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Hi Louise
I really like how you linked the activity to The Three Little Pigs, as it provides a familiar and engaging context for STEM learning. The hands-on testing of different materials encourages children to think critically, make predictions, and solve problems while learning through play. I also like that the resources remain available during free play, allowing children to revisit, improve, and extend their learning independently.
For this lesson I chose ‘What clothes to wear’ for first class.
I would begin the lesson with a class discussion in a circle about the four seasons and the types of weather commonly experienced in each. We would brainstorm vocabulary of different types of weather and I would write them up on the board. I would further display pictures of rain, wind, thunderstorms, and sunshine, encouraging pupils to identify the weather and link it to the correct season.
In the main activity, pupils explore a dressing-up box filled with clothing for different seasons. Volunteers select suitable outfits for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, explaining how the clothes protect them from different weather conditions, particularly the cold. The class discusses why some weather types occur more often during certain seasons. Pupils then complete a worksheet by matching weather symbols and clothing to each season before colouring the pictures using colouring pencils and felt-tip pens.
To conclude, I would review each season, asking pupils to recall the weather and appropriate clothing. Pupils share one new fact they learned, reinforcing the importance of dressing appropriately for different weather throughout the year.
Hi Bill
I really liked how pupils justify each alien adaptation. It promotes creativity, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of adaptation and survival.
I would plan to do an activity exploring ‘stars’ for junior infants.
I would begin the lesson reading a picture book about stars, such as How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers, to introduce children to the wonder of the night sky. During the story, pupils are encouraged to discuss what they notice about the stars and share any experiences of looking at the night sky. I will further explain that groups of stars can form patterns called constellations.
In the main lesson, I will show simple examples of constellations and explain that people have imagined different shapes by joining stars together. Each child will receive the ‘Draw your own constellation’ template to plan their constellation. After, each child will copy their constellation on black paper and white or yellow crayons or stickers to re-create the constellation. They then join the stars with lines and describe what their constellation represents, encouraging creativity, imagination, and oral language development.
To conclude, children share their constellations with the class and explain the stories behind them. I will revisit the idea that constellations are patterns in the sky, reinforcing new vocabulary and celebrating each child’s unique interpretation through positive discussion and reflection.
Hi Bríd-Síle, I think this is a great lesson idea. I really like how you begin by activating the children’s prior knowledge before exploring outdoors. The hands-on shadow activities make learning fun and meaningful, while encouraging observation, prediction and discussion. It is an engaging way to develop scientific understanding through active learning.
Acitivty Set- The Moon
I will explain that we will investigate what the Moon really looks like and explore why some people think they can see shapes, such as faces or people, on its surface.
Stimulus: The children will go outside in the morning to observe the Moon, which is in its third quarter phase. I would encourage them to look closely at its shape, colour and position in the sky before drawing exactly what they see.This discussion encourages curiosity and develops the children’s observation skills.
Main lesson: The class creates a whole-class fact chart using the Universe in Activities booklet. The children then work in pairs to research fascinating astronomical facts about the Moon using fact sheets, books and child-friendly websites on iPads. They compare facts such as the Moon’s size, distance from Earth and surface features with familiar objects or other celestial bodies to help them understand these concepts. They will record their findings in an individual Moon fact file, sharing interesting discoveries with their peers.
Conclusion- Discuss our findings to consolidate learning to encourage creativity, scientific vocabulary and confidence in communicating their ideas.
In a follow up lesson the children will create their own Moon using the art materials provided. Once finished, each child explains why they designed their Moon in that way, referring to the facts they learned during the previous lesson.
Hi Abby, I completed something similar to this on placement with first class in groups and they were so engaged. They loved the idea of protecting the astronaught and drew faces on the eggs with markers. I think you’re lesson using the ESORO framework would be more engaging as it has different steps to follow that encourage critical thinking.
Hi my name is Antonia and I am teaching second class this year. My favourite space fact that I learnt with my class last year is that Saturn has multiple moons.
After engaging in module 1 the inquiry based acitvity I chose to further explore is ‘What does gravity do?’
I would structure my lesson as follows:
Engage: I will begin by asking the children, “How do we make things move?” I will encourage them to think about everyday actions such as opening a door, moving a chair, or pushing a pencil across a table. I will ask, “Are we pushing or pulling?” and invite pupils to make predictions about which classroom objects are easier or harder to move.
Investigate: The children will work in small groups to explore pushes and pulls using classroom resources such as chairs, pencils, books, rulers, and pencil cases. They will investigate how objects move when pushed or pulled and discuss whether larger or heavier objects require more force. Pupils will record their observations by drawing or writing about what they notice. I will encourage them to explain their thinking using scientific vocabulary such as push, pull, force, and movement.
Take the Next Step: We will discuss how pushes and pulls are examples of forces and how gravity is another force that pulls objects towards the Earth. The children will investigate what happens when they lift and then drop different classroom objects, linking their observations to gravity.
Conclusion: As a class, we will reflect on our investigation. What objects were easiest and hardest to move? How did pushing and pulling affect movement? What did we learn about gravity? We will discuss how scientists use observations and evidence to understand how forces work in everyday life.
