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Balloon Rocket. I absolutely love this idea and especially using a comic to engage the children first. I would do this as a paired or group activity and I think it would be more suited towards 1st & 2nd class. I think giving the children the equipment first to see what they can come up with. I would use cross curricular links with this lesson by using music. I would give the children some instruments to come up with what sounds they can make when the rocket is taking off. The children could extend this lesson by adding things onto the balloon. Could they tape two balloons together to make a bigger rocket. We can also use cross curricular links with art by designing our rocket. Its important to ask the children about the rocket? Where is it going? How far does it have to travel? What is our rocket called? I think this is a fantastic lesson and it could be done with different materials to extend.
Hi Aisling, I love this idea and super engaging for the younger age groups. Thank you for sharing!!!
Stellarium:
I absolutely loved the idea of this app and using it as a stimulus in a lesson. I had never heard of it before!!.
Lesson Objective: Child will be able to…
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- Navigate the Stellarium app by moving around the sky and using the search function.
Identify the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) in the sky.
Locate and identify at least three celestial objects (e.g., the Moon, a planet, and a constellation).
Teach students these four features first
Move around the sky
Search for an object
Time controls
Constellation mode
I would Find the horizon: Together with the children, explore…Which direction is north? Where is east? Where would the Sun rise?
Then we would Explore the Moon and Find a bright planet Search for Jupiter or Saturn
Zoom in and explain that planets move differently from stars. Teach children one constellation. Choose an easy one such as:-
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- Orion , Ursa Major , Scorpius
Together with the children we should Identify:
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- Bright stars, Shape, Stories behind the constellation
Hi Darren,
I love this idea, very engaging towards the younger age group. Especially giving their alien a name. How fun
1st class lesson- Stars.
Learning outcomes: to understand the sun is a star, to understand constellations, to understand there are lots and lots of stars, to know that you can see stars at night. Prompt: paired work: each pair gets a flat bowl of water and we pour some glitter into the bowl. Children will dip their finger some oil and then they will put their finger into the glitter water. They will see what constellations & patterns they can make with the stars.
Tell the children they are becoming Space Detectives with a special mission to solve a mystery: How many stars are in our Solar System? Hide pictures of small stars and a big picture of the Sun around the classroom. Invite the children to search for all the stars. Once they have found them, gather together and sort them into two groups: “Our Solar System” and “Far Away in Space.” Ask the children which picture belongs in our Solar System. Explain that the Sun is the only star in our Solar System, while all the other stars are much farther away. Finish the lesson by playing a movement game: when you hold up the Sun, children stretch up tall and shine brightly; when you hold up a star, they twinkle by wiggling their fingers. End by asking, “How many stars are in our Solar System?” and encourage the class to answer together, “One—the Sun!”
Wow. I love all of this. So many fantastic ideas especially the aistear and role play as neil armstrong. This is very fitting around the themes.
Lesson: The Man on the Moon:
L:O: Children will learn that the moon is a sphere, The Moon dosen’t always look the same.
Prompt: Playdough. Using playdough all children have an opportunity to create what they think the moon looks like. Are there any patterns on this?
Activity 1: Is the Moon round? Show the children a picture of the moon and a round ball. Ask which is most like the moon? Children would agree the ball. Brainstorm different words to describe the moon: round, circular.
Activity 2: Why does the moon always look different? Using a torch and a white ball and moving the white ball around the torch, showing how the moon is always round but sunlight only hits part of it which is why we have different shapes of the moon.
Activity 3: show children a youtube video of the clouds moving slowly. I’m going to ask the children can they see any pictures on the clouds. We will pause the video when we can see an image. I will compare this to the moon, I would give the children some images of the moon and they can draw where they can see any faces.
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>An inquiry-based activity I would use with my First Class pupils is the Bunny Hopping Cups investigation to explore the concept of force. I would begin with a simple prompt: how can we make this bunny hop. This prompt would encourage children to begin wondering and sharing their own ideas about what might happen. Pupils would then ask questions such as, What happens if we pull the elastic band back a little or a lot? and Will the cup always travel the same distance?</span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Working in small groups, the children would conduct the investigation by changing how far they stretched the elastic band and observing how this affected the distance the cup travelled. They would record their results using simple drawings, tally marks, or measuring cubes. </span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>Throughout the lesson, my role would be to support the children’s thinking by asking open-ended questions and encouraging discussion rather than giving answers. This activity will help pupils develop an understanding that forces, such as pushes and pulls, affect the movement of objects through playful, hands-on learning. </span>