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Balloon Rockets
I’ve done this activity with an older class but I do think it would be successful with a Senior Infant class. I think prepare bags with all the materials the pupils need and put the children in small groups.
This is a great activity to explore different strands of the science curriculum such as ‘forces’ It can also create an interest in other subject areas of the curriculum and I would certainly use it to do this. e.g the first man on the moon.
I would use WALT to see what the children already know about rockets. The childrens’ answers would be recorded on the IWB and we would return to this brainstorm at the end of the block of lessons. Watching a video of an actual rocket launch would help spark conversation around the topic and the children get the opportunity to practice their counting back from 10!
The children would investigate how the rockets work. What made it move, new vocabulary would be introduced e.g push, pull, speed, air etc. They could discuss how they might be able to improve their experiment and look at the idea of fair testing e.g. are all the balloons the same shape?
In conjunction with the specific Stem lesson I would have a Space Station set up in the classroom. There could also be a space themed activity such as a launch pad in Small World area.
Junk art where the children use discarded materials could be another way for the children to explore the topic. They could build a rocket from the materials..Great opportunities to incorporate the idea of upcycling and recycling while at the same time the children are engaged, investigating, planning, constructing and working like scientists!
Where do you live? This is a fantastic topic that the children can really engage with and it spans all 3 subjects of the SESE curriculum as well as many other subjects of the curriculum.
It’s a great lesson to broaden a child’s understanding of the world around them and it helps them develop an understanding of a sense of place. The lesson could begin by looking at images of different types of homes; detached, semi-detached, bungalow, chalet, caravan, apartment, modular etc.
The children could bring in a picture of their home or draw a picture. Use Google Earth to locate different houses.
The lesson can be extended by looking at the different parts of a house e.g. roof, gutters, windows, sills etc. Rooms of the house could also be discussed.
The materials used in the construction of a house can be investigated e.g. blocks, cement, mortar, PVC, wood etc.
STEM activity where the children can investigate different materials
Introduce the story of the 3 Little Pigs, discuss the story, recall the different materials used. Children break into groups: straw, wood and brick ( small bricks can be bought on Amazon for crafts) Each group have to construct a house with the given material to keep the pigs safe from the wolf ( the teacher!) The children will test their constructions by using a hairdryer to try and blow their house down. Results can be recorded by taking phots on the I Pad. Each group will feed back to the class and discuss their findings.The Friday Box is a great idea and it is definitely one I will ‘steal’ for September! Thanks for the idea!
Space and Aliens
Children love the idea and are fascinated by aliens and as a result I’ve always found it is one topic that really engages the children no matter what class group you are teaching.
If I was doing this topic I would get the children to ‘Design and Make an Alien’ and get them to incorporate their aliens into a short Stop Motion Video.
The children will work in groups of 3/4. Each child will make their own alien.
Stimulus to lesson will be a discussion about aliens, what they perceive an alien to look like and discuss cartoons/films they have seen about aliens.
The pupils will then sketch their alien and feed back to the class their design ideas etc. Once completed they will use plasticine to create a 3-D model of their alien. They can add extras scuch as googley eyes, pipe cleaner arms etc.
Once complete the children will work in their groups to create a shop video in Stop Motion Studio. They can include extras such as drawn backdrops of outerspace, planets, spaceship, astronauts etc. If using the paid version of Stop Motion they can ass narration, sound effects etc.
Each group will show their video on the IWB and will take questions and feedback from their peersLove the idea of sand. It takes in many senses and gives the children an idea of how many stars are out there.
The Sun and Shadows
I love teaching about the sun and shadows and the children really enjoy the activities. After doing the initial lesson on looking at the differences between night and day. Exploring if the sun is always there. Learning the new language around the sun, function of the sun etc. I would then look at the sun at different times of the day. At these times we would go out in the yard and observe our shadows, directions, length etc. The children could work in pairs and draw around the shadows with chalk etc.
Another lesson I would do would be to get the children to being in tow animals eg. a cow, elephant etc. They place a piece of paper on the ground and place the animal on the paper. They can draw around the shadow of the animal. It’s great fun.
To further explore shadows ( especially if its a dull day) shadow puppets are good fun. The children can create stick puppets and use a shadow box.
Making different shadow shapes with your hands/fingers and projecting them onto a board is also a nice way to explore the concept of shadows.I totally agree, my gang last year loved learning fun facts on any topic. We had a fun fact day every week and the children would be so enthusiastic to share their fun fact. Its a great way of learning new information. I’ve used it in senior classes and whenever they did a project they would often include fun facts!
Mind map Module One
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOnl_gu3ODVC6LR-kiB90mbp8rfTz-WANVQSNJ5
How I would use one inquiry-based activity in my classroom.
Pose the questions: How do astronauts live in space? Class discussion.
Watch a video from National Geographic showing how astronauts in the International Space Station live. Eating, sleeping, washing, brushing their teeth etc.
Pose the questions: What do you notice about the astronauts? What are they floating? Can we float like that? How do you think the astronauts feel? Would you like to go to space?
Introduce the concept of Gravity as a force that pulls down.
Children investigate Gravity by dropping an item such as a pencil.
What happened to the pencil? Why did this happen? What would happen to this pencil in space?
