Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I choose to create a class plan to engage with Space Week-
During Space Week the children will explore the wonders of space through hands-on activities, stories, songs, and creative projects. This cross-curricular lesson plan integrates various subjects to introduce infants to basic space concepts, nurturing their curiosity and creativity.
Day 1: Introduction to Space
Activity: Welcome to Space Week!
Circle Time Discussion: Introduce Space Week by talking about what space is. Ask the children if they have ever looked at the stars or seen the moon at night.
Book Reading: Read a space-themed book like “There’s No Place Like Space!” by Tish Rabe. Discuss the characters and what they learned about space. Ask the children to draw a picture of what they think space looks like. Encourage them to label their drawings with simple words like “star,” “moon,” or “rocket.”Day 2: The Sun, Moon, and Stars through Science and Art
Activity: Day and Night
Talk about the sun as the big star that gives us light and warmth. Discuss the moon and stars as things we see at night.
Create a “Day and Night” collage. Provide blue and black construction paper for the night sky and yellow and orange paper for the day. Students can add stars, the moon, and the sun using crayons, cotton balls (for clouds), and star stickers. Use flashlights to create “stars” in a darkened room. Let the children pretend to be astronauts exploring the night sky with their flashlights.Day 3: Exploring the Planets
Activity: Meet the Planets
Introduce the planets by showing pictures or models of the solar system.
For a simple Maths lesson use planet-themed counting activities. For example, count the number of stars, or count backwards like a rocket launch: “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blast Off!”
A nice Art lesson would be to create their own planet using paper plates and paint. They can decorate their planets with glitter, stickers, and markers, and then compare the sizes.Day 4: Space Travel and Astronauts
Activity: Let’s Pretend to Be Astronauts
Story: Read a book about astronauts, such as “The Darkest Dark” by Chris Hadfield, and discuss what astronauts do.
Role Play: Set up a “spaceship” using chairs or large cardboard boxes. Children can wear simple astronaut costumes and take turns being the pilot, co-pilot, and mission control.
Music: Play a space-themed song like “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon.” Have the children act out the song, pretending to zoom through space and land on the moon.Day 5: Space Art
Activity: Create Your Own Galaxy
The children will create their own galaxy by splattering white paint on black or dark blue construction paper to make stars. Add planets and other celestial bodies using cut-out shapes.Reflection: Gather the children in a circle and have them share what they liked most about Space Week. They can also share their artwork with the class.
Updated Coggle mindmap on Space- https://coggle.it/diagram/ZrDTX5IiZZGA57kO/t/-
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.
Activity: Animals in the cold (Climate)
This lesson will teach the children about different types of weather and they will learn the characteristics of animals living in cold environments.
Begin by asking the children what kinds of weather they know. Talk about sunny weather, rain, and snow. Explain that some kinds of weather occur more often in some places in the world. Some places get lots of rain, while other places are very dry. Some places are very hot and others very cold. At the North and South Pole, for example, it is often extremely cold.
Story: The Emporer’s Egg by Martin Waddell. Discuss the story with focus on the climate and how did the Daddy Penguin keep the egg warm for the Winter?
Show them the photographs of the polar bear and the penguin. How do the penguin and the polar bear keep themselves warm? Discuss the ideas put forward by the children. Explain that the animals have a thick layer of fat under their skin to keep themselves warm. However, the areas where the polar bears and the penguins live are so cold that this thick layer of fat is not enough. That’s why the polar bear also has a thick coat of fur and the penguin has a thick layer of feathers.
Art Activity- Make a 3d Penguin
Extension- To further enhance the STEM experience for SSE invite a guest speaker from Dublin zoo or MET Eireann who are experts in Climates/ animals who live in cold climate to do a video call or come and talk to the children. Have the children prepare their own questions for the guest speaker.
Great ideas Sharon! Doing the daily weather has become a morning routine in my classroom with infants and there isn’t a day where they don’t remind me to do it. They love talking about the weather, and I agree that role play is the key to actively engaging the children.
Activity Set: Stars
Lesson- Looking at stars
To introduce young children to the concept of stars and the night sky through storytelling, creative activities, and observation.
Picture book- ‘How to Catch a star’ by Oliver Jeffers
Lesson Plan:
Introduction song- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Story TimeGather the children in a circle on a soft blanket or rug.
Dim the lights to create a calm atmosphere. Read a simple picture book about stars and the night sky- “How to Catch a Star” by Oliver JeffersAsk the children simple questions about the story, such as:
“Did you see the stars in the pictures?”
“What do you think stars look like in the sky?”
Explain that stars are bright lights we see in the night sky.
Show pictures or use a simple star projector to display stars on the ceiling or walls. Talk about how stars twinkle and shine.Creative Activity- Making a starry sky
The children paint a sheet of A4 paper to match the colour of the night. Explain that the real stars also come in different colours. Dipping the toothbrush in the paint and running it across the screen makes lots of tiny spots on the paper. These spots are the stars.By engaging young children with stories, crafts, and simple observations, this lesson plan aims to spark their curiosity about the stars and the night sky in an enjoyable and age-appropriate way.
Love these ideas Sinead! Aliens love underpants is always a firm favourite with my infants. I would love to try the Grow a Balloon Alien next time.
I love using KWL charts in Infant classes for SESE lessons. I sometimes introduce a lesson by giving the children a blank template and allowing them to draw pictures of what they already know about a topic. Some can write words depending on their ability. They then present their topic i.e. The Moon. It’s a nice way to see what prior knowledge the children have. I then tell them to keep it aside until the end of the lesson and they can add any extra facts or information they learned during the lesson.
I choose the activity set The Sun and Shadows. We will begin the lesson by listening to the story ‘Moonbear’s Shadow’. Ask children to help you find the Sun and Bear’s shadow in each illustration. Use your finger to trace a line from the Sun to Bear, and then to his shadow. Ask children to make predictions about the story. Discuss how the position of the Sun in the sky changed throughout the story. We would recreate the scenes using a bear and a torch to represent the sun. The outcome of the lesson will allow the children to explore how the position of the light affects the size, shape, and position of the shadow. This is an appropriate lesson for younger classes and awards the opportunity for the children to model how the Sun casts shadows. To observe the shadows cast by the light source and to compare their observations as they change the position of the light.
Hi I’m Aoife and I will be teaching Infants in September. I am looking forward to gaining more insight into space. One of my favourite space facts is the number of stars in the Milky Way is probably higher than the number of humans that have ever been born. This shows how incredibly vast space is and that there is so much to learn but also so much is still unknown.
One inquiry-based lesson that I enjoy doing with my classes is exploring how shadows are formed and how their properties change based on the position and distance of the light source, the object creating the shadow, and the surface on which the shadow is cast.
Activity: Investigating Shadows
I usually start with a brief discussion about shadows. Show examples of shadows in different settings (e.g., outdoors under the sun, indoors with a lamp).
I ask the children what they already know about shadows and how they think shadows are formed.
I like to generate questions about shadows like-How does the position of the light source affect the shape and size of the shadow?What happens to the shadow if the object moves closer to or farther from the light source?
How do different objects create different shadows?I usually divide the class into small groups of 3 or 4. Each group picks one question to investigate.
Each group then discusses their question and predicts the outcome of their investigation.
Each group gets a light source i.e. a torch and various objects (toys, shapes, everyday items), a white surface (paper or a wall), rulers, and notebooks for recording observations.
Each group sets up its light source and places an object between the light and the white surface to create a shadow.
Groups conduct their experiments by changing the position and distance of the light source and the object. They will observe and record how the shadow changes in size, shape, and clarity.
I like to encourage the children in younger classes to draw the shadows they observe. Older classes can measure the length of the shadows using rulers.The groups present their findings to the class and compare their results of the other groups. Discuss why shadows change based on the position and distance of the light source and object.
This inquiry-based activity not only teaches children about how shadows are formed and manipulated, but also engages them in the scientific process, promoting critical thinking, collaboration, and hands-on learning.
