Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Activity Set: Rockets
Personally I would approach this lesson after the weather, sun and moon lessons but before the star and planets lesson. I would have the students create their own spacesuit to adjust to all temperatures when going to the moon and then discuss how to get to the moon previously. After the rocket lesson, I would discuss the planets and stars in space and go into more detail about space exploration and the wider universe.
I would love to try a sensory story approach to introduce the idea of rockets. It could introduce the process of the countdown, going into space and then returning home after the journey. One example of a book that could be used for a sensory story is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiC2qKg10gY which aims to allow the students to feel like they are on the rocket. The link https://inclusiveteach.com/2025/02/07/space-sound-story-eyfs-pmld/ also has sound effects and sensory suggestions which I might try in my own class. Having my students curiousity piqued about the sensory experiences of being in a rocket, I could then dive into history, examples and real footage of a rocket launch/landing. I have also used the moon landing for this in the past however, it would be great to make it more personal for them by building/ wearing designed space suits from a previous lesson. We could also add in stepping out of the rocket and feeling things like sand or bubble wrap underneath our feet.
I have done rockets in my previous lessons using paper rockets designed by students and blowing them with straws. The students race them to see which one is the best. We have also explored if different types and shape fins make the rocket fly differently. I have done the rocket launcher using the vitamin tablet in the capsule bottle as well with the students which always works well.
The ideas I have not come across before was the mouse rockets using the different shaped bottles. I thought this was a great idea to get them to design a hypothesis about which bottle will work better. It would also be great if we could create a game where a cat rocket could be aimed at the mice which have already be launched. I am also intrigued by the balloon rocket idea and would love to get students guessing if the different shape and size balloons make a difference. The pictures of Marvin and Milo could be a great starter as well for introducing a rocket building experiment.
Hi Stephanie. I absolutely love the design of your science week. The idea of using recycled ideas to design a rocket can bring in sustainability into art. It could also be a discussion on climate change. I would also like to try the alien pair art activity (enhancing communication and teamwork) and the PE activities to add some more exercise and fun. I will definitely have to give it a go.
Hi Karen. I love the idea of different stations for the students to experience different weather. The games approach for the dress up game encourages motor skills as well as matching different types of weather to the required clothing. Your lesson has such a fun approach and would love to try it out in my own class.
Activity Set: Weather
I was looking into how to connect and reinforce the weather lesson with the online resources suggested.
I would start off with the daily weather and ask the students what sort of clothes should I wear today. Then I would go into the different types of clothes for different seasons and weather.
The second part of the lesson would discuss the different reasons behind different types of weather. The sun lesson mentioned in the previous module could be used to discuss sun safety and the hot and cold lesson from this module. Rain could discuss the water cycle and a mini water cycle model and science experiment could be made to demonstrate this. Then cloudy weather and rainbows could include Marvin and Milo stories and experiments such as “cloud in a glass” and “garden rainbow”. If it is not a sunny day for the garden rainbow, you could use Dr. Seahorse creates rainbows on the unawe website. There are also videos on the ESA kids website for Paxi exploring Ice and Wind.
I would then go into the difference between weather and climate. There is an “Weather vs Climate – Understanding the difference between weather and climate” video on the ESA website. Students could discuss different habitats and animals living in different parts of the world. Here you could discuss the different adaptations of different animals.
Lastly, you could always link with the different planet habitats and discuss the weather conditions as well as discussing how the weather is monitored and reported on through satellites (especially if touched off of on previous lessons). one could also connect using clothing to adapt and experiment on insulation of different materials.
Hi Emily. I really like the idea of focusing on and tying in living things and their requirements for survival. It can bring in needs and wants as well as scientific observations. You could also look at the different conditions on different planets in the solar system and compare them to Earth and how should we change/adapt them to live there. It would be interesting to see them look into how astronauts survive in space too.
Activity Set: Stars
To start I think I would use a similar approach to the Lots and lots of star activity, where I would get students to do art of a starry sky. I would use a variety of different materials to get them thinking including paint, glitter, tinfoil, sponges..etc. Then I would print a picture of a night sky and ask them to estimate how many stars are in the picture. We would count them after a few guesses and then they would be asked if the actual sky has more or less stars than the picture.
I really liked the idea of the 5.5 Viewing Constellations through Stories lesson from the Universe in a box. This is a great idea for bringing in literacy into the lessons and can connect where the ideas of constellations comes from.
I think I would then connect this to the Seeing Stars activity where it demonstrates the realistic position of stars and how this can change with perspective. The idea that the stars are in fact in a 3D space but depending on how you look at them can look like the 2D constellations that we were previously discussing. I find that this lesson really builds on constructing previous knowledge and get them to think. It also ties in with maths and numeracy with regards to measuring length and distance as well as measurements and scale.
Something that I would love to try out is a project that involves building several versions of the seeing stars project with attached lights on the ceiling or in a sensory tent to give a feel for a planetarium. Building a project means that an event could be held for viewing the stars and story telling with different classrooms and encourage communication and social skills.
Hi Michelle. I completely agree with you that hands-on work really gets them to think and explore a topic. I love your idea of the “solar system in a box”. I haven’t tried it yet but I was looking at similar approaches and found one resource that suggests making trays using black salt, playdough and tinfoil…etc, (https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/4-space-themed-sensory-bins-with-1-foil-tray/).
Activity Set: The Moon
• First I would ask the students to draw me a night time picture and then ask them to explain the different features in their drawings
o See if there are differences amongst the group
• Then I would look at multiple picture books with different pictures and shape moons
• We then would compare these to a photograph of the actual moon
• For the “Man on the moon” activity I would print off photos of the actual moon onto some cardboard and cut it out. The students would then go to make their own impression of adding textures and craters/hills on the surface of the cardboard.
o This could be tied in with the different myths and legends of the moon
o It could also start the discussion of different craters on the moons surface and experiment making the landscape of the moon.• Afterwards ask the children how come the moon sometimes doesn’t appear like a circle
o Shadows could be explored into how they may appear (e.g. sunlight)
o I found the video on Paxi and the moon phases very simple and easily demonstrated.
o Then a model would be shown to the students using a globe, moon and sun light rotation.
o A similar game of day time and night time (similar to that for the sun) would be useful for this.• Eclipses could be looked at and demonstrated.
I have tried the oreo activity previously in older classes to explain moon phases however, one activity that I would like to try is using a cup, a light, and a paper moon to demonstrate with the light and shadow the different moon phases. (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPULjMEDwRF/)
Hi Elaine, I love that the students been given a mission to help Jack Frost. It is such a creative idea to get them engaged with the lesson and come together to problem solve. It would be great to see if different types of gloves (material, branded and variety of prices) would impact and show any difference in insulation.
It’s a great idea and I’ll have to give it a whirl with my own class! Thanks very much!
One inquiry based activity I like to use in my classes involves students investigating how the shape of an object affects it’s fall rate…
Strand: Forces – Investigate how forces act on objects.
Students are grouped into small teams. Each student is given a sheet of A4 paper. Students drop the paper from as high as they can safely reach and time the fall using a timer on the whiteboard. (Later discussions on fairness and method of the drop can be entertained “Is everyone the same height? etc). Next I ask the students if the paper will always fall at the same time (touching on the idea of reliability and replication).
Students then fold the paper in two and repeat the experiment, observing that the paper now falls faster. We ask questions about what changed and what didn’t change. This can be repeated several times and the paper should fall faster. Pupils can be directed towards reflective questions like ‘does the amount of paper matter’, ‘what is causing the change’, ‘is there a maximum speed’ etc.
The inquiry can be linked to the students’ studies of the moon with questions about air resistance and how the moon is different in this respect from Earth.
As a fun extension students can design and build small parachutes for lego figures and drop them.
Hi. My name is Caitriona and I am a class teacher at a special school for the severe to profound. Before teaching at my current special school I was a post-primary teacher for science and home economics. I have always had an interest in space as topic however, I look forward to new ideas and methods of teaching space to younger children. I love how space creates and inspires curiosity in the classroom and hope I can bring it in as new sensory experiences for my students. My favourite fact about space is that Venus is the hottest planet. Even though Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus has a really thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide that traps heat (temperatures up to 467°C). This really reminds me that we really have to keep an eye on our carbon dioxide levels and do the best we can to reduce global warming.