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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. -
Activity set: hands-on classroom themed activities
There were great stimuli and ideas in this module to promote hands on classroom themes activities. I’m looking forward to using these as part of a STEM unit on weather in the classroom.
I would use the ESERO ‘Hot and Cold’ activity. The children will get a chance to use and develop scientific skills through this experiment. They can predict what will happen to the ice cube in different places. The can observes and record what happens. As referenced in the module it will also be a great introduction to the idea of a fair test.
I would also incorporate the eactivity ‘What clothes to wear’. By using actual clothes it will make the lesson more engaging and enable the children to be working hands on.
I also really like the ‘where do you live’ activity. The collaborative aspect reflects the interdependence of a village. I think there’s great scope for effecctive differentiation in this activity.
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I completely agree! This module offered fantastic ideas and engaging stimuli that are perfect for promoting hands-on learning. Incorporating them into a STEM unit on weather sounds like a great way to bring the subject to life for the children. I’m also excited to try out some of these activities in my own classroom!
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I really like how many strands in science, geography, English and maths get covered when you are doing hot and cold. There is time involved in a lot of the experiments along with reading temperatures (which allows us to naturally explore integers). If you want to both grow frost and show negative numbers add salt to a tin can full of ice not only will the temp drop (as salt lowers the melting point of ice) but it will also allow them to see how frost develops on the outside of the tin. If you want to do the inverse experiment that we do with heat (to show that insulation keeps hot things hot but also cold things cold) you can put the tin in a box and then put the box in a large box with insulation of different types between the two layers. Who still has frost after 30 mins? An hour?
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Reading through the resources provided in this module, the what clothes to wear resource caught my eye as it would integrate well with a drama series of lesson on weather I like to do with the children called the Season’s wizard where the seasons get all mixed up and the children call in the Season’s Wizard to help sort out the issue and explain to him/her all of the inconveniences they’re experiencing with the weather mix up. I would integrate these lessons together and discuss the seasons and the typical weather and clothes that are generally appropriate for that tine of year. The children would explain to the Season’s Wizard what the weather should be like in each season and the clothes that should be worn and I can clearly see if they have a good understanding of the weather/clothes that typify each season and why certain clothes are more appropriate in certain weather conditions.
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Reflection – Hands-On Classroom Activities (Senior Infants)
Using the ESERO activity What Clothes to Wear is a great way to teach Senior Infants about the seasons, weather changes, and suitable clothing. I would start with a class discussion about the four seasons, encouraging children to share what they notice—like leaves falling in autumn or flowers blooming in spring. We would then look at different clothing items and sort them for each season. A cutting-and-pasting activity would let children match clothes to the correct season, supporting fine motor skills.
For added engagement, I’d provide real clothing items for role play, allowing children to “dress up” for different weather. This brings in drama and encourages imaginative play.
The ESERO lesson Hot and Cold ties in naturally, helping children understand temperature and why we wear certain clothes. Together, these activities make learning hands-on, active, and memorable, while building vocabulary and encouraging discussion about the world around them.
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Reflective Post – Hands-On Classroom Themed Activities
Module 4 inspired me to explore meaningful and hands-on ways to introduce infants to abstract concepts like seasonal changes. One activity I would incorporate into my classroom is “What Clothes to Wear,” which aligns with the theme of observing time and understanding the year’s changing seasons.
I would begin by introducing picture books featuring seasonal weather, which offers an introduction to the topic for infants. We would then transition into a junk art project where children create four outfits for a teddy bear, one for each season of the year. This activity allows them to make connections between weather and clothing, encouraging both creativity and reasoning skills.
I would encourage the children to reflect on their choices: “Why is Teddy wearing a raincoat in spring?” or “Why does Teddy need a scarf in winter?” These questions develop early science skills like observation, prediction, and cause-and-effect reasoning.
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This is a very cute lesson and one that the younger children would love. When I was reading through it, I was thinking of how much enjoyment the children would get from it. I also felt that having a little teddy bears picnic at the end of the lesson/block of lessons would be a nice way to consolidate the learning. The children would have to decide on having the picnic indoors or outdoors depending on the weather forecast for that day.
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Hi Rebecca,
I love your idea of using “What Clothes to Wear” to help infants explore seasonal change. It’s both meaningful and developmentally appropriate. Introducing the concept through picture books is a great way to build familiarity, and the junk art project adds a wonderful hands-on element. Having the children design outfits for Teddy based on seasonal weather really brings the learning to life! I love how you incorporate reflective questions to support observation and reasoning. This introduces early science skills in a fun, relatable context.
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Hi Rebecca
I think the children in your class would benifit from your lesson. Some house holds set out their childrens clothes and kids dont even question why are they wearing different clothes, so this could help them gain an understanding. I know when my daughter stopped wearing tights she questioned why and we had a conversation about seasons
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Module 4:
Online resources and tools
– Stellarium/Stellarium-web.org
– Milo and Marvin
– ESA and ESA KidsI have decided to reflect on the use of online tools and resources. Online tools and resources offer incredible opportunities to enhance classroom practice. They can provide access to a huge amount of content beyond the books, like interactive lessons, videos (e.g. animations), and digital libraries (e.g., National Geographic Kids). This caters to diverse learning styles and keeps lessons engaging.
The Milo and Marvin comic strips are an excellent resource. They are bright, funny and most of all, engaging. I feel that they would be a fantastic resource to use in the classroom as they demonstrate various physics experiments that children can try at home using everyday objects. They show that science and learning is fun. As I had not heard of Milo and Marvin before this course, I will be sharing them with colleagues when school returns.
Stellarium/Stellarium-web.org: Another example of a fantastic resource and again one I will be sharing. Stellarium can be used to enhance the teaching of astronomy in school in a fun, user friendly way. I feel that the topic of astronomy can be daunting for teachers so Stellarium is a fantastic, free resource that can help enhance our lessons.
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Animals in the Cold
I plan to teach the “Animals in the Cold” lesson to my infant class as part of our winter and science topics. This lesson will help children learn how animals live in cold places like the Arctic and Antarctic. We will talk about animals like penguins, polar bears, seals, and whales. I think the children will enjoy looking at pictures and learning where these animals live.
To begin, I will show a globe or map so the children can see where the cold places are. We will look at animal pictures and talk about what they look like and how they stay warm. I will ask questions like “How do they keep warm?” and “What do they eat?”
We will do a simple experiment using ice and materials like cotton wool to explore insulation. I think this hands-on activity will help the children understand how animals use blubber or fur to stay warm.
The children will also draw their favourite cold animal and share what they’ve learned. This lesson links science with geography and art. It supports language skills, curiosity, and understanding of the world. I look forward to teaching it and seeing the children enjoy learning about animals in the cold.
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This sounds like a lovely, well-rounded lesson that your infant class will really enjoy! I love how you’re combining geography, science, and art to make the topic both engaging and meaningful. The insulation experiment is a great way to make the concept of blubber and warmth more tangible for young learners. It’s also a brilliant way to build curiosity and develop early scientific thinking. A fantastic cross-curricular approach!
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I think this will be a lovely lesson to teach in an infant class during the winter months. I find the children are really interested in learning about animals that live in cold places and the hands on activities you have described will give them a lovely insight into how these animals can survive in such cold temperatures.
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Hi Cathal, this is a thoughtfully planned and engaging lesson that is very well suited for infant learners. You’ve made excellent use of cross-curricular links by combining science, geography, and art in a way that feels natural and exciting for young children. Using visual aids like maps and animal pictures will really help the children connect with the topic. The inclusion of open-ended questions such as “How do they keep warm?” and “What do they eat?” is a great way to encourage language development and critical thinking. The hands-on insulation experiment is fantastic, it’s age-appropriate, engaging and helps make a complex concept like blubber more tangible and understandable. Encouraging children to draw their favourite cold animal and share what they’ve learned is a great way to reinforce their understanding.
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I would focus on Science Skills and School Self Evaluation as this area is key to developing a more intentional and measurable approach to teaching STEM. In my classroom, I place a strong emphasis on fostering core scientific skills such as questioning, observing, predicting, recording, and discussing. These skills are the foundation of inquiry-based learning and help children become active participants in their own learning.
As part of a STEM-focused SSE, I would begin by gathering evidence of how and where these skills are currently being developed across the school. This could include teacher observations, samples of student work, and informal feedback from pupils. From there, I would work with colleagues to identify areas for improvement—perhaps more opportunities for hands-on investigation or more structured reflection during science lessons.
Our SSE process would then set clear targets, such as incorporating a minimum number of inquiry-based activities per term and increasing the use of digital tools to document pupil learning. This structured approach would not only support STEM development but also ensure consistency and progression across classes.
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Hi Sean,
I couldn’t agree more that the core scientific skills of questioning, observing, predicting, recording and discussing are essentials in a good STEM lesson. I like the set of clear targets you talk about, incorporating a minimum number of inquiry based activities, this will keep every teacher on the same page and is very do able. Consistency with the digital tools is something I would love to see across the board too.
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Hands-on Classroom Themed Activity
Activity Set: Where do you live?
I plan to teach this activity with my Junior Infant class, as it links to several subjects, including SPHE, art, STEM, and Geography. This lesson will provide the students with the opportunity to explore homes and facilities in their community.
I will introduce the lesson by reading the book ‘Home’. Images of various types of homes will be shown to the class, and we will discuss what they look like and what their homes look like. The class will then be invited to draw a picture of where they live, and a small discussion will be had about their drawings.
The children will then bring their home to life by constructing a 3D model of their home. This can be done by using LEGO, building bricks, straws, Play-Doh, etc. The children will be encouraged to use language such as roof, chimney, garden, door, and so on. Once they have created their home, the class will work together to build a village. This will be done by bringing all the children’s homes together, and I will ask a prompting question, such as ‘What’s missing in our village?’ and encourage the children to discuss buildings and facilities that we see in our community. The children will then work together in groups of 2 or 3 to construct these buildings (school, library, doctors, etc.)
This lesson could be extended by having the children map out their route to school, or taking a walk around the local village to observe the different buildings in their community.
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Hi Sarah, I’m also just learning and really like your approach to the Where do you live? activity. Using the book Home is a lovely way to introduce the topic and help children connect with their own experiences. I love how you’re incorporating 3D model-building with different materials—this hands-on element is perfect for keeping Junior Infants engaged while developing their language skills. Creating a whole village from their individual homes sounds like a fantastic way to build community awareness and teamwork. Your idea to extend learning by mapping routes or going on a local walk really brings the lesson to life and links learning to the real world. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful and practical plan!
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Reflection on Using “Weather” Activity Set
In my Senior Infants classroom, I find the Weather activity set particularly engaging and relevant for young learners. Activities like Animals in the Cold, What Clothes to Wear?, and Investigating Children’s Coats allow children to explore the natural environment and develop scientific inquiry skills through observation and discussion.
To approach What Clothes to Wear? in a fun and engaging way, I would start by having a dress-up corner with a variety of clothing items suitable for different weather conditions—coats, hats, scarves, rain boots, and sunglasses. We would begin with a group discussion about different types of weather, encouraging children to share their own experiences of what they wear on sunny, rainy, or cold days.
Next, I would organise a sorting game where children work in small groups to match clothing to weather pictures or scenarios. To extend learning, children could role-play getting dressed for a weather forecast they create themselves. This hands-on, playful approach would build vocabulary, reasoning, and decision-making skills, while making science relatable and fun.
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I’m also teaching Senior Infants, and I loved reading your post. The Weather activity set is such a hit in my classroom too, and your ideas for “What Clothes to Wear?” sound like so much fun.
The dress-up corner is a brilliant idea—I can just picture the kids getting really into it, trying on different outfits and chatting about the weather. I think the sorting game and the role-play forecast are great ways to keep things playful while still building those important thinking and language skills.
You’ve definitely given me some inspiration—I might try it out with my crew next year
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There were many excellent resources detailed in Module 4. I particularly liked the ESERO downloadable resources. I would use the resource ‘Where do you live?’ I would use this with Junior classes. I like this activity as it involves modelling and the development of fine motor skills and creativity. As a trigger for this activity I would use the story ‘The Three Little Pigs’. This is a story the children would already be familiar with and it allows for discussion around different types of houses. I would extend this discussion to include what a house should provide, for example protection and warmth.
Leading on from the discussion of the houses in the Three Little Pigs, I would have a whole class discussion on the type of houses the children live in. Then, making use of the downloadable worksheet which shows different house types the children could circle the house that is closest to the one they live in and use coloring pencils to match the color of their house. The children can then use this worksheet as a reference to make a model of their house using play dough or modelling clay.
Once the children have completed their models, they can be grouped together to create a village display. The display can then be used as a source of discussion around what else is needed in a village, for example, school, shops, doctor, park, etc. As an extension to this activity, the children can work in small groups to create these additional village features.
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Hi Andrea, I really love how you’ve connected “The Three Little Pigs” story with the “Where Do You Live?” resource, such a smart and familiar starting point for children. The progression from personal reflection to hands-on modelling and finally to building a collaborative village is so creative and inclusive. It’s a lovely blend of STEM, SPHE, and visual arts. I especially like how you encourage group work and discussion. A fantastic, child-centred approach!
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Hands-on Classroom themed activities
I feel like this course has opened me to a new world of online resources and activities for the I think that the online resources and activities will deepen the children’s knowledge on Space and allow them to explore for themselves.
I like the ESERO Activity What Clothes to wear? I will be using this lesson in my Infant classroom in September. This is a great lesson for teaching children about the seasons, the weather changes that we see and the different types of clothing associated with each season. Having the clothing items for the children to wear will make it a fun active lesson for them. This will be great for incorporating drama and art. I would split the children into groups and ask them to each design a different item of clothing for each season, e.g. raincoat, scarf, sunhat or wellies.
When the children have a good understanding of the weather, I would then use the other ESERO lesson Hot and Cold. Which will lead to a discussion on the sun and what we know about the sun. There are endless opportunities to develop the children’s learning from this lesson. -
Science Skills and SSE
As part of our school’s ongoing SSE process, we have chosen to focus on developing children’s science skills, with a particular emphasis on working scientifically and developing critical thinking. One of the first steps I’ve taken is to carry out a simple skills audit in my own class to assess children’s confidence in predicting, observing, questioning, and recording results. From this, I noticed that while pupils were enthusiastic, they needed more support with planning fair tests and understanding their findings.
To address this going forward, I will incorpoarte more structured group investigations using hands-on experiments. These type of activities will allow pupils to explore, record, and discuss results more independently. I also plan to support whole-school SSE by contributing to a shared bank of science resources and templates and encouraging teachers to use self-assessment checklists with pupils to track their scientific skill development over time. -
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Activity Set: Where do you live?
I have chosen the activity set: Where do you live for 1st/2nd class level. We would begin by looking at the different types of houses and introduce the children to any new vocabulary- detached, semi-detached, bungalow etc. I would then ask the children to describe their own house and it’s features. I would ask each child if they can identify which house most looks like theirs by giving each group a selection of pictures and ask them to discuss what is familiar to them.
The children will then design their house on the downloadable worksheet and use this to then design and create a 3d model of their house. We would use junk modelling for this and allow the children to be really imaginative with the different materials they would use to depict their house. I would question them throughout based on their worksheet design. for example if the roof was flat has this been expressed in their model. We would then set up our models as a village and allow other classes to come and visit and the children could chat about their house.
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It’s so important to work on fine motor skills from a young age, so I really like the model making in the ‘Where do you live lesson?’ for younger children. It would be nice to see them discuss what else might be needed in their village (shops, school etc) and have them reason through what they think is necessary for a community.
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Aisling, I really like how this activity encourages students to connect personally by first describing and identifying their own homes. Using junk modelling to create 3D houses is a fantastic hands-on approach that fosters creativity and deepens understanding , also integrating STEM skills by having students apply design and engineering principles as they create their houses.
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Activity Set: Hands-On Classroom Themed Activities
This module game me some excellent ideas to support hands-on learning in my classroom. I’m excited to use these as part of a STEM unit on weather.
One activity I would like to use is the ESERO Hot and Cold experiment. It gives children the chance to practise important scientific skills like predicting, observing, and recording. They will explore what happens to an ice cube in different places. It’s also a great way to introduce the concept of a ‘fair test’, as explained in the module.
I would also include the What Clothes to Wear activity. Using real clothes will make the lesson more engaging and allow for active, hands-on learning.
The Where Do You Live activity is nice.It highlights teamwork and how people living in a village rely on each other. There is also plenty of scope for differentiation, as required. I know it would spark a lot of interesting and funny conversations in my class about various people in our village, shop and GAA Club! -
I think the Animals in the Cold Lesson by Esero are excellent, where children realise there are many ways certain animals can live in cold climates. To deepen childrens’ understanding of how animals stay warm, I would add a hands-on STEM experiment focused on insulation “Blubber and Ice” . Students create a “blubber mitt” by sealing cold butter between two ziplock bags. They place one hand in icy water and the other in the butter-filled mitt. We could time how long each hand remains comfortable and compare results.
This leads to a discussion about how Arctic animals use thick fat layers, or blubber, to survive freezing temperatures.
The activity could be extended by researching animals with thick fat layers and exploring how their adaptations help them thrive in extreme environments.
We could also explore how animals stay cool in hot climates. Children compare two containers—one wrapped in black paper and one in reflective foil—left in the sun to observe temperature changes. This introduces the idea that desert animals often have light-colored fur or feathers to reflect heat. Children could design their own “cool animal shelters” using materials like cardboard, paper, and foil.
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Hi, yes I think the pieces you have highlighted will offer wonderful learning experiences to the children in our classrooms. The handson and scientific approach also marries language, STEM and creative problem solving skills for our children. This leads to engaging and playful experiences for the pupils in our classrooms
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This module provided a wealth of engaging stimuli and practical ideas to support hands-on, theme-based classroom activities. I’m excited to integrate these into an upcoming STEM unit focused on weather.
One activity I plan to use is the ESERO ‘Hot and Cold’ experiment. It offers children the opportunity to develop key scientific skills, such as predicting outcomes, observing, and recording results. As highlighted in the module, it also serves as a strong introduction to the concept of fair testing.
I also intend to incorporate the ‘What Clothes to Wear’ e-activity. Using real clothing items will make the lesson more interactive and engaging, allowing children to learn through tactile, hands-on exploration.
Another standout for me is the ‘Where Do You Live?’ activity. Its collaborative nature beautifully illustrates the interdependence within a village setting. I believe this activity also offers excellent opportunities for meaningful differentiation to support diverse learning needs.
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Activity Set: Online Resources and Tools
There is such a wide range of excellent online resources available to support teaching about space and STEM in the classroom. These tools offer exciting opportunities for both teachers and children to deepen their understanding through engaging, interactive, and up-to-date content.
I am particularly interested in exploring the following resources:• Astronomy Picture of the Day
This daily resource offers a new and captivating image from space each day, often accompanied by a brief explanation. I see great potential in using this as a daily discussion prompt, a stimulus for oral language, or a visual writing activity. It’s an accessible and inspiring way to keep space learning current and engaging.• Marvin and Milo
This is a fantastic collection of short comic-style stories and simple science experiments, ideal for younger learners. The characters of Marvin and Milo provide a fun and relatable way to introduce scientific thinking through storytelling and role play, which I believe would really resonate with my pupils.• Stellarium Web
Stellarium is a powerful, interactive tool that allows pupils to explore the night sky in real time. It includes detailed, user-friendly views of planet visibility, constellations, and star maps. I’m excited to use this as a digital extension to our space unit, allowing pupils to make real-world connections and build visual understanding of the solar system.These are just a few of the many online tools I plan to incorporate into my teaching. I’m really looking forward to using these interactive resources to enrich STEM learning in my classroom this year and to inspire a deeper interest in space among my pupils.
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To take further steps toward a STEM-focused School Self Evaluation in our school, I would begin by gathering targeted evidence on current science teaching practices. This would include teacher reflections, samples of pupil work, and feedback from both pupils and parents. I would use science skills, like predicting, investigating, and observing, as focal points and assess how often and effectively they are embedded in lessons.
Using tools like the “Looking at Our Schools” quality framework, I would evaluate our strengths and identify gaps. I’d then draft a short self-evaluation report, summarising our findings and highlighting areas for development, such as improving student engagement or increasing teacher confidence in STEM.
Next, we’d create a STEM improvement plan with clear, measurable targets, for example, increasing the number of investigative lessons each term or integrating more inquiry-based approaches across strands. Actions would be delegated, progress monitored through staff discussions, and outcomes evaluated using both qualitative and digital evidence like videos, drawings, or recorded presentations. Lastly, I’d promote engagement with initiatives such as the Curious Minds Awards to build enthusiasm and gain recognition for our STEM journey. -
Hands On Classroom Activities – Activity Set; Weather. I think this is a great topic for junior classes as these tasks can be very hands on and interactive with the right resources.
– What to Wear: It’s important that we discuss the seasons or simply the times during the year when its warmer or hot and times when it’s cooler or cold. Ask the question, How does this impact what we might wear? Why do you think this matters?
For a hands on activity, place two large hoops on the floor (one is warm weather and one is cold weather) and from a dress up box, ask children to take turns taking out an item and placing it in one of the hoops. Afterwards, children discuss their reasons. The wooly hat is in the cool hoop as it keeps your head warm. The sunglasses are in the warm hoop because they shade your eyes from the sun etc. You can expand on this and have four hoops, one for each season. Are there clothes we can move from our initial two hoops and share amongst four?
Children can then have a worksheet with four outlined bodies for each season. Children are asked to draw clothes on the bodies to depict what season it is.
The story ‘A Stroll Through The Seasons’ by Kay Barnham is a lovely book that is read aloud on YouTube. It brings the children through each season, the changing weather and the students get to see the characters clothing changes throughout the book.
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Good Morning Deirdre, I enjoyed reading your post! I love how interactive your activity is, especially the use of hoops and dress up props. It’s the perfect way to help junior classes link the difference between weather and clothing. The inclusion of the four seasons is a great way to deepen their understanding.
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STEM plays an extraordinarily important role in schools. It underpins every part of our lives and is present in everything around us. With this in mind, the focus in classrooms should be on developing skills like questioning, critical thinking, and problem solving. These core competencies not only lead to greater creativity and innovation but also help build resilience and boost confidence in learners.
STEM encourages children to embrace failure as part of the learning journey, viewing mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. It promotes hands-on experimentation, the effective use of technology, and the development of teamwork and collaboration skills.
One excellent resource I frequently use is Science Buddies STEM Activities. This site offers a wide range of fun, hands-on STEM activities, challenges, and demonstrations designed for children. Most materials are easy to source, and many activities can be completed quickly, making them ideal for the classroom or at home.
Some engaging examples include:
Build a Balloon Car
Make a Paper RocketElephant Toothpaste Experiment
Walking Water Science
Design a Sandcastle That Can Support a Brick
Catch a Bubble Challenge
Turn Milk into Plastic
Create a Miniature Water Cycle ModelThese kinds of activities inspire curiosity and help bring science and engineering concepts to life in a fun and memorable way.
A lesson i might use in my classroom-
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.
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For this I would choose Weather- animals in the cold. If I were to plan a hands-on activity about animals in cold weather for my 2nd class students, I would create a project called “Winter Animal Survival.” I would start by introducing the topic through a short story or video showing animals like polar bears, penguins, arctic foxes, and seals in their natural snowy habitats. We would talk about how these animals stay warm, what they eat, and how they adapt to survive freezing temperatures.
Then, I would set up different activity stations. One station would let students create their own cold-weather animal using playdough, cotton balls, felt, and pipe cleaners. They could choose an animal and add features like thick fur, flippers, or a layer of blubber. Another station would include a simple science experiment where we’d fill two bags—one with shortening (to represent blubber) and one without—and ask students to place their hands inside both bags while submerged in icy water. This would help them feel how blubber insulates animals from the cold.
If time allowed, students would also draw a snowy habitat for their animal and write a few facts about how it survives in winter. This activity would support science, art, and literacy skills in a fun and engaging way.
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Hands on activities
Esero – Hot and cold – This is an activity I plan to use. It offers children the opportunity to develop key scientific skills, such as predicting outcomes, observing, and recording results. I like the way it also serves as a strong introduction to the concept of fair testing. I feel this is an important part of STEM teaching.
Understanding hot and cold is a crucial part of kids educational journey, blending science with sensory. It’s not just about learning temperature difference, it’s about exploring our world and all living things within it and ensuring their safety, like polar bears being able to stay warm etc.
By comparing and contrasting temperatures children begin to develop critical thinking skills.
Ice painting is a fun way to explore cold temperatures. Freeze coloured water in cube trays and let the children use as paintbrushes on paper. As the ice melts, it creates a pattern and children experience the cold sensation and the process of melting. Using warm and cool playdough – one warmed slightly in the microwave and the other cooled in the fridge. Children can feel the difference in temperature. Bringing in the idea of why polar bears need warm fur in order to survive in such cold conditions, like we need clothes and shelter to survive the different weathers.
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This module has a number of excellent hands on activities to teach the children in the classroom. Next year I am going to incorporate “ What clothes to wear” in my planing.
I would begin the lesson by asking the children if they knew the names of the four seasons. I would then read a book based on the four seasons to the children and discuss this in detail with them. After this I would show the children various images on the whiteboard of children dressed up in different clothes. I would then ask them the question “ What season are they dressed for?”Then I would give the children a blank template of a teddy bear. I would assign each table with a season and they would dress their teddy appropriately using the cut out clothes provided. I would then ask the children to explain why they picked the certain outfit for the teddy. These questions would develop a number of scientific skills. -
Hands on classroom activities
Activity set : Where do you live?
I would start this lesson by discussing and showing the children all the different types of houses. We would then look at the type of house they live in, seeing all the different types of homes there are. There is a lot of vocabulary in this discussion and it is important that they understand the main features of each house type.
For a hands-on activity at this stage, I would give Play-Doh for them to make their own house.
This can be extended in 2nd class to discuss houses in other countries as a follow up lesson.. Are they the same as we have in Ireland? Why might there be different types of homes? Are all houses made of bricks? I would show them visuals of different homes people live in. What other materials are used? They will come up with ideas of wood, steel etc .
I can show homes made from mud bricks and bamboo and we discuss why they would use these, could we use them here?
I would have an activity then where the children choose to use jaggo blocks or lego to construct houses in pairs or groups of 3. They get to show their constructions at the end and the other groups ask questions about what they produced.
Finally as a calming end to the activity, I would read the story of the 3 little pigs or something similar on a home/houses theme.
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Hands on classroom themed activities:
I think the activity of “Where do you live” would be a good activity to complete with my 1st/2nd class children.
To begin the activity I would do a think-pair-share activity of what type a house the children leave in, can they describe it, its features etc. They would then get an aid of a worksheet to find what house represents where they live.
The children will then get a chance to model their own house with 3D material. The children in my class would love doing this.
After this, we will place all the model houses together in a circle. We will have a conversation all together and I will ask key questions such as “What is missing”/ “what else do we have in our local area”. We will discuss all the things that make up our village and add to our list!
I think this activity would be really practical with my 1st/2nd class and they will love designing their 3D models!
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I enjoyed reading about your “Where do you live?” activity. I think it’s such a lovely way to connect STEM with the children’s everyday lives. The think-pair-share idea is a great way to get them talking and thinking critically, and I love how it builds up to the 3D modelling part. Placing the houses in a circle and discussing what’s missing is a brilliant way to encourage collaboration and deeper thinking about their local area.
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I was very impressed by the lesson materials in Module 4. I feel I would use almost all of them as they link in a such a broad way to so many aspects of the Junior Curriculum. I like the way the lesson provides the story and the colouring pages.
I would use the Esero ‘What Clothes to Wear’ lesson in a junior class. However, I think I would split it up into different lessons. It would be too long for my infants and perhaps would be more like a week of work e.g. the rain story could be our drama component. We could explore adding sound effects with musical instruments.
We do the seasons and the weather daily in class, as Béarla agus as Gaeilge. Therefore, I would use the first activity at the start of the year regarding the seasons and build on it daily then.
I would also add in some songs to aid their learning e.g. 4 Seasons in a Year, How is the Weather?
I think it would be nice to so the dressing up activity in a circle on the mat. I would do Eadaí as Gaeilge on the week after then.
We could also dress children up behind the door and then others have to guess what season they have dressed for and give reasons for their answers.
I think that an interesting extension activity for them would be discussing how to design a winter coat for our class teddy. What materials could we use? Why? -
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Hands-on classroom activities with the following theme: Where do you Live?
I would begin by introducing the theme “home” to the children as a visual game. I would show a partially hidden image on the whiteboard and ask them to identify which room it might be. This would lead into a whole-class discussion, revising different rooms in the house (bedroom, sitting room, utility room, attic).
I would then read the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and ask the children to recall the types of rooms mentioned in the story. From this, they would explore the idea of what makes a home. Is it the people who live in it? Is it the toys that are found in it? I would invite the children to describe their home and share what they like most about it.
To support this theme through play, children would design their dream home using Lego. Once completed, they would present their home to the class using simple sentences. They would learn that homes can look different from one another. I would use questioning as a form of assessment. Who has a chimney? Who has a flat roof? Who lives in a bungalow?
I would leave their Lego structures on display in the classroom for the week, allowing the children to observe and discuss each other’s homes as we continue to explore this topic.
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Hi Jocelyn,
This is a really fun and interesting way of bring Science to life in the classroom. There are so many exciting and active ways to engage the children within your plan of work. This would integrate so well with Geography and Gaeilge. Leaving the Lego homes displayed in a wonderful way to reflect on their work and to showcase their learning.
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Online resources and tools
I find that children are more engaged and enjoy a lesson more when there is a video or other stimuli to start off the lesson. I really like the resource “Marvin and Milo”.
They are fun and engaging and I can see the children enjoying the characters. I think this resource would be fantastic for setting science homework for a class, a fun and interesting change from their usual homework.
I also really enjoyed the resource “Stellarium”, I found myself fascinated with the tutorial on using it as I loved the way the constellations were identified for you. I think the children would really enjoy this and after looking at the night sky I would ask them to draw or create their own constellation, and then name it. They could enjoy using their favourite animal as the shape and then add in the stars. The children could guess each other’s constellations. -
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Hands on classroom themed activities: Where do you live?
I would begin this theme by taking a walk in our community. I would begin pointing to various types of homes as we walk by, prompting discussions amongst the children about the different types of homes they can see as well as the type of homes they live in. We would take in our local surroundings in our community as we walk.
Once back in the classroom, I would ask the children if they recall the different types of homes they saw, linking it to our SESE lessons on types of homes. The children would then be given the opportunity to create a home using lego, duplo, magnets, plus plus, straws, pegs or playdough. Each child would be given the opportunity to present their home to the class if they wanted.
Once displayed, I would ask the children what 3D and 2D shapes they can identify in the various homes, creating a maths lesson. We would discuss how different homes use different shapes to be created, encouraging the children to notice the differences homes can have yet all still be a home. -
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Activity Set: Online Tools to support Science and Space Learning:
Our class would make use of the resources and support within Stellarium-web.org. The online resources would be shared with the class through their online classroom platform and this would allow for pupils to work together, in pairs. The learning objectives would focus on the sky at night, our stars and planets, which can be seen, within our night sky. The class would view the video shared within this module, to support their activities within Stellarium. I would provide a guide showing the particular areas within Stellarium, to allow for ease of access, by pupil, when they investigate this resource independently.
Milo and Marvin have many excellent examples of practical classroom activities. As this work would be part of a theme of classroom learning, we would make use of the Alka-Seltzer Rocket. The Scientific learning within this plan of work would allow for integration of History and Visual art,looking at Ancient Greece, as the pupils use Stellarium to look at the Constellation Art. The ESA resource for teachers, Cleaning Up Space would provide the class with opportunities to consider satellites.and how they help life on Earth and consider problem solving with debris. This work would address both areas within STEM, within our school of Working Scientifically and Designing and Making, as we question, observe, predict and explore, plan and make and evaluate our learning.
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I will definitely do the hot and cold activity with the ice cubes. This is a nice simple activity that allows the children to work scientifically. They can predict what might happen to the different ice cubes in the sun and shade. They can observe the experiment happening and then record their findings.
I also like the hot and cold activity. I did a similar activity to show the penguins blubber helps keep them dry. We used black wax crayons to colour the penguin and then using a pipet dropped some water drops on the penguin. The water rolls off because of the waxy coat. The children in my class really enjoyed this activity.
I also wanted to share a link to a video I shared with my class when working on a unit on animals in the Arctic and Antarctic. This video bring the children on a walk through the Arctic to spot some animals. My class really loved this too. It’s an fun and engaging way to spark their curiosity and sense of adventure. One child in my class said ‘I can’t believe we just went to the Arctic’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-9xDztBhzE -
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Interactive Classroom Activity: “Where Do You Live?”
This activity is designed for a Junior Infant class and integrates multiple subject areas, including SPHE, Art, STEM, and Geography.
The lesson will begin with a reading of the book “If I built a house” I will display images of various home types to prompt discussion about their features and compare them to the students’ own homes. Following this, each child will be invited to draw a picture of their own home and share their work in a short class discussion.
Next, students will bring their drawings to life by creating their homes using large sheets of cardboard. They will use crayons/markers etc to decorate their houses.
Once the individual homes are complete, the children will come together and give each other feedback. We will discuss what could make our town/village better including services and buildings that are essential to run the community.
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As polar regions is one or the areas covered in the first class in our school. I would use some of the activities described in
Activity Set: Weather
– Animals in the Cold.
Prompt: I would read say hello to the Snowy Animals by Ian Whybrow and Ed Eaves
First I would discuss the habitat these animals are living in. Is it cold/hot? How can you tell? What features do you think an animal might need to be able to live in this part of the world? -Discuss thermal/insulative properties these animals may have? Warm furry winter coats, layers of fat, extra layers of feathers.
– What clothes to wear?
Discuss what clothes we would need to go visit the snowy animals. Make a list for our polar expedition.
– Investigating Children’s Coats
Explain that our coats aren’t good enough to keep us warm? Using what we learned about how the animals survive can we design a coat to keep us warm. Get the children to use their ideas and build a lagging jacket for a jam jar to test which coat design is best. (Fill four identical plastic mineral bottles with hot water from the same container so temp will be equal and make a fair test. Replace lid on bottle and give to teams. Get team leaders to wrap their teams jacket around the bottle. Teacher supervises and once jacket is on teacher removes cap and places a thermomter in the top of the bottle. Note water temp at the start. and water temp every 15 minutes after that. See which groups design best insulates the bottle.Extension work: Show blood falls in Antarctica and ask they children to think about why if everything is frozen around the falls the water continues to flow in the falls? Talk about what we see being spread on roads in the icy weather. Why do the people spread ice on roads? What would happen if we add salt to ice? in a tin can add salt to ice. Keep a thermometer in the ice and don’t handle the outside of the can and see what happens. Why do the children think this happened?
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Module 4
I looked at the online resources outlined in this module. The cartoon format of the Marvin and Milo experiments would be very attractive for children (the illustrations are similar to the Dogman series of books!) and the experiments are simpy explained. I would use these in the classroom but perhaps cover the end of the comic strip to allow for predictions first. Alternatively these comic strips would be great for at home experiments during the year or during STEM week. I thought the ESA site also had good ideas -some of which could integrated with other subjects. For example, in the ‘mission on the moon’ activity, students take on the role of “mission controller” and “rover”. One student will give commands to enable the other to navigate blindly across the ‘lunar surface’. They will have to follow a set route to avoid obstacles, carry out missions and arrive safely at their final destination. This would be a great orienteering and team-challenge activity in PE.
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Hands On Classroom based activity.
“Build a Bridge.” My idea was to get the kids thinking like little engineers. I gave them materials like LEGO, lollipop sticks, string, paper, and tape, and asked them to build a bridge strong enough to hold a toy car. We could begin with a short story about animals needing to cross a river, which I hope would get their imaginations going.
I have done this lesson before to good success. The best part was watching their discovery based learning and seeing them test their bridges and then go back to tweak their designs. I took photos and short videos throughout and then we watched them back a few days later and compared each others designs. We chatted bout how some could haven been improved and what was the key successful elements of other designs,
In the classroom, this activity fits nicely into a STEM-focused SSE approach. It touches on science (materials and forces), engineering (design and testing), and even maths (measuring and comparing). Next time, I’d love to build on it by introducing Bee-Bots to “drive” across the bridges or maybe even invite a willing engineer parent to chat with the class.
It’s amazing how much learning happens when kids are just playing and exploring.
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I have chosen the online resources-Milo and Marvin. I had a quick look at a few of the comic strips that appealed to me and that I could see working in my classroom situation. Overall, the format is easy to follow. I think my students would find it appealing that the animation and the colours/font are not over simulating at all, which is important for my class dynamic. The same format repeatedly would be attractive to my students and to myself-it is easy to follow and predictable. What I also like is that all the experiments are easy to do, simple to complete and have a small number of resources required. I think they would work well as prompts for inquiry but also to scaffold the children’s exploration. Also, it would motivate my students. We could even create our own Milo and Marvin style comics after other activities. I was particularly interested in the Lava Lamp activity, a staple of a classroom, and the Alka seltzer rocket. They had a good sense of humour, and I know my students would enjoy seeing the comic as an instruction guide for inquiry. Also using the pdf, it would be easy to use on ipads, AAC devices and to change the text to a dyslexic friendly font too.
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Science skills and School Self Evaluation
In recent years I have been teaching in the infant classes and feel it is so important to begin to foster the key scientific skills from an early age. The children can access areas such as questioning, observing, predicting and recording in an age appropriate manner and its never to early to evaluate the effectiveness of science education in both the classroom and whole school context.
An effective SSE will allow a school to improve the quality of science education for its’ pupils. I would follow the six step process and start off with ‘gathering evidence’ by reflecting on teaching and learning in my classroom, reviewing the children’s work and getting the views of teacher, parents and pupils. I would then ‘analyse the evidence’ and ‘draw conclusions’ from the evidence. This will help identify the schools currents strengths in science education and areas that need to be improved upon. A ‘self evaluation report’ would then be drafted outlining the areas chosen for evaluation, progression, current strengths and and areas requiring improvement. Once this is complete A ‘STEM’ improvement plan follows which will focus on outcomes for learners, how to achieve these and who will be involved in its’ implementation and how its success can be measured. Step 6 will involve ‘Implementing and monitoring.’
When all of the above is carried out in a collaborative and meaningful way it will lead to a better quality of teaching, better student learning outcomes being met and higher quality resources and effective practice being shared amongst colleagues.
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For 6th Class, I would use the ‘What Clothes to Wear’ – Seasons (ESERO 11) lesson as an engaging way to explore STEM concepts through real-world applications.
I would begin with a class discussion about Ireland’s four seasons and the typical weather patterns associated with each. Students would then examine different materials used in clothing and explore how these materials respond to weather conditions like wind, rain, and temperature. This would naturally lead into scientific investigations—such as testing materials for waterproofing, insulation, or breathability—encouraging pupils to make predictions, conduct experiments, and record data.
To bring in engineering and technology, the class could design and prototype weather-appropriate outfits using simple materials. I would also use digital tools (e.g. weather apps or temperature graphs) to track weather trends and link these patterns to clothing choices. Maths would be incorporated through measurement, data recording, and analysis.
Overall, this lesson encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration, all within a STEM framework. It helps students understand how science connects with their everyday decisions, such as dressing appropriately for the weather. -
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I would use the Special Life – Life in Space activity with my Junior Infant class to help them get creative and curious. I’d start by reading a fun story like Aliens Love Underpants to grab their attention. After the story, we’d have a chat about what aliens might find interesting or special about Earth—things like animals, flowers, the sea, or even underpants! We’d make a big mind map together with all their ideas.
Next, the children would draw something special about Earth. They wouldn’t show it to anyone yet! We’d sit in a circle, and each child would act it out while the others guess. This would be a fun way to get them thinking and talking.
After that, we could build alien houses or rockets using junk art and blocks. We could even make space slime or paint alien planets. As an extra STEM link, we might look at how astronauts live in space—how they eat, sleep, and float! The children could then build their own “space bed” or “space kitchen” with Lego or classroom materials.
To finish, they could write a short sentence or record a little video describing their alien or invention. This would help build their speaking and early writing skills while keeping things playful and hands-on.
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topic–weather
As this course goes on I am realising that I have done bits of science experiements without planning for it due to the weather. Its nice to have a plan to complete the whole lesson.
I do think with my children that i teach that i would have to start the lesson to make sure that they understand the concept of hot and cold and how it feels–may bring in hot water bottle, cold/hot water, ice cube etc
I than would continue with the sun and if its hot or cold and is the sun hot. how does it feel in the shade.
finally I would do the experiment with the ice–cube.
how ever 12 month ago during the strange spring weather where it snowed but the sun was high in the sky and hot. we actually took some snow and experimented what would happen to it if we put it on a rad, left it outside, one kid said im going to leave mine in the shade and some left it in the sun. The following day when most of it melted. the experiment kept going when one of the kids suggested as its so cold can we leave the water out again. this kept going for the week of the snow. I just never thought of it as a science experiment i just with the interest of the children
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The activity set I would use is Where Do You Live?
As I will be in an EAL position next year, this is a great opportunity to learn more about where the children that I will be working came from. I would ask each child to bring in a few photos of where they lived before they came to Ireland (this could be a sensitive issue if dealing with children from Ukraine whose homes have been damaged). We will discuss similarities / differences between homes in the native countries versus homes in Ireland.
Next, I would read the book Children Like Us: Homes Around The World by Moira Butterfield, with the children. There would be lots of discussion about features that remain constant and features that change depending on where the home is located.
Finally, I would do an Art activity where children would design where they would like to live. What I like about this activity is that there is no right / wrong answer, children are free to use their imagination to create the home of their dreams. When complete, children will be asked to present their work, and answer questions from their peers.
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I liked the range of hands on and inquiry led activities set out in this module! I would try the hot and cold animals activity with junior infants. I might start with the book Béar Bán as a stimulus. I have previously taught a similar lesson where we explored how effective different materials were at keeping hands warm in ice water by creating different layers between two rubber gloves.
In terms of a SSE, I think this could be very helpful in ensuring that science teaching across the school follows the scientific method of designing an experiment to test a hypothesis, instead of only carrying out teacher directed activities.
Making the SSE process very collaborative, both with the children and between all teachers at different class levels would make sure the process would benefit STEM learning in the school by empowering everyone to encourage inquiry led learning in the school.
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Hands-on classroom themed activities
As a senior infant teacher, I have always aimed to make my lessons as hands on as possible. The Universe in a Box activity book from UNAWE offers several hands on activities which are suitable for various levels in the junior classes.
One activity from this resource I will definitely be using is The Spherical Earth. As mentioned in Module 2, I plan to introduce and teach this topic using a penguin and a polar bear and also the ‘Earth Mosaic’ page as stimuli. I intend to develop this lesson by incorporating the theme ‘Polar Animals’ across as many curricular areas as possible and give as many opportunities for play as possible.
Once the pupils have achieved the objectives of these lessons, we will move onto The Sun and Shadows. I really liked the Youtube clip showing how to create a sundial. This is something that could easily be done in our school yard and pupils could check and mark the appropriate times at the beginning and the end of break/lunch times.
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I plan on using the activity ‘what clothes to wear’ lesson to help investigate the weather in an engaging way.
To begin the lesson, I will show the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGPsnudVS5c to help engage them and also include some vocabulary; showing different clothes for different seasons.
I will open a discussion about; “What clothes do you recognise?”, “When do you wear a hat/scarf/sunglasses?” & “Why do we wear those clothes?”The children will engage in a sorting game, using real items of clothing for children to explore. Play a sorting game: “Summer or Winter?”. When they are finished I will ask each group to decide what item is for summer or winter and why.
After that, the children will dress-up in stations with clothes from all seasons. Ask children to dress a doll/teddy bear or themselves for summer, winter, autumn, and spring.
There will be lots of questions to guide: “Would you be hot or cold in this?”, “What does the sun do to us? Why do we wear hats and sunglasses?”, “What happens when it’s windy or rainy?”Finally the children will draw a picture of themself dressed for their favourite season. Add labels using new vocabulary. Include sun, clouds, wind, or snow in the background, as discussed, used and shown as the start of the lesson.
Circle time questions: It’s important to reflect on the of the task at hand, to ensure their understanding of the various clothes for the different seasons ;
“What did you learn about clothes and the seasons?” “Why is it important to protect ourselves from the sun?” & “What would you tell a space visitor about what we wear on Earth?” -
Firstly, I would use the Curious Minds framework for inquiry to plan my lesson, as I found this a helpful tool to organise my lesson and to really hone in on what science skills I want the children to develop. The science glance cards were also a very efficient tool that I had forgotten about.
Activity Set: What clothes to wear? Senior Infants
I would use what clothes to wear (ESERO Lesson 11) to base my lesson. As a stimulus to engage the children, I would give each group a large picture displaying one of the four seasons and the children will then have to choose the appropriate clothes for that season. This will lead us into a discussion about what we know about the different seasons. The children will identify which clothes we wear and why. Next the children will sit in a circle with the large dressing-up box in the middle, investigating the suitability of different clothes for different seasons. I will explain that it is summer and you are going to the beach, followed by winter and we are going skiing. We will close the discussion with the conclusion that you need different clothes for each season. The children would then design their own coat for different seasons, some of the following questions will encourage a discussion, What material will they use? How can they make it practical?
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Animals in the Cold
Fur Concept;
Hands-On Task: Let each child take a toy animal (like a polar bear or a seal). Give them cotton balls to glue or stick on the animal figurine to simulate thick fur.
Temperature Test: Place the toy animal in a small container with ice cubes or ice water. Ask the kids to feel how cold the toy is without the “fur.”
Feel the Difference: Now, put the animal in a container with the cotton balls (representing fur) and place it in the ice again. Have the kids feel the difference in temperature and discuss how the fur helps keep the animal warm.
Drawing and Creativity: Ask the children to draw their own cold climate animals (polar bears, penguins, etc.) on large sheets of paper. They can also include cold elements like icebergs, snow, and the northern lights.
Add Details: Encourage the kids to color and add features like fur, blubber, or feathers. You can also encourage them to label these features on their drawings to demonstrate their understanding of the adaptations. -
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I particularly liked the activity ‘What clothes to Wear’ so I will be using this as my lesson along with the Investigating Children’s Coats activity as outlined on the Curious Minds Teachers Planning Guide. I feel both these activities would really engage my class and cater for all needs. The resources would further enhance Science lessons.
A dressing up box would be used and the children will select suitable clothes from this e.g summer clothes/winter clothes and will explain why they chose the particular clothes for summer and for winter. This will be integrated with oral language and possibly art also. Children will recognise that some materials keep us warmer than others while some cool us down better than others. We can also investigate and recognise that plants and animals provide us with materials with which to make clothes e.g sheep and cows. The children can then design their own clothes for either summer or winter using materials we have just discussed and learned about. -
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Activity Set: Online Tools to support Science and Space Learning
In this module, I really enjoyed learning about many online tools to support Science & Space learning in my classroom. All children, especially in the Junior classes, love using ICT to enhance their learning so I’m always looking for new ways to do so. It is difficult to choose one online resource in particular from this module so I would hope to focus on the following two tools to engage my pupils:
a) UNAWE – I like the idea of using this resource for sharing astronomy news with pupils, which could be ideal for reading comprehension or science discussion. I would also hope to use the selection of hands-on activities available on this site for Aistear time.
b) Marvin & Milo Cartoons – I like this resource as it provides engagement for various ages and can be adapted easily depending on class level. It has easy to use materials and it encourages pupils’ exploration skills, as well as promoting inquiry based learning in a simple way.I also love the idea of ‘Astronomy Picture of the Day’ and feel it is something that could be done as pupils come into school and get settled in the morning during carpet time.
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Hands-on, classroom-themed activities are essential for fostering engagement and deeper understanding in STEM education. In my classroom, I use these activities to help students make real-world connections to abstract scientific concepts. One example is a “Build a Mars Habitat” challenge, where students use recycled materials to design and construct a model habitat that could support human life on Mars. This project integrates science (planetary conditions, biology), technology (design tools), engineering (structural integrity), and math (scaling, measurement). Students collaborate, test materials, and present their solutions, gaining both content knowledge and 21st-century skills.
To take this further toward a STEM-focused SSE (School Self Evaluation), I would involve students in the evaluation process—gathering feedback on activities, tracking STEM skill development, and reflecting on their learning through journals or digital portfolios. I’d also collaborate with colleagues to embed more interdisciplinary STEM projects school-wide, creating a culture of inquiry, innovation, and reflection.
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In my 1st class classroom, I would use the ESERO activity What Clothes to Wear? to teach children about the different seasons and the types of weather we experience throughout the year. I would begin with a discussion on the four seasons and the typical weather associated with each. Then, I would bring in real clothing items like scarves, sunhats, raincoats, and wellies etc for the children to explore and try on in small groups. This hands-on approach would help them connect the clothing to the season. To extend the lesson I would incorporate drama by having each group act out a short scene showing what they wear and do in their given season. For art the children could design and decorate an item of seasonal clothing using various materials. This activity would also be a great opportunity to integrate Gaeilge linking it with the topic of Éadaí, allowing the children to use the Irish words for clothing and weather in context. Once they have a strong understanding of weather and clothing, I would follow up with the “Hot and Cold” activity to introduce the concept of the sun and its effects, leading into discussions on space and the wider world around them.
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I think the lesson What Clothes to Wear? that Eve has discussed would also be something that I would like to try with my 1st class. It would indeed be a great way to introduce the topic of weather and seasons throughout the year. I love the idea of bringing in real clothing items for the students to try on and discuss what they might wear depending on the weather.
It is definitely a lesson that can be integrated into Drama, Art and Gaeilge as well.
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There were a lot of fun ideas to chose from in this module. I think id like to try the ‘Hot and Cold’ activity as it offers a simple yet effective opportunity to conduct investigation with young children.In the investigation children would explore and observe how the location of the sun affects the rate at which ice melts. Such an activity would allow the teacher to ask many thought provoking questions as well as draw on the childrens observations on what is occurring. This activity could be used to support the teaching of many topics such as sun protection, temperature, weather patterns etc. I could see the experimenting working well in a group work scenario wherein children conduct the testing and record the results themselves. In this way I think the teacher would be given a good chance to observe and consider how effective the activity is and use this information to inform their future lessons and planning.
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Module 4 Where do you live?
I really enjoy teaching this topic as there are so many links across the Primary School Curriculum.
Previously I have used ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’ as a basis for talking about homes with infants and ‘Home’ by Jeannie Baker with older children as the stimulus for discussion. Often I start with basics about the house and then move to mapping around the house, thus linking history through story and geography through human environments.
Oral talk/discussion: Is a house the same as a home? What is a home? What is a house? What kinds of house are there?
Brainstorm Homes – Make a mindmap of the different types of home that we know
Powerpoint: Different types of home; bungalow, detached, semi-detached, apartment, flat, caravan, tent. Some sensitivity needs to be shown based on the learners in the room and their particular circumstances (such as those that are homeless in B&Bs or hotels)
Think – Pair – Share: Children can discuss with their partner what their home is like – how they are the same and how they are different
Googlemaps: We will talk about how addresses often reflect what is around: Trees, famous people, rivers, local place names.
We will use one address to show how an address is made up – It will not belong to a child but will be typical of their area. The children really enjoy zooming in.
Using a satellite image, we start with our addresses in reverse order: Earth, Europe/ Ireland/ County/ Town / Road name/ Number etc
At the end, children will be encouraged to draw a picture of their own home and make up an address or use their own (if not on public display)
Links: Animal homes, mapping, story, art, STEM, making homes (ESERO lesson on Where do you live?)
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I like lessons on ‘Animals in the cold’.
Firstly doing a picture sort to group into two circles. Seeing at first glance through observation and questioning of the groupwork, the reasoning behind choosing to put certain animals apart ie Antarctica and Artic. Noticing the similarities of some animals eg whales, seals, etc appearing in both circles and other animals being apart ie the penguin and polar bear.
Further discussion and exploration of the coats animals have to equip them in their climate/region. Integrate with geography and discuss the climate and opposite seasons… winter in one will have summer in the other, recapping on some of the globe activities shown in an earlier module.
Allow for a hands on activity – bowl of iced water, briefly dip had in, then dip a glove covered hand to help understand fur/blubber as an insulator.
Show a video to evoke discussion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onu6QCr_feg
Have children brainstorm and discover in pairs ‘what animals need to survive their climates’ ie fur, hibernation etc and present back to the class.
Consolidate the learning by making a fact poster on both regions for class display
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The hands on classroom themed lesson I would like to try with my class would be on the climate and Animals in the cold.
To introduce the lesson we would have a discussion about the weather and I would ask the students about what different types of weather we have. We would then discuss how different parts of the world experience more rain, sun than others and how some countries are colder/hotter than others.
Next I would ask them about what they know about the weather in the north and south poles and how it is often extremely cold. I would get the children to do some research into how animals in these parts of the world keep themselves warm for example the penguin and polar bear. We would talk about the fact that their fur and feathers are what keep them warm and how people put on extra layers such as jumpers and coats to keep themselves warm in winter too.
We would discuss how animals adapt to their environments depending on the climate they live in.
Finally, at the end of the lesson we would have another look at the picture of the penguin and polar bear and how their colour helps them to hunt unseen.
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This module has fantastic, user friendly, resources for junior classes. The activity I look forward to using is ‘Where do you live? From ESERO 5. As suggested in the activity I would start the activity by getting the children to describe their house. The vocabulary for different housing can be introduced- bungalow, detached, semi-detached, terraced, dormer bungalow, apartment, modular home etc.
From here I would distribute the worksheet and give the children the opportunity to colour the house that looks most like their home and then give the children the opportunity to draw their home. I will encourage them to think about the type of roof their home has, chimney or no chimney, height of the walls, number of windows and doors and the garden.
At this stage I would encourage the children to identify the materials that were used to build their home and homes in general in Ireland.
I have pictures of homes from different countries and the children will discuss how homes in other countries differ to Ireland – Reasons for the differences to be discussed – climate, economy, building resources available in different countries.
I would then give the children the opportunity to make a model of their home using the plasticine and as suggested in the activity put them togrther in a village setting. Asking the children what other buildings are missing is a key part of this lesson. The children will come to realise the importance of the shops, school, library etc in a community. I will then give the children the opportunity to construct the missing buildings and add them to the village.
The children would very much enjoy showing their village to younger children and explaining the different types of homes and buildings in their village.-
Hi Regina,
I like the way you have used a variety of cross curricular areas throughout the lesson. Vocabulary building, describing things use of math’s through discussions on height ect, geography when disussing different homes around the world/ climate. art through designing an d making their homes. A wonderful lesson. Thank you for sharing.
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This activity focuses on how animals survive in cold climates and links closely with the SESE Science strand Living Things. Children learn about animal adaptations such as blubber, thick fur, hibernation, and migration through visual, oral, and hands-on activities.
The lesson begins with a class discussion using images or video clips of animals like polar bears, penguins, and arctic foxes. Children identify how these animals stay warm and compare them with animals from warmer climates. A simple blubber glove experiment using lard and icy water allows pupils to explore insulation and feel the effects firsthand.Cross-curricular links include Geography, where children locate cold regions like the Arctic and Antarctic and match animals to each area. In English, pupils write reports or creative stories based on an animal’s daily life in the cold. For Visual Arts, they create textured drawings or collages of animals in snowy habitats.
Assessment is carried out through observation, written work, and science journals. This topic promotes inquiry, discussion, and integrated learning, helping children build a deeper understanding of how living things adapt to survive in extreme environments.
Sallyanne Barry
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As a Junior Infants teacher, I have found that hands-on activities are the most effective way to engage young learners in science. The Hands-On Classroom Themed Activities outlined in this module highlight how even our youngest pupils can develop STEM skills through structured play and meaningful inquiry.
One activity I’d love to implement is building simple ramps to explore motion. We would use blocks, cardboard tubes, and toy cars to test how steepness affects speed. I’d begin with a question: “How can we make the car go faster?” This encourages prediction, testing, and problem-solving—core science skills appropriate for their developmental stage.
This fits naturally into Aistear, where the Construction and Small World areas can support investigation. Children could record their “findings” with drawings or simple checklists, developing literacy and numeracy skills alongside scientific thinking.
Reflecting on the School Self Evaluation (SSE) process, a further step I would take is to work with my colleagues to map STEM skills across the early years curriculum. Creating a bank of age-appropriate science investigations that link to themes like transport, space, weather, or light would help ensure consistency and progression. We could also gather observational notes and samples of children’s questions and thinking to feed into our SSE process.
By embedding hands-on activities and reflective planning into our classroom and SSE approach, we can strengthen our STEM focus while keeping learning playful, relevant, and joyful for our pupils. In my classroom I am big on making it a playful learning environment, so I think this fits perfectly.
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I will teach the lesson animals in the cold. I will begin by using a KWL chart to help me ascertain what he children already know about penguins and polar bears, what they want to know and at the end of the lesson we can see what we have learned.
Following that I will show pictures and u tube clips of penguins and bears in their natural environment. I will ask the children to imagine what life is like in such a cold environment. How do they think the animas survive?
We will discuss how the animals keep warm by having a thick layer of fat under their skin, polar bears have a thick coat of fur and penguins have thick layer of feathers.
I will then explain that the penguin’s feathers and polar bears fur are covered in a layer of grease to repel water. To help the children understand this we will then investigate what that feels like by rubbing Vaseline on their hand.
We will discuss our findings, update our KWL chards. This lesson would integrate with art and Literacy.
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I would use the “Hot and Cold” activity with my 2nd class as an introduction to fair testing and temperature observation. We would investigate how ice melts in the sun compared to in the shade. I would start by asking the children to predict which ice cube would melt faster and why. We would place identical ice cubes in two locations, record the time, and observe changes. The children would work in pairs, developing skills in questioning, predicting, observing, and recording results. We would discuss how we made the test fair, linking back to the Curious Minds science skills. This activity would be a great starting point for conversations about the Sun, shadows, and seasonal weather patterns. It would also provide cross-curricular links with maths through measuring time and sequencing events. I would finish by encouraging the children to suggest other hot and cold comparisons they could investigate at home.
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I found this module to be very helpful to me personally as the teaching of science in my class has always been somewhat of a struggle or would end up taking a back seat to other subjects. As the modules have progressed I can see how many themes can be used with great success across the curriculum- english, art, pe and not just maths as I originally would of thought.
This module and the many resources I have been introduced are helping me to feel more confident for the year ahead.
Some of the activities I will be using are- The EU universe awareness evaluation guide. I like how they give the children a chance to give a before and after drawing of what any previous knowledge and what they have learned.
The astronomy picture of the day is something I would like to use for science week and also continue it at different time during the year maybe once a month. It could be used as a conversation starter or as a a prompt for a piece of writing or art.
I think the children will love the ‘do try this at home ‘ activities with the characters Marvin and Milo.
Also I thought some of the games and activities on ESA kids would be a nice way to use some of our class ipad time exploring all things science. -
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Science skills and SSE:
Collaboration amongst school staff is key for an effective whole school approach to developing children’s scientific skills and learning. If these skills are taught consistently and effectively from an early age then children’s confidence and ability in science is so much stronger in my experience.
In terms of implementing SSE in regards to STEM, it’s first important to gather evidence and identify areas for improvement. Feedback from pupils, staff, parents and student work samples could all be used. Questionnaires and focused group samples can be a great way to collect data. From here, key areas for focus could be identified, for example: more hands on investigations across the school, or a more diverse range of methodologies and approaches to lessons. These are areas that could easily be approached with clear targets and wider range of shared lessons and resources in the school. A bank of hands on investigative lessons could be gathered and made available to all staff.
These types of hands on lessons would encourage core science skills such as questioning, observing, predicting, planning and communicating. They often involve critical thinking and problem solving.
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There are many wonderful hands- on classroom themed activities I would use. I particularly like the esero activity on the ice is meltinghttps://esero.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/47_The-ice-is-melting.pdf . I often explore the theme of Antarctica and I think this will be a wonderful addition to that theme. I love the experiment to investigate what will happen to the water if the ice at the North Pole and the South Pole melts. This experiment is a great way for the children to understand the difference beween land ice at the South Pole and sea ice at the North Pole and to explore ideas like – will sea levels change?, Will he temperature change?. Some further steps I would take towards a STEM focused SSE is to introduce STEM week into our school and carry out these hands- on activities from the curious minds and esero activities with the children. I will share the links with my colleagues also.
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Hi Lianna,
I also loved the activity on the ice is melting. I think it’s a really nice one to do with children in order to allow them to see some kind of example of what is happening in real life and be able to bring climate change into it as a discussion topic.
Also, we have STEM week in our school and it really is a great week for the children to engage in lots of different strands/strand units of Science and STEM outside of maybe the one theme you would be covering in a fortnight/month. It is a way of allowing the children to engage in hands on activities that will spark their interest for STEM and encourage them to be more inquisitive and be researches. Our 5th and 6th class pupils have a Science fair towards the end of our STEM week where they perform lots of different experiments for the rest of the school and they have PowerPoint presentations to talk the children through each step of their experiment. It;s a really great way for not only the senior classes to carry out different investigations but it also allows the younger classes to learn from their peers and be introduced to new topics.
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This module has been very insightful in providing practical classroom activities and there are many ideas that I would like to explore with my first class group this year. I’m really looking forward to using them by possibly combining them in a STEM unit on weather.
I particularly liked the ESERO “Hot and Cold” activity. It gives children a chance to think like scientists by predicting what will happen to an ice cube placed in different spots around the room, then observing and recording the results. I can see this providing great discussions, and it’s a perfect, simple way to introduce the idea of a fair test without overcomplicating it for young minds.
The activity “What Clothes to Wear” will also be a great addition to this STEM unit. Using real clothes will make the lesson relatable allowing pupils to physically sort and choose items depending on different weather scenarios.
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Activity Set: Hands-on classroom themed activities.
This module provided me with some great inspiration for bringing more hands-on learning into my special classroom. I’m really looking forward to using some of the activities as part of our STEM focus on weather.
One activity that stood out to me is the ESERO Hot and Cold experiment. It gives children the opportunity to practise important skills such as making predictions, observing changes, and recording their findings. I think it’s a great way to help them start thinking like young scientists. It also introduces the idea of a ‘fair test’ in a way that’s clear and easy to understand.Another activity I’d like to try is What Clothes to Wear. I think using real items of clothing will make the learning more fun and interactive, helping children link weather conditions to appropriate clothing choices through real-life experience.
I also really liked the Where Do You Live? activity. It encourages collaboration and helps children understand how people in a community depend on one another. There’s also lots of flexibility in how it can be used, which is helpful for meeting different learning needs.
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Activity: Science Skills and School Self Evaluation
In order to ensure STEM focused SSE, I would gather evidence of children’s existing STEM skills through observation checklists, work samples and pupil feedback. I also think as we are going into a new school year now and starting with a new class. I would check what the children have covered in their previous class e.g. I have 2nd class this year so I would go back to see what Science topics would have been covered with them in 1st class and maybe see what I could do to build on the information and skills that they already have. I think this really links in with meaningful learning and further development of skills.
While teaching the theme of ‘Weather’, I would have the children carry out ongoing investigations over a two week period, predicting the weather and recording this on a daily chart as a class.
Following on from this, the children would then collect data using resources like a rain gauge, thermometer and cloud observations. This allows the learning to be relevant to their own local lives and environment. The children are using skills such as predicting, observing, measuring and recording. We would bring all our data together at the end of the fortnight to discuss findings and compare them to our initial predictions. I think this would be a really hands on active set of lessons where the children can be leaders in their own learning.
In order to then incorporate technology, my school uses Chromebooks and we do a lot of project work using things like Google Slides. I would ask the children to work in groups in order to gather their evidence and findings on the topic of weather and create a Google slides presentation to show to the class and/or other classes in the school.
In regards to SSE, we could then identify further further skills for development e.g. more accurate weather measurement techniques (could the school invest in more resources in order to assist in improving this?).-
Hi Brona, yes I’d agree that continuity is so important for students and something that could be highlighted in an SSE. The skills can be built on year to year but what is needed is a school wide buy in to the scientific process and teachers who see the value in performing experiments and encouraging students to think scientifically.
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I think I would use the Marvin and Milo cartoons in the online resources section. There is a wide variety of experiments that can be either teacher demonstrated or done by the students. They are simple and could be done by a junior infants class. What I think they would be very useful for is getting students to make predictions and give reasons why. There are over 150 experiments so you could easily do 1 a week. Some of the activities would also be helpful for junior infants with respect to their fine motor skills as they involve cutting and sticking, but with more purpose than just a cutting worksheet for the sake of it. Additionally the experiments don’t require too many resources and those required would be readily available in most primary schools. I also think that the stellarium resource from the online resources section could be useful for showing students the rising and setting of the sun and to further their understanding of why night and day happen.
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This module has lots of interesting and engaging activities for children in Infants. Many of the activities can be integrated into other areas of the curriculum which is so useful when teaching thematically.
The themes of Weather and What Clothes to Wear are complimentary to one another. I would start with the seasons, teaching the children about the four seasons, the months of those seasons and the weather typically associated with each season. We could talk about the birthday months of each child, what the weather is usually like around their birthdays. We could discuss extreme weather, like in the Arctic and Antarctic. We could learn about the animals in these really cold places and how nature has equipped them to stay warm and thrive in these hostile environments. We could then discuss animals that live in very hot countries and how they have evolved to live in extreme heat. Each child could choose an animal that lives either in a hot climate or a very cold climate and draw a picture and learn a fact about these animals. These could be shared at the end of class and sorted into two displays – on for hot places and one for cold places.
Next we could discuss weather words. We could talk about clothes for each season and make four washing lines, one for each season. The children could draw or possibly make an item of clothing for each season and they could be displayed, labelled with the word. We could learn lots of these words in Irish too.
There are so many possibilities with these activities, and the children would naturally enjoy learning about them as they are interesting and engaging. -
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Activity set: hands-on classroom themed activities
There were great hand on ideas and interactive activities in Module 4.
The ESA education sites were very informative. I like the fact they have great classroom resources in the teacher’s corner sorted by age and topic and the ESA kids sections is brilliant for the students themselves. UNAWE home of Universe in a box, Space scoop and lots of brilliant resources that I will use in my own classroom. My own kids just loved the Marvin and Milo cartons: I can’t wait to these to my own students: they will love it too.
I love Stellarium: it can show the view of the sky from any place, planet and location.
I read the story of “The polar bear and the penguin” with my own kids in ESERO 7 and they loved it.
The activities in “Where do you live” in Esero 5: was pretty cool as I tested these activities on my own kids this summer and they could identify the type of house that they live in by looking at the sheet of images.
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Great ideas Laura: I like the idea of the sorting game where children work in small groups to match clothing to weather pictures or scenarios. They will have great fun through role-play: they could all be involved in a fashion show dividing the class into the four seasons getting dressed for the specific season. I did the fashion show with all my class snd they all were delighted to play a part and get involved: they had great fun and great discussions. In aistear, all of the children could have an opportunity to pack their own suitcase if they were going on a summer or a winter holiday and then explain to the rest of the class why they brought light clothes for summer or warmer clothes for Winter.
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Activity set : Where do you live?
In introducing this topic we would discuss our houses and the type of houses we live in and why they are built using the materials. We would do a KWL chart. We would also discuss other buildings we have in our locality and how they differ from our houses.
I really like the idea of the children building a model of their houses and comparing. I would use ESRO activity card as a resource.
With the older classes, we would look at houses from other countries and how they are adapted to cope with climate and other factors associated with that country ie culture, materials used. I would the extend this to modelling homes from other countries and compare and contrast the models.
It would also be nice to map out a route in our local village or town and describe the types of building along the way.
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