[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.

[Aisling O brien]

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

 

Rockets-

I like the idea of using a story book to introduce the topic of rockets. I would also ask the children for any prior knowledge they have about rockets.

I really like the plan for making rockets and exploring how they work and it is something I would definitely include in this topic when teaching it to my class- maybe the balloon and foam rockets. I would also use the Marvin and Milo cartoon where they are asking questions about the rockets and wondering what might happen. I think this would be a good way to stimulate conversation and discussion amongst the children.

I would then give the children time to play with the rockets and understand how they work (possibly linking to maths-length, lines and angles)

I really like the idea of the pupils making a prediction about the starter question- its a great way to gauge understanding and also would engage the pupils well. Once we have posed the starter question I would give the children time to carry out their own investigation. I like the focus on fair tests also.

I would then conclude the lesson by applying this knowledge about rockets and how they work into new learning situations.

I also really like the progression onto alien chemistry and I think the pupils in my class would love making the fizzy rockets- thank you for the suggestion regarding the film cases- to use the vitamin tube instead is a great idea.

[Aisling O brien]

Hi Rebecca,

I really like this idea for catching a shooting star. Thank you for sharing.

[Aisling O brien]

Activity Set: Stars

I really like what other participants have suggested as ways of introducing this lesson- by using books or the nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or I think it was mentioned in another module- asking a question such as- is there more stars in the sky or grains of sand on earth? I would then ask the children to volunteer any knowledge they have about stars or constellations.

I would hope to use a lot of the activities discussed in this module for the topic stars.

I think it’s a really beautiful topic that  integrates well with art.

I would use the Lots and Lots of stars activity to introduce the topic and to get children thinking about the magnitude of stars. I like that this activity compares stars to items the children can count- the marbles, other pupils and so on. I think the art idea of spatter painting would be something that the children would really enjoy also. I would then move on to constellations and would follow the curious minds activity ( seeing stars- looking at the plough in two different ways) with the modifications mentioned for younger classes. I would then give the children time to draw their own constellations, using the space week resource. I think this is a really nice idea and allows the children to be creative- telling us the shapes they see and so on.

I have found this website to have some nice ideas also

https://www.stem.org.uk/resources/community/collection/11042/night-sky#:~:text=One%20activity%20idea%20is%20to,see%20the%20stars%20in%20them.

I used an app a few years ago when I had 6th class (with parental involvement)  that identifies the constellation you are looking at. Pupils used to upload their images onto Google Classroom also. The pupils loved it.

There are many wonderful suggestions on this forum. Thank you everyone for sharing.

[Aisling O brien]

Sorry Danielle- I meant books not Marvin and Milo! I think someone had mentioned that they used Aliens Love Underpants or  The Super Smelly Alien as a starting point which I really like the idea of. Apologies, I had been reading through all the wondaful suggestions here and must have had Marvin and Milo on the brain 🙂 Freudian slip

Ah thank you for clarifying re Blackrock- I was wondering why I wasn’t aware of it from my own school experience. I’ll have to keep an eye our for ye again if ye are up in Dublin at any stage.

Thanks Danielle

[Aisling O brien]

Hi Frances,

I know- I love my age on some planets!

I think this is the one I used (if memory serves correctly)

https://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/solar-system/age

I found it handy because it calculates the age for all the planets at once and shows when your next birthday will be- something the kids always get a great laugh out of!

I must try the one you’ve linked also- thank you.

[Aisling O brien]

I have used some of the activities mentioned by posters in this forum in the past- such as floating and sinking and making a volcano.

We too would try to implement STEM across the curriculum and have found that the pupils engage really well with the hands-on, active lessons.

An inquiry based activity that I would like to use in my classroom this coming year is the gravity and fallings things following the curious minds/esero framework. I really like that the key language is explicitly taught and that the children are given time to explore how forces make things move as an introduction to this topic (linking with play) The prompts are helpful and the whole framework is structured very well with starter questions and predicting. I feel that the pupils would enjoy conducting the investigation and interpreting the data and results. I feel like this framework lays out and progresses the inquiry based activity very well and I look forward to using it with my class.

[Aisling O brien]

Hi Michelle,

I love that reference to Brian Cox. Makes complete sense. Thank you for sharing.

[Aisling O brien]

That website looks great Sinead- thank you for sharing.

[Aisling O brien]

Online resources and tools:

A few of the online resources I would use would be  ESA UNAWE and  the Astronomy Picture of the Day to introduce lessons and topics.

I would also use them so the pupils could explore the interactive games and enhance their learning further.

The Constellation art button and Stellarium that other participants mentioned would also be something that my class would definitely enjoy- and I look forward to using them in the future and I think they provide a great link to art.

I also like the idea of using Milo and Marvin to introduce aliens in an imaginative way.

The variety of online resources mentioned in the module is great- very varied  and provides a lot of different learning opportunities so I will definitely be implementing them in the coming school year. I also did not know about Blackrock observatory-what a great local asset to have- as a teacher in Dublin

On a different note, we do a space theme in Aistear like some of the other participants and it works wonderfully each year. There have been some great comments and tips  further up the module regarding Aistear- thank you for sharing.

[Aisling O brien]

Hi Daniel,

I really like how hands on and active your lesson is. The shadow tracing and sun dial are both excellent ideas that I’m sure my class would also enjoy.

[Aisling O brien]

Planets:

In doing a lesson on the planets with my class, I would first brainstorm what the class know about the planets.

There is also a memorable song- The Planet Song that I would link with my music lesson at the same time.

The ESA planet resource that was mentioned further up in the forum would also be useful as a printout. I would discuss basic facts about each planet with the class.

If time allows, I would do up a few information/discovery packs on the various planets and have them at various learning stations for the pupils to visit (set up like stations).

There is a website that allows you to compare your age on earth with the age you would be on another planet. Anytime I have used it, the pupils have loved it and it is a fun, personable way of introducing the concept of orbit lengths to the class.

I really liked what Matthew said about making the solar system out of playdough. I think that’s a wonderful idea and I would also link this topic in with art in some way.

[Aisling O brien]

Hi Denise,

I too usually teach a similar lesson on floating and sinking with my class each year- and find they love it. I love the idea of expanding the predictions and adding items that initially might float and then sink. The spillage idea is something I too will use going forward.

[Aisling O brien]

*apologies I taught 6th class in the previous school year- I am moving down to 2nd class in September.

[Aisling O brien]

Hi,

My name is Aisling. I teach 6th class. I have always had a interest in space and find the sheer vastness of it mind boggling. One of my favourite facts is that the number of stars in the Milky Way is probably higher than the number of humans that have ever been born.

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