online tools and resources:
Astronomy picture of the Day: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
I would use the astronomy picture of the day as a stimulus to many discussions across the curriculum. Of course, we could talk about what we see in the picture- what do we recognise / what’s new? I would also use it in Art. We would discuss the colours and details. In English, I would use the visual as prompt for free writing. I will ‘bookmark’ the site on my whiteboard when I return in September so that it is easily accessible.Marvin and Milo: I would use this resource in the younger classes. I think it is engaging and age-appropriate; making the content accessible. Sometimes I find I underestimate the younger classes for fear of overloading them with information! I also love the ‘Do Try This At Home’ message! I think sending a topic link home instead of homework every so often would be very beneficial and enjoyable.
Esa kids: I will be looking at downloading the app onto our classroom devices in September. It is free to download and available in 14 languages, making it inclusive to our EAL students. I think it would aid itself as a good independent learning station.
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In my classroom, I would use the “Hot and Cold” activity to help students understand how temperature varies in different environments. We would start by discussing the concepts of hot and cold, and then perform an experiment where we place ice cubes in various locations like in direct sunlight and in the shade to see how they melt.
Students would record their observations, noting how long it takes for the ice cubes to melt in each place. This hands-on activity will make learning about temperature fun and engaging, and it will help students understand the effects of sunlight and shade. We will also talk about fair testing by keeping the size of the ice cubes and the starting time the same for each experiment.
To enhance the learning experience, I will integrate this activity into a larger unit on weather and climate, including more experiments and observations. Using digital tools like Stellarium, students will visualise and understand the Sun’s position and its impact on Earth’s temperature. This combination of hands-on experiments and digital resources will create an engaging and comprehensive learning experience for my class.
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By incorporating the “Weather- Animals in the Cold” activity into my classroom offers a wonderful hands-on learning experience for 2nd class students. This activity allows them to explore how different animals may adapt to cold weather, providing an engaging approach to understanding biology and environmental science.
To start, I would create a mini-lab in the classroom with various stations. Each station would represent a different animal and its unique adaptation to cold weather. For example, one station might focus on polar bears and their thick fur, another on penguins and their blubber, and a third on hibernation practices of bears. I would include materials like faux fur, images, and simple experiments, such as using a “blubber glove” (a plastic bag filled with coconut oil) to simulate how blubber insulates animals in icy waters.
Students would rotate through the stations, engaging in discussions, touching materials, and conducting small experiments. This hands-on approach ensures that they are not just passively receiving information but actively participating in their learning process.
Reflecting on this activity, I realize it fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and teamwork among students. They learn to ask questions and understand the real-world applications of their studies. Moreover, it highlights the importance of environmental awareness and the incredible adaptability of wildlife, potentially sparking a lifelong interest in science and nature conservation.
Integrating such activities into the classroom may enrich the learning experience, making education both fun and impactful for young minds.
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Laura,
There is an outline of the blubber glove here: https://greenschoolsireland.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Green-Schools_Blubber-Experiment.pdf
I’ve only seen it made with solid fat, how well does the coconut oil version work? I’m not familiar with coconut oil, but it seems to be a solid up to 25 degrees, so wouldn’t it melt when hands touch it?
Would you share the Inquiry Framework that we discussed in Module 1 as you structured the stations? The scenarios can act as prompts, and the children should be encouraged to ask their own questions, make predictions based on their understanding and then carry out their investigation.
So blubber glove station could have instructions on how to make a blubber glove, but the children can explore for themselves if:
1. Does thicker blubber mean my hand can last longer in the cold water?
2. Does thicker blubber make it harder for my hand to move (they’d have to work out how to measure this)
3. Does vergetable shortening blubber work as well as coconut oil blubber…
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Laura,
could you check permissions please?
If someone gave you a link to this diagram they might also need to give you permission to view it.
I’ve circled where you can set the sharing on a sample coggle
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Using on the ESERO 7 resource, I would base a hands-on STEM activity focused on animals in cold environments. Students can explore how these animals survive in freezing temperatures. They’ll start by learning about different adaptations like blubber, thick fur, and hibernation that help animals such as polar bears, seals, and penguins stay warm in icy conditions (science). To bring these concepts to life, students will conduct an experiment by simulating blubber using a plastic bag filled with fat/ vasoline. They’ll place their hands inside the “blubber” and dip them into ice-cold water to feel how this insulation helps protect animals from the cold (technology and engineering). After the experiment, students will measure and compare the time they can comfortably keep their hands in the water with and without the blubber (math). Following this, they can discuss how these adaptations are crucial for survival in harsh environments. This activity not only teaches students about animal adaptations in a detailed and engaging way, but it also allows them to experience the effects first-hand through a memorable, interactive experiment.
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Pamela.
Green Schools has an outline of Blubber Glove that might be useful here.
I’d consider enhancing this ‘task outline’ with the children’s own questions to bring it into an inquiry learning format as outline in the Framework for Inquiry.
They might look at the thickness of the blubber for warmth, or the material that the blubber is made of, or if smaller hands stay warmer for longer vs larger hands in blubber etc.
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Hi Pamela! Your hands-on STEM activity is a great approach to teaching animal adaptations in cold environments. Simulating blubber with Vaseline is a creative way to make it tangible. I have also incorporated a similar activity in my forum post inspired by the ESERO activities. It is wonderful to see how we can bring science to life in our classrooms! Wishing you all the best for the upcoming academic year.
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Incorporating the ESERO 7 and ESERO 11 activities into the classroom is an excellent way to support inquiry-based learning. I would start by tapping into the children’s prior knowledge about weather and cold environments. I’d ask questions like “What do you know about cold weather?” and “Can you name any movies set in the North or South Poles?” This approach helps connect their existing knowledge with new concepts.
For the ESERO 7 activity, we would explore how polar bears and penguins survive in cold environments through inquiry-based questioning. Using questions such as,“How do you think polar bears and penguins stay warm?” and “What do they have that helps them survive the cold?” By experimenting with Vaseline to simulate the insulating layer on their fur or feathers, the children can investigate how this protective layer works. This hands-on experiment encourages them to develop a deeper awareness of thermal protection.
Encouraging students to compare adaptations between polar bears and penguins, like their white colouring for camouflage helps deepen their understanding. I would ask guiding questions such as “What do you notice about the two animals that is the same?” and “What else helps them to survive?” This promotes critical thinking and helps them draw connections between different adaptations.
In the ESERO 11 activity, I would further this inquiry approach by having the children explore and design their own coats. I’d guide them with questions like, “What features do you think are important for a coat in different weather conditions?” and “How do materials affect warmth?” This encourages them to apply their understanding of insulation and adaptation in a practical way.
Finally, linking to ESERO 12, we would explore how sunlight affects temperature. Questions like, “Is it always warmer in the sun?” and “How does sunlight impact an ice cube?” would prompt students to investigate the relationship between light, heat and temperature. This inquiry-based exploration helps solidify their understanding of how different factors influence warmth and insulation.-
Katie,
encouraging the children to compare and contrast is a great way to start an inquiry process. It can serve as the prompt and the wondering of the initial engagement.
To fully incorporate inquiry science learning the children should go to asking testable questions based on their understanding to deepen and confirm their mental models.
So, if the children have noticed that the polar bears are white and the front of penguins are white, (and they might think this is because ‘white colouring for camouflage’) they might carry out an simple research activity to find images of animals in the arctic regions and classify them by colour.
https://www.activewild.com/arctic-animals-list/
They could predict that there will be more white animals than non-white animals. Then, they check the list and see if they are right.
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There are truly many Online Resources that are accessible and suitable for the Infant classroom that I am very excited to share with my colleagues and make use of in the coming school year.
I really love the Astronomy picture of the Day as I think this opens up oral language discussion and awareness of the pupils of a lace within and beyond them. I think these pictures could be used in conjunction with music to do some creative writing work.
The characters of Marvin and Milo look super friendly to the Infant room. (My own 3 year old loved these when I was looking at them!!) I thought the spinning egg challenge was really cool and the Magic Balloon one. I also think that we could use just the characters themselves as a starting point for drama activities based on certain space topics.
I think ESA kids could be invaluable for planning and also for station teaching – the children could play games independently.
Linking in with the previous module I think Stellarium would be fabulous for lessons on stars. -
I think the online tools and resources are so useful for engaging the children and creating powerful learning experiences.
I would love to use some of the following online resources:
Marvin and Milo: Cartoon storyboards – visual and engaging for children to read and explore. A great selection of useful activities – prior questioning/ predicting results really important to expand learning and understanding. Questioning the class and discussion of results. Very clear and printable resource that is engaging for the children and allows for hands-on stem based inquiry and learning.
Another resource I really liked and hadn’t heard of was the astronomy picture of the day. This is a great way to engage the children in meaningful discussions about what they can observe in the picture. Great for embedding new language and for posing a question/ problem and letting the children explore. It can be a great stimulus to start a topic with. A sort of ‘maths eyes’ idea but for science!
ESA Kids:
Fun and engaging. The children can access a virtual tour exploring the planets. Great downloadable resources and worksheets to use in the classroom. This website is very engaging, and great for opening up discussions, researching facts etc.
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As teachers, it’s our responsibility to help children understand the weather and how it affects their daily lives, including what they should wear. I believe that teaching about weather should be engaging and hands-on. I would introduce basic concepts like temperature, precipitation, and wind through interactive activities, such as creating simple weather charts or conducting small experiments.
I would then incorporate storytelling, using the book ‘Look at the Weather’ where weather plays a central role, which can also make these lessons relatable. This could also be linked with sphe and how weather can contribute to our feelings.
When it comes to clothing, I’d emphasize the connection between weather conditions and what to wear. For instance, on a rainy day, I’d talk about the importance of wearing waterproof clothing and explain why layers are important on cold days. Encouraging kids to observe and discuss the weather daily can help them develop an understanding of how to dress accordingly. By making it fun and interactive, I hope to instill practical knowledge they’ll use every day.
We could then design clothing for a teddy bear, allowing the students to choose what type of weather and what type of clothing would be suitable for that weather. This would contribute to STEM, through, design, , exploring and making.
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I would really like to try the online resources covered in this module in my own school. The Stellarium app and website are such a great resources and I’m already hooked on using the stellarium app myself at night! I think it would be a really useful tool during winter. By changing the time on the app or webpage, you could give the children an idea of what they might be able to see in the evening before bed. I have used the ESA websites a lot with the children in my school and even have my own Paxi teddy that comes to visit each class when learning about space. The infants particularly love watching the Paxi videos. I have never used the Marvin and Milo activities and I would love to try some of their experiments with the children. The images are really lovely and would be lovely to try with parents who may come in to help during science week or space week.
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You have a Paxi! how great.
Stellarium is a really powerful tool, and I’m glad you’re hooked on it. If you are really hooked email me at bco (frances.mccarthy@bco.ie) and I’ll send you the files for Ballycroy Co Mayo landscape and the landscape for Newgrange.
You can then install them on your own version following this guide: https://stellarium.org/en/landscapes.html
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1. Marvin and Milo Cartoon: I would use the Marvin and Milo cartoon to introduce concepts in science and space in a fun, engaging way. The animated adventures of Marvin and Milo can spark students’ curiosity about the universe, making complex ideas accessible through storytelling, humor, and relatable characters.
2. ESA Space for Kids: The ESA Space for Kids website offers interactive games and informative content related to space exploration. I would incorporate it into lesson plans to provide students with hands-on learning experiences. Activities such as quizzes and craft projects can enhance their understanding of space missions, planets, and astronauts, fostering a love for STEM.
3. Astronomy Picture of the Day: Each day, I would present the Astronomy Picture of the Day to the class as a visual stimulus for discussions. We could explore the featured image, delve into its scientific significance, and encourage creative responses through writing or art. This resource would help students appreciate the beauty and vastness of the universe
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1. Marvin and Milo Cartoon: I would use the Marvin and Milo cartoon to introduce concepts in science and space in a fun, engaging way. The animated adventures of Marvin and Milo can spark students’ curiosity about the universe, making complex ideas accessible through storytelling, humour, and relatable characters.
2. ESA Space for Kids: The ESA Space for Kids website offers interactive games and informative content related to space exploration. I would incorporate it into lesson plans to provide students with hands-on learning experiences. Activities such as quizzes and craft projects can enhance their understanding of space missions, planets, and astronauts, fostering a love for STEM.
3. Astronomy Picture of the Day: Each day, I would present the Astronomy Picture of the Day to the class as a visual stimulus for discussions. We could explore the featured image, delve into its scientific significance, and encourage creative responses through writing or art. This resource would help students appreciate the beauty and vastness of the universe
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Hi,
I think the availability of engaging and supportive online resources and tools are a fantastic resource for any teacher to have and use to support their daily teaching. With my junior infant class in mind having looked at this and previous Modules, I would definitely utilise the following resoruces in the next coming school year.
1. Marvin and Milo
These two adorable cartoon characters can capture the audience of young children. They demonstrate how much fun science and learning about science can be. Their experiments are really child friendly and can easily be carried out by younger children with the help of their teacher
2. ESO.org
This website have ample stunning images of all things space related. These images would relate to children of all ages. They are a great starting discussion point for any space related lesson or can be used to support a lesson. An art could be made even more exciting with the inclusion of some of these images.
Thanks Michelle
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Michelle,
Marvin and Milo are great – after a bit of hunting I found that you can search by age:
Unfortunately it only returns one page of activities.
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Activity: Where we live
Houses and Homes
Year Level: Senior Infants
1.Start the lesson with a picture of different houses from around the world, some quirky homes like the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna or the transparent house in Japan.
2. Show pictures of the homes we live in in Dublin:
– apartments/Flats
– Semi-Detached
– Detached
– Cottage/bugalow
3. Distribute marla/playdough and ask the children to create their own homes with features such as windows/flat roofs etc.
4. children sit in a group and talk about their house and it’s feautures.
5. Ask the children to group all the houses together and show that we live in a village/community/town. Ask them to think of what other buildings are missing, scaffold their discussions by talking about the things we need to live, food to buy etc requires shops/bakeries, schools and roads are also needed. Children can create these additional buildings and add them to the ‘village’. Village could be arranged on the class ‘tuff tray’ for future work in drama/art/oral language development.
6. End the lesson with a song such as ‘gonna build a house’.
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As I teach infants the hands on activities resonated with my the most. The sorting dress-up box circle activity is one that I truly enjoy. In my opinion, this would work well as an Aistear station for packing suitcases and designing Teddy’s holiday wardrobe.
I would start by talking about the weather that day and your reasons for choosing why or why not the pupils brought a coat, hat, gloves, or other items. After that, we would do the colouring activity that was described, each group would be given a season to focus on. I would then ask the various groups to show and describe each of their pictures individually. After that, everyone in the class would discuss the seasons, the memories we have of each, and the climates of each.
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Online Tools:
I’m a bit embarrassed to say that most of the online tools shared in this course I have never seen before. They are going to add so much to my teaching and ultimately the learning of the children.
I spent a long time exploring this. It is an amazing online tool. I personally learnt a great deal from it so I know the children will be mesmerised by it. It definitely requires teacher led work, but there is great scope of investigation and exploring and ultimately learning by doing.
https://spark.iop.org/collections/marvin-and-milo
Milo and Marvin I adore this idea. I think the do this at home concept sparks the children’s imagination straight away. I know many of the children I taught last year would have been obsessed with these tasks. They are child friendly with so much scientific skills learning embedded.https://www.esa.int/kids/en/home
https://www.esa.int/Education/Teachers_Corner/Primary_classroom_resourcesThere are an abundance of space related art and crafts lesson ideas on the esa kids page. I will be encouraging my children to partake in the ‘A Ride to Space’ art competition. There is so much content on these websites.
Curious Minds: I cannot wait to spend time exploring this website in detail and planning learning for the next academic year.
UNAWE:
The pdf and education material available to download on this website is enormous. There is so much good content and I will be sharing the universe in a box download with my colleagues.
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Laura,
If you haven’t used the Curious Minds site before, do start with the Planning Guide. It links the Science curriculum to the activities and is a great way to bring in a relevant activity to your planned schedule.
There is also whole school CPD that you might check if your colleagues would like — it is based very much on Curious Minds and ESERO resources.
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Activity : where do you live – Esero 5.
I liked the lesson where do you live and would try it with my junior infant class next year. I liked the idea of providing the children with images of houses as a starting point following a dicusiion on what a home is. Some preparation could be stories like the three little pigs.
Once the children have chosen a house we could discuss why the house needs certain features to provide shelter in the weather.
As a follow up activity children will make 3d models. I will have a lego table, a playdough table, a table with blocks and art materials as a prompt but children they will be free to use whatever they want.
I like the idea of using a simplified version of this lesson https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/edu/PR37_Moon_shelter.pdf
I think it would be fun to extend the theme by coming up with ideas for shelter on the moon. -
I really liked the activity set for Where Do You Live? and it’s suitable to all the junior classrooms. I will be trying it out with my second class this year.
I would start by discussing and exploring different types of homes such as apartments/Flats, Semi-Detached, Detached, Cottage/bungalows and caravans or mobile homes. The students would then describe what their home looks like, sharing details about its shape, colour, and size.
Following the discussion, students would be given clay/playdough, or air dough (whatever is readily available to the school) to build a model of their own house. As a final step, we would bring all the models together to create a village of houses, which would be proudly displayed in the classroom.
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Erika,
I agree with you about the suitability – when I have shared the activity with teachers the infants teachers really loved it, but I always thought it was great for 2nd class. They can really design and make the houses, and match to the actual appearance of their chosen house. I like your emphasis on shape, colour and size and this could be an introduction to scale.
What happens if the house you make is twice as big as the house another child makes — is it really twice as big in reality, or did you use different scales?
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I really enjoyed this module and life had a very beneficial and very practical. There was lots of great ideas that I will definitely be using in the future in my classroom.
The activity I have chosen to discuss is the weather.I would first discuss with the children’s different types of Weather that we have here in Ireland what is most common least common et cetera? I would then gain the prayer knowledge from different climate such as Spain or Portugal. We would create a weather chart and we would monitor the weather over a number of days and count how many times it might rain or be sunny during a week or two week. The children would then use this activity to create a seasonal chart displayed a different types of Weather that we would normally see in each season and I would coordinate this along with learning the seasons and the months of the year. Science activity the children would investigate the best types of materials to wear in cold, rainy and hot seasons. We would use the welly experiment to decide which material would keep our feet dry when it is raining.
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Claire,
would you run the weather chart all year? I think it would take more than a week or two to see different seasons.
Which season dates would you teach? I have learnt to use the Irish ones since I have lived here, and it bugs me (a bit) that Met Eireann don’t!
https://www.met.ie/meteorological-spring-begins-wednesday-1st-march-2023
I like how they state:
Is it 1st March or the Vernal Equinox or St Brigid’s Day the start of Spring?
In Ireland, it’s all of them.
While the first day of meteorological spring is 1st March each year.
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I really liked the “Animals in the Cold” lesson and would incorporate sensory play by placing penguins and polar bears in water and freezing them. I would set up these animals on a tuff tray and using water spray/water bottles, little tools the children would free the animals. We would then play with the animals as small world play and these could be two aistear stations. I think this would also be a good lead in to teaching about weather and on a very basic level lead the conversation in the direction of the ice caps melting.
On a separate note I absolutely love Astronomy picture of the day and have done for years since my uncle introduced me to it. I never thought about using it in the classroom!
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Activity: Animals in the cold (Climate)
This lesson will teach the children about different types of weather and they will learn the characteristics of animals living in cold environments.
Begin by asking 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.
Story: The Emporer’s Egg by Martin Waddell. Discuss the story with focus on the climate and how did the Daddy Penguin keep the egg warm for the Winter?
Show them the photographs of the polar bear and the penguin. 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.
Art Activity- Make a 3d Penguin
Extension- To further enhance the STEM experience for SSE invite a guest speaker from Dublin zoo or MET Eireann who are experts in Climates/ animals who live in cold climate to do a video call or come and talk to the children. Have the children prepare their own questions for the guest speaker.
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Aoife,
thanks for the book recommendation. I’m not familiar with it, but see that Cork County Council Library service has it as one of their borrowable books:
The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins – 10 copies
Can you imagine being a male emperor penguin and standing around in the freezing cold with an egg on your feet for two months. Welcome to the story of the world’s most devoted dad!There are Humboldt Penguins at Fota, and Fota shared this workbook with images about them: https://www.fotawildlife.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HumboldtPenguinWorkbook.pdf
Interestingly – none of the adaptations they list are to do with being in a cold climate!
Reading about the Penguins at Fota, I discovered that there are penguins on the Galapagos, which is at the equator. This could be very interesting ‘next step’ as the children test how a penguin might be different in a much warmer climate.
https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/galapagos-penguin-facts/
In the discussion that you propose, would their be the opportunity for the children to test their ideas? They might wonder how thick fur or feathers can help keep something that is warm warm, or something that is cold, cold. They could try changing number of layers of a jumper around their hand and does their hand stay warm?
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Space themed lesson – as a starting point reading the story of ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ or ‘The Super Smelly Alien’. A sensory activity afterwards to make their own play-doh or moon sand. Create their own space station in their groups providing them with black paper and tinfoil. Numeracy ideas could be to record the number of launches, blast off and space missions that have taken place. They could also count the number of aliens they meet and number of days that they have been in space. Literacy could be incorporated by writing or drawing a flight plan, a launching checklist or control panel instructions. Visual arts can be incorporated using a directed drawing video on aliens from you tube or making their own alien spaceships using paper plates and a small clear container. For PE, they could make up their own alien dance – respond to music and move like an alien.
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In teaching about weather and appropriate clothing for different seasons, I would use a weather activity set. We’d begin by discussing the different seasons, focusing on the variations between hot and cold weather. This would lead to a conversation about what types of clothing are best suited for each season, emphasizing why we need warm clothing during colder months. To deepen their understanding, we’d conduct a science experiment called “Waterproofing Test.” In this experiment, students would test various materials such as cotton, plastic, wool, and rubber to see which one repels water the best. They would drop water on each material and observe which stays dry. This hands-on activity would help students understand the importance of waterproof and warm clothing in wet and cold weather. The experiment would connect how different materials function in protecting us from different weather conditions, helping them choose the right clothes for various environments
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<li style=”text-align: center;”>Hi Mikey Ive done a similar activity before with Junior infants we also brought in real clothes and sorted them by season. Looked at what the clothes were made from and why some are good at keeping you warm and some at keeping you cool. The children loved it and it’s a great hand on activity. It’s definitely can be adapted to suit the classes age.
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Assignment:
Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module:
Online resources and tools or
Hands-on classroom themed activities
How would you use the activity in your classroom?Online Resources and Tools
Marvin and Milo Cartoons:
I think the Marvin and Milo cartoons are great. super resource, I particularly like the cat and dog team and think that the children would like it too. The ‘Do try this at home’ motto is great as it gives the children a takeaway and something to try and further develop learning. The huge amount of episodes available is great too! I envisage linking in with teaching space by trying out the investigations relating to properties of matter, forces and motion and earth and space by including :Alka-Seltzer Rocket, Wobbly Stick, Bouncing Balls, Homemade Sunset, Festive Star, Spinning Rocket, Anti-Gravity Maltesers and Falling Bubbles. -
Hands-on Activity: Mini-Ecosystem
Create miniature ecosystems in clear plastic bottles. Students fill bottles with soil, plants, and small creatures like worms or insects. This activity fosters observation, care, and understanding of ecosystems. It’s a perfect introduction to biology and environmental science.
Classroom Integration: Use this activity to explore habitats, food chains, and the importance of balance. Encourage students to record observations, measure growth, and discuss changes.
STEM Focus: Expand on this by introducing variables (light, water, temperature) and conducting experiments. Explore engineering by designing and building terrariums. Introduce data collection and analysis, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving.
Further steps include inviting experts to speak about local ecosystems and trips to natural environments.
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Roisin,
this strikes me as a bit high-level for a junior class. Food chains appear as a curricular item for 3rd/4th class in Living Things/Plant and Animal Life and again in 5th and 6th class.
With support a younger class might look at seeds and what they need to start growing, or look at plant and how it responds to light (both curricular items for 1st/2nd class), but I think a full ecosystem would be better left to second level.
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Online resources and tools:
A few of the online resources I would use would be ESA UNAWE and the Astronomy Picture of the Day to introduce lessons and topics.
I would also use them so the pupils could explore the interactive games and enhance their learning further.
The Constellation art button and Stellarium that other participants mentioned would also be something that my class would definitely enjoy- and I look forward to using them in the future and I think they provide a great link to art.
I also like the idea of using Milo and Marvin to introduce aliens in an imaginative way.
The variety of online resources mentioned in the module is great- very varied and provides a lot of different learning opportunities so I will definitely be implementing them in the coming school year. I also did not know about Blackrock observatory-what a great local asset to have- as a teacher in Dublin
On a different note, we do a space theme in Aistear like some of the other participants and it works wonderfully each year. There have been some great comments and tips further up the module regarding Aistear- thank you for sharing.
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Aisling,
the Marvin and Milo cat and dog are an engaging pair of characters. I’m not sure where their connection to aliens has come from though.
We do get some schools contacting us thinking that we are in the Blackrock in Dublin, and have to tell them that we are in Cork. This is an issue particularly with our StarDome, since the distance to Dublin is just too much for us to get up and back in day.
Frances and I were in Dublin with the StarDome at Science Blast in 2023. Lots of fun, but long long days with a lot of young people.
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Sorry Danielle- I meant books not Marvin and Milo! I think someone had mentioned that they used Aliens Love Underpants or The Super Smelly Alien as a starting point which I really like the idea of. Apologies, I had been reading through all the wondaful suggestions here and must have had Marvin and Milo on the brain 🙂 Freudian slip
Ah thank you for clarifying re Blackrock- I was wondering why I wasn’t aware of it from my own school experience. I’ll have to keep an eye our for ye again if ye are up in Dublin at any stage.
Thanks Danielle
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I think the ESERO lesson ‘what clothes to wear’ can be integrated through so many lessons during a school week. Weather is always an interesting topic and because we live in Ireland, our children have experienced all sorts of changing weather. I always like to set up a little washing line in my classroom of the different types of clothes we wear for each changing season. This can also be taught through Irish with the topic of éadaí being popular with children. I particularly liked the section of this activity called ‘Rain, wind and storm story.’ There is another great music lesson using body percussion which I love teaching where the kids make a rainstorm using their hands and feet and bodies which could follow on from this story. There’s so much you can integrate from one simple theme. I think I would use the Curious Minds – Investigating children’s coats as a follow up lesson after the ESERO one is understood.
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Online tools and resources
Use ESA Kids’ website for videos, interactive games, and printable resources. There are lots of visual aids like pictures, videos, and models to keep the children engaged.
Parents can encouraged to visit the ESA Kids website with their children at home by send home a QR code or note with site details.
Through this site the class can cearn about Earth observation from space and why it is important.
Earth Observation Game: Use an interactive game from ESA Kids that shows Earth from space.
Mapping Activity: Children can create a simple map of the Earth as seen from space.
Class can have a discussion on how satellites help us protect the environment (e.g., monitoring deforestation, climate change).
Another great lesson from this allowd the children to learn and understand what it’s like to live in space and how astronauts adapt to the space environment.
Teacger can Show a video from ESA Kids on how astronauts eat, sleep, and live on the ISS.
Class Discussion where children Talk about how life in space is different from life on Earth.
Have children role-play different daily activities as if they were in space (e.g., floating, eating food from a pouch, drinking, sleeping etc.
Here are some ideas from the UNAWE (Universe Awareness) international educational programmr which introduces young children, to the wonders of the universe. The site allows the teacher to create engaging, age-appropriate activities that spark their interest in astronomy and science. For example
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Constellation Art would be a lovy way to introduce the concept of simple constellations
The class can Use star stickers or glitter to create constellations on black construction paper. Teacher can first show them famous constellations like the Big Dipper and then let them create their own. This could be an open medium activiity where the class could choose their own method of representation of the constellationsSpace-Themed Show and Tell where the class can explore a space-related topic of their choice. Each child will bring in an item related to space (a book, a model, a toy) and shares why they think it is interesting.
Rocket Launch Simulation is a fun way to learn about rockets and space travel. The chilren will create simple paper rockets and have a “launch day” where students “launch” their rockets by blowing through straws or using bottles. Discuss how rockets work and what they are used for.Another site that had many great resourse for children parents and educators I discovered was https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/. It was very user friendly too.
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I will use the curious Minds Planning for Teachers as I feel it’s a great resource to start developing STEM skills within my classroom. As this area is developing in our school having these resource to teaching skills Science skills both working scientifically and designing and making are essential. It also gave me a deeper awareness of the process of SSE in the school and how a STEM improvement plan work in a real life setting. I feel I will use drawing as a method of assessment for young children and the UNAWE documents on how evaluation may be carried out about space learning for these young children is a fantastic resource available. A lesson I will be sure to use with my class this year is the ‘ Real Spacesuit Space Technology’ lesson from curious minds.ie. This is a great lesson for Junior classes and a good introduction to science and encouraging a love of STEM in children. I enjoyed the lesson ideas on What clothes to wear from Esero resources . It was a very hands on lesson which the junior classes would really enjoy. The rain wind and storm story would be a great opportunity for cross curricular links to drama.
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Jennifer,
the Planning Guide has been designed to make it easy for teachers to connect their curricular objectives with the resources from Curious Minds, so I am glad to see that you feel you can use it to support the children’s learning.
The Framework for Inquiry also supports the development of science skills, both the ‘standard ones’ and the ‘design and make’ approach.
We’ve also found drawing a super method of engaging with very young children, although quantifying it can be tricky. It can definitely be used to track progress if different colours are used.
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Here are the steps I would take towards a STEM focused SSE.
1. Assessment of Current Practices:
Evaluate current teaching practices and resources to identify areas where STEM integration can be enhanced.
Gather feedback from students and teachers on their experiences with STEM activities and identify gaps in knowledge or resources.2. Professional Development:
Provide training for teachers on how to effectively implement hands-on STEM activities in the classroom.
Encourage collaboration among teachers to share best practices and resources.3. Curriculum Integration:
Ensure that hands-on STEM activities align with the curriculum and cover key learning objectives.
Integrate STEM activities across subjects to provide a more holistic and interdisciplinary approach to learning.4. Student Engagement:
Use activities like the balloon-powered car project to increase student engagement and interest in STEM subjects.
Encourage student-led projects where they can explore their own ideas and solutions to real-world problems.5. Continuous Monitoring and Feedback:
Regularly assess the impact of hands-on STEM activities on student learning outcomes.
Use feedback from the SSE process to make continuous improvements, ensuring that STEM education is both effective and engaging.By implementing hands-on STEM activities and following through with a focused SSE process, the school can foster a culture of inquiry, experimentation, and innovation that supports students’ development of essential scientific skills.
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Leeanne,
Curious Mind has offered whole school CPD for a number of years, has your school availed of it?
You can sign up for 3 by 2 hour sessions, with a face to face facilitator (if one is available in your area) or online.
Schools have reported these to have a significant impact on teacher confidence and children’s Science learning.
https://www.sfi.ie/engagement/curious-minds/professional-development-for-teachers/
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Starting with an assessment of current practices is crucial, as it sets the foundation for identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement. By focusing on professional development, you’re ensuring that teachers are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively deliver STEM education, which is essential for creating an engaging learning environment. Integrating STEM activities across the curriculum promotes interdisciplinary learning, making STEM subjects more relevant and accessible to students. The emphasis on student engagement through projects like the balloon-powered car is excellent, as hands-on activities are key to sparking interest and encouraging creative problem-solving. Finally, your commitment to continuous monitoring and feedback will help refine and enhance the STEM initiatives over time, ensuring they remain effective and aligned with student needs. This approach should significantly enhance the quality of STEM education in your school.
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I have used a number of hands-on classroom activities in the last few years with Infants regarding weather and the different clothes you would wear for various conditions.
· Geography/ Science: We began the topic by discussing different types of weather. Following this, I showed the children clips of weather forecasts. We brainstormed and highlighted different words the weather forecaster had used to describe the weather on the whiteboard. I split the group into groups and they created their own weather forecasts for the class and acted them out. We discussed our favourite weather and what we would wear for this type of weather.
· Science: Another activity I used before was a cutting activity where the children had to match the correct clothes to the correct picture of a certain type of weather. We discussed as a class why they chose this and what the words we can use to describe the weather in question.
· Aistear: The children loved using the rain-themed sensory table in Aistear. The children love playing with water. I put plastic animals and figurines into the water with strainers and colander’s. The children used the strainers to make rain.
· Visual Arts: The children loved making their own kites using paper plates. With support the children cut the centre of the paper plate out. They designed their own paper plate with paint. Once it was dry they stuck a number of colourful ribbons on one side of the paper plate with sellotape. We then stuck a long dowel to the end of the paper plate with masking tape. The children loved bringing these out to the school yard to see their kite ribbons blowing in the wind as they ran around the playground.
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The activity set “Where do you live?” provides many lesson ideas to explore a broader integrated theme of homes with young children. A thematic approach incorporating the theme Sa Bhaile, science, geography, art, global citizenship and global goals could be explored over a couple of weeks.
in my role as link teacher for the Junior Infants I think there are many opportunities to explore this theme through play and in language groups.
Describing a home/house/ shelter using a selection of pictures from different sources could be used to initiate conversation. I have kept all the Trócaire Lenten photo packs that were provided over a number of years and they are great for exploring this theme as well as the UNICEF book “ A life like mine” helps young children to understand what it means to have a shelter.
This could be further explored through play and art the children drawing and creating a house/ shelter for a particular climate or animal. exploring why some materials and designs might be more suited for different needs and climates.
This is another great resource that I have used in class.
To include the space theme the question “Could we live on Mars?” and ESA’s lesson
“Moon shelter- investigating different shelters on the Earth and space” (a simple version) with a lot of scaffolding would be very stimulating and exciting for young children even within SEN. It is a theme that could easily be used across all age levels within SEN particularly with ASD children who might have a specific interest in the area of space.
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Hands-on classroom themed activities. What clothes to wear?
I really like the resources for this topic. I would begin the lesson by sharing the story ‘A stroll through the seasons’ . This book is beautifully illustrated and demonstrates the changes that each season brings. I would ask the children what seasons we read about and if they noticed what clothes the boy and girl wore during winter, spring, summer and autumn. Why do you think they wore this?When I taught this topic in infants I made four clothes lines. I had a ‘magic bag’ which contained baby clothes for all seasons. I chose one child to come up and pick out something from the bag, the child decided what line we should hang the item on. We would then discuss the reasons why the item of clothing was suitable for a particular season. Eg why do you think the sun hat is needed for summer? The heavy coat for winter? Why do we need warmer clothes for winter etc. During this activity I put a photograph of the seasons on the board to stimulate discussion.
I also like the activity in lesson 11 where an assortment of clothes are put in the middle of a circle of children. Three children will be asked to find beach clothes and to put them on. This will lead on to the discussion about why the clothes are suitable for summer. The next group of children will find clothes for a different season. I know the children will love this engaging lesson.
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Niamh,
the magic bag is lovely, and you can also use this opportunity to use words related to the materials. The Pass the Parcel activity and in Irish from Curious Minds has a list of category words that could be adapted for this.
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Online resources and tools
I really found this module of the course super interesting and beneficial for my teaching in the future, I honestly have never heard of these activities and resources- so I am excited to use them next year!
For this assignment I will talk about the online resourcesMilo and Marvin I will a hundred percent use these characters next year in my classroom, they are child friendly and it also includes a home concept which will be very beneficial In my deis school to increase parental involvement!
I really loved the https://stellarium-web.org resource! It will definitely increase their scientific investigation skills. We can discover together the different constellations and stars, I would integrate this into maths too for shape and space.
The ESA kids website is incredible, I would like to try the ‘could we live on mars lesson’ with first class students. I was also intrigued by the ‘A Ride to Space’ art competition. We would do this as a whole class competition, we would firstly explore rockets, sketch them , talk about their features before designing and making them!I look forward to using these online resources this school year.
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Where do you live?
Start by reading The Three Little Pigs then encourage the children to describe the homes of well known characters like the Three Little Pigs, witch in Hansel and Gretel, Cinderalla, Elsa and Anna etc.
Use worksheet/images of different homes to start a discussion about children’s own homes. Each child draw their home.
Use these drawings to help make models of homes from plasticine. Set homes up to make a village scene using crepe paper… Discuss with the children what else they would see if they were in a village, take our local village as an example. Make a list of their suggestions and when finished assign each child something to make like trees, supermarket, bank, schools…
Set the extra buildings etc into the village scene. Discuss how each building etc is important to them.
Finish by reading the book All Kinds of Homes by Emma Damon thinking about homes people live in in other parts of the world.
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Online Tools to support Science and Space Learning:
Weather Watcher activity: Using ESA’s webpage containing lots of videos and stimuli and prompts for the students. I think the younger students in particular would really enjoy ‘Being a Weather Watcher’. I would show them this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo8lbeVVb4M . Each day the children can write or draw pictures in a journal. I would explain to the children that whilst weather can be unpredictable it generally does follow a pattern for eg. Mild, sunny summer and cold, wet winter. The video explains some common vocabulary-meteorologist, thermometer, temperature. Children could easily set up a weather station; rain gauge, thermometer, wind socks and use their journals to identify patterns. I think they would really enjoy this activity. Mini-meteorologists! This lesson links in well with Maths and uses skills such as recording, predicting, analysing.
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Dawn,
Weather watching is a great example of observing gradual change, and identified as such in the Science skills for young children. 1st and 2nd class are expected to “measure and compare temperatures in different places in the classroom, school and environment. ” with older children looking at the reasons for this variation.
ESA Kids has this article about weather satellites:
ESA – Space for Kids – New weather satellite takes spectacular photos of planet Earth
and Climate Detectives includes this guide to making weather measurements: PR48_Nose_up_high_in_the_sky.pdf (esa.int)
Met Eireann have some really nice resources, including this site with measurements from across Ireland.
Weather Observations Website – Met Éireann | Weather Observations Website – Met Éireann
This could make an interesting exploration of data, and how temperature changes over the year.
Here is today’s temperatures vs January 13th’s
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The website ESA- Space for Kids is a very practical online tool that can be used in the younger years of primary school. With games, news, activity ideas and even competitions, there is great scope for new STEM- focused learning opportunities in SSE that can also tie into other subjects such as literacy, music, drama and Visual Arts. I could utilise the tools from this website for a lesson’s stimulus, main activity or for an extension activity. For example, the multimedia tab could be a good source of a picture or video to prompt discussion on prior knowledge. The Things to do tab offers age-appropriate activity ideas that could be child-lead. The games tab has a range of engaging end-of-lesson activities that could reinforce new learning, such as the Milkyway matchup game or the space cleanup. One additional tool that this website offers is the language tab- I think this could be a very nice way to promote and celebrate any EAL students’ home languages, an important means of integration.
Whilst using websites such as ESA can be a helpful tool in the classroom, it is important to be cognisant that these lessons should also allow for some child-lead learning and discussion.
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I would like to Focus on activity sets theme-Where we Live??
This topic can be covered from so many many areas of the wider curriculum as well as through Science. It could become the BIG IDEA for a month. Sa Bhaile/Mo Theach/Habitats/ Home & Abroad/ Foodwebs/Materials could all be covered.
I have found SCRATCH coding is a great way to encourage children to research various habitats and present the most interesting information they have found via a SCRATCH project using text, images and sound which can be shared with their classmates.
In our school we celebrated EARTH DAY last April with a series of fun lessons and activities. We used Curious Minds resources and DPSM classroom supports.
I think next school year I will use Milo and Marvin when exploring magnetism and electricity- I love their Forced Comb experiment.
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I would use the Online resources and tools in my classroom in order to have enhance my SSE lessons using STEM.
I have Junior Infants for the coming year and I just know how beneficial and engaging Milo and Marvin will be in my classroom. The animated creatures wonder why things happens which would therefore spark curiosity and wonder within the children in my class. The cartoon strip is very bright and vibrant which I feel will get the children very interested and engaged at the beginning of the lesson. This resource is so straight-forward as it provides a list of the equipment that will be needed for experiments and a step-by-step guide of how to carry out the experiments. The children will learn so many new skills from the various experiments provided.
Another online resource I would love to use is The Astronomy picture of the Day. I just know that the children will find it very exciting to see the different images each day. I would love to have the website open every morning as the children come into the classroom so that they can exam it themselves or with their friends before a whole class discussion on it. I feel like they would learn so many new facts and enjoy looking at the Earth or Space from various angles.
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Hi guys!
For my first class, I would choose the “What Clothes to Wear?” activity from the module. This inquiry-based activity allows students to explore the connection between weather conditions and the type of clothing people wear. The activity would start with a discussion on different weather conditions (sunny, rainy, cold, hot) and how they affect our choice of clothes. Students will then be asked to predict what types of clothes are suitable for each condition and why.
To make the activity more engaging, I would use an interactive approach by showing them various clothing items (e.g., raincoats, winter hats) and having them match these items to specific weather scenarios. This hands-on approach not only reinforces their understanding of the relationship between weather and clothing but also encourages them to think critically and communicate their reasoning.
This activity aligns well with developing core scientific skills such as questioning, observing, and predicting while making learning fun and relevant to their everyday lives.
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The hands on activities I would choose would be Weather (What Clothes to Wear and Animals in the Cold), using both lesson plans but adapting them slightly.
I would introduce the topic by using a selection of pictures of different locations e.g. the beach, the desert, the arctic, an ice rink, a rainforest etc. I would elicit prior knowledge by asking the children what the weather is like in these areas, how they would feel if they were stood there and what they might wear.
Next I would introduce the songs ‘On a Cold and Frosty Morning’ and ‘Summer Clothes’, where the children sing about clothes they would wear in the winter versus clothes they would wear in summer.
In groups, the children would be given a bundle of clothes and asked to separate them into two hula hoops, one labelled ‘cold weather’ and one labelled ‘hot weather’. In completing a STEM focused SSE, the children could gather materials from their own home and bring them into school. Together, we could create items of clothing suitable for the different weathers.These activities would then lead us into a conversation on how animals survive in different climates, without the help of clothing. We would have a whole class discussion on animals that live in colder climates e.g. polar bears, whales, penguins. I would show the children images of different animals in their own environments and discuss their unique features that allow them to withstand the different climates e.g. polar bears have blubber to keep them warm or camels with padded feet to protect them from the hot sand of the desert. One activity to show children the effects of blubber that I used in my class last year was spreading Vaseline one hand and allowing them to place both their hands in cold water. Before putting their hands in the water the children completed a think-pair-share activity and predicted what they thought would happen. The children could then see that the hand that had the ‘blubber’ on it did not feel the cold water as much.
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Milo and Marvin online resource:
The students will explore air pressure and surface tension through a hands-on experiment called “Balloon Kebabs.” Each student receives an inflated balloon and a wooden skewer. The challenge is to insert the skewer through the balloon without popping it. As they carefully push the skewer through the balloon’s thicker, tied end and out the other side, they discover how the rubber’s thickness and elasticity help maintain the balloon’s integrity, preventing it from bursting. This activity not only demonstrates key physics principles but also engages students in a fun and interactive way, encouraging curiosity and deeper understanding of how surface tension works. After completing the experiment, students discuss their observations and learn why the balloon didn’t pop, reinforcing the scientific concepts explored.-
Daniel,
if the children learn why a thing (in this case, why the balloon didn’t pop) happens as a result of an activity, then that activity is a great starter for a deeper inquiry. In the inquiry activity that is child-centred, they can use their understanding to make predictions, observe results and then verify their own science knowledge.
In the case of Balloon Kebabs, with an older class you might share a version of these theories as to why it works, and ask them to work out a way to verify which is true:
Physics to Go #12
Balloon kebabs
1… Most of the balloon is stretched evenly, but there
are two points where it is less stretched, and where the
surface tension is at its lowest: the tied section and the
darker patch at the opposite end of the balloon. Most of
the balloon is under high tension, so attempting to push
the skewer through just makes the balloon pop. However,
at the low tension sections it is possible to make a small
hole without breaking the overall surface of the balloon.
2… You have to use a special type of kebab skewer
to make this trick work. Because these skewers are made
of bamboo, they secrete a very thin layer of oil. When this
oil comes into contact with the balloon, it reinforces the
surface making it stronger and enabling us to make a hole
without popping it.
3.… This trick only works if you do it really slowly.
By pushing the skewers very slowly into the balloon, the
molecules that make up the rubber of the balloon don’t
notice its presence. The skewer can therefore slip past the
molecules, making a hole before they have a chance to
react and make the balloon pop.Source: https://www.iop.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/WI-physics-activity-pack.pdf
I couldn’t find Balloon Kebab on Marvin and Milo, but did find it in Physics to Go, where it is no. 12.
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I love this activity. I agree that it is totally child centered and a wonderful catalyst for deeper inquiry and discussion. It’s very hands on and it’s a great experiment for the classes.
It’s a particularly exciting one as I’m sure some children will predict that balloon will burst and the discussion around why it doesn’t will be fascinating for them. There’s also wonderful ‘tension’ in the lesson as well with the anticipation of popping balloons which makes it extra engaging!
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I like the topic of ‘Animals in the Cold’, as weather and suitable clothing for the type of weather, is a topic that is explored, every year in the infant classes. We look at the weather and the seasons. However, we do not always look at how animals keep warm. Most children have seen the movie Happy Feet, so I would show selected pieces from this movie and this can be the stimulus for starting discussion around how the penguins and polar animals keep warm in the snow and ice. I would show the pupils pictures of the animals and ask them to describe what they notice about the animals such as fur, feathers, size etc. I would ask them to predict how the animals keep warm. Then we would look at the coats of animals and discuss layers of fat and the function of these in keeping the animals warm. To demonstrate waterproofing I would put Vaseline on one of the pupils hands and have them play with water and ask what do they notice about the hand with Vaseline v the hand without. Then as a follow on activity, we could predict and explore the properties of materials. This involves enquiry based, hands on checking which materials were absorbent and which were waterproof, and in groups, design a raincoat for a teddy bear.
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Martina,
I like how you are connecting an area that the children are confident and familiar with (the clothing for different weathers/seasons) to how animals stay warm. This lets the children incorporate their own understanding to the topics of heat and of living things.
This can be a light touch, since the Primary Science Curriculum has little to say on how animals are adapted to different environments, for Infants it has:
- become aware of animals and plants of other environments
and
- become aware that animals and plants undergo seasonal change in appearance or behaviour
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I am an infant teacher and I look forward to using Where is my Home? activity.
Under the topic of homes I would look at pictures of different types of homes. When doing this topic I like to walk around the school community and look at different styles of homes in the area. This all leads to discussion about similarities and differences. It also introduces new vocabulary to the children.
I will reinforce through a PE game.
Children run around. When I blow the whistle I will say a type of house. And the children will do the corresponding action.
Detached Children stand on their own
Semi detached Children stand with a partner side by side
Terraced Children form a long line standing side by side all
linking armsBungalow Children lie flat on the ground
Apartment Children make their bodies as tall as they can
Caravan Children run doing roly poly with their arms
Boat house Children walk around like they are rowing
Art ideas:
I will ask the children to draw a picture of their home
We could draw a map of the route to school adding in 3 buildings they pass on the way to school.
We could then make this a sequencing activity.
Art hub- draw a castle
Aistear:
I would ask the children to construct different types of homes using a variety of materials at each group eg. Blocks, lego, recyclables art, playdough/ modelling clay etc
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I would choose a lesson about ‘Animals in the Cold’. I teach Infants and we always cover this topic in the Winter. I have always found that the children are so intrigued by animals from colder countries. I usually just focus on penguins but last year I had a child who had a huge interest polar bears so we looked at both animals from the Artic and Antarctic regions. It gave us a great opportunity to compare animals from both regions. Animals in the Cold is great topic to cover for Aistear. I have often put mini animals into ice cubes and have the children free the animals during play time. This has been something that was so simple to plan and gives the children great enjoyment when finding ways to free the animals. This has often lead to a conversation about how the ice would melt if the Artic Regions had warmer weather and how some of the animals would not survive the warmer weather.
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Hands-on classroom themed activities for Junior/Senior Infants based on the theme weather – The Arctic and the animals that live there. Prior to the following activities we will have carried out several lessons on the Arctic region; what animals live there, their habitats and the weather conditions. In the classroom there will be a display board with laminated pictures and information on our topic. The activities will be carried out during Aistear as stations or morning carousel table top activities.
Play dough station – laminated mats for the children to make Arctic animals, teeth for a walrus, icebergs, snowballs, snowflakes, a den for the polar bears, polar bear footprints, etc., These mats are available from twinkl.
Small world station – small trays (Dealz/Mr Price…they are so handy as it gives the children their own space and there is no arguing) filled with article snow as well as small white beads with a laminated snow scene along the side. The children will have miniature animals that are found in the Arctic. The animals are available on amazon.
Construction station – wooden blocks for the children to make an Arctic scene ~ dens for the polar bears and other animals, the ocean with icebergs. The children will have small Arctic animals.
Role – Play station: the children can pretend to be explorers with staffs and torches. Set up an area in the classroom to look like the Arctic – white felt for the snow, blue piece of material for the water, tinfoil painted white for snowballs, boxes wrapped in white paper for icebergs, and teddies that are from the Arctic region.
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All three aspect of the module have provided plenty of food for thought. The SSE section highlights the importance of effective planning for Science and the importance of developing scientific thinking in our children. The online resources provide excellent opportunities to incorporate technology as a medium for learning which is massively important as technology is a huge part of children’s . The hands on activities provide brilliant ideas to create a fun learning environment in the classroom.
I have chosen to focus on the Hot and Cold lesson from the hands on classroom themed activities. I have chosen this lesson as I feel that it allows ample opportunity to explore links between different strands of the science curriculum. By using the sun as the starter for the lesson we can revisit previous learning on the solar system. Children can discuss the sun as part of the solar system. It also allows us to revisit light and how the sun is our primary source of light on earth. This would lead to discussion on night/day and the seasons. By identifying the sun as a source of heat we can revisit plant growth and the plant life cycle. The ice cube melting can show the relationship between heat and changes in materials. How did the ice cube change? What caused the change? From this the children could discuss what might happen if the melted ice cube was left in the sun. The children could leave the plate in the sun and check difference over a few days. When the water is gone, what has happened? We might also look at reversible changes. Can we change the melted ice cube back into ice? What do we need to do?
Through investigation , discussion and experiment we would have engaged with different areas of the science curriculum and helped the children to develop valuable scientific thinking skills -
I would extend the ‘What clothes to wear’ activity for my 2nd class.
Objective:
Students will create outfits appropriate for each season, reinforcing their understanding of weather, seasons, and suitable clothing.Materials:
Large paper or cardboard
Markers, crayons, coloured pencils
Magazines for cutouts (optional)
Glue, scissorsIntroduction
Discuss the different types of weather associated with each season (spring, summer, autumn, winter). Ask students to recall what clothes are suitable for each season.Activity
Divide the class into four groups, assigning each group a season. Each group will design an outfit appropriate for their assigned season on a large sheet of paper. They can draw, color, or use magazine cutouts to create their outfit. Encourage them to think about layers, accessories, and weather conditions.Presentation
Each group presents their outfit to the class, explaining why the clothing choices are suitable for their season. Discuss the differences between the seasons and how clothing helps us adapt to weather changes.SESE Curriculum Link:
This activity supports understanding in Geography (weather and seasons) and Science (materials and their uses), fostering creativity and practical application of seasonal knowledge.-
Hi Marcella,
an optional source of inspiration could be grocery magazines -and these can be printed out or shared on the whiteboard.
Dunnes currently has this link: https://www.dunnesstores.com/c/kids/highlights/kids-summer-shop
and Tesco this one: https://www.tesco.ie/zones/clothing/kids?icid=ff_hub_kids
Would you discuss the dates of the seasons? That is a thorny question that I am often asked about!
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Weather and what to wear
I would start with the poem / rhyme “Whatever the weather”
After discussing the types of weather we have learnt and observed we would also recall the Seasons.
I would ask questions leading the children to discuss suitable clothes for each weather type. I would use a bag of clothes / umbrella / wellies etc and I would encourage the children to sort the clothes according to the weather they would wear them in. I would give the children blank washing lines on a sheet (4 of them and label them Summer, Spring etc) I would then get the children to record their findings and draw the suitable clothes for each season.
My class last year loved bringing in their favourite teddy so I would encourage them to dress their teddy (using their own clothes) and to bring it in the school. They would then do “Show and tell” or the class could also guess what weather the other child’s bear is dressed for.
Another idea would be to give the children a blank outline of a person and ask them to draw in their clothes according to the weather or they could also use different materials to dress their person.
There are many ideas to consolidate their learning and make a super fortnight of activities.
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Orla,
I’d love to send my Brownie Guides to your class! We try to get outside as much as possible at our meetings, so we always ask them to wear good shoes and a rain coat. The number of times they arrive in a version of Uggs (water repellant, not waterproof!) and a hoodie…
With Irish seasons I’d expect the children would include a rain coat in most seasons 🙂
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What Clothes to Wear:
show children images of different places and question them on what they might wear to each place, if they think it would be hot/cold/wet etc. Children dress up a teddy bear in the appropriate clothes for him to go on adventures to different places. Dressing teddy for todays weather as part of the everyday routine in class, ask the children what the weather is like today and what they think teddy should wear. The children could open up a ‘lost suitcase’ go through the items in the suitcase and make predictions about who it might belong to and where they might be going. Using person template the children use a variety of materials (wool, felt, card, etc.) to ‘dress’ the person for winter/summer/spring/autumn. Encourage the children to describe the type of clothes and why they chose these. The children could also do a sorting activity to sort clothes based on the weather they would be appropriate for.
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Chloe,
I like the idea of including the clothes teddy should wear as an everyday part of the classroom routine. The prompt of teddy needing to have suitable clothing is appropriate to the age group, and allows each child to build on the sharing of previous outfits. Lots of comparatives can be happening — ‘it is colder than yesterday, but not really cold yet, so lets add a hat, but not mittens…’
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So many choices….but for now, I would choose the activity set – Where do you live?
I would begin with a firm favourite (of mine), the storybook A Squash and A Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. I love using different voices and making my voice squeakier and crazier as the woman asking for help that her house is too small.
I would then show different types of homes on the IWB – caravans, apartments, tents, terraced houses, semi-detached, small houses, mansions. We could have a chat about different experiences living in the different types of homes.
For SESE – we could look at some animal homes – what makes them similar/different? – look at houses around the world.
We could draw a map of the area we live in and count how many different types of homes are in our area (houses/apartments/caravans).For Art – we could make houses using different materials – sticks, card, paper, paint, glue etc and create a mini village display.
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I’m having trouble posting this so I am slightly changing it in order to post it but not lose it. So many choices….but for now, I would choose the activity set – Where do you live?
I would begin with a firm favourite (of mine), the storybook A Squash and A Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. I love using different voices and making my voice squeakier and crazier as the woman asking for help that her house is too small.
I would then show different types of homes on the IWB – caravans, apartments, tents, terraced houses, semi-detached, small houses, mansions. We could have a chat about different experiences living in the different types of homes.
For SESE – we could look at some animal homes – what makes them similar/different? – look at houses around the world.
We could draw a map of the area we live in and count how many different types of homes are in our area (houses/apartments/caravans).For Art – we could make houses using different materials – sticks, card, paper, paint, glue etc and create a mini village display.
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I love the idea of using Marvin and Milo in the younger classes as a way to introduce the concept of space. I love the idea of the Stellarium too as an addition to the theme of Space that I already have planned for a month. I have taught junior and senior infants every second year for six years and Space is a theme we explore in senior infants.
We explore it mostly through play and this year is the first year we will be leaving most of Aistear behind and focusing in the new play model. I plan on keeping my role play area and this will be set up like a spaceship (think tin foil, astronaut costumes, buttons, remotes, controls etc.). The kids adore this and I think the Stellarium would be a wonderful addition to the whole theme. A whole area or station could be based on it and children could be invited to go stargazing using the Stellarium then they could recreate constellations or parts of the galaxy with chalk, peg boards, art materials, whatever they wish, with as many materials as I can give them. I can imagine these would all make a beautiful display when the work is done!
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Activity set: Online resources and tools.
There are so many excellent resources here that I would love to try in my classroom. These resources provide so many opportunities to gain a comprehensive understanding of STEM. There are so many online resources and activities available for teachers and for the children. Some of the ones that I would be most interested in trying and looking into more are-
• The ‘Astronomy Picture of the Day’ this would be a great resource to use as a prompt or stimulus. It would also be great to use for oral language. There is a new image available every day.
• Marvin and Milo, a super resource full of great ideas and activities for stories and role play. I think the children would enjoy the characters.
• Stellarium web, a fantastic website available to explore and full of so much helpful interactive and instant tools and ideas to use in the classroom. The planets visibility and the constellations are something that I believe the children would really enjoy.There are so many wonderful online resources and tools available to explore space. I’m looking forward to using these new found tools this year.
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Hands-on classroom themed activities;
Animals in the Cold;
How do aanimals keep warm in the cold?Engage the children in the lesson by asking what kind of weather are we familiar with? Discuss warm, wet, windy, cold, snowy weather etc. Explain to the children that certain weather is more prevalent in some areas i.e. warm hot deserts, the Poles having cold snowy weather. Ask the children do they know of any places or have they seen any films that have a lot of cold snowy weather etc, perhaps Christmas films or films about penguins / polar bears etc. Read ‘The Snowman’ by Raymond Briggs. Show a clip from the film ‘Happy Feet’ that has a lot of penguins.
Ask the children would they like to go to the South Pole or a very very cold place that has a lot of snow. Ask the children would we be able to survive on an iceberg. How would we keep ourselves warm? Add scarves, coats, hats etc. Would adding extra layers of clothing be sufficient? Can animals add extra layers of clothing? Show photos of a penguin and a polar bear. How do they keep warm if they can’t add layers of clothing.
Explain that the animals have a thick layer of fat under their skin to help them keep warm. However, this layer isn’t enough for such cold conditions so polar bears have a thick coat of fur and penguins have a thick coat of feathers. The fur and feathers are covered in a layer of grease to repel water.
To explain how this layer of grease repels water, add some vaseline to the childrens hand and sprinkle some water over it, watch how the water rolls off the greasy layer, this is how it works for the animals too.
Encourage the children to try that at home too (with supervision).-
Irene,
You’ve described an active, engaging activity for a young class about animals in the cold.
You could add images of the poles (https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/arctic-zone/gallery_np.html) to support recognition of different conditions.
As a fun extra, with my Brownie Guides we sing;
but change the action (and the words) to hug X other polar bears,
and at the end of each round change the number of polar bears that have to hug (huddle together). We usually end up with all the girls in one big huddle.
This could give you some simple maths counting in a fun way.
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I would use the resources provided to teach lesson based on the weather and what to wear?
We would discuss the weather, the seasons, different types of clothes we wear at different times of the year.
We would view images of different types of weather and discuss which season is most likely to be found in. We would also discuss images of scenes, and which season it is, how do we know? We would observe inmages of people wearing different types of clothes and group them according to which type of weather they are dressed for, which season it is.
For Drama – We would use the dress up box to dress up and the other children would decide what weather their peers are dressed for.
For Art – we would design an outfit for a particular season. WE would give reasons for our choice of clothing to suit a season of their choice. -
Topic: Seasonal Changes/Weather
I would like to use aspects of the Espero 11 Activity on Seasons and What to wear & the Discover Primary Science Investigating Children’s Coats for first class .
To:
• identify different kinds of weather: rain, wind, thunderstorm, and sunny
• know that for every season you wear different kinds of clothes
• know that clothing protects you from the cold
• discover that some kinds of weather occur more often in certain seasons
Trigger Question: Have you ever gone out wearing the wrong coat ? – in order to relate to children’s prior experiences and the Irish weather where it feels like we can frequently have numerous seasons in one day!
Explain you want the class to help. Present the question to the children.
1. In pairs ask the children to share their experiences.
2. Once they have had a brief chance to chat give them some prompts to help their conversation:
• Have you ever got wet/cold/too hot because you wore the wrong coat to school? Has it happened more than once?
• How did you decide what to coat to wear to school today?
• How do you find out about what the weather is going to be like?
• Who decides what coat you wear to school?
• Looking at labels on their coats to observe the material names (allows for movement too).
3. As the children talk, try to spot children who normally don’t contribute that are sharing lots of ideas with their partner.
4. Invite the children to share their experiences and try to pick some of the children you noticed who are normally quiet in science discussions. Make sure you really value their contributions and their expertise. You could record their experiences on a large piece of paper for display in the classroom.
5. After the children have shared, ask if they think their comments could help us understand our science – hopefully some will deduce that the weather can be different according to the time of year/season. During the summer (of old anyway !?!, we experience warmer, longer days and in winter it is colder and the nights are longer.. – you could extend here by asking whether Climate change has had any impact on our seasons?
Activities:( to be linked but extended over a period of a month all linked to seaons and weather/materials)
• Children can draw a picture of what they wear for each season and write underneath why. This could be an activity you return to each season as children need to observe and discuss spring, summer, autumn and winter. Or you could take photos of the class wearing their outdoor clothes at different points in the year.
• The class will record what the weather is like each day that week and make a display. You could position a rain gauge outside, so that children can check the amount of rainfall each day. Similarly, we could also check the temperature each day or once weekly over the course of a month and fill out a class chart for this which we would have displayed in the classroom.
• As children are expected to understand that the hours of daylight vary during the year, we will also record each month perhaps from December – March whether it is light or dark when they wake up, or when they go to bed.
• Children with families living in other parts of the world could share their experiences/knowledge of the weather in those countries or experiences of a visit abroad where they noticed a different weather pattern.Extended Learning & Cross-curricular Links over a series of lessons linked to the weather theme :
– Trigger: link to the scientist Charles Mackintosh – who he is? What piece of clothing was named after him? ) & do a science lesson on investigating coat materials but extending it to test for waterproof materials
– Maths- data gathering on the coats belong to the children per categories: colour/ length/ hood/waterproof
– Art – Design your own coat per Investigating Children’s Coats Lesson Resource with the prompt q’s
What season is it for?
• What will the weather be like?
• What sort of temperature is it likely to be?
• What material/ materials will they use?
• How can they make it practical? (e.g. type of fastening, pockets, hood).
• Can they suggest where they might use their coat (going to school, helping in the garden,
going to a party etc).
– Drama- rain, wind and storm story per Eserpo Activity 11 -
I was delighted to discover the “EU Universe Awareness Programme Evaluation Guide” (https://www.unawe.org/static/archives/guides/pdf/EU_UNAWE_evaluation.pdf) while completing this module, and look forward to using it as both a teaching and assessment resource in the coming year.
I will use the “First pre/post activity template: Drawing the night sky” before I teach the pupils about the constellations (as outlined in my post for module 3) and again afterwards so that I can assess what they have learnt from what I have taught.
I will use the prompt questions from “Pupil survey (8-10 years)” to gain additional insight into what the pupils have learnt from what I have taught, what they have (and may not have) enjoyed, and what they would like to learn about in the future.
The “Astro Cards” would be a wonderful resource to use before and after teaching the pupils about the planets, to establish their prior knowledge beforehand and to identify what they have understood and retained afterwards.
In addition I could use the “Teacher Workshop Survey” as a prompt for self-reflection.
I’m delighted to have discovered this resource, and look forward to using it to enhance my teaching and assessment practices next year.
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Activity set – weather: building on from a previous lesson investigating shadows I would use the ESERO hot and cold resource. After Recapping what we had previously learnt about the sun and shadows I would ask the children how do they know the sun gives off heat to prompt an investigation into whether it is warmer in the sun or the shade. After setting up the ice cube experiment, the children would make their predictions before watching the ice cubes in the bowl in the sun and in the shade. The when is it hot or cold activity and the end of this resource is a great transition into subsequent lessons on what clothes to wear and designing a coat whether for themselves or a teddy. Which also ties in with materials.
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Activity Set Weather – What clothes to wear.
In my classroom I would focus on these learning outcomes
To:
• identify different kinds of weather: rain, wind, thunderstorm, and sunny
• know that for every season you wear different kinds of clothes
• know that clothing protects you from the cold
• discover that some kinds of weather occur more often in certain seasonsI have used the story big Book The smartest Giant in town by Julia Donaldson
as a stimulus to engage children in the theme of clothes in Aistear. Engaging them in conversation and discussion about appropriate clothes for different seasons/ different types of weather etc.
Then, focusing on the theme of clothes as an Aistear theme with Infants is so enjoyable. Activities to include sorting the holiday clothes into the correct suitcase for A sunny destination or a Skiing holiday for example.
Using a cardboard box cutout of a television to report the weather forecast etc.
Make clothes using fabric and fibre for the Smartest Giant in town.
Colour the seasons activity as outlined in the ESERO resources. Colouring seasonal pictures. Discussing and identifying the different seasons. What colours do we associate with each season?
Cross-curricular incorporating Numeracy – Counting items of clothing, pairing patterned socks etc. -
Teaching young children about space and science can be engaging with the right online resources and tools. I like the following:
NASA’s Space Place: Offers interactive games, videos, and activities designed for young learners to explore space topics.
Starfall: Features educational activities and stories about space, including interactive animations perfect for early readers.
Cosmic Kids Yoga: Provides fun space-themed yoga sessions that integrate movement with learning about planets and stars.
Star Walk Kids: A kid-friendly stargazing app that helps identify constellations and learn about the night sky interactively.
PBS Kids Space Games: Includes games and videos related to space exploration and science, tailored for younger audiences.
NASA’s Kids Club: Offers educational games, videos, and quizzes to spark curiosity about space missions and science.
These resources make complex space concepts accessible and enjoyable for young students. -
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Stephanie, I had a quick look at the first video and the image of the snowshoe sent me back in time to when I completed my snowshoe badge as a girl guide in Canada.
Did you know that different types/shapes of snowshoes are used for different snow conditions? and that there is a snowshoe magazine? with advice on what type of trail needs snowshoes!
thanks for that – I’ve a big smile on my face now!
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