Module 5 – Rockets & Alien Chemistry

[Pat Brennan]

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ASSIGNMENT

Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module – How would you use the activity in your classroom? or consolidate your experiences and action plans in the course by creating a class plan to engage with Space Week. Post a reflective piece (150 words min) to the forum as a reply to this post. You may include digital records of the activities.

Please also, respond to at least one other participant’s post.

[Laura Kenny]

In this lesson plan for second class, we will create a spacecraft using simple materials. Over two 45-minute sessions, students will learn basic spacecraft design while developing creativity, fine motor skills, and teamwork. We’ll start with a brief introduction to spacecraft, showing pictures and videos, and discussing their purpose. Students will then brainstorm and draw their spacecraft designs in small groups, choosing materials like cardboard, aluminum foil, and plastic bottles. They will begin building on the first day, focusing on structure, and continue adding details and decorations on the second day. Each group will present their completed spacecraft, explaining its features and design choices. The lesson will conclude with a class discussion about what they learned. Classroom discussion will then take place – which spacecraft would travel the furthest/fastest etc.. Why? This hands-on activity aims to make learning fun and develop an interest in space exploration.

 

[Criona Corroon]

Hi Laura. I like this lesson plan because it combines creativity, skill development, and knowledge sharing. Here’s why it’s a great way to engage young children during Space Week:

Hands-On Creativity: Creating a spacecraft using simple materials allows students to explore their imagination and design unique spaceships. It’s like turning their ideas into reality!
Skill Building: As they work in small groups, students develop fine motor skills and learn teamwork. Plus, they get to choose materials like cardboard, aluminum foil, and plastic bottles—how cool is that?
Introduction to Spacecraft: Starting with pictures and videos, students learn about spacecraft and their purpose. It’s like opening a door to the universe!
Structured Learning: Over two sessions, they focus on structure and details. It’s like building a puzzle—one piece at a time.
Confidence Boost: Presenting their completed spacecraft helps students practice public speaking. They become space experts in front of their peers!
Critical Thinking: Discussing which spacecraft would travel farthest or fastest encourages thoughtful analysis. It’s like solving a cosmic mystery!
In summary, this hands-on activity sparks curiosity and makes learning about space exploration fun!

[Shona Murphy]

Hi Laura, this sounds like a fun activity! I think the children would really enjoy this and what a great way to link the theme to other subjects across the curriculum.

[Maeve Phelan]

Hi laura,

This was an excellent idea. It is a hands on engaging activity that the children would find very engaging. I like how this activity developes a broad range of skills.

[Catherine Fitzpatrick]

Making a rocket activities:

Trigger: Poem  ‘Im Building a Rocket’ by Kenn Nesbitt

Wondering: Recalling some facts about known planets and recording them on the board. Wondering what life would be like on these planets. Wondering what life would be like as an astronaut. Playing the recording of Apollo 11 moonwalk.(Incredible to listen to and watch!!) Wondering how the astronauts felt, what were they wearing, life in the rocket.

Use Milo and Marvins cartoon strip on balloon rockets. Discuss the steps taken to create the balloon rocket. Divide the children into groups of no more than 4. Distribute the equipment needed for the experiment. Discuss did it work, what could we do different and with what outcome.

Put Marvin and Milo’s alka seltzer rocket comic strip on the board. Discuss the steps taken . Again return to groups and distribute equipment. Teacher will add water to the container. Ensure children remain at a good distance from the container. Follow the same steps above for assessment of rockets.

Conclusion: Integrate with Art- Design & decorate your own rocket. Watch/listen to Buzz Aldrin tell the story of the first moon landing while designing rocket.

 

[Irene O Mahony]

Hi Catherine,

I like your engagement idea of reading the poem ‘I’m building a Rocket’. You have lovely integration ideas in this lesson which also includes eliciting information from previous lessons (planets) and establishing new parts (creating a balloon rocket).

[EIMEAR O MALLEY]

Making a rocket lesson plan (2nd class)

 

Stomp Rocket Jr. Rockets – 8 Rockets

I would use the above STEM themed stomp rocket as the prompt and engage activity to introduce to children to rockets. After allowing children to play in groups and take turns stomping and launching the rockets outside in the yard I would ask the children to sit in a circle and pose questions about the rockets. What makes the rocket launch? what is the furthest the rocket travelled? What happens if we remove the side fins of the rocket? What is the trajectory (path) of the rocket through the air?

Using the framework of enquiry I would ask the class to test out a hypotheses. Does a rocket with fins always travel farther than one without? What test can we do to investigate our hypotheses. I would ask the children to work in groups and for each group to perform three stomp rocket lunches on a rocket with fins, and one without. so each group do in 6 total and then we share results as a class and look at what the data results tell us.

We would include in the discussion vocabulary like force, launch, trajectory, gravity and encourage the children to use this vocabulary too,

In a second lesson we would engage in making rockets in groups. I think the mice rockets are a fun and simple way of demonstrating force needed to launch a rocket and how that can be increased or decreased depending on bottle size.

After construction I would ask children to make predictions about what rocket will travel furthest. children can give an explanation for their thinking if they wish. Working in same groups I would ask that half children do mice rockets and other half do balloon rockets. Children would take turns launching both forms of rockets and discuss as group what they observe.

As a final part of this learning about rockets I would link with a junior infant class and engage in peer to peer learning by letting the 2nd class pupils demonstrate their mice rockets and balloon rockets and share what they have learned with children of junior infants.

[Frances McCarthy]

Laura,

would these space craft be functional models or more decorative?

I’m not sure how they will fly – so is this

“which spacecraft would travel the furthest/fastest etc.. “

more of a thought activity or a practical test?

See for example: Design the Space Station, which is pure junk art, rather than Design and Make. vs make a model effector for the ISS which is a working model that can complete a task. (and in Irish)

[Sinéad Heffernan]

Class Plan to Incorporate Space Week:

English: Role-play: Use relevant strategies to build vocabulary. Create a passport to go to space and while doing so make a list of things you might take to space. Use a checklist for the inside of the rocket.

Poems/Writing poetry: Look at words that you might use to describe space and what you might see in space. Get the children to write poems about space using an acrostic poem or a shape poem. eg. a rocket shape.

Diary entries: Look at features of diary entries and get the children to think about how they might feel going to space. Think about what they might do in space and get them to write a fictional diary entry.

Postcards: Write a postcard, from your point of view or the point of view of an alien, back home about time in space.

Descriptive writing: Think about what it might be like to go into space. What would you see? Hear? Smell? You could also describe an alien that you encountered. Use of word mats/word walls will inspire the children in their writing.

Fictional books: Exposure to lots of space themed story books – library, class readers, storyline online, YouTube. Stories include – Whatever Next! Aliens love Underpants and We Are Off to Look for Aliens.

Maths:

5 4 3 2 1 Lift Off – Forwards and Backwards counting

Rocket Cubes – Balance the cubes in a tall tower, like a rocket. Count each cube as you add it. How tall can you make your rocket before it falls?

Alien Theme – Practice number bonds to 10 or 20.

Space Race – roll the dice, add the numbers, first to 10/20/30 wins the game.

Space Scavenger Hunt – Can you find all the planets?

Use pictures of planets, regular and irregular shapes and get the children to fold or cut them in half and quarters – can they all be split into quarters and halves?

Counting in twos and tens; Count in multiples of twos, fives, and tens. Use aliens with different numbers of eyes and arms to practise this way of counting.

Outer Space Themed board games – snakes and ladders, bingo, memory.

Science: Light sources: Identify different light sources including the sun and investigate shadows. Shadows can be investigated using torches on a dull day in the school playground.

Planets: Look at the different planets in the solar system and through the questions, get the children to identify the different planets. Create a simple fact file about a planet of their choice.

Rockets: Describe the simple physical properties of a variety of everyday materials. Design and build a rocket. Competition for the best rocket – display in hall. Science experiment – rocket blast off in yard under teacher supervision.

P.E – Do some moonwalking or walking around pretending you are a spaceman with no gravity holding you down.

Art: Create a rocket using finger painting. Create planets using crumpets as sponges. Create large planets for a display using balloons and papier Mache. Display in hall. Invite others to see space week exhibition in hall.

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Sinéad Heffernan.

[Alyson O Rourke]

A passport to Space is a great idea and could definitely link into an art lesson also

[CLAIRE DEMPSEY]

Also love the idea of the passport to Space idea. Very simple yet very effective.

[Aoife Wadding]

Absolutely love this ideas of a passport to space. Simple yet so effective and the children may be able to relate to a passport from previous trips abroad they may have already taken!

[Orla rogers]

Yes the passport to space is great and so relatable to children.

[Orla Reid]

Agreed. Superb idea passport to space and opens doors for so much integration. Another activity I will bring to my class in September.

[Eileen Meenaghan]

There are loads of great ideas there. Thank you for sharing them.

[Susanne Tinnelly]

Thank you Sinead for such a variety of well explained ideas for younger pupils for Space Week. I ‘ll be taking many of the ideas on board, particularly ‘the passport to travel to space’ and ‘write a postcard home from space’.

[Catherine Fitzpatrick]

Fantastic ideas Sinead with great thought put in to ensure the lessons are cross curricular. So many ideas, you have space week organized for us all ! Thanks

[Rebecca Behan]

The passport to space is such a creative idea! Thanks so much for the super lesson inspiration.

[Sinead Devlin]

A great idea. I really love the passport to space idea.

[Donna Mcevoy]

That is so detailed Sinéad lots of ideas for Science Week. I definitely think trying to create all those links that week is a must. I will try to link my PE and even creat a space dance (although I may use at least one hall slot for doing some maths/science experiments). They could do activities in the hall such as a length activity- How many steps does it take to cross the hall, how many metre sticks across the hall, using the trundle wheel across the hall, measure their heart rate before and after exercise (adults or some older pupils to support). Another activity which could be nice in the hall would be who could build the strongest bridge giving them floor space to complete this (though could be classroom either). Children could use PE equipment to explore gravtiy and forces and motion.

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Donna Mcevoy.

[Niamh O Sullivan]

How would astronauts exercise in space could be a starting question for children to create their own games or activities.

[Ailbhe McNulty]

This is a great idea. It’s lovely to be able to integrate the theme of space with PE.

[Niamh Hatchell]

Great idea!!

[Catherine Kavanagh]

Love the idea of linking to PE especially making a space dance I know the children would love it!

[Ashling Mccartan]

This is a detailed class plan for Space Week with so many brilliant ideas that cover so many areas of the curriculum. I really like the idea of making the passports for space.

[Anita Cooke]

Fantastic ideas here Sinead. So many ways it can be integrated into Literacy, Numeracy and the Arts. Children would be really engaged in all of those lessons.

[Gwen Williams]

Thanks for sharing your idea Sinead.  I agree there are so many ways it can be integrated into Literacy, Numeracy and the Arts. The children would be really excited and motivated to engaged in all of those lessons.

[Siobhan Rooney]

Thanks for sharing all the great ideas Sinéad

[Laura O’Meara]

Wow great ideas Sinead. I love the passport to space idea in particular.

[Sarah Harrington]

What an amasing lesson, the passport to space is so creative and I will be definitely be using this in my class.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Sarah Harrington.

[Fiona Kavanagh]

Hi Sinead, I love all of the space themed maths activities you have incorporated into your space week. Thanks for sharing!

[Rachel Byrne]

I love this way of teaching as I am myself a Junior Infant teacher and I think it is so beneficial to the children to teach thematically across a fortnight/month on a certain topic as it really consolidates their learning and makes sure that each type of learner in the classroom is being met in someway.

[Ciara Hayden]

I agree Rachel – thematic teaching really keeps the pupils engaged as there is a solid basis on which to scaffold further learning with the children, and no need to constantly re-introduce the basics.

[Shauna Reape]

I completely agree. I think thematic planning works so well in junior classrooms due to the shorter day and sometimes shorter attention span. The children really invest in the themes and there are great opportunities for language development. Some great ideas here that I will note for the next space week.

[EIMEAR O MALLEY]

I think thematic lessons like those described by Sinead are a great way for children to be fully immersed in a topic and give a deeper context as it allows children the opportunity to make connections across all curricular areas.

[David Gavin]

This lesson is really impressive. I look forward to incorporating some of these idea into my own lessons.

[Catherine Kelly]

Thematic planning is definitely worthwhile and makes for better learning, in my opinion. Particularly in infants.

[Rachael Donnellan]

I love all the integration of all the different subjects. These are excellent activities for Space Week.

[Ciara Evans]

I love the use of role play in a lesson. I think it turns the learning back on the child and they have to use prior knowledge to play the role they are in

[Barbara Sadlier]

S9me fabulous ideas here Sinead, thanks so much for sharing 😀

[Alexandra McMahon]

Hi Sinead, you have some fantastic ideas in your class plan.I really like how they have been integrated cross-curricularly. I have taken note of quite a few of these for my class.

[Laura O Neill]

Hi Sinead, you’ve thought of lots of great ideas to incorporate in school during Space Week. I’m sure the children would really enjoy them. Thanks!

[Sarah Byrne]

Hi Sinead,

I like your rocket cubes idea. Another approach to this might be to get children to make rockets using cubes as number sentences. For example you could have various different number sentences on a sheet 3 + 2 = , 5+6= etc. Children have to use 2 different colour cubes to represent each subset and pile them on top of each other to make a rocket and figure out the total.  3 + 2 = 5 might look like 3 red cubes and 2 blue cubes on top to make a total of 5.

[Colette Horan]

Great idea Sinéad. Lots of scope for number work here and you could differentiate so easily with different groupings.

[Susie Shannon]

Great opportunity for integrating maths and you could definitely differentiate in your classroom to suit all needs.

[Marie Concannon]

Hi Sinéad. I like how you’ve included so many  ideas to incorporate space week across the curriculum. I feel like this would spark the children’s interest regarding space week and involve all learners as there are so many different ways you’ve included the topic across the curriculum. I love the passports to space idea.

[Anthony O sullivan]

Fantastic ideas. I love the maths ideas and I will be using these in the coming year.

[Tracy Frawley]

Space week
AISTEAR THEME:
Music: Reach for the Stars (S club 7)
Set up Role play area for ‘astronauts’ to fly their rockets/ land on the moon or planets, carry out experiments for the week.
Tuff Tray area with”moon sand’ and small world rockets, landers, moon rocks for measuring, etc.
Free/ Structured play: use Lego/ Magnet tiles to make a Moon Lander, Rocket, etc

Day 1: -introduction To Space. Brainstorm what space means to the children.
Watch Apollo 11 – The First Moon Walk | Things You Wanna Know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbTaDOuSePk
-Read: “The Way Back Home” Oliver Jeffers. The children could pretend to be the astronaut and write to their alien friend.
-Guided Drawing activity: Draw an astronaut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjnRYnSEuG4

Day 2:- Making a Mouse Rocket Experiment.
-Using the iPad to record expt. Use app “Book Creator” to record.
-Making paper planes to fly outside

Day 3: The Sun and The Moon
Day and Night Lesson similar to below

-Weather dependent: outdoor activity: Sun and Shadows.
-Story: Katie and the Starry Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26w8WJz_9dQ
-Art linked to this book

Day 4: -Planets: The planet song for kids

-Art activity: Planet Sun Catchers – Pre-K Pages (Munchkins and Moms)
-Our Earth/ What’s special about our earth/ Taking care of our earth

Day 5: Pick a planet of choice, e.g, Mars. Learning about Mars, conditions on Mars.
-Design a Martian STEM activity

[Chloe Buckley]

Amazing Tracy love all of your resources. The videos are so fun they are so catchy and the kids absolutely love them!

Thanks for sharing!

Chloe

[Frances McCarthy]

Tracy,

Katie and the Starry Night is a wonderful story – I have shared it with my colleagues who hosted our Space Art session last year.

https://www.spaceweek.ie/events/space-art-with-bco-van-gogh/

I’m also enthralled myself with the astronaut drawing – I need to find my sharpies!

[Colette Horan]

Tracy, I love how interactive and engaging you’ve made this topic. Lots of cross curricular too, with the stories, music and touching off different aspects of space in a progressive way. I like that Day and Night lesson too – the children would get a good grasp of what causes day and night by actually moving themselves. The Aistear area  sounds like great fun too. Lots of opportunities for oral language and discussion.

[Laura Kelly]

Some really great detailed ideas Tracy. I love the inclusion of the music and songs. Recording the mouse rocket experiment its a great idea, the children would love to rewatch their experiment.

[Emma O’Sullivan]

These are great Tracy thank you – especially the video links.

[siobhan mckenna]

I use how to draw all the time. My children love the guidance. it also means by the end of the drawing because its done in such small steps it actually somewhat resembles the original drawing. I always find the children are so chuffed with themselves in comparison if they were given free reign with their imagination. I know I myself always liked to have something to go by.

[Rachel Hegarty]

These are great resources Tracy. I can’t wait to try them with my class in September. Thanks!

[Carolann Daly]

Excellent ideas and resources here Tracey.  Great progression through the week and you’ve incorporated some wonderful online resources too.  I look forward to using these during space week.

[Deirdre Fay]

I love how you have planned this and incorporated allowing the children to apply their learning to other related things, for example the making of paper planes after they have investigated and learned about the rocket mice. A great myth to connect to here could be the greek myth of Icarus … and drawing the connections of wings of a plane / rocket and birds etc. There could be great discussion here to really allow the children to explore and look at similarities and differences… materials etc.

[Celine Hyde]

I didn’t realise that there is more than one adventure in the art gallery with Grandma, Katie  and Van Gogh. Thanks for sharing the link to Katie and the Starry Night- must try and get a hard copy. I read a story everyday to my language groups in Junior Infants- this would be a great one to include.

[Harriet Downes]

Tracy I love how fun and interactive your ideas are here, I love the use of music such as s club 7! so playful and fun for the children to sing along to! lots of hands on activities too! Thanks for sharing.

[Susan Lawlor]

Tracy, that’s a total wow – I hope you don’t mind me using some of the ideas in my room.  I absolutely love the planets song and it really is enjoyed at the younger end of the school. Thanks a million!

[Heidi collins]

Thanks Sinead,

You have gone into lot of detail to provide a whole scheme of work.  I like the cross curricular approach you have taken, to incorporate PE, Art, Poetry and Maths. Thank you!

[Fiona Ni Shuilleabhain]

some fantastic ideas here, thanks for the inspiration!

[Maeve O’Mahony]

Hi Sinéad, I love the integration here, I am sure students would really enjoy these lessons!

[Kayleigh O’Sullivan]

I love how you have included space in almost every subject and so effectively. I love the postcard and the introduction of descriptive writing.

[Aaron Kavanagh]

Some great ideas Sinéad, thanks for sharing

[Orlagh Kirwan]

I love the idea of using the passport to Space as it is something the children can really relate to.

[Mary Murphy]

Hi Sinéad,

I love how you have incorporated so many wonderful ideas and resources into your plan. There is so much there and children would love all the games and art, never mind the moonwalking!

Mary

 

[Fionnuala Lyne]

Amazing amount of activities here. I will definitely use from this list particularly the space passport

[Deirdre Walsh]

Sinead this list is fantastic. I love the idea of a passport to space and will definitely use this idea.

[Julie O’ Sullivan]

There are some lovely ideas here that would be very engaging for Space Week.

[Aoife flannery]

Well done on creating such a detailed plan for Space Week Sinéad! I will definetley be taking note of a few of these activities for space week in October to do with my own class 🙂

[Elaine Kenefick]

I love the idea of creating a passport to go to space.
It’s definitely something that I think the kids would enjoy.

[Sheelagh Daffy]

Hi Sinéad this is a fantastic indepth look at how to incorporate space week into the inant classroom! I really like how you integrated into maths and even board games! Such a simple but effective idea.

[Aoife McCrory]

Sinéad, I love your idea of creating a passport for children to visit Space. The children in my Senior infant class would really enjoy doing this activity. Thanks for the great idea.

[Ciara Lane]

Hi Sinead,

I think this is an excellent Space Week Plan.

In English I love the idea of taking something familiar like a passport and applying it to going to space and then the idea of the children deciding what they need to bring sounds like great fun. To extend this further could you have them pack a suitcase with things they may need to bring and then discuss further. Maybe you could even put in some things and have the children discuss if you will need it/ how you will use it. E.g. starting the discussion of how people brush their teeth in space. Chris Hadfield has a lovely video about this.

I absolutely love the idea of using shape poems in rocket shapes and I can only imagine the level of engagement you would get with this idea.

In the past I’ve done the papier mache planets and they are so so much fun and really get the children thinking about the appearance of each planet and how they differ. I personally found this the most effective way to get the children to remember the various attributes of the planets.

[Conor O’Malley]

You have lots of lovely ideas here for Space Week. I really like the poetry and story writing ideas, I can see myself doing this with 1st and 2nd classes.

[Pamela Dalton]

There are some fantastic ideas here Sinead and well thought out lessons, thanks for sharing

[Amy Kelleher]

Some fantastic ideas here, I really love the rocket cubes and space race maths ideas. They will make maths lessons really fun and engaging for the children.

[Laura Maloney]

Love the fact that Literacy and Numeracy play a big part with this topic. Lots of lovely ideas that I will be using in the first week in October.

[Robyn Doran]

Hi Sinead,

 

I love your plan to incorporate space week. You have found so many ways to integrate one learning topic in fun ways! Well done

[Erika Hopkins]

I like that there are  different activities for each subject!

[Claire Nagle]

Wow I really love your detail outline here for space week there are some great days that I would love to use in my classroom in September. It is all very simple and doable and does not require many resources.

[Kathy Gleeson]

Hi Sinéad, thanks for posting all the ideas Re integration. The alien counting ideas are a nice way to vary the learning for the children.

[Aoife Roche]

Hi Sinead, Thanks for sharing so many great cross-curricular ideas to incorporate into Space week! I love the passport to space and checklist ideas is great for role play in Aistear.

[Audrey Gillard]

Hi Sinead, some really good and creative ideas for Space week. Lots of room to integrate and extend the theme of Space. Thank you!

[Rachael Byrne]

Hi Sinead, I really like the idea of designing a passport to space particularly as it is something that the children will have real life experience with so are more likely to be motivated and engaged.

[Leeanne Ni Chaomhánaigh]

So many wonderful ideas there. Thanks for sharing them.

[Rohana Rahman]

There are a lot of great ideas here Sinéad. These will definitely develop the children’s knowledge of Space in a fun and engaging way.

[Niamh Costello]

These are all great ideas Sinead.

[Jennifer O’Mahony]

This is a fantastic plan Sinead with loads of ideas for cross curricular links.  I will definitely use some of these ideas when planning Space Week in my school.

[Aideen Quealy]

So many greats ideas and ways to integrate space across Space Week. Thanks for sharing.

[Barbara Farrell]

This design a spacecraft activity looks very interesting. I think it would be great for second class and even with the older classes. The range of designs and materials used would be very interesting to see.

[Michelle McGee]

I have used the Aliens in Underpants story as a hook before and the students loved it. We then created an art lesson based on it where the students created their own underpants for an alien. This links in materials also, what materials should an aliens underpants be made of?

I will definitely be trying out the flying mice experiment next year. I have always wanted to create rockets with junior infants but didn’t know how to do it interactively and safely. I will definitely add this to our themed activities during our Aistear Space station. We could further develop it on how the different designed mice fly, keeping the same bottle launcher. Eg size, paper vs card, googly eyes or no googly eyes (weight)

 

[Lynn McElroy]

This is a lovely idea to conduct.

[Catherine Kelly]

I haven’t read this story yet and the pupils I worked with last year would have loved it. We have a book fair and an art fair every year and I think this would be a great book to use!

[Sinéad Heffernan]

That story always goes down well and its a great introduction to space related lessons.

[Anita Cooke]

Great idea designing underwear for the aliens! I’m sure the children had so much fun doing it.

[Sharon Murphy]

Hi Michelle, I also love the idea of using the flying mice activity as an Aistear Station and will definitely be giving it a go next year!

[Sharon Murphy]

Here is a rough plan for infant classes to engage with Space Week

Monday:

Start the week by introducing the concept of space and planets through a storybook read-aloud.
Engage students in a discussion about the solar system and the different planets.
Have students create their own model of the solar system using craft materials.

Tuesday:

Introduce the concept of astronauts and space exploration.
Show a short video clip of astronauts in space and discuss what they do.
Have students create their own astronaut helmets using paper plates and art supplies.

Wednesday:

Teach students about the phases of the moon through a hands-on activity using Oreos.
Discuss the importance of the moon in space exploration and its effects on Earth.
Have students create their own moon phase chart to take home.

Thursday:

Explore the concept of stars and constellations.
Show images of constellations and have students try to connect the dots to create their own.
End the day with a stargazing session using a star projector in the classroom.

Friday:

Wrap up Space Week by having students participate in a space-themed scavenger hunt.
Play space-themed games and activities throughout the day to review what they have learned.
Have students create a space-themed craft to take home as a reminder of their week exploring the universe.

[Grace O’Connor]

Love all these ideas – a nice comprehensive plan for Space Week for the Junior classes

[Margaret Farrell]

Great ideas for space week, thanks so much for sharing.

[Éadaoin Garrigan]

Hi Sharon, I think this is a great plan for space week, full of wonderful and interactive ideas.

[Roisin Jenkins]

Hi Grace

What a great plan for Space week it’s so great to I corporate so many different ideas and hands on activities for infants to use.  A star projector is a great idea I must dig out my sons old one!

And having a scavenger hunt on the last day is a great way to round off a fun week. Thanks for all the ideas.

[Eleanor Mc Sweeney]

For space week, my aim is that pupils would celebrate space week in a cross-curricular way. I would give an area in the classroom to display all of our space week vocabulary, story books, art work etc. I would use all opportunities throughout the day to refer to the display, vocabulary etc. For example when children are lining up, I would mimic a spaceship launch countdown as my timer for children to get into their spots.
To begin the week, I would use song to recap the names of the planets. When children are then familiar with the planet names and features, I would facilitate a whole class art project. Children will be put into groups and will work together to make some paper mâché planets. This will be worked on over the week. When it is finished it will be painted and put on display in the main school hall for all classes to see.
I would host a bingo session for Junior and Senior Infants with some fun space related spot prizes. At the end of the bingo session, I would get all pupils to spread out in the hall and to do the eight planets – dance along space song.

[Frances McCarthy]

Eleanor, sounds like great fun, have you a particular song in mind?

Please do register this as an event on spaceweek.ie – you can register now!

[Emma O Connor]

Bingo I frequently use teaching gaeilge, I must use it more for other subject areas.

[Louise O Grady]

Hi Eleanor,  I love the indirect reference to space week with the spaceship launch countdown. The kids would love that. I also like that lots of different activities would be incorporated throughout the week. It’s fun and there’s lots of ideas and resources to pull from online.

[Lauren Herbert]

I have never used Bingo during a science lesson before, I must give it a try.

[Conor O’Malley]

Space themed bingo sounds fun, my classes have always enjoyed bingo games- you can adapt it for everything!

[Sharon Coyne]

I would start my lesson by reading the book  “The way back home”.

We would discuss ways to get home from space- Children will hopefully identify rockets or spaceships.

The children will make a rocket using paper- they will design and make rockets using colours.

The children will create rockets using 2-d shapes and construction junk art.

Then we will examine how rockets are launched- We will watch videos of nasa spaceships being launched into space. We will discuss astronauts in the spaceships. We will role play being astronauts on the spaceships. We will pretend to be in completing the check list and count down to launch.

We will predict, investigate and complete an experiment called Rocket Mice and see which rocket mice will go the biggest distance.

We will record the distance and measure it.

Small world play in Aistear using Rockets, spaceships and astronauts

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Sharon,

I’m glad the rocket mice have another fan – I just love them. Start collecting your milk bottles so that you have a range of launchers ready for Space Week.

I like to ask children to work together and have one child hold up their arm to mark the highest the mouse goes. To make a record, they could then go to a nearby wall and put a post it note at that height. Measuring with a meter stick can come later.

[Valerie Ryan]

I can’t wait to start the Rocket Mice! They will absolutely love them!

[Emma Furney]

I am the exact same Valerie. What a simple yet practical and effective way for younger classes to explore the concept of rockets. The plastic cartons reminds me of asking pupils to bring materials in for Junk Art in Aistear. It just shows how everyday items can be used in so many different ways in the classroom! I will have First Class in September so when it comes to teaching this, I feel I will start with the Rocket Mice and then progress to the Fizzy Rockets if I feel the pupils are able for them.

[Siobhan Rooney]

I have used the junk art workshop in Aistear previously to create rockets and spaceships. It always works very well and the children can create simple structures on their own, with little teacher input.

[Michelle Rowley]

Yes, similarly I have used Junk Art for Rockets. I usually use it as a station during Aistear. I find it works better as a small groups activity rather than whole class. The children will often bring in material at home to add onto their rocket as the week goes on. They are acting as engineers finding materials that work for their rocket. Junk art is messy but so brilliant – allowing for creativity, thinking and problem solving all in one!

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Michelle,

what a simple way to really encourage the children to keep going with a design. Once they know that the rocket will be built over time, they have so many reasons to keep adding to it and going back to it.

You could show them a time lapse of the ISS being built – it took years!

 

[Niamh Doherty]

I will be having junior infants in September and I cannot wait to make the rocket mice! Such a fantastic idea and so simple yet loads of learning taking place.  I love the idea of using various sized bottles too to see the difference in the height of the rocket mice.

 

[siobhan mckenna]

This book sounds great. Reminds me a bit of the Wizard of Oz a film the children nowadays aren’t overly familiar with #theres no place like home!

[John O Connor]

I really like the idea of doing different types of rockets before giving them the experience with something launching. A rocket using 2D shapes is a very easy and effective idea too.

[Jill O Callaghan]

An excellent lesson plan that will definitely have the children engaged and enjoying the learning.

[Elaine O’Donoghue]

I would use the rocket launching activity with my 2nd class students.

My stimulus would be a video of an actual rocket launching. I would ask the students to tell me everything they know about what is happening in this video. We would then discuss rocket launches, where the rocket might be going, what its purpose might be. I would tell the students that today we are going to investigate how a rocket launches.

I would show them the Marvin and Milo cartoon of the balloon rocket. I would leave that displayed on the board. I would divide the class into mixed ability groups and provide them with all the equipment they need to carry out the experiment. I would circulate between the groups, offering support and help when needed. Once the students have successfully launched their rocket, I would encourage them to think of anyway they might be able to change one thing in the experiment to see if the results would be different, e.g. using a different sized balloon, blowing the existing balloon up more/less, etc.

Once all groups are finished, we would discuss what they have learned. I would ask them if they can guess from their findings in this experiment what force might be behind the launching of a rocket into space. We would discuss how, in a real rocket launch, gas released from the ignited fuel pushes down hard against the ground pushing the rocket up into the sky.

[Mark Murphy]

This sounds like a good lesson Laura. I like that it promotes creative thinking and oral language development.

[Veronica Gardiner]

DESIGN AND MAKE A PAPER ROCKET                                                                                     Suggested Class Level Middle and Senior

Introduction                                                                                                                                        Discussion and background information with whole class                                                        Real rockets get their energy from burning fuels emitting gases from the back of them, which send them forwards. Moving air can move many things. A light breeze can move leaves on trees, while a hurricane can cause great damage to buildings and even blow ships onto rocks. Electricity is made on wind farms from moving air. Sailing ships rely on moving air to drive them.

Trigger questions: What is the hardest part about going into space?). Why is this? How does something huge and heavy like a spacecraft manage to break away from Earth’s gravity? What is a rocket? How does it work? Where do these gases come from? For something to burn what do you need. But there is no air in Space! So how do the fuels burn?

Watch a launch rocket video clip on YouTube

Making the rocket: Materials: A4 sheet of paper, straw (wide diameter if possible), scissors, pencil (of approximately the same diameter: as the straw), Sellotape and            measuring tape.

Activity Children should be encouraged to Design and Make their own rocket, given the above materials.

Cross-curricular links: maths: The children should predict how far their rocket will go. What instrument will they choose to measure the actual distance?  How will they decide what to measure in order to make it a fair test? They should launch their rockets a number of times, firstly estimating the distances travelled, and then measuring them and taking the average distance. Does the angle make a difference to the distance travelled?  Geography: Planet Earth in Space Art: Rocket Design.

Conclusion                                                                                                                                            Can you think of any other ways of making a paper rocket which might go further? Follow-up activity: Try out different lengths of rocket. Does a longer or shorter rocket make a difference to the distance it travels?

[Shulagh Callan]

Activity- Rockets for a Junior Infant class. This is the year group I will have next year so this lesson will be aimed at this age group.

• Cross Curricular links – PE: Sport darts/archery/Stability/things that fly through the air etc
• Art – Construction
• History – sequencing
• English – Book ‘Rocket the Space Giraffe’
• Math – measuring distance and how far the rocket mouse will travel.
• Aistear – creating rocket mice using the templates provided – cone shaped.

Trigger – I’m Building a Rocket by Kenn Nesbitt poem.

The teacher will build a sense of wonder for the child by posing a starter question – How might changing the force of the rocket make it go further/higher/slower? We will then explore how we might make a rocket go further by conducting an investigation which in this case would be by using different sized bottles. The children will have sourced varying bottles from home and they will use these when launching the mouse they made earlier. Questions asked during the investigation will include: What makes your rocket fly? What makes it come down again? How do you think a real rocket works?

Sharing/Data- the children will discuss distances measured, materials used and how force affects distance. The children will put a happy face on the board under either the big or small bottle to indicate which one made the mouse go furthest. We will then compare results.

[Niall Smith]

Shulagh,

thank you for the poem suggestion for the prompt, this is sure to get the children started! https://poetry4kids.com/poems/im-building-a-rocket/

and the author states:

You are welcome to use the poems from my books and website in your classroom activities. You may photocopy them, enlarge them, illustrate them, or do just about anything you like with them

The verse that has

But what do you mean
when you ask how we’ll land?

offers a whole “take the next step” for the Rocket Mice, since these do tend to fly off in random directions. Children could measure how far from the launch did the mouse land and consider ways to make it land closer.

[siobhan mckenna]

I love this resource, there is a poem for everything and imagine it’s free to access it!

[Breeda Boland]

Hi Shulagh,

That’s a great poem- ‘I’m Building a Rocket!’ by Kenn Nesbit. I’ve just looked it up.

GRMA

[Linda Buckley]

Hi Laura, this sounds like a great lesson. Very well laid out, step by step and also very enjoyable for the children.

[Orla rogers]

These would be my ideas/class plan for Space Week.

Monday

Astronaut Role-play:

I would have my students role-play as astronauts for a day, engaging in activities that real astronauts would do aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This would be a great Aistear activity also for Space Week.

Tuesday

Writing Letters to Astronauts:

Have students write letters to astronauts, expressing their curiosity and asking questions they might have about life in space. For infants, they could practice their letter formation instead with the letters S P A C E.

Wednesday

Space-themed Art Contest:

Have an art contest where students express their images/feelings of space through drawings, paintings, or digital media. This could also be a homework project instead.

Thursday

Invite a speaker:

Invite a guest speaker to talk about their knowledge of Space. In my old school one of the parents was a scientist and the parent came in during science week and performed experiments!

Friday

Movie Day with Space Documentaries:

I would screen educational space documentaries that can provide visual insights into space exploration history or current space missions. Brian Cox’s videos are a perfect example of this.

[Niall Smith]

Orla,

Chris Hadfield’s videos might be perfect for your astronaut role play on day 1.

His “Chris’ Kitchen” outlines the difficulty with crumbs in space and explains why the ISS occupants eat tortillas instead.

The links from the Canadian Space Agency offer additional images and infographics: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/multimedia/search/video/17836

Have you a particular Brian Cox video you prefer? This one is of a talk to primary children, but is quite long:

https://youtu.be/mig-FFU3zy8?si=UaNAFRDYwIJtYEkI

[Cillian Rogers]

Create a class plan for Space Week – Sourced from Spaceweek.iw

Astronaut Dressing up race with helmets and wellies. Drama and Dance based on sunlight travelling to Earth. Space Cinema: Watch a movie with the theme of space (Wall-E, Space Chimps, Fly me to the Moon, Space Buddies)

Sing the song ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star’ with the children drawing their attention to the words: ‘How I wonder what you are?’ – Link to Stars.

Song Suggestions: The Planet Song for Kids https:// youtu.be/ mQrlgH97v94 Sesame Street: I don’t want to live on the Moon https://youtu.be/kIq8jLj5TzU

Have the children work in pairs and close their eyes. They take turns to pretend that their partner is a Martian who has landed here to find out more about humans. They have to ask each other what the physical appearance of a Martian looks like. What size are you? What colour are you? Do you have arms/legs/eyes just like humans?

[Julie O’ Sullivan]

There are lots of great ideas throughout this course which could be used for Space Week. I particularly like the work around rockets and I think this is something which always appeals to the children. As I will be teaching Junior Infants I would like to try to Mice Rockets. I am the Green Schools Coordinator and we recently had a ‘Junk Art’ competition whereby we encouraged the children in the school to create something using materials that they would be recycling. We got such a great selection of fantastic art work. Rockets were one item which many children made and it was great to see the different variations and how they made them. The art competition is something which we intend to run again but I am thinking it might be nice to incorporate something similar for Space Week whereby the children in the school make rockets using recyclable materials. We could do some paired work whereby some of the older kids could partner up with younger kids and help them. I think this is something which would be great fun and I would imagine we’d get a great selection of rockets.

[Frances McCarthy]

Julie,

by asking them to make a “working” rocket, that adds a whole level of complexity. The fizzy tablet rocket with a vitamin tube is probably the best basis for this, and children would have to consider the weight of the materials they add, the aerodynamics (since this rocket will be launched from Earth).

A larger possibility is the fizzy drink bottle water rocket, but now these bottles have recycling value, this may be less likely.

https://youtu.be/UspRESye6JY?si=-HQ6s_M9LTtVa_TN

There is a commercial kit that can be used, I have one called Water Rokit. Get a decent bicycle pump, not one of the smaller one hand ones.

[Susanne Tinnelly]

Fair Testing:

Use a variety of materials to make  paper aeroplanes.

Use card, newspaper, tinfoil orA4 white paper and fold into an aeroplane shape. The teacher can model how to fold the paper into an aeroplane shape.

Each child makes their own aeroplane using a material of their choosing.

In pairs the children test how far their aeroplane flies and use a metre stick to measure the distance.

In a whole class discussion, we give feedback on how far each aeroplane flew and record the distance each type to aeroplane flew.

By looking at this data the children will be able to see which material works best.

As an extension to this lesson,  the pupils will create paper aeroplanes of different sizes and fly them from both a standing and sitting position.

 

 

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Susanne,

fair testing with paper aeroplanes is a lovely way to check if children really get the idea of fair testing.

If they are changing the material, then everything else should stay the same, including the design of the folded plane, the force with which they launch, the angle of launch, the height of launch etc.

It might be easier to choose just one material and then let them explore the other factors.

[Anna O’Gara]

Ideas for Space Week:

1. Rocket Building and Launching
Students design and build simple rockets using various materials e.g. paper, plastic bottles.

2. Space-Themed Art and Creative Writing
Students create space-themed artwork, including drawings, paintings, or models of planets, spacecraft, or alien life. They can also write stories, poems, or essays inspired by space.

3. Space Science Experiments
Conduct simple experiments in class. Each class chooses a different experiment to present at Assembly.

4. Guest Speaker or Virtual Space Expert
Invite a guest speaker, such as an astronomer, astronaut, or space scientist, to talk about their work and experiences. If in-person visits aren’t possible, arrange a virtual session.

5. Space Quiz
Organize a quiz with questions related to space.

6. Design a Space Mission
Students work in teams to plan a space mission. They decide on the mission’s objective (e.g., exploring Mars), design the spacecraft, and outline the mission timeline.

7. Create a Space Podcast or News Broadcast
Students research current events in space news and create a podcast or video news segment..

[Grainne Soden]

Hi Laura, your lesson plan sounds fantastic! I love the idea of building spacecraft and will definitely try this activity with my class.

[Rachael Kelly]

Love using all the different materials, it can bring up the conversation of recycling

[Michelle O’Leary]

Hi Laura, this would be a such a fun activity to do with a class. It would develop so many different skills. I have built the Titanic with some of my class groups before. The ideas that they come up with are amazing. I can only imagine the space ships that would be created- fabulous!

[Rachael Byrne]

Hi Laura,

I really like the collaborative aspect that you have included in your lessons. I like the fun element of seeing which rocket went furthest too. Thank you.

[Laura O’Driscoll]

This sounds like a great lesson idea, Laura. I love the fact that you would use recyclable materials to create the rockets as it also ties in to our planet and the importance of looking after our environment. You are right, it is a great way to develop creativity, fine motor skills and ensure the use of teamwork in a lesson.

[Laura O’Driscoll]

I would use the ‘Making a Rocket’ activity in my classroom.
To begin, I would introduce the topic of Rockets and Spaceships. The children would engage in think-pair-share and come up with some ideas as to what kind of features are important in rockets in order to make them suitable for Space.
The children would then work in pairs to create their rockets. They would firstly draw a labelled sketch of what they plan to do with the materials provided in order to create a rocket. They would then begin to design and make their rockets using a variety of recycled materials. The children would make use of their creativity skills in order to design and make their rockets. The could also make use of their mathematical skills to measure the length of the various parts of their rockets. The children could explore different ways to make the rocket stand up freely and then they would present their rockets to their classmates.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by Laura O'Driscoll.

[Una Courtney]

Hi Laura I really like your cross curricular & thematic approach. Interactive, engaging and hands on too!

[Laura Ryan]

It sounds like the children would really enjoy these lessons Laura especially with the competitive aspect involved in measuring which space craft went the furthest.

[Shulagh Callan]

Veronica, I really like the way you integrate the rocket making with Math by allowing the children to decide what instrument they would choose to measure the distance.

[Saoirse Gleeson]

Activity Set- Rockets
I would Read the book Aliens in Underpants Save the World to introduce the concept of space exploration and rockets in a fun and playful way. I would discuss with the children the idea of space travel and how rockets help us explore beyond Earth. I would show pictures of different types of rockets (e.g., space shuttle, Saturn V) and discuss their shapes, sizes, and purposes.

I would then look at the comic strip of Marvin and Milo building their Penny Rocket and the YouTube video of the Mouse Rocket. I would ask the children which rocket design they think will work better and why. Which rocket will go the farthest? I would encourage critical thinking and discussion. I would divide the children into groups and provide each group with an empty milk carton, paper for the mouse head, coins, and an empty 2L bottle to create their own Penny or Mouse Rockets.

I would get each group to predict which rocket design they think will fly higher or farther. They would then launch the rockets in an open space and mark where each rocket lands. Then we would discuss the outcome compared to the predictions.

Finally, I would link to other subjects:
– Math: How many foot spans long did each rocket launch.
– Art: Encourage children to create space-themed artwork inspired by their rocket experiment.
– Writing: Write about rockets and space exploration.
– Aistear: Role Play/Construction/Small World

[Laura Kenny]

This is a great idea to incorporate other subjects and shows it is a great topic to be integrated across lots of other subjects.

[Christine O’Brien]

Great idea Saoirse to bring in the maths (distance) with it.  We will be looking for more and more ways to do this with the implementation of the PMC.

[Sean Flanagan]

I really like the book Aliens in Underpants save the world and have used one similar in my class before. This would be a great stimulus for discussion on space travel. I like the idea of integrating English writing where the class could write a procedural piece of writing about how to make the spacecraft or a writing piece about the space landing to display with the rockets.

[Eleanor Mc Sweeney]

I love the integration of this lesson with the book Aliens in Underpants save the World. Pupils love these series so it would be a fantastic resource to link in with your lessons.

I have never used comic strips in lessons but will think about doing so in the future!!

[Dean Vaughan]

Very interactive and the children get to experience to a multitude of activities

[Aine Gannon]

I really like how the opportunities for subject integration and development of scientific skills have been presented.

[Felicity Murphy]

Hi Sharon,

The idea of using the cartoon clip for the kids is a great addition.

 

[Denise Duffy]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I totally agree Felicity. The use of comic strip/cartoon strip is very effective method. I particularly love how it incorporates many areas of PLC also with use of writing genre, oral language, grammar, punctuation and is all done in a fun and engaging way.</p>

[Laura Ryan]

Activity: Rocket Mice

We’d start by reading the book ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers and discuss ways we could help get the Martian back to the moon.

We’d explore rockets together by watching a video of a rocket launch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lti6a_YYQl0 and looking at some pictures of different rockets. What’s the same or different about the rockets?

The children will then follow the instructions to make a mouse rocket in pairs. I’d supply a range of materials for the children to use to decorate their rockets.

We will then test out the rockets. Ask the children to take note of which rocket goes the highest.

Next will try shooting our rocket mice across the floor so we can measure which one went the furthest. Ask the children for ideas as to how we could measure this? Ruler, metre stick, string etc.

Have the children measure the distance using links. We can then record how far each rocket went by recording the number of links used on a record sheet. Before we launch our rockets have children record their prediction on a whiteboard.

Which mouse went the furthest? How do you know it went further? Why do you think it did?

Discuss ways we could make our rockets go further or not as far. Do we know anything that flies?

Give children the opportunity to make other flying objects during free play.

[Saoirse Gleeson]

Laura, this is a lovely lesson. I really like the idea of the children have further opportunity to explore what they learned in the lesson during free play.

[Orla Byrne]

Great idea to watch sci show, the videos are short enough that they engage the children whilst having loads to learn. I will use this video in my lessons thank you

[Alyson O Rourke]

Sounds like a great lesson!

[Michelle McGee]

Showing videos of rocket launches is a great idea as especially over the next few years there will definitely be the opportunity to watch live launches via space X. I think this would really help engage the students and bring their learning in the classroom to life.

[Frances McCarthy]

I like showing the Starship launches from Space X

The first one had thrusters not firing properly and this was clearly visible. I show the video and pause it at 1m 24 s to ask…. ‘what do you think about this rocket launch? will it end well or badly – give me a thumbs up or thumbs down.’ I then point out the circular pattern of the thrusters  and the ‘missing’ rockets and ask again.

Launch 2 went better and Launch 3 was earlier this year.

 

 

[Niamh O Sullivan]

I never thought of searching for a failed rocket launch to explore what is needed for a successful one.

[Jennifer Dempsey]

My toddler enjoyed making rocket mice the other day (with some help!). He’s quite clever so I was testing out some open ended higher order questions with him about the types of materials used etc. He liked this experiment!

[Roisin McLarnon]

Great lesson with lots of fun and learning .

[Daire Dwyer]

Hi Laura,

Great ideas here and thanks for the information about the book and the link for the You Tube Video

[Bríd O’Donoghue]

This sounds like great fun Laura. I’m sure the children would really enjoy seeing who got the most out of their rocket.

[Sean Flanagan]

In second class, we will design and make a spacecraft in small groups. This could be used as a follow on to a science lesson on planets or a history lesson on the space landing. Firstly I would spend a week teaching all about the first moon landing in SESE. We would discuss Apollo 11 and the eagle lunar module and the characteristics of a spacecraft. The children would then be split into small groups and be asked to draw and design a spacecraft that they will later make. I would ask the children to bring in recyclable materials from home so each child would use bottles, cardboard, caps etc to make the space craft. I would then facilitate the children making the spacecraft together. The children could gather any materials needed and using tape make their spacecraft as a STEAM activity. This could be furthered by filling spacecrafts with baking soda and vinegar to cause a fizzing reaction to resemble takeoff. Children could also design their spacecraft similar to a paper airplane and could see which one goes furthest and link to forces.

[Claire Kelly]

I love the idea Sean of building space crafts. It’s a very hands on activity and children love the freedom of creating their own designs .It certainly would lead to lots of discussion and planning .Adding the baking soda and vinegar to resemble take off would be real fun for the children.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sean,

this is a very doable plan, particularly if a fizzy vitamin tablet tube makes the core of the spacecraft that is then decorated to look more spacecrafty.

if you wanted to design the interior of the spacecraft, then use this resource (Humans in Space from spaceweek.ie) instead.

[Irene Lynch]

Sounds like a lovely idea Sean, I really like the cross curricular aspects of the lesson, this will really keep the children excited and interested.

[Aoife Purcell]

I also really like the idea of building the spacecrafts. I could use this idea with my infants to do as an activity with their 6th class buddies.

[Claire Kelly]

Rockets

Working with infants I would read the book ‘Aliens in Underpants save the world’ to them first. As the book progresses I would encourage them to predict what might happen next and build visual pictures in their heads of the exploration of space.

Then we would discuss rockets and elicit any previous knowledge they have of rockets .Through this we would build  a mindmap of space vocabulary .

We would watch the clips of Marvin and Milo demonstrating the Balloon Rocket and The Rocket mice .I would ask questions about which rocket they thought would launch the highest or travel the furthest?  Following the children’s replies I would pose further questions wondering what might happen if  …

Dividing the class into smaller group they would proceed to build their rockets and check out their predictions .Rockets would be launched by each group and results compared .

Cross curricular work

Oral language – space vocabulary

Art/Craft  -cutting, colouring .decorating their rockets

Maths- comparing, contrasting ,measuring, recording, data,

Aistear   -Role play

 

[Alyson O Rourke]

Really great integration opportunities here!

[Anna O’Gara]

I love the idea of using a picture book as a stimulus. I also teach infants and will definitely use these ideas.

[Criona Corroon]

Here is an outline of a possible plan to help engage the children in junior Infants with space week.
Space Week Class Plan for Junior Infants
Theme: Exploring Outer Space
Objective:
To introduce young learners to the wonders of space through cross-curricular activities.
Circle time:
Space Exploration Discussion: Gather the children in a circle and discuss space-related topics. Show images of planets, stars, and rockets. Encourage questions and curiosity.
Literacy:
Storytime: “Aliens Visit Our Planet”: Read a fun story about friendly aliens visiting Earth. Discuss the concept of aliens and their imaginary adventures.
Writing Activity: Have students draw their own alien characters and write a short description.
Mathematics :
• Counting Stars: Use star-shaped cutouts to practice counting. Ask questions like, “How many stars are in the sky?”
• Rocket Math: Introduce basic addition and subtraction using rocket-themed flashcards.
Science :
• Rocket Launch Experiment: Create simple paper rockets and launch them outdoors. Discuss how rockets work and why they can reach space.
• Planet Exploration: Show pictures of planets and discuss their unique features.
Art :
• Alien Art: Provide colored paper, googly eyes, and glue. Let students create their own alien creatures.
• Galaxy Painting: Use dark paper and white paint to create a galaxy background. Add glitter for stars.
Physical Education:
• Astronaut Training: Set up an obstacle course. Pretend students are astronauts navigating through space stations.
Home Connection:
• Family Space Challenge: Send home a space-themed activity sheet. Encourage families to stargaze, learn about constellations, or build a rocket model together.
Expected Outcomes:
• Appreciate how space can be integrated into various subjects.
• Identify opportunities to apply mathematics and science skills in a cross-curricular way.

[Frances McCarthy]

What a great set of activities for Space Week – please make sure your register your class this year!

If you want more

Astronaut Training: Set up an obstacle course. Pretend students are astronauts navigating through space stations.

check out MissionX (scroll down the front page to find the physical activity section if you google the name).

[Patrick Carroll]

The students in my class would love this lesson. I will definitely use this during space week this year. Showing the students a video of how real astronauts train for a mission before hand or after would create even more excitement.

[Sarah Breen]

I love the idea of linking home and school for space week with the family activity.

[Fiona Daly]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>An amazing list of different activities to engage pupils during the space week. I especially love the links to visual arts. The children would have great fun creating their own aliens and galaxies for them to explore.</p>

[Sean Furlong]

I really like the integration with PE. It would not have occurred to me to try to integrate science and PE but it would work so well in this instance.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sean – specifically check out Mission X  – it is all PE with a space theme.

[Yvonne Kelly]

Really like the integration of PE with the theme. Would not have thought of this myself. Very comprehensive list of how it can be integrated across the curriculum.

[colette browne]

Wow Criona. What a detailed list of activities for infants to explore during Science week. Great that you have incorporated the lessons across the curriculum. You have a lovely home school link idea with families and the star gazing activity.

[Alyson O Rourke]

I am teaching Junior Infants next year and will definitely use some of these ideas, thank you for sharing!

[Sinead Forde]

Some brilliant and exciting ideas here, and really touching on so many different curricular areas

[Anne Breen]

Fantastic suggestions for Space week there Criona. I love how you introduce the children to the wonders of space through so many cross-curricular activities. Plus they’ll have so much fun engaging in all those activities.

[Niamh O Sullivan]

Really like the idea of an astronaut training obstacle course.

[Patricia Stokes]

So many great ideas here that are easy to implement and effective to enhance hands on learning in an Infant classroom. Thank you!

[Christine O’Brien]

Consolidate your experiences and action plans in the course by creating a class plan to engage with Space Week.

In my own context, if I don’t use it for Space Week, I envisage it being used in the week before the class engages fully in the Integrated Learning through Play block ‘Space Travel Agent’ The Space Week Plan can be used at class level or can be rolled out across the school, if desired. It is intended that the children get an overview of many aspects of Space

MONDAY – The Planets
The Planets song – 8 Planets of the Solar System Song https://youtu.be/mQrlgH97v94 (Link to Music)
The planets – Journey through the Solar System (ESERO 1) https://esero.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/01_The-planets.pdf (link to PE)

TUESDAY – The Moon
Video of first moon landing (link to History)
Craters on the surface of the moon – experiment with objects being dropped on flour
Meet Our Neighbours: Moon http://www.space-awareness.org/en/activities/1408/meet-our-neighbours-moon/ (Link to Art)
Multicultural Moon Stories https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/MoonStoriesASP2019.pdf (Link to Ethical Education)

WEDNESDAY – The Sun/Shadows
Book – The Sun is my Favourite Star by Frank Asch (link to English)
Where is the Shadow? (ESERO 29) includes drawing outline of shadows at different times of the day (Link to Art – Drawing – form) and/or
Sundial with upturned flower pot and bamboo stick – measure at various times (link to History)

THURSDAY – Rockets
Marvin & Milo – Whole class Balloon Rocket (note: have sting and straw prepped). Add variations https://spark.iop.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/19%20-%20Marvin%20and%20Milo%20-%20Balloon%20Rocket%202019_0.pdf and/or
Marvin & Milo – Alka Seltzer Rocket /https://spark.iop.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/09%20-%20Marvin%20and%20Milo%20-%20Alka-Seltzer%20Rocket%202019.pdf Chemical rocket launch using old film containers or vitamin/seltzer containers

FRIDAY – Aliens
Dancing raisins https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/dancing_raisins.pdf
Blow up balloon using vinegar & baking soda – Balloon Blow up Demonstration to show children how carbon dioxide can be created and then used to blow up a balloon.
Hands on Experiments! – Explosions – The children will work in teams to try and create the perfect glittery explosion mixture. The children will start by adding baking soda. Then the children can decide which colour of food dye and glitter they would like. The children will then add liquid dish soap to the mixture, being careful not to stir it too much and create bubbles. Finally each team will have a chance to test which mixture works the best by adding vinegar to it. The result! A colourful Bubble explosion! This can be done in an empty plastic container.
Note: taken from BCO Fizzing & Foaming document

[Frances McCarthy]

Great stuff – something for everyone there, and very doable in the classroom.

Every year Space Week is 4-10 October, this year that falls on a Friday to the following Thursday, but Space Week can easily be Mon-Friday in your own school.

Don’t forget to register this as an event on spaceweek.ie.

[Louise Gleeson]

Wow Christine! This is great. Very indepth and agreed totally doable. Thank you for all the links really very helpful and have it saved! Much appreciated. Always great to get things like this on these courses. Thanks for sharing.

[Veronica Gardiner]

Thanks Christine. This is a well structured lesson plan for science week with some lovely ideas and cross curricular links for each day. Lots of useful links provided which the pupils would love.

[Ursula OConnor]

Really great ideas here, thank you  – It covers a lot in a little time with doable activities and the activities will certainly be of interest to the children.

[Sinead Shanley]

Hi Christine,

This is a fabulous well structured plan, I love how you set a theme for each day and included the links to the teaching lesson/ideas from the resources.

[Patrick Carroll]

Love this list of lessons and the cross curricular links.

[Emma O Connor]

Thanks for sharing these ideas Christine. They will be really helpful in my classroom, love how each day has a theme!

[Sinead Parsons]

Great layout Christine, could be used in all the junior classes.

[Cliodhna Kelly]

Christine, this is such a useful and comprehensive plan I can definitely see myself using this year for Space Week! Thank you !

[Jane Donegan]

I love your ideas here Christine! Thank you for sharing.

[Fiona Daly]

Activity- Rockets

Trigger – video of a rocket going into space

Wonder- What is making the rocket move? Discuss different methods of moving objects.

Explore- Try out different ways to move objects.

• Move a balloon attached to a straw along a piece of string by letting the air out of the balloon
• Propelling a bottle using water and fizzing tablet
• Propelling an object sitting on top of an open bottle by squashing the bottle, pushing out the air
• Launching a foam rocket using cylinder and elastic bands.

Investigate

Ask the children to design and make a rocket using a range of Materials including cylinder rolls.

Question- How far will the rockets go when launched using a slingshot style launcher.

Predictions- Each group predicts a distance (linkage: maths)

Conduct the experiment- Discuss fair test: all groups start at the same position, all use the same rocket launcher, only difference is the force used and the materials used (both of which would be discussed after the Investigation when discussing results.

Sharing/Interpreting results- Discuss distances measured, materials used, possible forces affecting the launch. Display results using a bar chart or pictogram.

Next steps- what could have been done differently? Evaluate design of rockets. Discuss pull force. A marker to indicate how far to pull back the launcher.

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Fiona Daly.

[Denise Duffy]

Brilliant and diverse activities to explore the concept of  how to move objects. I can see these experiments being carried out very agentically jn older classes

[Barbara Farrell]

Activity – Rockets

Introduction – The children will create a mind map about rockets. Using these key questions to stimulate them. What do they look like? Where do they go? Have you ever seen a rocket? Who travels in a rocket? The story ‘Roaring Rockets’ by Tony Mitton will then be read to the children.

Development – The children will look at the cartoon images of Marvin and Milo and the Balloon Rocket and the clip of The Rocket mice. We will then create our own rockets by following the rocket mice instructions. We will discover if the size of the bottle makes any difference to the distance the mice travels. How can we make the rockets travel higher or faster?

Conclusion – The children will watch a real rocket space launch and discuss any questions they may have. Follow up lessons would be to create the balloon rocket that Marviin and Milo made also creating a rocket using paper and straws.

 

[Suzy Furlong]

Hi

I like the addition of the mind map. Although using it for this course I hadn’t thought to apply it to making rockets.

[Sean Furlong]

The “Fizzing and Foaming” lesson for infants reveals the power of hands-on, sensory-rich activities in early science education. This type of lesson engages young learners by tapping into their natural curiosity and excitement about the world around them.

The “Fizzing and Foaming” lesson typically involves simple chemical reactions, such as combining baking soda and vinegar to create an effervescent, bubbling effect. This visual and tactile experience captivates infants, making abstract scientific concepts more concrete and understandable.

One of the key strengths of this lesson is its ability to introduce foundational scientific principles in a playful and accessible way. Infants learn about reactions, cause and effect, and basic chemistry through direct observation and participation. This not only builds their scientific knowledge but also enhances their critical thinking and observational skills.

Moreover, the lesson supports the development of fine motor skills as children measure, pour, and mix ingredients. It also fosters language development as they describe what they see, feel, and hear, using new vocabulary related to the experiment.

This lesson can be flexible and can be easily adapted to different learning environments and needs. The excitement generated by the fizzing and foaming reaction often leads to further inquiry and exploration, encouraging a lifelong interest in science.

Overall, the “Fizzing and Foaming” lesson is an excellent example of how hands-on, sensory activities can make learning both fun and meaningful for young children.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sean,

would you be able to use an activity like this with your older class? I wonder if the sensory aspect of it might be too much for some children with sensory issues. I once made slime with a class and had a child vomit from the experience, so I am always keen to let the children lead on how much they want to touch/squish and otherwise engage.

For younger children, the measuring and mixing is likely to be in broad capacity units – ie a spoon, rather than in detailed ml.

[Irene Lynch]

Activity- Making Rockets

Students will learn about rockets and how they work by building and launching their own simple rockets.

Materials Needed:

• Balloons
• Drinking straws
• String or fishing line
• Tape

Introduction to Rockets:

• Begin by asking the students, “What do you know about rockets?” and “What do rockets do?”
• Show picture cards or posters of rockets and space exploration.
• Explain that rockets are powerful machines that help us travel into space and explore other planets.
• Discuss how rockets work: they use fuel to create thrust, which pushes them up into the sky.
• Explain the basic parts of a rocket: the body, fins, and nose cone

Making a balloon rocket:

• Thread a piece of string through a straw. The string should be long enough to stretch across the room or yard.
• Tie one end of the string to a chair or doorknob and hold the other end tightly.
• Inflate a balloon but don’t tie it. Instead, tape the balloon to the straw.
• Pull the straw to one end of the string and let go of the balloon. Watch as it zips along the string like a rocket!
• Allow the children to decorate their rockets using different art materials.

Discuss how the air escaping from the balloon creates thrust, propelling the rocket forward.

Launch Time:

• Take the students to an open space for launching their balloon rockets
• Allow each child to launch their rockets and observe the results.
• Encourage them to experiment with different designs and see how changes affect the rocket’s flight.

 

Discussion:

Gather the students and discuss what they observed during the rocket launches.
Ask questions like, “What made the rocket go?” and “How did different designs change the way the rocket flew?”

 

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Irene,

it is great to plan balloon rockets as Design & Make – children will then try an improvement, see if it works, and refine as needed.

I have been about 15 years getting balloon rockets to work – and I find they are best for me when I make the strings vertical, with a weight (usually a roll of sellotape) holding them down.

[Niamh O Sullivan]

I have never considered using the string vertically. Will try this the next time.

[Ursula OConnor]

Activity: Rocket Mice

Skills: Exploring and wondering

With infant classes I would begin with the story Mice in Space as a read aloud to the children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWzfjI99KPg

Designing and making: Children would engage in making their own mouse using card and markers, sticky eyes etc – art and craft activity.

Investigation: Next I would work through questions of how might we launch our mice – what could we try – with a box of items for the children to try to use themselves – active exploration and wondering put into action.

We would look at each attempt and discuss what works well and what doesn’t – what happens to the mice and what we want to happen.

I would explain with basic language about a force to make the mouse launch – using straws next, allow the children try to move their mouse along their desk by blowing through the straw. After this, looking at how a lot more air might be better.

Using the milk carton, demonstrate for the children how the force is exerted.

Designing and Making: Children then experiment with their own rocket launcher using cartons.

Applying knowledge – children practise using rockets with their mice.

 

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Ursula,

I’m going to nick your idea of using straws first. I often ask the children to get the mouse to move without touching it – and a child will usually blow on it, and then I go straight to wondering if the milk bottle could help us launch the mouse up…

 

[Yvonne Kelly]

Lesson: Rocket Making for Infants

Children will engage in a hands-on activity to design and construct their own rockets using milk containers.

Materials Needed: Empty clean milk containers, colourful cards, markers, scissors, glue, tape.

Introduce rockets and space exploration to the children through use of pictures.
Each child is given a milk container and cards to decorate their rocket with colourful designs using markers, stickers.
The children will cut a cone-shaped top from card. They will place them on top of the milk container to complete the rocket design.
The children are encouraged to share and discuss their rocket creations with the group.
We will then have a rocket launch activity where children can pretend to blast off their rockets into space.
If time permits, they can create a cardboard launch pad for the rockets to take off from.
To conclude the lesson we will read the book ‘Roaring Rockets’ by Tony Mitton and listen to the song ‘We’re Going on a Rocket Space’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE0qcTPGCVs

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Yvonne,

will you use the milk containers as the launchers (like Rocket Mice does) or are they part of the rocket?

If launcher – then the mice (the cone) actually do launch upwards (like a rocket).

Roaring Rockets is a nice book – just watch out for the glossary that mentions “gravity boots” -it is on my pet peeve list. The astronauts wore thick soled boots because the Moon is cold! and the surface of the Moon is made of very rough, sharp and sticky rock dust that would cut through space suits. The gravity of the Moon is more than enough to keep the astronauts on the lunar surface.

[Deirdre Tiernan]

Hi Yvonne, that sounds like a great lesson. I love how structured it is. I actually read up on Lunar boots too; sometimes children’s books are almost perfect!

[Aisling O brien]

Hi Yvonne,

Thank you for sharing this lesson- it is very clear to follow. Thank you for also sharing the book and song. I must have a look at both.

[colette browne]

For Space Week with senior infants, I would create a fun and engaging class plan that combines learning and hands-on activities.

1. **Introduction to Space**: Start the week by introducing the concept of space through storybooks, videos, and interactive discussions.

2. **Solar System Exploration**: Teach about the planets in our solar system using visual aids and interactive games.

3. **Space Crafts**: Engage students in creating space-themed crafts like paper plate planets, rocket ships, or astronaut helmets.

4. **Stargazing**: If possible, organize a stargazing session in the evening or use a planetarium app to explore the night sky during the day.

5. **Space-themed Snack Time**: Prepare snacks like “moon rocks” (popcorn) or “alien juice” (green-colored lemonade) for a thematic treat.

6. **Space Dress-Up Day**: Encourage students to dress up as astronauts, aliens, or their favorite space-themed character to spark imagination.

This class plan aims to make Space Week exciting and educational for senior infants, fostering their curiosity about the universe.

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by colette browne.

[Rachael Gill]

Hi Collette

I really like this plan that you have created. It addresses the theme of Space from many different angles and is very engaging for children.

[Frances McCarthy]

Colette,

Are you planning to run stargazing sessions with Stellarium? It can take a bit of time to get used to, but is a powerful way to present the night sky. It works best if you have a room that can be completely darkened – do you have that at your school?

Can you identify some of the specific

 visual aids and interactive games.

that you might use? I have used https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Space_Cleanup

and spent so much time zipping around collecting broken satellites!

[Paula Mc Gee]

I really like the space dress up day for space week where the children get to dress up as Aliens. It really gives them an opportunity for creativity and imagination, while most children will also be able to think about what protections and added body parts the alien might need on their planet.

[Orla Byrne]

( again apologies, none of my letters are visible when I type!)
First we would start with the book ‘ Roaring rockets by y tony motto this is a very simple but engaging book for a junior infants class. It goes through the componem of a rocket too. Rrom this we would ask questions about how we would design and launch a rocket with a mini figure ( shookin) attached. Discuss together how we would make it, what we would need and what could actually make the rocket launch ( should be able to ans this based on other experiences during science week . We would create, design and build rockets in pairs using junk art. We would then launch using bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Finally we would measure the distance that the rocket travelled. For sphe we could discuss fears , how would you feel if you were asked to go to the moon etc…

[Brenda Reynolds]

Sounds like a brilliant idea. I can envisage a lot of tin foil and googley eyes being used in these creations and the children would love it.

[Rachael Gill]

I have used the Aliens in Underpants story as a stimulant in a lesson before and my class really liked it. It really grabbed their attention from the beginning of the science lesson. We then moved onto looking at the absorption of different materials through the inquiry based approach. The children made washing lines with underpants on the washing line. All of the underpants had to be the same size to make it a fair test. They dipped each of the underpants in water for 2 seconds and observed how long it took for the water to stop dripping from each of the underpants. From this, they then identified which material is best for making underpants. This lesson turned out to be a huge success in my classroom.

I really like the rocket mice activity outlined in this module. Making rockets in infants has always been something I have avoided due to uncertainty about how to do it safely and productively. I think it would be a great addition to my Aistear stations during Science week in future.

[Frances McCarthy]

Rachael,

what a super way to engage the children and make a fun lesson out of underpants! I can imagine the little pants dripping dry! I’m trying if the best underpants are absorbent or not — perhaps this could be “nappy” design, where the most absorbent won’t drip at all and the worst would drip all the water out. If the material was not absorbent at all, then the drips would all come at the beginning, and a semi-absorbent material would drip away for ages.

Did you use this template for the underpants?

[kevin kennedy]

It sounds like your lesson using “Aliens in Underpants” was a fantastic and engaging way to introduce scientific inquiry! The hands-on activity of testing different materials for their absorption properties would make learning fun. I appreciate how you ensured the experiment was fair by using underpants of the same size and the observation of water dripping added a visual element that likely enhanced understanding.

I’m glad you found the rocket mice activity in the module appealing. Safety and productivity concerns are valid, but with careful planning and supervision, making rockets can be both exciting and educational for young learners. Incorporating this into your Aistear stations during Science Week sounds like a brilliant idea. Integrating these activities will not only enrich your science lessons but also foster a love for exploration and experimentation in your students.

 

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by kevin kennedy.

[Emma O Connor]

Racheal, thanks for sharing this, I could see the level of engagement for children would be high. Like how you incorporated the idea of a fair test as often this is something im guilty of not pointing out in younger classes.

[Sinead Shanley]

Activity Set: Rockets lesson idea for Senior Infants.

I would envisage using this lesson following on from work related to the Activity sets based on planets and the Moon. I would also cover the Story of Neil Armstrong in SESE:History and complete some work in Drama related to his story before starting this lesson.

To engage the children at the beginning of the lesson, I would display my NASA Saturn V rocket poster on the board and also show the children a video clip of the rocket launch as the stimulus to get the children talking and wondering. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViNcBQ8cDA0

We could discuss rockets their shapes and sizes, explore different types of rockets, all the time encouraging children to make observations, ask wondering questions and discuss and share their ideas with the class. I feel it is very important for the children to lead this area, and I would follow their lead with my questioning or prompting. Could we make our own rockets and launch them in the classroom?

I would allow children to explore in small groups the materials available and see what ideas they could come up with first. Next I would teach the children how to make a Mouse Rocket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUKCT2L3DjA&t=26s or the Balloon rockets from https://spark.iop.org/balloon-rocket (depending on the fine motor skills of the class!) I would encourage the children to explore how the rocket is launch and see what wondering questions they come up with.

For the investigation our starter question may be- Does the rocket travel further if I push harder/ blow the balloon bigger? Children will share their predictions in their group as the teacher circulates the class and engages with the different groups. Next the children will carry out their investigation. Teacher will use prompting to help children decide if their test is fair. the children may use whiteboards and marker to collect their Data. Afterwards they will discuss and interpret their data before sharing their finding with the class.We will then compare the finding with the predictions made.

When completing of next PE lesson on throwing, we could use the foam javelins and see if the children can make connections and apply their learning from the rockets to how the javelin travel the furthest.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sinead,

I hope the balloon rockets work for you – I finally got them working for the first time last year, as part of the “Heavy Lifting Rockets” activity with children.

I found that the line needed to be taut. I used fishing line which was smooth, with a large diameter bit of straw on it. We found that the positioning of the balloon attachment to the line mattered, since the balloons would go in circles around the line if the straw wasn’t lined up with the opening / neck of the balloon. I also destroyed a lot of balloon pumps!

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Frances McCarthy. Reason: edited for spelling

[Sinead Shanley]

Thank you for those tips!

[Paula Mc Gee]

Activity set: Rockets and Aliens

To begin I would read the story “Aliens in Underpants Save the World” for enjoyment and discussion.
To get the children thinking about rockets I would show the video of a rocket launching.

Then we will make a simple rocket mouse and play with them for a while. Then we will formulate a questin to investigate like – which bottles makes the rocket mouse jump higher. The children will make predictions and discuss how to make the test fair e.g. using the same rocket mouse on different bottles. Finally we will record our results.

To take the next step we will brainstorm other things that fly through the air and what they have in common.

STEM: who cam create the paper aeroplane that travels the furthest?

PE: look at the foam arrows and play around with different heights when throwing and projections.

[Frances McCarthy]

I hope you plan to do this with the children during spaceweek.ie -always held between 4 and 10 October. An event can be a simple as – make rocket mice with the class, and it would be great if you could register it with spaceweek.ie

[Suzy Furlong]

Lesson Plan: Building a Spacecraft
Objective:
Students will learn about spacecraft and use their creativity to build their own models, fostering understanding of space exploration and engineering concepts.

Materials:
“Roaring Rockets” by Tony Mitton
Recycled materials (toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes, bottle caps, etc.)
Glue sticks
Scissors
Markers, crayons, and colored pencils
Aluminum foil
Construction paper
Stickers and other decorations

Introduction:

Gather students in a circle and show the picture book cover.
Ask, “What do you know about rockets and spacecraft?”
Read the picture book aloud, discussing the different types of spacecraft and their purposes.

Discussion:

Show pictures of various spacecraft (rockets, shuttles, satellites, etc.).
Explain the parts of a spacecraft: body, wings, engines, etc.
Discuss how spacecraft help us explore space and learn about the universe.

Activity:

Provide students with recycled materials, glue sticks, scissors, markers, and other craft supplies.
Instruct students to build their own spacecraft models using the materials provided.
Encourage them to be creative and think about what their spacecraft would look like if it could really fly into space.
Allow students to decorate their spacecraft with markers, stickers, and aluminum foil for a shiny effect.

Sharing:

Have students sit in a circle and share their spacecraft models with the class.
Ask each student to explain what their spacecraft is designed to do (e.g., exploring the Moon, flying to Mars, etc.).

Wrap-Up:

Display the spacecraft models around the classroom.
Sing a simple space-related song e.g., “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon”

Conclusion:
Reinforce the excitement of space exploration and the importance of creativity and imagination. Encourage students to think about what they might discover if they could travel into space in their own spacecraft.

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Suzy,

asking children to think what they might find out if they could travel in space is something I often pose to older children too. The new space launch systems are brining the price of rocket launches down dramatically, and satellites are getting smaller and smaller with the introduction of “cube-sats” – so making a satellite and putting it into space (as the Irish student team did with EIRSAT-1) is within reach for so many more people now.

So – what would  YOU use space for to help the Earth?

 

• This reply was modified 3 months ago by Frances McCarthy.

[Louise O Grady]

Class Plan for Engaging with Space Week Ireland
Class Level: 1st class
Duration: 1 week
Theme: Exploring Space

Objectives
Introduce students to basic concepts about space.
Encourage curiosity and engagement through interactive and hands-on activities.
Celebrate Space Week (October 4th-10th) by participating in themed events and projects.
Materials
Picture books about space (e.g., “There’s No Place Like Space” by Tish Rabe)
Poster paper and markers
Craft supplies (construction paper, glue, scissors, foil, etc.)
Internet access for virtual tours and videos
Flashlights, balls, and other props for demonstrations
Space Week activity packs
Star charts/Stellarium
Space-themed music and videos

Monday: Introduction to Space
Activities:

Morning Circle: Read a space-themed picture book.
Discuss what students already know about space.
Space Facts Poster: Create a class poster with interesting facts about space.
Each student contributes one fact with a drawing.
Virtual Tour: Watch a virtual tour of the International Space Station (ISS).
Discuss what astronauts do in space.
Homework: Ask students to look at the night sky with their parents and draw what they see.
Tuesday: The Solar System
Activities:

Solar System Song: Learn and sing a song about the planets in the solar system.
Planet Crafts: Create paper plate planets. Each student chooses a planet to decorate.
Interactive Game: Play a game where students have to match facts to the correct planet.
Homework: Bring in a space-related question to discuss the next day.
Wednesday: The Moon and Stars
Activities:

Moon Phases: Use flashlights and balls to demonstrate the phases of the moon.
Create a moon phase wheel craft.
Starry Night Art: Make a starry night sky using black construction paper and white paint or chalk.
Constellation Stories: Introduce some simple constellations and their stories.
Let students create their own constellation with star stickers on dark paper.
Homework: Encourage students to identify and draw a constellation they can see at night.
Thursday: Space Exploration
Activities:

Spacecraft Models: Build simple models of rockets or rovers using recycled materials.
Astronaut Training: Create an obstacle course to simulate astronaut training.
Discuss what skills astronauts need.
Space Videos: Watch kid-friendly videos about space missions (e.g., moon landing, Mars rovers).
Homework:

Write a short story/draw a picture about what they would do if they were an astronaut.
Friday: Celebrating Space Week
Activities:

Space Assembly: Host a mini space assembly where students share their crafts, facts, and stories.
Invite parents and other classes to attend.
Space Party: Play space-themed music and have a space-themed snack party.
Hand out space-themed certificates for participation.
Reflection and Feedback: Have a circle time where students share what they enjoyed the most and what they learned.
Collect feedback to improve future Space Week activities.
Ongoing Throughout the Week:

Space Corner: Set up a space-themed corner in the classroom with books, pictures, and activities.
Daily Space Fact: Share a fun space fact each morning during announcements.
Parent Involvement: Encourage parents to participate by reading space stories at home or helping with crafts.
By following this plan, students will have an engaging and educational experience during Space Week, fostering a love for space and science.

[Ciara FaganBarrett]

A great range of engaging activities for Space Week Louise, I really like the home/school links, where pupils can share their learning at home with fun tasks and then feedback in class.

[Elaine Townsend]

Lots of great ideas in this plan Louise. I am definitely going to do some of these and I particularly like the way you have broken it down day by day into themes. This would help us to make sure we’re not bombarding the kids with an overload of information because there are so many aspects to space that we could cover. This would help me as a teacher to focus on certain themes one at a time.

[Patrick Carroll]

For space week the theme would be incorporated into several lessons throughout the week as well as using some of the live resources available.

To start the week:

Space week would be introduced during circle time and we would start a mind map entitled Space which would be displayed and added to throughout the week. A short video linked to space would be shown each day or we would tune into some of the live videos available that week.

For English:

*A reading comprehension about Astronuats and space would be covered. (This is available in their workbook).

*Write a postcard from space.

For PE:

*The students would complete astronaut training obstacle course. climbing over and crawling under things, running jumping, squatting, bouncing a ball.

Drama:

*Students would watch the moon landing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbTaDOuSePk and in groups would create and role play their road trip to the moon and back again. They bring in their own objects to leave on the moon.

Maths:

*Students could practice addition/subtraction doing a colour by number worksheet with a space themed picture created or a code breaker message/ fact about space.

Gaeilge:

*Vocabulary on Weather and clothing could be discussed followed by animals in the cold and their adaptions.

Art/ Music:

*Recreation of starry starry night by Van Gogh with chalk done accompanied by looking at the words of the song starry starry night and listening to its melody.

*Lesson about Mars, Make the surface of mars out of red clay, make an alien that could live on mars.

* Learn about the planets in the solar system through song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ero4xNzqMQ

SSE:

*Create your own rockets – using string, straws and balloons. Add your own features and race them across the room. Discuss what features would help them travel faster/slower and why they are propelled forward.

 

Just for fun:

Have an space themed lunch, do a dress up day on the theme space.

[Frances McCarthy]

Lovely stuff Patrick – I think this in particular is super “They bring in their own objects to leave on the moon.” – you could link this to measures by giving a limit to the size or weight that was available in the space craft. There was a company that planned to take small items to the Moon, but the mission that it was on failed in January.

For Starry Night – my colleagues did a space art session on Van Gogh last year, you can find it at

Space Art with BCO- Van Gogh!

 

 

 

[Niamh O Sullivan]

I did Starry Night with the children last year and they really enjoyed it and create lovely artwork. Didn’t know it was an anniversary this year.

[Dean Vaughan]

I always enjoy doing this experiment with the children as it generates great excitement!

The film canister and Alka-Seltzer experiment is a perfect way to ignite a love for science in the primary classroom and I often do it in my own Science Club. It’s engaging, uses everyday materials, and demonstrates a fundamental chemical reaction – all with a satisfying “whoosh!” and a big “pop!”

Preparation:

Gather film canisters, Alka-Seltzer tablets, safety glasses (one per student), shallow trays (like cafeteria trays), and water.
Ensure a clear, safe launch area away from furniture and walls.
Launching the Fun:

Safety First: Begin by emphasising the importance of safety glasses or completing the experiment outside.

Fill Up: Have students add a small amount of water (think a few tablespoons) to their film canisters.

Fizz, Boom, Blast Off!: Distribute Alka-Seltzer tablets (broken into halves or quarters). Instruct students to drop a piece into the water, quickly snap on the lid, and place the canister upside down in the tray.

The Grand Finale: Step back and observe! The Alka-Seltzer reacts with the water, releasing carbon dioxide gas. This builds pressure, launching the canister with a pop!

Prediction Time: Before launch, have students predict which canister will travel farthest (based on water amount, Alka-Seltzer size, etc.). This encourages critical thinking.
Variable Exploration: Repeat the experiment with different water amounts or Alka-Seltzer piece sizes. Students can record their observations and discuss how these variables affect the outcome.

This experiment allows students to witness a chemical reaction firsthand. They’ll see how the Alka-Seltzer and water combine to create gas, understanding the concept of pressure building up and propelling the canister. It’s a fun and memorable introduction to scientific concepts!

This one is suitable for all age groups, requires little resources but there is great science learning potential behind it!

[susan molloy]

This sounds like brilliant fun Dean !! My infants would have the best day ever ha!

[Lynn McElroy]

This lesson can be completed with first or second class. We will make a space craft by using recyclable materials over the course of a week. We will start with an introduction by reading of Aliens in Underpants Saves the World to stimulate interest and then also the Planet Song. Students will draw up ideas of their designs and begin to make their designs in teams. They will paint and present their spaceships to the class and share how they made them and what items they used. We will conclude the lessons with questioning and a summary of what we learned about space and spaceships. We will complete a Kahoot quiz at the end to aid in assessment and understanding.

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Lynn,

making a recycled space craft sounds fun. Your crew could also come up with a name for their mission. They could choose a famous place or a famous person to be their space craft. Or they could choose a space-theme name.

You can see the list of various missions here.

[Roisin McLarnon]

Engaging in Space Week is a week full of fun learning a for the children .

Being a Senior Infant class there is a lot of singing art and craft and experiments going on ,

Monday

Planets and the Solar System Song    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2prtmPEjOc.

Discussion not the planets and divide the kids up into groups to make their own solar system with balloons of different colours, markers ,string , wool and a variety of amaterials to make the planets, Discussion on size of each planet in relation to each other and visual representation on whiteboard to help them would have been covered before starting the craft activity.

Tuesday  The Moon

Discussion and watch the first Landing on the moon

Mystery Science    What would it be like to live on the Moon?   What is the Moon Made of ?

Using shaving foam the children could make their own moon surface.

Wednesday The Sun /Shadows and Sundail

Hopefully the weather will be on our side and the children will be able to get outside to create a sun dail using chalk. There are many video clips on the sundail that children could watch . This could be linked into the history of telling the time and clocks through the ages .

Children could work in pairs and draw shadows of themselves at different times of the day ….weather permitting.

Thursday

Mice Rockets experinments , Here the children will experinment with different bottle types ,different mice and make measurements to decide which is the best rocket and why .

Friday

Storytime where the children listen to stories about Aliens and where they come live .What planet do you think an alien could live on? Why ? What do yo think they would look like ? What would they need.?

Revise The Solar System song .

Air Dough provided and the kids after discussion will make their own Alien and when dried paint and decorate.

End the week with a Kahoot quiz .

[Frances McCarthy]

What a great set of space themed activities that would make Space Week so exciting.

If you make a kahoot quiz, please share! (and don’t forget to register this as an event at spaceweek.ie)

[Sharon Coyne]

Well done on creating a great list of activities for space week in school. I can’t wait to do the theme of space next year as I feel I have so many more amazing ideas and activities for completing with my class

[Muireann McCarthy]

I also have Senior Infants next year. Thank you so much for sharing lovely ideas for Space week. I love the idea of incorporating songs and art, as at this age, that is how they learn most effectively.

[susan molloy]

Activity Set: Rockets
I would begin the lesson reading the poem ‘Space Walking’ to open the discussion on rockets and Space and determine what they children know about rockets; we will mind map our knowledge on the board together as a class. I will tell them that Teddy wants to send a letter to his alien friend who lives in Space. You could integrate a literacy lesson here also and the children can help Teddy write the letter to his friend. Children will then design their own rockets harnessing the power of a balloon to make them launch. We would discuss materials that we might need and using measuring sticks the children will predict how far they think their balloon might launch. Each measurement will be marked out with chalk and we can see which child/group is the closest to their estimate. I always find this add a bit of excitement for the kids and teachers alike!!
We would finish the lesson with the sing along song ‘Space Song Rocket Ride’ (attached below)

[Carol anne Savery]

I love the integration of music and literacy in your lesson. So important to have a thematic approach in infants.

[Kate Muckian]

Hi Susan,

This sounds so fun and effective. I would be more into that than some of the children probably!! A nice fun and competitive activity!! will definitely be trying out. Love how music is incorporated also.

[Bridget O Grady]

Love the space song rocket ride attached here.

[Carol anne Savery]

Lesson on rockets for Junior Infants

Engage:
Step 1: Story – Roaring rockets by Tony Mitton . Discuss the story and rockets and how rockets launch into space.
Step 2: Watch a brief clip of a rocket launch such as https://youtu.be/Lti6a_YYQl0?si=sIn1-Vsuh3qq1h8z
Step 2: Explore a selection of rockets provided by the teacher – allow the children to explore each rocket by moving in groups to each station which will have a different rocket.
Step 3: Create their own rocket mice rocket using paper , colours , milk bottles and sellotape. ( I would use all the same sized bottles for this step)

Investigate:
Starter question: How could we make the mice rockets go further?
The children would be encouraged to make a prediction based on this.
They would then use different sized bottles to explore pressure .
Think , pair , share activity based on ideas on how the rockets work.
Taking the next step
Looking again at the selection of rockets from the beginning of the lesson – exploring what other ways we could make a rocket fly.
Explore the Marvin and Milo resource about balloon rockets .
Make the balloon rocket from Marvin and Milo.
Further investigation based on the balloon rocket.

[kevin kennedy]

consolidate your experiences and action plans in the course by creating a class plan to engage with Space Week:

I have chosen to create an action plan for space week for the junior classes in the school. The concept would be (A Day of Space Travel for Space Week). All the junior classes and teachers would be involved. Each class teacher would be given a planet and would have some time to prepare some information and an a activity based on space. On the day of Space Travel each class would visit at least three planets. The children would carry Space Passports and receive a stamp on arrival to the planet(classroom). Junior and Senior Infants could base their Aistear the week before on Space and design a spaceship for them to travel in and also design alien consumes. The activities and information would  be tailored to suit class level. Rocket mouse experiment could be done with Junior and senior infants as it’s a quick and fun experiment. Marvin and Milo cartoons could also be read in big book format. All classes could learn the mnemonic (My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Noodles)  Mercury/Venus/Earth/Mars/Jupiter/Saturn/Uranus/Neptune to help memorise the planets.

First and second class could tackle some Aline Chemistry and make some fizzing and foaming rockets and learn about how to find constellations such as the Plough and the north star.

The concept would be that all children get excited about the day of Space travel and come back to their home classroom with a full passport, participated in a fun space activity and also learn something about the planet they visited.

[Katie Harrington]

I love the idea about passports! Senior infants in our school do the theme Space Travel Agent – we try to learn about space but also build on the vocab the children learned during their Travel Agent theme in junior infants. So the passports would tie in perfectly.

[Hilary McNamara]

This sounds great. Love the idea of a passport and travelling home to their classroom. The fizzing and foaming rockets are so much fun!

[Jennifer Dempsey]

Activity Set: Rockets lesson for 1st class
I think I would carry out this activity set the week following on from Space Week perhaps, after prior knowledge of the solar system/ planets has been established. (I usually do at least 2 or 3 weeks of Space themed activities/ lessons when teaching it). Vega l
To engage the children’s focus, at the beginning of the lesson, I would show the children a video clip of the Vega rocket launch to get the children interested and wondering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRt8zQXKQp4 I’ve showed this to a few of my classes a few years ago, but had forgotten about it as a great stimulus to lessons.
Host a class discussion on the launch and rockets-shapes and sizes, look at different types of rockets. Ask questions such as what it might be like to be an astronaut in a rocket, be in space etc. I love the Chris Hadfield videos of him on the ISS-I’ve shown these to children before and their are truly fascinated by him! I would definitely show a few of his videos, even during lunchtime etc to keep the theme going throughout the day.
I think I would do the balloon on a string rocket as a whole class demonstration then-led by me and a few helpers…give a few children a go of holding the balloon rocket for take off/ hold the string taught on either sides of classroom etc. (They love jobs!). I would sit them around in a circle close by.
I would then give children the opportunity to explore making their own rockets in small groups of 4. I would leave the materials to make the foam rockets on each group’s tables-foam, card, scissors, tape, elastic band. I would allow them to investigate the materials first and see what ideas they could come up with first before then showing them the steps of ow to make the foam rockets. I’ve done the foam rockets before with 2nd class but I think 1st class will require a lot more support and instruction.
We will predict what distance our rockets may launch and see if we make changes to the rockets/ materials used how this will affect them etc.
We will go outside and launch them-using long wooden metre sticks. We will then integrate Maths into the lesson by using metre sticks and strides and baby steps to see whose rocket traveled the furthest/ shortest, etc. -using mathematical language from Length/ Measures.
I would also carry out an art lesson-drawing rockets using bright pastels on a black background. ( See picture attached). We would aslo make astronauts-using paper plates as the mask-print/ stick a photo of themselves on the head and decorate an astronaut suit with their country’s flag etc.
I usually create a big rocket and add a few things like a telescope and space related items to a imaginative play area in my classroom and allow a group down to dramatise/ free play for 20mins each day. They loved this when I did it last year…but it is noisy!
I would listen to Space related songs for music during the week. Read space/ rocket stories for English. The Way Back Home is good. During PE we would play ‘Space Invaders’-Aliens versus Humans-turning up/ down the round cones that are scattered all over the floor-the boys love this game.
I love to print out the Congratulations Certificates for participating in Space Week each year and laminate them and write their names on them. I think I got these on the SFI website before…maybe someone can remind me where if not there. I once registered our space week event and they sent out space week pencils to our class. I think I did it another year though and they sent nothing! So think it may be hit and miss!

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Jennifer,

thanks for sharing your experiences with space week activities.

Sorry about the lack of pencils — the advice from SFI was to cut down on one off consumables and go to digital packs! (the Moon calendar can be printed off in house).

[Jennifer Dempsey]

Activity Set: Rockets lesson for 1st class
I think I would carry out this activity set the week following on from Space Week perhaps, after prior knowledge of the solar system/ planets has been established. (I usually do at least 2 or 3 weeks of Space themed activities/ lessons when teaching it). Vega la
To engage the children’s focus, at the beginning of the lesson, I would show the children a video clip of the Vega rocket launch to get the children interested and wondering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRt8zQXKQp4 I’ve showed this to a few of my classes a few years ago, but had forgotten about it as a great stimulus to lessons.
Host a class discussion on the launch and rockets-shapes and sizes, look at different types of rockets. Ask questions such as what it might be like to be an astronaut in a rocket, be in space etc. I love the Chris Hadfield videos of him on the ISS-I’ve shown these to children before and their are truly fascinated by him! I would definitely show a few of his videos, even during lunchtime etc to keep the theme going throughout the day.
I think I would do the balloon on a string rocket as a whole class demonstration then-led by me and a few helpers…give a few children a go of holding the balloon rocket for take off/ hold the string taught on either sides of classroom etc. (They love jobs!). I would sit them around in a circle close by.
I would then give children the opportunity to explore making their own rockets in small groups of 4. I would leave the materials to make the foam rockets on each group’s tables-foam, card, scissors, tape, elastic band. I would allow them to investigate the materials first and see what ideas they could come up with first before then showing them the steps of ow to make the foam rockets. I’ve done the foam rockets before with 2nd class but I think 1st class will require a lot more support and instruction.
We will predict what distance our rockets may launch and see if we make changes to the rockets/ materials used how this will affect them etc.
We will go outside and launch them-using long wooden metre sticks. We will then integrate Maths into the lesson by using metre sticks and strides and baby steps to see whose rocket traveled the furthest/ shortest, etc. -using mathematical language from Length/ Measures.
I would also carry out an art lesson-drawing rockets using bright pastels on a black background. ( See picture attached). We would aslo make astronauts-using paper plates as the mask-print/ stick a photo of themselves on the head and decorate an astronaut suit with their country’s flag etc.
I usually create a big rocket and add a few things like a telescope and space related items to a imaginative play area in my classroom and allow a group down to dramatise/ free play for 20mins each day. They loved this when I did it last year…but it is noisy!
I would listen to Space related songs for music during the week. Read space/ rocket stories for English. The Way Back Home is good. During PE we would play ‘Space Invaders’-Aliens versus Humans-turning up/ down the round cones that are scattered all over the floor-the boys love this game.
I love to print out the Congratulations Certificates for participating in Space Week each year and laminate them and write their names on them. I think I got these on the SFI website before…maybe someone can remind me where if not there. I once registered our space week event and they sent out space week pencils to our class. I think I did it another year though and they sent nothing! So think it may be hit and miss!

[Ciara Kelly]

Hi Jennifer,

I love this activity and I’m sure the children enjoy it too. I will certainly us it with my class this year. Thanks for sharing!

[Jennifer Dempsey]

Activity Set: Rockets lesson for 1st class
I think I would carry out this activity set the week following on from Space Week perhaps, after prior knowledge of the solar system/ planets has been established. (I usually do at least 2 or 3 weeks of Space themed activities/ lessons when teaching it). Vega la
To engage the children’s focus, at the beginning of the lesson, I would show the children a video clip of the Vega rocket launch to get the children interested and wondering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRt8zQXKQp4 I’ve showed this to a few of my classes a few years ago, but had forgotten about it as a great stimulus to lessons.
Host a class discussion on the launch and rockets-shapes and sizes, look at different types of rockets. Ask questions such as what it might be like to be an astronaut in a rocket, be in space etc. I love the Chris Hadfield videos of him on the ISS-I’ve shown these to children before and their are truly fascinated by him! I would definitely show a few of his videos, even during lunchtime etc to keep the theme going throughout the day.
I think I would do the balloon on a string rocket as a whole class demonstration then-led by me and a few helpers…give a few children a go of holding the balloon rocket for take off/ hold the string taught on either sides of classroom etc. (They love jobs!). I would sit them around in a circle close by.
I would then give children the opportunity to explore making their own rockets in small groups of 4. I would leave the materials to make the foam rockets on each group’s tables-foam, card, scissors, tape, elastic band. I would allow them to investigate the materials first and see what ideas they could come up with first before then showing them the steps of ow to make the foam rockets. I’ve done the foam rockets before with 2nd class but I think 1st class will require a lot more support and instruction.
We will predict what distance our rockets may launch and see if we make changes to the rockets/ materials used how this will affect them etc.
We will go outside and launch them-using long wooden metre sticks. We will then integrate Maths into the lesson by using metre sticks and strides and baby steps to see whose rocket traveled the furthest/ shortest, etc. -using mathematical language from Length/ Measures.
I would also carry out an art lesson-drawing rockets using bright pastels on a black background. ( See picture attached). We would aslo make astronauts-using paper plates as the mask-print/ stick a photo of themselves on the head and decorate an astronaut suit with their country’s flag etc.
I usually create a big rocket and add a few things like a telescope and space related items to a imaginative play area in my classroom and allow a group down to dramatise/ free play for 20mins each day. They loved this when I did it last year…but it is noisy!
I would listen to Space related songs for music during the week. Read space/ rocket stories for English. The Way Back Home is good. During PE we would play ‘Space Invaders’-Aliens versus Humans-turning up/ down the round cones that are scattered all over the floor-the boys love this game.
I love to print out the Congratulations Certificates for participating in Space Week each year and laminate them and write their names on them. I think I got these on the SFI website before…maybe someone can remind me where if not there. I once registered our space week event and they sent out space week pencils to our class. I think I did it another year though and they sent nothing! So think it may be hit and miss!

[Ellen Byrne]

Hi Jennifer, I really love this art activity of the children turning themselves into astronauts, such a fun activity.

[Dayna Barry]

Hi Jennifer, I love the art activity of the children turning into astronauts! I will be using that this year during space week! Thank you for sharing!

[Louise Gleeson]

Forces

Students will learn about rockets and how they work by building and launching their own simple rockets.

What you will need:

Balloons, Drinking straws, string & sellotape

Introduction to Rockets:

https://www.esa.int/kids/en/learn/Technology/Rockets/How_does_a_rocket_work

Using the ESA kids website encourage discussion, watch videos, break into pairs or groups for short discussion. Come back together as a class and use visuals (including smaller flashcards for up close inspection as well as slide show on the IWB)

Talk about the FORCE they need to pull away from gravity and launch towards space. Talk about the different parts and using the ‘parts’ element to move onto designing / making their own rockets later in the the theme.

The further their understanding of the forces element use your materials and make a class rocket. This always receives a cheer. Have children try to make it themselves using the material required. This playful learning experience can only consolidate learning and increase their understanding of rocket launching.

Discussion:

Whole class discussion about our rockets. Allow the children to decorate their rockets using different art materials. Talk about why? What? How? the air escaping from the balloon forces the rocket forward.

Have a rocket race and figure out why one was faster or went further?

Follow on lesson

Allow time for junk art rockets. Revise the parts of the rocket and let the children immerse themselves in this design and creative engineering element of our space theme.

[Mary Herlihy]

I love the idea of printing out certs for participation in space week a great idea one I will be using next year.

[Frances McCarthy]

I’ve reminded my colleague of the certs – we definitely used to have them on spaceweek.ie for teachers to use, but I had a quick poke around and didn’t find them for this year.

[aoife phillips]

We do this in our school and the children get a great sense of pride receiving their certs.

[Edel Gilmer]

Great ideas Louise, this would work so well in first/second class.

[Kate Muckian]

Space Week Class Plan for Junior Infants

Objectives:

Introduce students to basic concepts of space, including planets, stars, and astronauts.
Encourage curiosity and enthusiasm about space exploration – Questioning.
Provide hands-on activities to reinforce learning through play and creativity.
Throughout the week I will

·       Decorate the classroom with space posters and hanging planets to create an immersive environment.

Play soft, space-themed music during activities to keep the theme present throughout the week.
Day 1: Introduction to Space

Theme: What is Space?

Activities:

Story Time:
Read a space-themed book, such as “There’s No Place Like Space” by Tish Rabe.
Discuss the story and ask students what they found most interesting.
Questioning throughout story time.
Interactive Discussion:
Show pictures of planets, stars, and astronauts.
Explain in simple terms what space is and who astronauts are and what they do.
Use physical resources like a toy rocket and planets to make the discussion more engaging.
Art Activity:
Materials: Black card/paper, white chalk or crayons/ metallic markers, star stickers.
Activity: Create a night sky scene by drawing stars and placing star stickers.
Day 2: Exploring Planets

Theme: The Planets in Our Solar System

Activities:

Circle Time:
Sing a simple planet song to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to introduce the names of the planets.
Planet Colouring:
Materials: Printable planet colouring sheets, crayons, markers.
Activity: Colour pictures of different planets and talk about and question one or two interesting facts about each planet as they colour.
Sensory Play:
Materials: Sand, small pebbles, toy rockets, and astronauts.
Activity: Create a small “moon” or “Mars” sensory bin where students can play with toy rockets and astronauts.
Day 3: Stars and Constellations

Theme: What are Stars?

Activities:

Starry Sky Projector:
Materials: A star projector or flashlight with a star cut-out (Can get on amazon they’re great for cool downs).
Activity: Darken the room and project stars onto the ceiling, explaining that stars are far-away suns.
Constellation Craft:
Materials: Black card/paper, white chalk, star stickers, constellations templates.
Activity: Use the templates to create constellations with stickers and chalk.
Star Movement Activity:
Materials: Star cut-outs.
Activity: Place star cut-outs around the room. Have students “hop” from star to star, practicing counting as they go- They’re making their own star constellations by hopping from star to star.
Day 4: Astronauts and Space Travel

Theme: Life as an Astronaut

Activities:

Dress-Up Play:
Materials: Simple astronaut costumes or helmets (can be made from cardboard and foil).
Activity: Pretend play where students can dress up as astronauts and imagine going to space.
Rocket Craft:
Materials: Toilet paper rolls, paper, glue, markers.
Activity: Create rockets using toilet paper rolls and paper. Decorate them with markers and stickers.
Movement Activity:
Activity: “Blast off” by jumping high into the air and practicing counting down from 10 with their hand-made rockets.
Day 5: Space Week Review and Celebration

Theme: Space Week Recap

Activities:

Space Bingo:
Materials: Bingo cards with pictures of planets, stars, rockets, and astronauts.
Activity: Play a simple game of Space Bingo to review what they’ve learned.
Space Snacks:
Materials: Star-shaped cookies or fruit, juice.
Activity: Have a space-themed snack time and discuss their favourite parts of Space Week.
Certificate of Participation:
Materials: Printable certificates.
Activity: Hand out certificates to each student for participating in Space Week. Take a group photo to commemorate the week dressed in space suits and/or hand-made rockets.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sounds like a lot of fun, with maths and science and art all intertwined.

A really simple astronaut experience is to bring in ski gloves or work gloves and ask the children to do simple tasks with these big bulky gloves on.

They can see this image of Neil Armstrong’s gloves.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/glove-right-a7-l-extravehicular-apollo-11-armstrong-flown/nasm_A19730040003

 

 

[Kate Muckian]

Ahhh this sounds fantastic and they would love the idea to bring their dads/grandas or whoevers gloves from home in!! Love this. Thanks

[Rachel Doyle]

I like the idea of space bingo as this would get the pupils to use new vocabulary learned. In my experience, all children love bingo so this is a nice way of getting them all engaged in the topic.

[Michelle Curran]

How clever to use the gloves and get the children to complete otherwise simple tasks while wearing these, definitely doing this in September, thanks for the idea!!

[Mary McNamara]

This is a lovely lesson, Kate! There is a lovely book we did this year in infants – The Hundred Decker Rocket by Mike Smith. There are aliens and spacecraft and a dog, and at the end there’s a big fold out page of the 100 Decker rocket. It led to some lovely art lessons towards the end of the school year too.

[Dolores Mc Monagle]

I will have to take note of that book to use when teaching space when we return to school. I have read the book ‘Roaring Rockets’ by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker to the children and they loved it as it has rhyming words which the children love to guess before hearing it!

I will also do the Rocket Balloon experiment with the children and the Rocket Mice experiment also.

[Alyson O Rourke]

Prior to Space Week, I would sit down and plan accordingly using Curriculum documents. I would ensure that the subjects of history, geography, and science are all given equal time this week as well as touching on Space in other curriculum areas. I would look for integration opportunities whilst making my plan.

In Lesson 1, I would introduce Space Week to the class. We would discuss Space and I would question the children on the different things they know about Space. I would provide the children with opportunities to research Space on the iPads and to write down 5 questions they would like to know the answers to by the end of the week.

Geography- In Lesson 2, I would focus on the Planets. Looking at the size and appearance of each planets, how they are similar and how they differ to each other. We would explore the distance of the planets to the Sun. A focus would occur on Planet Earth in this lesson.

English- In Lesson 3, I would focus on Adjectives and describing words. In this lesson, the children would create their own planets. This lesson aims to build on the children’s learning from Lesson 2.

History- In Lesson 4, I would focus on the history of Space. A timeline of key events in history would be explored and discussion surrounding the importance of these and how they contributed to Space as we know it today.

Science- In Lesson 5, the children would engage in a design and make experiment testing different materials to create rockets. Discussion would occur surrounding how the rocket could move faster, what materials were most effective.

Art- In Lesson 6, to conclude the week the children would engage in Solar System Splatter painting.

[Mary Herlihy]

The activity I would chose to do in the classroom is that of Rockets.
Engage
To introduce the topic I would use a story such as the ‘The way back home’ or Aliens in underpants save the world’. A video or a rocket being launched would also be very effective as it appeals to the visual learners and would create great discussion afterwards.
Once the children are excited about the idea of Rockets they can make some rockets ( linkage with Art )and start exploring how they work. I would get the class to make Rocket mice.
How can you make your Rocket mouse fly-Prediction, what materials might we need/, working in groups together. Gather the materials you will need- an empty plastic bottle, sticky tape ,some decorations, Rocket mouse templete.
When cutting out the templete maybe I would buddy up older children with younger children to help with the cutting and construction. Two classes could be working together on the project
Place the Rocket Mouse on top of the bottles- Prediction will the rockets fly?
You could go to the school hall to carry out the experiment. Did it work?
Investigation
What made the Rockets fly? Did they stay up in the air? What made them come down again?
If you did the experiment in a different setting-eg outside did it work? Was it better? You could vary your standing positions/launch Rocket while sitting/ kneeling –which worked best/ why?
Try the experiment with different sized bottles. Which worked best? which were not so effective? Which ones made your mouse go higher?
Results- squeezing a bottle increases the pressure inside and this is wat pushes the Rocket
Taking the next step
Can children consider how the fins of a Rocket are similar to fins on darts or arrows in archery
Look at things that fly through the air

[Rebecca Behan]

In first class we would create our very own rockets using household materials. We will begin by discussing what we think the key components to rockets are on the whiteboard using a mind map. Children will use think, pair, share to discuss their ideas in their table groups for a few minutes.
We will then investigate through pictures what real life rockets look like and compare their components to our mind map checking if we have missed anything. Then the teacher will ask the children how they think they could design a rocket. The teacher will give out some blank sheets and the children will come up with their very own rocket design. They will compare their ideas with their peers.
There will be a whole class discussion about what materials we could use to create our rocket ships.
The teacher will show the students the video of the rocket mice on YouTube to give them some insight into how we may make the rockets blast off to ensure their design aligns and will work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUKCT2L3DjA&t=14s)
In the next SESE lesson, the students will have the materials that they need to build their rocket. They will each have a piece of card that can fold into a cone shape (linking with 3D shapes lesson), some markers, feathers & glitter, scissors, tape/glue, and spare pieces of paper if they wish to add some wings to their design. Once the children have finished building their rockets, they will get a chance to make them blast off using different containers to investigate how high they can shoot their rocket and what causes this different in height.
The lesson will conclude with a whole class discussion and each table getting a chance to present their finished deign to the class. We will discuss their findings and the children will give 2 stars and a wish if they were to do the design again.

[Donna Mcevoy]

Animals in the Cold & Weather *possibly link to Santa and North Pole.

I would love to do this as an Aistear topic possibly in November as I would also like to do Space (looking at planets and stars also).

I would try to do a hook which I did with my own son where some animals are stuck in ice and the children have to chip away at the ice to set them free.

We would look at some footprints and see if they could recognise which animals they come from..

They could then learn about the different animals that live there and look at how they keep warm. What is their fur? Coats. What do humans use and why?

This would then link with weather and weather in different places/countries. Try to get children to identify where the artic and Antarctic are and if they can recognise on a globe.

Some of the aistear stations which I would have: Playing with the animals in white rice (ice), role playing visiting an area to work as a scientistic and needing lots of clothes, experiment station (have ice water and fat), junk art (making animals), another station could be interactive games on white board to do with weather/animals.

Experiment: Gloves on each hand dip one in fat (don’t dip the other) and then put both in bowl with the ice and one gets colder much quicker….why? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-XLuhN7L7g

More experiments here on weather which I would change daily for the experiment section.

[Donna Mcevoy]

I like the idea of linking some activities around an area such as Aliens. I would start with a story to engage them such as: Here come the aliens.

They could then make the alien a welcome drink using components such as: baking soda, food dye, vinegar, washing detergent and water. By combining these substances, the children could see the cup fizzing and foaming.

I could adapt the mice rocket to be alien rockets experiment. I would include key questioning as we could have a competition about whose alien goes the furthest distance and which alien goes the highest in the air. We could see if bigger or smaller bottles work better and which size of alien works best.

Another experiment which I have previously done would fit in well with the theme would be finding a rubber egg (alien egg experiment). The children would have great fun examining the egg and seeing what is happening. An alternative to this is putting the egg in different liquids and examining the reaction:

http://www.nickarnold-website.com/experiments/alien_egg_experiment.pdf

Aliens could be given skittles but first they want to put warm water on them to eat them in a different way. Another experiment which could be incorporated would be the magic milk experiment where milk, food colouring and washing up liquid are combined. Children can make predictions, carry out the experiment and discuss the findings and begin to say why something has happened. They may start to use prior knowledge to help predict also. They could suggest alternatives to the experiment or amendments which could be made.

[Frances McCarthy]

Donna,

I love how you have gently tweaked activities to give them an alien theme – great stuff.

[Naomi Marica]

Hi, I love the idea of making an alien drink. It makes the lesson more personal for the children. You can go on and create so much for your alien friend then – construct his rocket/launch his rocket / read aliens in underpants and create their favourite pants or draw a scenario or comic strip of the next adventure where alien in underpants save the world.

[Deirdre Tiernan]

To engage the children, I will read “The Darkest Dark” to them. This book was written by an astronaut and tells the story of a little boy who is afraid of the dark. He is then inspired by the moon landing and conquers his fears and becomes an astronaut. We would discuss what astronauts do. Chris Hadfield has many videos about living in space. The children will explore this further in Aistear through both Small World and dramatic play. Another aspect of these lessons, will be how astronauts get into Space. The children will then design their own rockets, thinking about their shape. We will discuss why they think most rockets are pointed at the top and are long. The children will be encouraged to try various shapes when they are constructing their rockets. We will do this using junk art materials. We will then test our rockets. We will devise a fair test first.

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Deirdre,

to make working models that can be tested, I’d suggest giving each child a fizzy tablet tube and then use the “pop rocket” idea.

If children just create rocket shapes from junk art then it will be hard for them to launch.

Children could find out if warm water is better than cold, if two tablets are better than one. Caution – you won’t know when these are going to launch, so stand back!

 

[Mary Herlihy]

The activity I choose to do in the classroom is Fizzing and Foaming-make a rocket ( Esero)

Experimenting-Materials needed

Film canister (no hole), any tablet that dissolves and fizzes e.g.

Alka-Seltzer, Vitamin C tablets, blu-tack, water

Information

When water is added to the tablet the gas carbon dioxide is released. The pressure of INFORMATION the carbon dioxide gas builds up inside the canister until it becomes so great that it blows the canister from its lid. The gas rushing out of the end of the canister pushes it in the opposite direction. The ‘rocket’ can shoot up to 5 metres into the air.

Use Trigger questions at start of lesson

What is a rocket? A cylinder full of materials which can produce gases.

What are rockets used for? Signalling; sending space machines with great

force into the air to get outside earth’s gravity

What gives a rocket its energy to ‘blast off’? A jet of gases released from the

back of the rocket sends it forwards.

The children can blow up a balloon and let it go. Ask them which direction the

released air goes and which direction the balloon goes.

They go in opposite directions.

Experiment- Activity

Attach the tablet (one-quarter to one-half tablet) to the inside

of the lid of the film canister.

Put water into the canister until it is about one-quarter full.

Put the lid (+ tablet) on the canister and turn it upside down.

Wait!

(The canister comes away from the lid with some force).

Follow up Activity

Vary the temperature of the water and note if there is any

difference in the height to which the ‘rocket’ shoots.

 

Vary the ‘fuel’ mixture used in the ‘rocket’ (e.g. Vitamin C

tablet and vinegar, and see if there is any difference in how

the ‘rocket’ behaves). Be aware, vinegar leaves quite an odour!

 

A launch pad can be made using a cardboard tube (e.g. a toilet

roll) and a paper plate. Cut three slits about 2.5 cm high in the

bottom of a tube. Bend the cardboard strips so that they can

be taped to a paper plate. Place the launch pad paper plate

down and the film canister  on top of the tube.

Watch what happens.

 

Curriculum Links

English:

Rockets and space can be used as a theme for different styles of

writing about space

Geography

Art

[Mary McNamara]

For this reflective piece, I have chosen to focus on teaching a lesson about rockets, inspired by the activities and strategies outlined in the module, and to integrate this into our class plan for Space Week.
During Space Week, I would like to introduce a multi-faceted lesson about rockets that engages my 5-6 year old pupils through a combination of storytelling, hands-on activities, and creative expression. The goal is to spark curiosity, encourage problem-solving, and foster a love for learning about space and engineering.
1. Storytime and Discussion: We will begin with a storytime session, reading a picture book about space travel and rockets. A book like “Peigí’s Adventures in Space” by Shane Bergin and Declan Fahie would be a perfect starting off point (it was recently sent free to many primary schools from UCD – https://www.peigisadventures.com/). It is child friendly and introduces the concept of rockets and space through the eyes of a friendly Red Setter.
Discussion Questions:
-What do rockets do?
-How do you think rockets work?
-Why do we need rockets?
2. Building and Testing Model Rockets: Next, we would move on to a hands-on activity where pupils build their own simple model rockets using craft supplies like cardboard rolls, paper, glue, and markers. This would be an open-ended task where pupils could design their rockets in various ways, just like the characters in Peigí’s story, allowing them to use their creativity.
Steps:
-Demonstrate how to create a basic rocket structure.
-Encourage pupils to decorate and customise their rockets.
-Once the rockets are built, we will go outside to test them using a simple launching mechanism, like blowing air through a straw to propel paper rockets.
3. Exploring Numbers and Measurements: To integrate numeracy skills, we could measure the distance each rocket travels and record the results. Pupils will be encouraged to compare the distances and discuss what factors might have influenced the outcomes.
Questions for Reflection:
-Which rocket travelled the farthest? Why do you think that happened?
-How can we make our rockets go further next time?
-Can you count the steps from the launch point to where your rocket landed?
This rocket lesson integrates multiple learning modalities, from auditory (storytime) to kinesthetic (building and launching rockets) to visual (drawing and measuring). By offering varied activities, I can cater to the diverse needs and learning styles of my pupils.
One significant change I am making is the inclusion of more open-ended tasks that encourage exploration and problem-solving. The rocket-building activity, in particular, allows pupils to experiment and learn through trial and error, fostering a growth mindset.
Additionally, this lesson emphasises collaboration and communication. Pupils will work together during the building process, discuss their results, and share their reflections, building their social and language skills in the context of a fun and engaging topic. This approach not only makes learning about rockets and space exciting but also helps pupils develop critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork skills, laying a strong foundation for their future learning experiences.

[Frances McCarthy]

Mary – thanks for the heads up on the book, I’ll look out for it.

The open ended make a rocket fits so well with the Design & Make skills of the science curriculum, as they Plan, Make and Evaluate with everyday materials.

[Sinead Forde]

I must keep an eye out for that book Mary, it sounds interesting!

[David Brennan]

Thank you for including the link to the book, Mary. I plan to do loads of investigation and activity with rockets with my class in September, this will be very useful. I’m always on the lookout for good books.

[elizabeth henderson]

Mary thanks for the detail on the book. Will try source it for September.

[Karen Walsh]

Activity: Straw Rocket Launch

Materials needed:

A drinking straw

Construction paper or lightweight cardstock

Tape

Scissors

Markers or crayons

Safety goggles (optional but recommended)

Instructions:

Begin by cutting out a triangle shape from the construction paper or cardstock. This will be the main body of the rocket. Help the child to make it about 4-5 inches tall and 2-3 inches wide.

Encourage the child to decorate the rocket body with markers or crayons. They can draw windows, flames, or any other design they like.

Once the rocket body is decorated, roll it into a cone shape and secure it with tape. This will be the nose of the rocket.

Cut small triangular fins out of the remaining construction paper or cardstock. You’ll need three fins for stability.

Attach the fins to the bottom of the rocket body using tape. Space them evenly around the circumference.

Now, it’s time to launch the rocket! Have the child put on safety goggles to protect their eyes.

Ask the child to place the straw at the bottom of the rocket, with the open end of the straw facing downwards.

Hold the rocket in one hand, making sure it’s pointed away from people and objects.

Instruct the child to blow forcefully into the straw, launching the rocket into the air.

Encourage the child to experiment with different blowing strengths to see how high they can make the rocket fly.

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Karen,

have you missed out a step? I can’t quite figure out how the straw will launch the rocket, since the rocket seems to be a big cone.

The paper rocket from Curious Minds makes a small, neat rocket, but needs pretty good fine motor skills to complete.

[Sinead Forde]

I love any lesson where the children are engaging in hands-on learning and making rockets is a super one. In our school, we usually tie in making rockets with space week in October and some classes have a rocket-launching display on the yard which the other classes are welcome to come and view! For infants, or even as an introduction to a rocket making lesson, the children could explore working with 2D shapes to design their own rocket – linking in with maths. They could use a variety of cut-out shapes to create their own rocket for display.
The children could then consider what makes rockets fly? We would use visuals and videos to show rockets in action and explain how rockets use fuel to create a thrust which propels them up into the sky.
We would then create balloon rockets, which are fun and easy for junior classes. The children would learn that the air escaping from the balloon creates a thrust which propels the balloon and makes it fly; similar to a rocket.
This is a simple yet effective introduction for children in a junior school to rockets and space!

[Frances McCarthy]

Aha – I think I know which school you are at! I just linked the website in response to another teacher’s space week rocket plans.

[Aine Gannon]

Activity: Design and make a rocket

Curious minds have some great ideas. These are the ideas I have in mind for a first class.

Trigger: What are rockets? How do they work? What are they used for?  Show class a video of a NASA rocket launch. Whole class discussion on the launch of the rocket into space.

Investigation: which item can fly the furthest in the air. Children in groups select items to test eg. foam javelins, balloons, paper etc. After the children have made predictions and given reasons to support their predictions we will discuss how we will make it a fair test.

Plan: After the investigation, the children in groups will start to plan their own rocket. Using different materials eg. milk carton, bottle or some of the previous tested materials, children will sketch their rocket  with as many labels as possible.

Make- the children make their rockets in groups according to their plan.

Evaluate – the children test their rockets and evaluate what worked well? What can we improve? What did we see in another rocket that we also worked well?

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Áine, you can see a range of rockets in the posts from Renmore Junior School in Galway – they make a rocket a day during Space Week.

http://junior.renmoreschool.com/ and search rocket for a whole set of images and videos.

 

[Celine Hyde]

Thanks for sharing Renmore’s rocket activities. It would be great as a whole school activity during space week. Each year group could be encouraged to explore rocket design and present their models to the whole school. Keeping the simpler designs for the younger classes and the more intricate/challenging designs for the senior classes.
Thanks again Frances.

[Frances McCarthy]

Áine, with 1st class you can be quite open on how they might want to make their rocket, and there could be some great discussions on fair testing if they wanted to compare their rockets with each other. I have made the foam and rubber band rockets with 1st class, with a few helping adults.

Or, you could demo one of the water rockets that use bicycle pumps as an exciting prompt.

There is a school in Galway that launches a rocket a day during Space Week.

You can see some examples here.

http://junior.renmoreschool.com/News/Making-and-Flying-Foam-Rockets-(Projectiles)/21203/Index.html

http://junior.renmoreschool.com/News/Fizzy-Rockets/22880/Index.html

http://junior.renmoreschool.com/News/Balloon-Rockets-(Projectiles)/23654/Index.html

http://junior.renmoreschool.com/News/Using-2D-and-3D-shapes-to-make-air-rockets/21977/Index.html

http://junior.renmoreschool.com/News/Space-Week-Rockets/24428/Index.html

 

 

 

 

[Conor McGuinness]

Hi Áine, I really like your lesson plan on designing and making a rocket! It’s engaging and hands-on, perfect for sparking curiosity in first-class students. The combination of investigation, planning, and evaluating is excellent for developing critical thinking skills. I would definitely use this in my class.

[Valerie Ryan]

The activity I have chosen for this assignment is the Rocket Mice. I think this would work well with 1st or 2nd. For infants, we would need to provide some help with the cutting section.

We would start by eliciting prior knowledge about rockets. Maybe some of the pupils would have rocket toys, pictures, drawings on their bags, shoes, etc. We would compile a list of all they know and discuss their opinions on what makes a rocket fly.

I like this experiment in particular as the pupils can be creative with their mice. They can choose to leave them plain or decorate them or even have additions like feathers, beads, etc. which would, a) allow for creativity and b) facilitate a discussion around the weight of the mouse in relation to how far it travels.

Pupils would bring in their own milk cartons. Again this would allow for interesting comparing and contrasting of the height reached by different mice attached to different containers.

Ideally this experiment would take place outside on a calm day against a backdrop of a block wall in our school which could be numbered upwards at each block to allow for a degree of measurement.

In groups, the pupils could experiment with different sizes of cartons, different weights of mice, even noticing different heights when different levels of squeezes are used. They will be encouraged to identify what makes the mice rise and what makes them fall. This lesson will also be integrated with Maths as they count the number of blocks passed by each mouse.

 

[Dympna Kilcoyne]

I think that’s a brilliant idea Valerie; to carry out the rocket launches against a backdrop of a block wall or similar and number each one upwards to allow us to count how many blocks high the mouse goes, and record / compare the height and discuss whether the container used made a difference to the height reached etc. Thank you!

[Anthony O sullivan]

This forum has been very informative for planning space week in school.

Here are some ideas I will be using going forward.

Using the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-What are stars?  What do stars do? Why do we call some people Superstars? How
many stars do we think are in the night sky? Why can we see lots of
stars some nights and very few  on other nights?

Have the children work in pairs and close their eyes. They take turns to pretend that their partner is an alien who has landed here to find out more about humans. They have to ask each other what the physical
appearance of an alien looks like. What size are you? What colour are you? Do you have arms/legs/eyes? Allow the children to then sketch their version of what their alien will look like.
Give each group different coloured tubs of Play-Doh, matchsticks, pipe cleaners and create their own alien.
As an extension use the models for number work, classifying and sorting.

 

[Dympna Kilcoyne]

An activity from this module that I can’t wait to do with my Senior Infants is the Rocket Mice. To excite the children about rockets I would read the Smeds and the Smoos to them; then we could chat about other Julia Donaldson books they know and the mouse from the Gruffalo etc and how he may like to visit the Smeds and the Smoos on their planet but how could he get there from Earth… Then we could begin designing our own rockets using bottles from the Junk Art box and the template mouse provided; I think they would find this so enjoyable, and love the competitive element of trying to make it go the highest or be launched the quickest; and develop an understanding of forming pressure inside the bottle by squeezing it. This has so many cross curricular links too such as Literacy; Hickory dickory dock or 3 blind mice, procedural writing, Drawing a picture and describing the mouse’s adventure in Space, Maths; measures and height, Art; designing and decorating the rockets further etc.

[Coral Mathews]

This sounds like a fantastic lesson Dympna!

[Coral Mathews]

Space Week Plan
Monday: Moon Day

Introduction: Begin with a discussion about the moon, followed by brainstorming ideas and watching the video “What Is the Moon?” to spark curiosity.
Story Time: Read “Moon: Earth’s Best Friend” to introduce the moon in a fun and engaging way. Story Video.
Experiment: Conduct the “Flour Craters” activity from Universe in a Box to simulate how craters are formed on the moon’s surface.

Tuesday: Seasons

Introduction: Discuss the concept of seasons and watch the video “The Four Seasons” to visualisee the changes throughout the year.
Experiment: Use the Universe in a Box globe and torch to explore how the tilt of the Earth affects the seasons.
Movement Activity: Organise a relay race where children dress up in clothes appropriate for different seasons, reinforcing their understanding of seasonal changes.

Wednesday: Stars

Constellation Drawing: Teach the children about constellations and have them create their own constellations using ESRO resources.
Craft: Make star lanterns using ESRO materials, allowing children to create their own glowing stars.

Thursday: Rockets

Story and Animation: Show the Marvin and Milo balloon cartoon strip to introduce rockets in an entertaining way.
Craft: Create rockets inspired by Marvin and Milo, using simple craft materials to build and decorate their own rockets.

Friday: Rockets

Story Time: Read the story of Sadie building a rocket “Sadie Builds a Rocket” to inspire creativity.
Rocket Building: Design and construct their own rockets with various materials, applying their new knowledge from the week’s activities.

 

[Ashling Mccartan]

The resource from this module that I am looking forward to trying out in my classroom next year is the Make a Spacecraft Activitiy from the spaceweek.ie website.

We will start the lesson with the story ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers. We will discuss the story.

Discussion of different types of space craft (Rockets, Shuttles, Satellites) and labelling the different parts of a spacecraft (Body, Boosters, Solar Panels, Windows etc). Look at some pictures of different spacecrafts.

Make a plan of what the spacecraft will look like and its design/colours. Give the children some ideas to follow. Remember it must have a tube for the effervescent Tablet to launch the rocket. When the plan is completed allow the children to make their rocket.

Go outside and launch the rockets following the instructions on the Space week Resource.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sounds like a lot of fun Ashling. Using a story such as The Way Back Home lets the children see the fun of ‘flying to plane to the Moon, parachuting back home and then using a rope to climb back up.’ All fun, but not realistic at all. I’d then show a rocket launch video – and explain that rockets are how people actually get to the Moon. You might check out the current Artemis mission, which is planning to return humans to the Moon.

[Naomi Marica]

Junior Infants

Set: Rockets

Engage: pictures and PowerPoint on info

YouTube videos of rockets and launches

Stories: my bots love Aliens in underpants! Link to art.

Working and Exploring: construct rockets using toilet roll, card and crepe paper

Rocket name craft.

Rocket launching: balloon Rocket on string experiment

Egg Rocket- construct in groups a Rocket that when dropped does not crack an egg that will be placed inside.

Constructing and asking questions – show and tell of all rockets – predicting which rockets will / will not crack the egg

Conducting the experiment

Reflecting – why did the eggs crack/not crack. 2 stars and a wish.

Revision- Marvin and Milo cartoon

Use of Alien chemistry experiments and other experiments during Space Week – an experiment a day:

Day 1: Create a lava lamp (messy mixtures)

Day 2: Different Messy Mixtures – predict, investigate, evaluate : oil and water, oil, water and fairy, pepper and water, etc.

Day 3: Skittles experiment  – changing the variable of hot and cold water. Predict what will happen, experiment and evaluation- why?

Day 4: Storm in a bottle (foaming and fizzing ) or and volcano eruption

Day 5: building a bridge using paper and tape that when finished will hold an orange – limited amount of paper allowed to use.

Write all experiments in Space copy – record predictions, drawings and evaluations.

Assessment : draw your favourite experiment of the week & through show and tell explain why it was your favourite experiment and what you loved most about it.

[Deirdre Leonard]

That is very well laid out. Thanks so much.

[Anita Cooke]

Activity- Rockets & aliens
To introduce the lesson I would read the story ‘Aliens in underpants save the day’. This would follow into talk and discussion about how would we get to space? In a rocket- show some pictures of different types of rockets.
Explain that we are going to make Mice rockets using different types of bottles. Children will cut out the paper mice. In groups children will predict what will happen and how it is done. Each group will have a different size bottle. Explain that when the bottle is squeezed it creates pressure and pushes the mouse up into the air. Predictions will be noted on the board as to which mouse will reach the highest point.
To conclude the lesson the children will design their own rocket to go into space.
Integration with other subjects:
Maths-measure height each mouse goes by placing a ruler/measuring tape beside the rocket
Literacy/ Drama- Children imagine they are aliens on earth, how do they look, what do they do/eat/ move
Art-draw a picture of their own alien

[Frances McCarthy]

Anita,

thanks for sharing. I find it quicker to cut out the mice en-masse – I use just one template and can cut about 4 layers at the same time and get 6+ per sheet. Then it’s just a bit of support running around with tape. I use the party ribbon from Tesco for the tails. With Junior Infants I would suggest getting an older class in to help – it’ll be a lot faster!

Start collecting your milk bottles now – and anything smaller than about 500ml gets ignored by children in favour of the 2l or 3 l bottles. The bottles do crack after a bit, so have plenty. I also use soft drink bottles – but now they are recyclable they will be less used.

[Siobhan Rooney]

Thanks for all the practical tips.

[Clodagh McClean]

Great idea! Never thought to use this!

[Siobhan Rooney]

Module 5
Alien slime activity as a lesson for space week
I would aim to create alien slime with my class as part of science week. I teach in an all-boys school, and they all love anything slime! For this simple lesson all you need is cornflour, water and food colouring. Place the cornflour in a bowl and slowly add water. The mixture should harden. Add any food colouring you wish.
I will explain that the science behind this is that slime is a non-Newtonian liquid which means that is gets thicker when pressed or pushed down. This can easily be done as a whole class lesson where each table is given a different food colouring. The aliens can then be given names. An extension to this activity would be a creative writing activity based on aliens visiting a classroom as part of wide variety of activities for space week.

[Emma Cuskelly]

Hi Siobhan, I love the idea of making slime to create aliens! I’m sure the children would really enjoy this lesson.

[Siobhan Rooney]

Module 5
Alien slime activity as a lesson for space week
I would aim to create alien slime with my class as part of science week. I teach in an all-boys school, and they all love anything slime! For this simple lesson all you need is corn flour, water and food colouring. Place the corn flour in a bowl and slowly add water. The mixture should harden. Add any food colouring you wish.
I will explain that the science behind this is that slime is a non-Newtonian liquid which means that is gets thicker when pressed or pushed down. This can easily be done as a whole class lesson where each table is given a different food colouring. The aliens can then be given names. An extension to this activity would be a creative writing activity based on aliens visiting a classroom as part of wide variety of activities for space week.

[Michelle O Mahony]

This sounds like so much fun and I am sure the class would love creating alien slime!!

[Deirdre Leonard]

My class would love making Alien Slime as would my own children. What is it with children and messy play??

[Stephanie Mc Cann]

Alien slime would be a great hands on activity for Space Week. I will have to try that with my class in October.

[Bridget O Grady]

Alien slime sounds like just the thing for infants, they would have such fun playing with it.

[Gwen Williams]

In my children’s school (not the school I work in) this year as part of science week for one whole week for homework the only thing the children had to do was to make an experiment and bring it to school to show to their classmates. I thought this was a wonderful way to motivate and enthuse the child but also to engage their parents in their learning.  My own children learnt so much from their peers and the depth and breadth of learning and variety of science topics and themes covered was fantastic.  This for me was a wonderful way to bring learning to life.  I believe these are the type of learning experiences that children will bring forward with them in life.

In my own school I made paper rockets and we used paper straws to propel them.  We then measured the distance they travelled and discussed the designs that travelled the furthest and why we think this was.  We also chatted about the designs that didn’t travel far and why we think this was.  It was a fun and engaging activity which the children really enjoyed.  It developed lots of skills such as design, making, measuring, hypothesis testing, problem solving etc. I love the rocket mice idea and think this would be brilliant to do with the infant classes in my school.

While I enforced the rules of a fair test last year, when I did this lesson I did not highlight this to the children.  This is something I will discuss with them and draw their attention to in the future.

I love the idea of stimulating the children’s interest and imagination through story ones that spring to mind are

‘Aliens in underpants save the world’ by Claire Freedman,
‘Zoom Rocket Zoom’ by Margaret Maya
‘Alex Ayliffe’ or ‘Rocket says Look Up’ by Nathan Bryon.
‘The Way Back Home’ or ‘How to catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
I think it would be also interesting to use youtube clips of the various rocket launches down through the years to help the children link the past to the present and the relevance of what they are learning about and its practical application.

The topic of rockets lends itself very well to integration and cross curricular learning some ideas I have include – writing procedures for how to build rockets or writing a postcard home from space, history sequencing rockets over time, song singing – rocket man, Art construct an astronauts suit, dance – astronaut moves incorporated slow motion walking and jumping in zero gravity.  I look forward to trying some of these ideas in school next year.

[Frances McCarthy]

Gwen –

I find fair testing something that children have to experience over and over again – and as you have said “teacher enforcement” is needed until they realise why fair testing makes the science  valid.

There is a rocket picture sequence in the ESA ISS Primary Education Kit on page 54.

You can find the kit https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Education/Primary_level_ISS_Education_Kit_-_download

 

 

 

[Laura Reidy]

I agree with you about creating home school link’s especially during science week. I think the Marvin and Milo set of experiments look ideal for this and I’m definitely going to try this out in my school in the coming year.

[Katie-Jo O’Grady]

Oh I love this idea from your child’s school about making an experiment and then conducting and explaining it to your peers. How engaging!

Definitely something I am going to take note of!

[Orla Glynn]

Hi Gwen, I agree that picture story books are a great way to stimulate the children’s interest and imagination. Thank you for this list of picture story books. I have noted them down for use next year.

[Anne Breen]

Module 5 assignment

Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module – How would you use the activity in your classroom?

I am looking forward to trying out the Rocket activities with the children next year. I think they would really suit the children in 2nd class.

To begin with we would brainstorm the word ‘rocket’ and make a whole class mind map with their contributions on the whiteboard. This will allow me to gauge their current knowledge of rockets.

I will then play the Launch of Vega video from this module as I think it will be very engaging for the children. I will also show them some other videos and images of rockets on the whiteboard.

We can discuss what makes rockets fly. We will spend time designing and creating the rockets. The children will decorate them. They can let their creativity flow for this.

The children will then carry out the rocket mice experiment in groups. The children could experiment with different sizes of cartons and use mice of different weights. I will  encourage them to identify what makes the mice rise and what makes them fall. The children can compare and contrast the results.

We will collate the results and I can photograph the process. We will the create a display in the classroom incorporating their rockets, their mind map and the results and the photographs for all of the children to enjoy.

I really think this lesson allows for a lot of cross curricular integration with STEM, Maths, art and oral language.

[Frances McCarthy]

Anne,

how will you make different weight mice? I suppose you could try to fix a little bit of blu-tack into the inside of the cone, but I’m not sure there would be much difference given how small the rocket mice are.

Different masses and positioning of the mass on a straw paper rocket is something I do with TY students – and for them the science is a bit tricky.

You can read this teacher level article about how mass and rockets interact and pick up some student centred activities from this great Rockets Educator Guide.

[Fiona Ni Shuilleabhain]

module 5

Class Plan to engage with Space Week (Rang a 2)

The activities below would be be tailored to the class level.

 

English

·         Postcard from space

·         Acrostic poems related to space

·         Diary entry while in space

·         ‘If I could invent a planet’ creative writing activity

 

Irish/Science

·         Table quiz on facts they have learned during the week.

·         PowerPoints on different aspects we have studied; planets, rockets etc.

 

Maths

·         Spaced themed maths games; subtraction, addition, telling the time.

 

Geography

·         Study about Dr Norah Patten.

 

History

·         Space travel through history; famous astronauts.

 

PE

·         Astronauts and aliens in space; children create a game and teach it to the aliens.

·         Meteor Ball

https://www.thepeshed.com/_files/ugd/ff464b_807905806d444fc983b9d2cf9af99035.pdf

·         Meteor Battle

https://www.thepeshed.com/_files/ugd/ff464b_7d29cc54ba334b6bb1e5c169c92be089.pdf

 

Music

·         Songs based on the planets, space and rockets in Irish and English.

 

Art

·         Tonal aliens.

·         Mindfulness collaborative work

·         Space sun catchers

·         3D rockets

 

Drama

·         Space themed stick puppets; groups create mini-stories including some of the facts they have learned.

·         Hot seat as Dr Norah Patten.

 

SPHE

·         Discussion on how they would feel about going into space and what they would be looking forward to/worried about etc.

[Laura O’Meara]

I love using the Aliens love Underpants and Aliens in Underpants Save the World books in my classroom. The children love these stories and so they can easily be used as a stimulus for a lesson looking at Aliens. We would discuss what we think Aliens might look like and how they might differ from us. Children will then be given the opportunity to create their own Aliens using a variety of different materials. They will also describe how and why they create their Aliens in the way they did.
Following on from this I think it would be great fun to do the Rocket Mice experiment with my Junior Infant class. I think they would have great fun making the mice and then launching them. We could investigate how we might be able to launch the mice further and whether different types of paper or card make a difference to the launch and also would try it with different sized milk cartons.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Laura O'Meara.

[Padraig McGrath]

These are two really good books which I also have used with my class. They really enjoy the books and are great for linking in the topic of aliens. The children were really engaged in the lessons after reading the books.

[Michelle O Mahony]

I would like to try the ‘rocket mouse’ activity set with Junior Infants, I think it is pitched perfectly to that class group. It also needs very little preparation and resources. The empty bottles can be found in recycling, and can bee used more than once so each child wouldn’t need one. I imagine I would be doing this lesson during our Aistear theme of Space, so there would be already plenty of engaging stories, videos, discussions around rockets and rocket launches. Integrating art, the children could also decorate their mice before the launch. Sitting in a circle, the children could then take turns launching their rocket mouse, counting down to blast off each time. After each child has had a turn, there can be questioning and discussion about how far each rocket went, how could you make them go further? What is making the mouse life off? To extend the learning further, you could use different size bottles with one mouse, and see which bottle launches the mouse the furthest. To conclude the lesson, the children could record their findings in a first, next, then document.

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Michelle,

this is indeed a very exciting event, with lots of  active learning. I like to make groups of 3 with one bottle between them – that way each child has lots of goes, but there are not to many mice in the air at the same time, and the noise is a bit less!

 

[Laura Reidy]

I love teaching about space and rockets in my classroom. Most of my teaching experience has been in junior classes so from my experience, I would start with showing my class videos of rockets being launched. We would discuss what’s happening, what the rocket looks like, shape, materials etc. I would then introduce the rocket mice activity. This activity would need a lot of advance preparation in terms of collecting empty milk cartons but the children could work in pairs on this activity, make logistics a bit easier. We would create our rocket mice and then have a countdown and all launch our rockets at the same time. I would then question the children about what happened, what they observed and what made the mice move. I would then extend the activity by asking can they predict what might happen if we use a larger or smaller container. We could then try this out and compare our findings. There is so much scope for discussion with this activity and it is a lovely way to introduce rockets and forces at infant level. I always enjoy showing the children videos on YouTube of astronaut Chris Hadfield. He posts lots of short videos about life in space and how astronauts eat, sleep exercise and so on. It’s an excellent resource and a lovely addition to any lesson on space.

[Padraig McGrath]

Rocket Lesson Ideas:

Introduce the lesson by showing the children a video of a rocket take off into space. Set a focus question for the children ‘what does the rocket look like? and what are the rockets features. Discus with the children what they saw in the video, focus on the rocket and it’s space and the direction that it moved. Then invite the children do design a rocket using a plastic bottle and various materials like tin foil, cotton wool, card, newspaper etc. Discuss the materials with the children before distributing them. Once the children have designed their rockets, carry out a test on their rockets. Discuss each of the rocket models and their features. Add baking soda and vinegar to each rocket and close the lid on the rocket. Investigate which rocket moved furthest into the sky. Invite various children to measure the height and various children to record the results. Discuss fair testing before the investigation takes place. Discuss the results with the children.

[Deirdre Leonard]

After doing this course I have been motivated to participate in Science week and encourage my colleagues to do the same. In studying Module 4 and 5 I was reminded of how I loved science myself and this was cemented by a visit to Cape Canaveral many years ago. I will do a series of lessons on Rockets incorporating other curricular areas.

I will use 2 books as a stimulus

• The Hundred Decker Rocket by Mike Smith
• Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton

I would then elicit what the children know about rockets and each child would make their own rocket. I may also set up stations and do a couple of experiments when I have extra bodies in the classroom-

Rocket: using Alka Seltzer or Vitamin C tablets

Balloon Rocket

Design their own rocket- These rockets would also be launched and I would have the children ensure it was a fair test.

I was very impressed with the Science week website and I will definitely visit this again when we are studying space.

I was also reminded of the test with the balloon and the baking soda and vinegar. I conducted this experiment years ago and I bad forgotten how much fun we had when we were doing it.

[Frances McCarthy]

Deirdre,

you have shared a detailed activity plan, and I am sure that your enthusiasm for the topic will make it exciting for your own class. And isn’t Cape Canaveral neat! (I went there first as a 13 year old, with my family in Florida for Christmas).

[Orla King]

Hi Deidre,

I had a look at the book ‘The hundred decker rocket’ on YouTube. It’s brilliant! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dolores Mc Monagle]

Module 5 Assignment:
Activity: Rocket Balloon
To introduce the topic of rockets I would ask the children what they know, what they would like to learn and to be thinking of items to use for making a rocket of their own!
They will make predictions on how a rocket might fly and then they will watch a YouTube Kids video called How Does a Rocket Fly?
https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=9g0FehS0H1E&hl=en-GB
They will work in groups to discuss what they learned in the video and there will be a class discussion afterwards.
We will then discuss making a rocket and they will share ideas and new words/vocabulary with the rest of the class.
We will make a rocket balloon using a balloon, a straw, string, scissors, sellotape, two anchor points to tie the string to.
The children will take turns experimenting with and conducting the investigations. They will discuss taking their experiment to the next step by discussing
• How far does your balloon rocket travel?
• What happens if you change the string to wool, thread or other material?
• Could you use this balloon power to create something else? Create a string track for several balloons and hold a balloon rocket competition.
• Whose balloon rocket travels the furthest?

We will end the lesson by reading Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker.

[Frances McCarthy]

Dolores,

If you’ve made the balloon rockets before, which type of string etc have you found the best. Balloon rockets have always been challenging for me, and I only cracked them last year when I went vertically with fishing line, with a weight on the base to keep the line taut.

[Frances McCarthy]

For Dolores, Padraig and Laura.

ESA launched a new rocket yesterday!

https://youtu.be/uCf-mN7ABWk?si=uJ0r5hdzoAfIKZSP

and Irish company Réaltra worked on the cameras that helped the livestream!

 

[Louise Brosnan]

Thank you for sharing these resources Frances and for the advice on using the fishing line.

[Sarah Harrington]

Activity- The activity that I have decided I would like to use in my classroom is: ‘A journey into Space’.

To introduce the lesson about space I would put a photograph of outer space on the interactive whiteboard. I would open up the topic by questioning the children to encourage thinking and discussion around space, e.g. What do you think it’s like in outer space? How would we get there? How could we explore other planets?

For the main lesson I would then tell the children that we are going to create and investigate our own rockets. We would make rockets from a variety of materials e.g. paper rocket, foam rocket. We would investigate how they move e.g. force. How does the force affect how far the rocket will go? How does angle of launch affect how far the rocket goes. Find a large indoor space and practice launching foam rockets. throwing around the area.

Conclusion: To conclude the lesson, we would discuss what happened asking questions such as, did anything unexpected happen? Did any of the rockets/objects go up in the air? Did any of your rockets stay in the air or did they come back to the ground?

[Muireann McCarthy]

I would like to pick the Activity Set: Rockets.
I would start the lesson by introducing the theme of ‘Rockets’ with a picture. Ask the children questions such as what do they see? Elicit from the children anything they know about rockets.
Read the story to the children- “Aliens in Underpants, Save the World” by Claire Freedman.
Discuss with the children that we are going to make our own rocket.
Experiment: “Balloon Rocket”.
Blow up a balloon and close it with a peg. Tape a straw to it and thread a piece of string through the straw. Get an adult to tie one end and as high as possible and hold the other on the ground. I will ask the children to predict what will happen. Release the peg and watch your balloon life off.
Free writing/ imaginative stories: Use your imaginative stories about adventures in space- what happened when you landed on the purple planet? What happened when the engine stopped working?

[Frances McCarthy]

Muireann,

with an older class the children can watch the demo, then try out their own ideas about making the rocket go fast/ carry more.

I’d structure it slightly differently, by giving the children their own balloon first, so they can see that it flies off when released – then ask them how can we make this balloon become a rocket? This then gets them to the balloon rocket set up as a ‘design and make’ a launch system for a balloon, and they have more ownership over the activity.

There is some really lovely science that can be deeply explored, particularly if they try different size balloons and different amounts of inflation. Get a bunch of balloon pumps!

[Louise Brosnan]

One of the activities the pupils really enjoy is making Alien Slime or Space Slime as I have used a different method in the past and it was a great success with the older classes. The plan was as follows:
Making Alien Slime
Objective: Children will learn to create a fun, sensory “alien slime” while practising basic measurement skills and understanding simple chemical reactions.

Materials Needed:- White school glue (1 cup) – Water (1 cup) – Liquid starch (1 cup) – Green food colouring – Glitter (optional) – Mixing bowls – Spoons – Measuring cups

Introduction (5 minutes): – Discuss what slime is and why it’s fun to play with. – Introduce the concept of a chemical reaction in simple terms (mixing ingredients to make something new).

Instructions (15 minutes):
1. Measure and Pour: Help children measure and pour 1 cup of glue into a bowl.
2. Add Water: Measure and add 1 cup of water to the glue. Mix well.
3. Colour It: Add a few drops of green food colouring. Stir until evenly mixed.
4. Add Liquid Starch: Measure and add 1 cup of liquid starch slowly while stirring. Watch the slime form!
5. Optional – Add Glitter: Mix in glitter to make it sparkle.

Activity (10 minutes): Let children knead the slime until it reaches the desired consistency. – Discuss the texture and how it feels.

Conclusion (5 minutes): Clean up together. – Review the steps and talk about what they learned.

Wrap-Up: – Take home the slime in a sealed bag.

[Stephanie Mc Cann]

Activity: Rocket Mice

Start with a simple discussion about rockets. Ask questions like, “Have you ever seen a rocket? What do you think makes a rocket go up? Show the class a short video of rockets launching to get the children excited about the activity. Read a storybook related to rockets or space travel, such as “Roaring Rockets” by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker. After reading, discuss the story. Ask questions about what happened in the story and what the children found exciting.
Then introduce the main activity to the class ‘Rocket Mice’, teacher to demonstrate how to make the ‘Rocket Mice’ fly-how to place the rocket mouse on the bottle, then press the bottle quickly to launch the mouse.. Children would create their mouse by using the template and then each child or group would be provided with a plastic bottle, that would have been previously collected prior to the activity. Explain how pressing the bottle quickly will force air out and launch the rocket mouse. Bring class to an area for the rocket launches, maybe the PE Hall which would have plenty of room for children to launch their rockets.
Demonstrate Let each child take turns launching their rocket mouse. Encourage the children to try pressing the bottle with different amounts of force to see how it affects the launch.

It is such a fun and simple activity to demonstrate that is hands on an encourages children to explore the effects of air pressure and force.

[Clodagh McClean]

We love learning about *Space Stars* such as Dr Niamh Shaw, Katherine Johnson, Tim Peake, Chris Hadfeild and Karen Nyberg, – Can’t see, Can’t Be.
We have sent letters to some of them and some other big names and they have come back to us with videos or messages to answer questions.

We have done virtual tours of the space station and of NASA.

As an Infant school, first class are our senior pupils. Sometimes we organise with the younger classes to let my class be the teachers and teach their children some fun facts

lots of space art! The messier the better! We also Link in Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Lots of space games for PE

songs – mine particularly love Unicorn Noodles on Go noodle – the main line is “My Very Excellent Mother Just Serves Unicorn Noodles” teaching about the order of the planets

Opportunities to work on Adjectives – an angry Alien, a bossy alien, a clever alien, etc. We also draw some different types of aliens.
There is a wealth of story books available!

[Frances McCarthy]

Clodagh,

I’ll let Niamh know that she is one of your space stars  – she’ll be delighted. We have huge interest in one of our Space Week programmes that connects a space science professional to the classroom – recently it has been branded as ESERO Space Goes to School – you can register your interest at spaceweek.ie

this page https://www.spaceweek.ie/for-organisers/for-teachers/space-speaker-in-your-classroom/

Also worth checking is Norah Patten, who has recently been selected to carry out some experiments in a sub orbital flight (in 2026):

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0620/1455670-space-dr-norah-patten/

 

[Nora Stritch]

I love the idea of having the pupils learn more about Dr. Norah Patten.  What a fantastic role model and inspiration for the children!

[Rachel Doyle]

Module 5 Assignment

Rocket Mice:

As a stimulus to this activity, I would play an audio of a rocket launch countdown. I would ask the pupils to close their eyes and guess what they were listening to. I would then use the CBC Kids News website to show the pupils a rocket launch video. In groups, the pupils would discuss how they think they would make a rocket launch and share their ideas. They would be informed that they would be making rocket mice in groups. The group that makes the mouse launch the furthest wins. The pupils must gather different-sized milk containers at home and bring them to school. As an art activity, the children would design their rockets.

Launch day:

The pupils will make predictions on what rocket will launch the mouse the furthest and why. Outside the pupils will launch their rockets and record how far their mouse was launched using steps (1 step, 2 steps, etc.). This can be compared with other groups and their milk carton sizes. The pupils will also discuss what made the mouse launch and why it landed back on the ground.

During Aistear time the pupils can build a rocket from Lego and bricks. They can pretend to go to the moon, sun, or planets in their rocket.

During creative writing, the pupils can write an account of their experience of taking their rocket to a planet of their choice. They may also draw pictures.

 

[CLAIRE DEMPSEY]

I would try to implement Space Week in the classroom while integrating as many Curricular areas as possible.

Some suggestions of activities that I think would be very effective in the younger classes would be

Having a space area in the room with vocabulary, pictures etc.

If the class use Aistear then you could tie in the theme of Space for the week in the Role play, construction, Art area,

Make a Space Passport- I think this is a lovely idea for the infant classes

Design a 2d shape alien- integration with maths

Drama- Act out a space walk- stimulus watching Neil Armstrong taking the first steps on the moon on You Tube

Visual Arts- Design your own rockets using foam sheets and use paper and tinfoil to make the planets and the stars

English- Read the story “Back to Earth with a bump” and discuss

Music- The planets song- Five little men in a flying saucer

Make Alien Slime using cornflour and conditioner.

[Sarah Breen]

Space Week ideas for the Junior classes using Aistear

Small world Area: Using the sand Pit area, Place foam balls to resemble planets, lego figurines of astronauts in the sand. Use tinfoil and pebbles to add different textures to the sand.

Arts and Crafts Area: Paint foam shapes to resemble planets, Making rocket ships our of foam pieces, Make a picture which is half day/half night.

Use playdoh to make a 3d Martian

Role Play area. Dressing as an astronaut/Walking on the moon for the first time Meeting an alien for the first time etc

Literacy Area: Using adjectives to describe a martian from their own imagination

Sending postcards to the martians, Making a passport to travel to Space

The older classes like first and second could do simple procedural writing to inform the martians how to do everyday activities such as getting a bowl of cereal or making a cup of tea.

[Deirdre Ni mhurchu]

I really like this activity of sending postcards to the Martians, I think this would be a big hit in my school setting!

[Fiona Kavanagh]

Activity set: rockets (This lesson can be done over the week, each day creating a new rocket for Space Week in the classroom)

Introduction: Read a picture book about rockets and space e.g. Roaring Rockets, There’s No Place Like Space etc. Look at a variety of pictures of rockets and spacecraft online – discussion about what rockets do i.e. take astronauts and satellites into space.  Simple explanation of what a rocket is for the infant classrooms – a big tube that blasts off into the sky and travels into space, helps astronauts to the moon and other planets. Discuss what happens during the launch – countdown, lift-off, going into space – watch some short clips on Youtube.

Activity:

Build your own rocket – each child will be given materials e.g. to build a straw rocket or a mouse rocket. The children will be encouraged to share their creation and to name their rocket.

Simple rocket experiment – use safe household items such as vinegar and baking soda or vitamin tablet to make a small rocket launch, e.g. fill small vitamin canister with a small amount of vinegar, help the children to take turns in placing a teaspoon of baking soda into the canister and quickly close the lid. Turn it upside down, step back and countdown for the rocket launching (counting backwards from 10 for infant classes to incorporate number in maths).

Conclusion:

Discussion – ask the children which rocket they liked the best – fizzing rocket, mouse rocket or straw rocket and why. Discuss which rockets went the furthest and which force moved the rocket e.g. mouse rocket was launched by the force of air coming from the bottle when squeezed.

 

[Frances McCarthy]

Fiona,

great plan for learning about rockets and forces. Note that the fizzing takes place pretty quickly, so you’ll need some way to stop the baking soda falling into the vinegar until you turn the rocket over- I use a bit of tissue.

Also, get the best vinegar you can, the Aldi or Lidl inexpensive vinegars haven’t worked for me.

I use to offer this course as a face-to-face and we would make these fizzy rockets. One afternoon, after the teachers had left I could hear a gentle popping coming from the materials – the lid of one of the rockets was resting on it, and there was just enough fizz still happening that the lid kept popping off!

A nice way for the children to gently experience the pushing force of the air is to look at this teacher resource from Curious Minds

https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/teachers_pop_top.pdf

and https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/teachers_pop_top_irish.pdf

[Rachel Byrne]

This year in our school we are engaging in ‘Space Week’ for the first time. As a Junior Infant teacher I am a big believer in ‘thematic planning’ so I will be exploring all about ‘Space’ through each curricular area. For example, in Language & Literacy/Gaeilge, I will explore a CJ Fallon Rainbow oral Language poster based on ‘Space’ with the children in order for them to start to learn new vocabulary. I will be exploring Oliver Jeffers ‘Space’ book to focus on reading/writing i.e. The way back home etc., The children will incorporate visual art into their English lesson by drawing how they think (predicting) the boy is going to get back home by just reading the title/looking at the front/back cover. In drama/Aistear, we will explore ‘Teacher in Role’/Roleplay as teacher becomes the boy/alien and the children will get to explore themselves as astronauts/aliens going to space in their aircraft etc., In Music, we will make up a song ‘Climb above the spacecraft’ based on the theme tune (itsy bitsy spider) which will incorporate Maths into this lesson by counting back wards from 10,9,8 etc., We will explore ‘space safety’ in our SPHE lessons which will add a sense of wonder/curiosity amongst the children about various ways the boy may need to keep safe in space/on the aircraft. Finally, as part of SESE we will look at constructing an aircraft from junk art material (interlinking aistear/visual art) as part of a class project/experiment and explore as ‘scientists’ what we need in order for our spacecraft to be ready for liftoff. We will also look at Neil Armstrong blasting into space landing on the moon so the children know that is has been carried out before and we will also look at Dr Norah Patten and how she is preparing to set off on her space mission in 2026.

[Frances McCarthy]

Rachel,

what a lovely set of activities, I like the ‘space safety’ in particular.

In the current space industry, space safety has been redefined somewhat by SpaceX. NASA and ESA make big expensive rockets and try to have almost no failures. SpaceX makes smaller, cheaper rockets and expects failures — they then fix the failures and keep going. Not rated for humans yet, but able to innovate much more.

[David Gavin]

Module 5

Title: Exploring Rockets

Activity 1: Introduction to Rockets – Show pictures of rockets and discuss their purpose, engaging children with questions.

Activity 2: Rocket Picture Books – Read age-appropriate books about rockets, sparking discussions and imagination.

Activity 3: Rocket Construction – Provide supplies for children to create their own rockets using construction paper or cardboard tubes.

Activity 4: Rocket Building – Encourage children to use building blocks or cardboard tubes to build their own rockets for imaginative play.

Extension Activities: Show videos or online resources about rockets, create a rocket-themed play area.

The objective of this lesson is to Encourage curiosity and foster a love for rockets and space exploration in a fun and interactive way!

Various books to incorporate in to this lesson:
“Roaring Rockets” by Tony Mitton
“There’s No Place Like Space: All About Our Solar System” by Tish Rabe
“The Darkest Dark” by Chris Hadfield

[Katie-Jo O’Grady]

Celebrating space week in Infants – below are idea & topic I would complete with my class to celebrate space week.

Literacy:Read books about space, such as “There’s No Place Like Space” by Tish Rabe or “Roaring Rockets” by Tony Mitton.
Space Journals: Kids can draw and write (where possible) about what they would see and do if they went to space.

Maths:Counting Stars: Use star stickers to practice counting and simple addition/subtraction.
Shape Rockets: Create rockets using different shapes & tangrams

P.E.Astronaut Training: Set up an obstacle course to simulate an astronaut training camp with activities like crawling through tunnels and jumping over “craters.”
Space Walk: Go on a “space walk” kids need to move slowly as if they’re walking on the moon, while practising balance

ART – Making rockets using junk art materials or paint and print a galaxy on black paper.

Drama – Space Role-Play: Students can role-play as astronauts, mission control, or aliens.

Music: Space Songs: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon.”
Create Space Sounds: Use instruments to create sounds that represent rockets launching, stars twinkling etc

Science: Rocket Launch Experiment: using the balloon with straw on a string method.
Constellation Creations: Use black paper and white chalk or stickers to create constellations or use images and try recreate these on our school playground.

[Sinead Devlin]

I think when it comes to planning different weeks in school, school calendars can become full very quickly. This is leading schools to choosing certain weeks to mark. The activities suggested for space week in the resources folder make preparing and planning the week very achievable. See a copy of some suggested activities below. These activities include inquiry approach aswell as using digital learning. The space week can also been linked to STEM and maths week in the month of October.

 

 

Activity Suggestions:

Art activity based on “Warm as the Sun, Cold as the Moon” or their own Starry, Starry Night picture based on Van Gogh’s art. Use the children’s handprints to make aliens, sticking on googly eyes to each finger!! Write a postcard from Space. Rocket making competition. Table quiz based on Space/Moon/Planets. How does light in the playground change over the day? Present their finding on charts and graphs. Astronaut Dressing up race with helmets and wellies. Drama and Dance based on sunlight travelling to Earth. Space Cinema: Watch a movie with the theme of space (Wall-E, Space Chimps, Fly me to the Moon, Space Buddies). Short films from the Literacy Shed: https://www.literacyshed.com/the-sci—fi-shed.html. Creating our own constellation creatures and writing their stories.

[Frances McCarthy]

Sinead,

you’ve a wealth of ideas there so don’t forget to register your class’ activity at https://www.spaceweek.ie/add/

 

[Corinna Carolan]

Hi Sinéad,

I completely agree with what you have said about there being so many weeks/events over the course of the school year – Maths Week, Science Week, Wellness Week ,World Book Day, SNAG, Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Space Week… They are all great and worthy of activities but it’s hard to get time to do activities for each.  I think it’s a good idea to try and include similar ones together, like you say Space week and Science Weeks would work together, likewise Space Week activities & Maths Week activities overlap.  I like the extra suggestions you have made for activities for Space Week.

[Rachael Donnellan]

Activity Set: Rockets.
I will show the children an image of a rocket on the IWB.
Video: How does a rocket fly? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g0FehS0H1E
Or
How do Rockets work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMDCZWTSZvc
Demonstrate by using a balloon- blow up the balloon and explain that when you let it go the air is going to push the balloon forward. – thrust in action. In the case of a rocket, the rockets get their thrust from fuel, not air.
Hands- on activity:
Make Straw Rockets with the children.
Straw Rockets are also mess-free, easy to make and can be themed in lots of different ways.
The children can decorate their rocket cut out.
The paper cutout of a rocket is attached to a shorter, wider straw than the one the child blows down. The wider straw is sealed at the top, so when air from the main straw hits it, the rocket flies!

[Jill O Callaghan]

Activity- Dancing Raisins

This is a great experiment that children can engage with themselves meaning it is child-centred and they are leading the learning. I would arrange the children in pairs (I chose pairs as too many people in a group for an experiment like this can mean not everyone gets a job and gets to fully take part). Each group will get 2 jars, one with water and one with 7-up and a handful of raisins. They will drop some raisins into the jar of water, observe what happens and record it. They will then drop some raisins into the jar with 7-up, observe and records. They will notice the difference between what happens in the jar with water and the jar with 7-up. Afterwards there will be a discussion as to why the raisins move up and down in the 7-up and why they sink to the bottom and stay there in the water. Children might suggest the raisins were heavier in the water so the experiment could be repeated but having weighted each set of raisins first. This will show that even having the same weight of raisins still causes the ones in the 7-up to move up and down. This is a great experiment for the children to carry out themselves and provides lots of opportunity for discussion and investigation.
rum 4- How would you use this activity in your classroom

[Sharon Beirne]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I have used the experiment of Dancing raisins too – the children really enjoy it and it’s a novel way to get learning across!</p>

[Ciara Evans]

Our school puts alot of effort into science week with guest speakers coming into the classroom, science fairs, regular science breaks in the class etc.

 

One thing I always did was during eating time I would play Chris Hadfield the Astronaut that makes videos from space. These are fun snippets that showcase regular things being done in space.

I think out of all the Activity Set shown I would like to incorporate – Rockets
I would Read the book Smeds and Smoos to introduce the concept of space exploration and rockets.  I would show videos of Chris Hadfield in space. I would show pictures of different types of rockets.

Showing two different rocket designs I would ask the children which rocket design they think will work better and why. Which rocket will go the farthest? would divide the children into groups with a list of the same items to build a rocket e.g. Pringles can, milk carton, sellotape.

I would get each group to predict which rocket design they think will fly higher or farther. I would ask the students if they had to change one thing what would that be?

[Frances McCarthy]

Ciara,

have you a particular rocket design you would try? You can search the classroom resources at curiousminds.ie by the keyword rockets to get a full list.

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Rachael,

I’d hold the first video back for 5th or 6th class — Newton’s Laws of Motion show up in LC physics.

The second video is a bit better – “A thrust is a giant push that lifts something up” and also has the forces explained a little better – ‘the fuel explodes and sends hot gas rushing out of the rocket and the thrust is so strong that it lifts the rocket up’

It looks like you are referencing https://www.science-sparks.com/straw-rockets/ with the straw rockets – which do look accessible for young children in terms of their fine motor skills.

A while ago Ikea had the slightly wider straws – if you’re near enough you could check there. Otherwise, check party supplies for the wider straws, they are not always easy to find.

[Aoife Purcell]

I would like to focus on some activities I could add in for Space Week. As I teach infants I feel that Aistear is a great place to have lots of space related activities.
Oral Language: Using posters and videos to introduce the space related vocabulary you would like them to use that week.
Role play – The children could act out being on the space station /as aliens etc
Small World Play: set up a tuff tray using astronauts, rockets etc. /draw stars, planets etc onto tray.
Playdough – Designing and creating their own rocket out of playudough
Construction: Build their own rocket/Space station etc.

I would also add in some numeracy games with a space theme during ready set go maths such as space race-roll the dice and count to 10, fill the spaceships with the correct number of aliens, alien hunt etc.

We would use fictional space themed books for our story that week. We could also focus on some space themed songs/poems. I like the idea of a whole school assembly also for each class to showcase their work during Space Week. We also work with 6th closely as they act as buddies for the juniors so we could definitely collaborate on an experiment/an art activity like paper mache planets etc.

[Frances McCarthy]

I googled the space maths game (don’t have a copy of ready steady maths material here) and found an online version of a space race counting game:

Combining a Classic Race Game with Counting, The Space Race Game

described as a game to count to 10, no dice rolls!

[Rachel Breen]

I can’t wait to include some of these in the Aistear lessons!

[Barbara Sadlier]

I have often taught Rocket lessons with the older classes, so it has been really helpful to get some ideas on how to use these themes with the younger classes.

I would introduce the topic with some storytime incorporating the theme of aliens. Then I think I would use the stimulus of watching an ESA Rocket launch as shown in this module which would be a brilliant way to engage the younger students and peak their interest.

I would definitely use the Mouse Rocket lesson to start them off on their rocket launching journey and then possibly move on to making some fizzing rockets in small groups with adult supervision and possibly balloon rockets would also work in a small group setting. These are all fabulous ideas that would really engage the children and I’m sure lead to plenty of follow up discussions

[Rachel Breen]

I am choosing Rockets as the activity set.
I will introduce the topic by reading the book ‘We Have Lift Off’ by Sean Taylor.
I would like to do the experiment ‘Rocket Launch’ with the children. I will break the children up into groups.
The children will need large balloons, string, drinking straw, clothes peg, Sellotape, two chairs.
1. Blow up a long-shaped balloon and let it go.
2. Notice what happens.
3. Pull string through a drinking straw.
4. Tie the string to two chairs and pull it tight.
5. Blow up a long shaped balloon and keep the air it in it using a clothes peg.
6. Using Sellotape attach the balloon to the side of the straw.
7. Pull the whole thing back to the beginning of the string and take off the clothes peg and… launch your rocket!
We will compare how far our rockets went- whose went the furthest? Etc.
I will end the lesson by doing the poem ‘The Rocket’ by Andrew Frinkle.

[Alexandra McMahon]

Class Plan: Engaging with Space Week Using ESERO Resource “Engage – Rockets”

Day 1: – Introduction to Space Week and Rockets.
– Introduce Space Week and rocketry concepts through a video on the history of rockets.
– Discuss principles of rocketry, including thrust, gravity, drag, and lift.
– Introduce Newton’s Third Law.
– Students draw and label parts of a rocket.

Day 2: Designing Rockets
– Recap rocket parts and principles.
– Students form groups to design rockets using ESERO templates.
– Groups present their designs and discuss potential effectiveness.
– Homework: Research famous rockets and space missions.

Day 3: Building Rockets
– Students construct their rocket models with provided materials.
– Discuss safety procedures for handling and launching rockets.

Day 4: Testing and Modifying Rockets
– Conduct indoor tests using air or water propulsion.
– Groups observe performance, discuss results, and make necessary modifications.

Day 5: Rocket Launch Event
– Review safety and launch protocols.
– Conduct an outdoor rocket launch event, recording flight data.
– Discuss results and give awards for various categories (e.g., highest flight, best design).
– Reflect on the week’s activities with students writing or drawing their favourite part.

This week engages students in hands-on learning, fostering teamwork, creativity, and understanding of scientific principles related to rocketry, culminating in an exciting launch event.

[Corinna Carolan]

The activity from this module that I would choose to do with my group would be rockets.  I would pretty much follow the steps outlined in the module – engage the children’s interest with a photo or video or story.  I am familiar with the book mentioned, “The Way Back Home” so I might read that one.  After discussing the story I would show the children some different rockets and let them experiment/play with those.  I have a stomp rocket which they could try out and also an arrow from an archery set.  Next the children could draw and design their own rocket and finally make their own rockets..  We would try out some of the rockets mentioned in the module – balloon rockets, foam rockets and rocket mice.  Then discussions would take place on how to make the rockets go further/faster/ higher and experiment with force, angle etc We could present our finished rockets to some of the younger classes during Space Week.

[Ciara Hayden]

Activity set: Rockets

I would introduce the pupils to Sheila, the Hippo main character from the David Walliams bestseller, ‘The First Hippo on the Moon’. In this book, Sheila and the other animals create a rocket for her to fly to the moon, powered by dung.

This book has great humour and fun, and Sheila is a strong and creative female character -a positive model for girls in STEM learning.

I would then select on of the following activities, depending on the age and learning stage of the pupils:

1. Rocket Balloon Race
Materials Needed:

Balloons
String
Straws
Tape
Instructions:

Thread a piece of string through a straw.
Tape the string between two points in the room (e.g., between two chairs).
Blow up a balloon but don’t tie it. Tape the balloon to the straw.
Let the balloon go and watch it zip along the string like a rocket!
Discussion:

Talk about how rockets use fuel to create thrust, which pushes them into space.

2. Astronaut Training Course
Materials Needed:

Hula hoops
Cones
Pillows
Jump ropes
Instructions:

Set up an obstacle course using the materials. For example, children can jump through hula hoops, weave around cones, crawl under a string of jump ropes, and balance on pillows.
Explain that astronauts need to be physically fit and train hard to prepare for space missions.
Discussion:

Discuss the different exercises astronauts do to stay healthy in space.

3. Moon Sand Play
Materials Needed:

8 cups of flour
1 cup of baby oil (or cooking oil)
A large container
Instructions:

Mix the flour and oil in a large container to create “moon sand.”
Let children mold and shape the moon sand, simulating the surface of the moon.
Discussion:

Talk about the moon’s surface and how it’s different from Earth.

4. Design a Space Suit
Materials Needed:

Paper
Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
Stickers (optional)
Instructions:

Give each child a piece of paper and drawing materials.
Ask them to design their own space suit. What colors would it be? What features would it have to help them in space?
Discussion:

Discuss the purpose of space suits and what they need to include (like oxygen supply, temperature control, etc.).

[Aoife Dillon]

That’s a great book Ciara. Thank you for sharing! It would work well as an introduction to rockets for a class.

I think turning the rocket balloons into a race would engage the students even further. What a good idea!

[Aisling Mathews]

Wow Ciara, there are some great ideas there. I’ll definitely try out that lovely book with my class next year. I also love the idea of the astronaut training course.

[Frances McCarthy]

Ciara,

thanks for sharing such a lovely Space Week Plan – may I add it to my shareable lessons?

The Hippo to the Moon site has some additional activities, I really like the sheet of images for a child to retell the story

https://s22428.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/The-First-Hippo-on-the-Moon-Resources-2.pdf

 

[Hilary McNamara]

That book sounds great. I love the idea of a race too and Astronaut training! I will definitely use some of these great ideas.

[Eleanor Mccaffrey]

Activity : rockets.

again going back to my favourite author Oliver Jeffers I would read the story The way back home  After discussing the story I would show the children some different rockets and talk about their shake size function – then they could refer to the you tube video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-THf3CA93w  in groups the children could draw and design their own rocket discussing what materials they would use LEGO / clay/ paper .  Once made  use balloon rockets, foam rockets and rocket mice ideas and how to make rockets go faster , higher , further ? We would at space week assembly present our rockets and findings to the school – enjoyable  inclusive interactive activities

[Rhonda Rawle]

<p class=”helperbird-font-opendyslexic-regular”>Hi Eleanor, I love this idea – thanks for sharing the story and youtube video link!</p>

[Lucy O Mahony]

Thanks Ciara for the lovely plan for Science week and for your story suggestion “The First Hippo to the Moon”. Frances’s link to the resources based on the book is brilliant for my class.

 

[Frances McCarthy]

great- there is such a wealth of suggestions and ideas in the forum – I hope the teachers who did this course in the first week stick their noses back in!

[Rhonda Rawle]

Activity Set: Rockets.

I would start with a discussion about rockets and their purpose, showing videos of rocket launches and space missions to capture their imagination. Next, I’d introduce a hands-on activity where students build their own simple rockets using straws, paper, and tape.
We’d begin by decorating paper tubes to resemble rockets, then attaching them to straws. Using another straw as a launcher, students could blow through it to propel their rockets, exploring the concept of thrust.
To deepen their understanding, we’d conduct experiments by changing variables like the length of the straw or the size of the paper rocket, and recording how these changes affect the rocket’s flight. This encourages scientific thinking and hypothesis testing.

Additionally, I’d integrate technology by using a basic rocket simulation app, allowing students to experiment with different designs and see the results on a screen. We’d discuss the outcomes and relate them to real-world rockets.

Finally, the students could keep a “Rocket Journal” to draw their designs, note their observations, and reflect on what they learned.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Rhonda Rawle. Reason: formatting
• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Rhonda Rawle. Reason: formatting

[Daire Dwyer]

Activity Set- Rockets

I would read some books such as How a Rocket Works from the UK Space Agency, or something more fun like Aliens in Underpants Save the World. I would discuss with the children the idea of space travel and how rockets help us explore beyond Earth. I would show pictures of different types of rockets such as the space shuttle or Saturn V and use these to talk about the shape and size of the rockets.

 

I would use the comic strip of Marvin and Milo building their Penny Rocket and the YouTube video of the Mouse Rocket. I would ask the children which rocket design they think will work better and why. I would break the class into different groups and provide them with the necessary resources such as an empty milk carton, paper for the mouse head, coins, and an empty 2L bottle to create their own Penny or Mouse Rockets.

 

When the rockets are finished we would look at them and predict how far they would fly and which ones would fly the furthest.

 

I would also use this topic to cover a cross-curricular project and I think that the Junk Couture project which we took pat in recently would be ideal for this. I would get the pupils in groups to build large versions of rockets large enough for the group to fit inside, using cardboard, paper, tape glue etc, this project really helps with problem solving, critical thinking and of course allows their creative skills to be showcased fully.

[Frances McCarthy]

Hi Daire,

penny rocket looks to need a considerable time in a freezer and might be quite dangerous when it launches. Would you consider pop top instead?

Building a large version rocket is slightly touched on in this resource from Space Week.

which was inspired by this video:

[Aoife Dillon]

I love teaching about rockets and using it as an experiment. I have previously done the lesson on the Mouse Rockets with classes and they loved it. The students were very engaged throughout the process of learning about rockets and making their own.

I would like to try the string and balloon rocket experiment from the Marvin and Milo comic. I had never thought of using a clothes peg to close a balloon rather than tying it, I thought that was a great idea as often children struggle with this skill. Being able to have the rocket ‘fly’ along the string makes it easier to manage the testing of their rockets in a classroom. After we conducted the experiment we could discuss if there were ways to improve their rockets, what might they add to it or remove? How could they get it to go faster or slower? What makes the rocket stay on course? What propels their rockets? Could this be changed?

[Frances McCarthy]

Aoife,

glad to know that the mice have been a hit -I do just love them.

I really like how you have planned for lots of discussion around:

we could discuss if there were ways to improve their rockets, what might they add to it or remove? How could they get it to go faster or slower? What makes the rocket stay on course? What propels their rockets? Could this be changed?

Somewhere I used to have a link to a video which showed a family doing rocket races and they found that the larger balloon was slower to get going, but went further, and the smaller balloon zipped off first but then ran out of air and stopped – so you could challenge your early finishers to test the effect of distance of race and how it interacts with size of balloon for determining who wins the race. Might include a mention of hare and tortoise!

[Aisling Mathews]

I would definitely try making a rocket that launches with my class. I was recently at a workshop where we made these rockets and the teachers really enjoyed launching them and trying to make sure we were all starting at the point to see who could launch their rocket the furthest and which angle was the best to get the rocket to travel higher or further. I think that young children would really enjoy this activity. We were discussing the activity with a group of teachers and we decided that it would be a lovely team-based exercise for an older class to do with a younger class. We could have mixed groups with some younger and some older children working together.
Preparation for this activity is important as there needs to be enough foam tubing for the number of rockets being made.
Materials needed:
Foam tubing
Strong tape (preferably easy tear like gorilla duct tape)
Elastic bands
Strong card
Method:
Cut four slits in bottom of the foam tube. Cut out two triangles of equal size and slot them together to make an x shape. Slot these triangles into the foam slits so that your rocket stands up. Attach an elastic band to the top of the foam rocket using strong tape. Use a long thin stick to launch the rocket.
I think this is a wonderful activity for children and I will definitely do it with my class this year. I have often made junk rockets with my class out of recycled items but we have never tried to launch them. I like the scientific element to these rockets and feel they create such a rich learning experience for the children.
I would also integrate other subjects into the lesson. I would introduce some rocket themed picture books like “Whatever Next” and “Roaring Rockets”. I would encourage the children to think about things they could create at home – e.g. forts, dens, rockets etc. We would look at rhyming words in the books. In PE we would do some athletics and throw some foam javelins, experimenting with throwing them in different ways to see which way would send them further. We could also compare the foam javelins to our rockets. I would also do a wax resist art lesson with the children where they could draw their own rocket to create a space display in our class. I would do all these lessons while exploring the theme of space in Aistear.

[Katie Harrington]

Monday:

Activity: Read a story about space exploration.
Materials: Picture books, projector for space images.
Objective: Spark curiosity and introduce basic concepts.

Tuesday:
Activity: Create a solar system model.
Materials: Styrofoam balls, paints, string, reference pictures.
Objective: Teach the names and order of the planets.

Wednesday:
Activity: Obstacle course simulating astronaut training.
Materials: Hula hoops, cones, balance beams.
Objective: Promote physical activity and teamwork.
Day 4: Rocket Science

Thursday:
Activity: Build and launch paper rockets.
Materials: Paper, straws, tape.
Objective: Introduce basic physics concepts.

Reflection on Friday:
Recap and child-led free play using space toys and resources

[Frances McCarthy]

Katie,

is there a particular story from the ones recommended here that you think will appeal to your class?

The reference picture I like for the solar system is this page:

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/

compare it to this one: https://www.esa.int/kids/en/learn/Our_Universe/Planets_and_moons/The_Solar_System_and_its_planets

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2014/08/Explore_our_Universe_poster which you can download and use.

You could add a nice reflection here on how much detail is needed to show a planet.

 

[Cillian Rogers]

They are really nice activities Katie.

[Michelle Rowley]

Activity set: Rockets

Trigger – initial discussion on rockets, posing question, what they know about rockets, what do we sue rockets for, where would they go?

Storybook – Aliens in Underpants save the world; The way back home and How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers

Video – Sci show How do Rockets fly? I use these particular set of videos for lots of science triggers/ activities – they are short, kid friendly pitched at the right level and very informative.

 

Activity – make some rockets. I think a variety of rockets would be great.

Mouse Rocket – Initially I would start with the mouse rocket. These are hew to me and look like so much fun. I think the idea of testing with lots of different sized bottles and then comparing the height/ distance of rocket launch would be brilliant.

Coin rocket and balloon rockets again allow for so much prediction and discussion.

Finally using a Alka Seltzer Rocket – thus showing a different form of energy for rocket propulsion.

In all the rocket activities ( or any science activity)  I think using language like prediction (hypothesis) testing and results are important.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Michelle Rowley.

[Niamh Larkin]

I love the idea of making all the different kinds of rockets Michelle which I agree as you said allow for lots of prediction and discussion!

[Niamh Larkin]

There are so many ideas and resources in the course that you could use for Space week next October.
Some ideas and activities I would use:
1. Writing a letter to an alien on a different planet asking them questions and comparing our lives here on earth.
2. A diary entry of an astronaut of what a normal day looks like.
3. Making paper of foam rockets with help from Marvin and Milo- like explained in this module using different materials children can construct rockets in groups and for older classes they can figure out how to get their rocket to fly!
4. Science experiments like dancing raisins
5. Reading stories such as ‘Aliens in Underpants Save the World and ‘The Way back Home’ opening children’s imagination and ideas all around the topic of Space.
6.Whole school poster competition on the theme of Space!

There are so many resources on this course that would be easily implemented for Space week in our schools.

[Laura O Neill]

I have chosen the Activity Set about Rockets.

I would begin to engage children’s interest by showing a picture of a rocket. I would also show the video of the Vega rocket launch that was included in this module and discuss this with the class. I would show children videos of how to make some of the different rockets suggested in this module, e.g. the balloon rocket, penny rocket, rocket mouse. After exploring these different types of rocket the children could carry out their own investigation. I would have different materials on each table to create the different rockets. I would allow the children time to explore the variety of materials and work in small groups to plan a design to make a rocket. Then children can make their chosen rocket design. After this they could check to see if their rockets work, investigate how changing forces can affect their rocket and show their creations to the rest of the class.

[Frances McCarthy]

Laura,

quite recently I have found children (particularly boys) very interested in Elon Musk and Space X. The Starship is currently being tested, so has launches quite often. Most recently in June

Test 5 is planned for August.

[Lucy O Mahony]

Plan for Space week

Monday

Begin with reading the book “The Way Back Home” by Oliver Jeffers.- a book about helping a Martian get back to the moon.
Ask questions about the story. Ask children to point to the alien or the boy. Identify differences. Talk about the sky and what we see in the sky. Introduce the words suggested and their corresponding pictures and create a Space Corner.
Follow up activity: Sponge paint paper plate to create a moon.

Tuesday

Revise things we can see in the sky. Focus on the sun. It gives us light and heat, dries clothes, is yellow etc.                                                                                            Explore night time and daytime by showing pictures of the sky. No sun – it’s dark, cooler, no sun in the sky, stars, moon. Add the I
Follow up activity: Experiment with a cube of ice placed in direct sunlight and a cube of ice placed in the shade. Predict which will melt first. Time both and record the number of minutes it took for each to melt.

Wednesday

Show a YouTube clip of a shuttle launch eg Shuttle Launch (Hubble 2010- STS 125) to the first landing on the moon.
Talk about the astronauts and what they are wearing. Where are they going? How did they get there? What did they wear on their heads? Add some of these words with pictures  to the Space corner.
Create a simple rocket – See Rocket mice on YouTube. Cut a quarter circle of paper and roll into a cone shape and tape together. Draw eyes and whiskers on the paper. Place on an empty plastic milk carton. Predict what will happen to the mouse. Squeeze hard. The paper mouse should pop upwards. Mark the place it lands. Repeat changing the force you squeeze the carton each time. Don’t forget to predict where the mouse will land and record the distance each time. Put a rocket in the space corner.

Thursday

Show a presentation on Google slides of different night skies. Children name what they can see. Introduce the constellation of stars which make the plough. Draw lines on one slide to mark the plough clearly. Remaining slides should all show the plough and ask children to find it in the night sky pictures.                                                Follow up activity: paint a star and decorate with gold glitter. When dry hang them and the moons in the Space corner.

Friday

Two experiments

1. Dancing  Raisins.
2 Alka Seltzer rocket.

[Eoghan Mulligan]

Lucy, I like how you’re using presentations and youtube videos to further the children’s understanding

[Ciara FaganBarrett]

Rockets
What is the most effective way to launch a rocket the furthest?

Engage:
– Read Whatever Next by Jill Murphy as a whole class and discuss the rocket made by baby bear.
– Think/Pair/Share ideas to make an effective rocket and feedback.

Investigate:
– Make predictions, share and explain reasoning.
– Balloon Rocket – use the Marvin and Milo balloon rocket cartoon, in groups of three work together to make the balloon rocket.
– Straw Rocket – individually draw rocket/use rocket template and colour in and use straw to launch.

Take the Next Step:
– Rocket races – groups to have rocket races, reflect on which rockets travelled the furthest, can amendments be made to increase distance? For example exert more force, stronger blow into straw etc., race again with improvements, evaluate and discuss findings.
– Read Sadie Rocket Builds a Rocket by Sue Fliess, contemplate tips you would give to Sadie based on the investigations.

[Michelle Curran]

Activity – Rockets – (2D Shape integration)

Materials:

“Roaring Rockets” by Tony Mitton
Construction paper
Scissors
Glue sticks
Markers
Toilet paper rolls (one per student)
Aluminum foil
Star stickers
Templates of 2D shapes (circles, triangles, rectangles)

 

Introduction

Read Aloud:
Read “Roaring Rockets” by Tony Mitton to the class.
Discuss the story, focusing on the parts of the rocket and what rockets do.
Interactive Discussion:
Ask questions like, “What do rockets need to blast off?” and “Where do rockets go?”
Link to the previously taught maths concept of 2D shapes. Show examples of circles, triangles, and rectangles.

 

Activity:

Rocket Craft with 2D Shapes:
Hand out toilet paper rolls, construction paper, markers, glue sticks, scissors, and shape templates.
Demonstrate how to wrap the roll in construction paper and use markers to decorate it.
Show how to cut out 2D shapes (triangles for the top, rectangles for the body, and circles for windows) and glue them onto the rocket.
Add aluminium foil for shiny details and star stickers for decoration.
Allow students to create and personalise their rockets using the shapes.
Conclusion:

Have students present their rockets to the class, identifying the 2D shapes they used. Review the key points from the book, the activity, and the 2D shapes. Early finishers can draw a picture of their rocket blasting off into space, using and labeling 2D shapes.

Extension:

Shape Hunt: Have students find and identify 2D shapes around the classroom or at home, relating them to parts of a rocket.

 

[Orla Glynn]

Activity Set: Rockets

I would like to use activities related to rockets in the classroom. I think it provides great opportunities to apply maths and science skills in a cross-curricular way around the theme of space and the sub-theme of rockets. There are lots of hands-on class activities which I think the students would really enjoy. I think picture story books related to rockets are a great way to engage the students and make them excited to learn about the topic. I would use http://www.primaryscience.ie or http://www.spaceweek.ie as a guide to engage the students in the design of their own rockets. Once designed, a good link with Maths could be measuring the distance each rocket can travel. After they have conducted the investigation they could make a bar or column graph comparing how far each students’ rocket travelled. This would be a good link to two strands within the Maths curriculum – Length and Data.