[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Sinead this sounds fantastic. Paxi has loads of videos about going to space and would be great fun for a junior class!

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Elaine,

I love this! What would be cool to consider is what about the aliens environment dictates aspects of their appearance. Considering all the ways from the artic fox who changes colours with the seasons to the  tardigrade (despite being microscopic these guys are sometimes called waterbears) who can survive extreme conditions in space.

[Caoimhe Lyons]

HI Riona, I cant recommend enough Stellarium or Open space by NASA (this one is more for planets) for viewing the sky above you as it is without light pollution! Especially if you get stellarium on a tablet or smartphone you can hold it up to the sky and have it orientate !

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Colin,

This sounds fab. It might be worth considering making the aliens to incorporate something tactile if you think your students would engage with that. Model magic is a great shout, also something like Alien eggs covered by sci show can be engaging.

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Michelle

I love this idea! This video looks at other worlds (exoplanets) in an accessible way! However we should never forget the moons in our solar system as places where life could have a nice time!

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Emma

This sounds fantastic considering ourselves as Aliens can be a good Hook!

| Resources

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Sinead,

For your own interest maybe you have heard of the golden record? linguistic and cryptography skills are tied up in our understanding of and practical missions in Space.

Have a look at Paxi for your classroom!

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Fionnuala,

Sounds wonderful!

Some fun missions to consider are Juice and Clipper as we are studying the moons in our solar system to see if they have conditions that are favourable for life here’s a link that includes resources. Here is an explainer on the missions for your interest.

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Sounds fantastic Elaine!

You should have a look at the channel linked for songs! I find its super engaging for younger people and you wont be able to stop them singing this song in particular!

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Emily,

Its fantastic to see teachers adapting lessons to better suit their students, if you were getting the children to make aliens I recommend model magic – usually sensory approved and enjoyed by younger children who are more sensitive to that in my experience. I often find Paxi great for videos too if youre introducting topics though media like photos and videos.

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Marcia,

I love the sound of this lesson! Might be cool to consider the kind of equipment that navigators used like astrolabes etc. ! These can often be made in the classroom.

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Alison,

Thank you for your wonderful lesson plan! For your own interest this discusses colour differences and why stars appear different to planets! The fact that Stellarium provides sky culture options might also be of interest to you!

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Kate,

Thanks for a wonderful lesson plan! knowing that you can change the sky cultures on Stellarium might be helpful here! If you’re interested in a crafting aspect here are some cool ideas from one of the ESA kids competitions!

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Valarie,

I love this! Places of astronomical significance Newgrange Facts for Kids would be cool to consider.

[Caoimhe Lyons]

Hi Wendy,

This is a lovely lesson, I recommend using stellarium here as well as the fact that how you can tell the difference between a planet and a star when looking up to the night sky is that planets do not twinkle, mainly because they are much closer to us! This fact and differences in colours are explored more here if you are interested!

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