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Hi Sharon, it’s great to get ideas of different books that could be used during Space Week in our school this year. I also think the children in our school would love to discuss and investigate rockets and it would be a great hands on and active approach to Space Week.
Balloon Rocket
To introduce the topic to the children I would show them a photo of a rocket and ask them if they know what it is. I would then use a mind map on the whiteboard to see what the children already know about rockets, what they do and how they work.
After this discussion, I would explain to the children that they are going to be split into groups and each group is going to make their own rocket. I would give the children a demonstration on how to use the materials to make their rockets and to get them to work.
When they had completed this activity I would get them to write about the process and draw a diagram in their copy books.
To differentiate this lesson, the children could be given the bags of materials and told that they need to build a rocket and make it fly. Each group would then have to figure out how to do this. This would also work great as an activity for an afterschool STEM club.Hi Jade, I really like your ideas for teaching about the theme of where do you live? I think you have a great range of teaching strategies and activities that are active and engaging and that the children will enjoy participating in. I like the game that you have suggested where you encourage the children to guess what type of home you are talking about.
I think in order to move towards a more STEM focused SSE the first thing I would do is go back to step one of SSE planning. I would gather evidence from the teachers and pupils in the school to see where we are at as a whole school with the teaching and learning of STEM.
I would then look at all of this evidence and use that to see where we think we are doing well and what we could improve on. Our school is quite a STEM focused school already and has been for quite some time but this is quite heavily based in the senior end of the school. Therefore, I would include this in the Self-Evaluation Report.
To move forward I would then make sure that in our STEM improvement plan we have focused on improving the teaching and learning of STEM in the Junior classes. This would be a whole school approach and we would then evaluate this after the agreed upon time frame to see how we are doing.Hi Caroline, I love the idea of using the story to help the children to think about the different ways that aliens can be interpreted. I think the children would love all of these hands on art activities to explore the topic of aliens and different landscapes. You’ve given me some great ideas to take away with me.
Activity Set: Stars
I think that this activity is a lovely activity that could be used for Junior Infants to help them understand that stars give off light and that there are lots of stars, more than they can see.
I would start by using the ‘How many stars are there?’ activity using the marbles and jars in order to prompt discussion with the children. This would prompt them to start thinking about just how many stars there are up in the sky. This would no doubt lead to lots of discussion and questions around the
mount of stars they think are in the sky. This would be a fantastic cross-curricular activity as it incorporates mathematical language and activities.
The Starry Sky activity would also be fantastic for Junior Infants as it is hands on and active, while promoting and encouraging lots of language around stars, the sky and again mathematical language (how many? etc.) The children could display these around the classroom as part of their learning about space.
Elaine there are some lovely ideas here for exploring the sun and the moon. I love the idea of introducing the lesson using picture books. I also think the children would really enjoy going out to the yard and exploring their shadows. Anything that keeps them active and engaged usually goes down well especially in the junior classes.
The Planets
I really like this activity set as I think it is fun and engaging which is what we need in the junior classes.
I would use the Planet song as a stimulus to stir the children’s interest in what we are going to learn about. I would also discuss what the children already know about the planets as it gives any children who have an interest in space a chance to show off their knowledge while also giving others the chance to get to know the basics before exploring the topic.
I think the children would love the Planet Game as it is active and uses whole body learning which is great for all of the children in the class. This would be a great game to incorporate into PE time as well so could be used throughout the year as a reinforcement of the planet names.
Again, the Planet Dance could also be used in PE and is a lovely way to learn the planet names. This can also then be used throughout the rest of the year as a warm up or even as a playground game for the children to learn the planet names.Hi Ellen, I really love this idea as a lesson but especially as a different take on a floating and sinking lesson. Children would find this very interesting as it isn’t something that would naturally occur to them about fresh vs salty water. I think it’s so important to teach children these things about the environment around them.
Exploring Waterproof Materials
Class: Junior Infants
Learning Objectives:
Identify and explore the characteristics and properties of various materials
Identify which materials are waterproof through investigation
Understand what makes a material waterproof or not
Activities:
Teddy is going for walk in the rain and needs an umbrella. Which material could we use to keep teddy dry?
Show the children different materials and ask them which materials they predict will keep teddy dry and why?
Put the children into groups and give each group a teddy in a clear jar and a jug of water. Give each group different materials to investigate with.
Have the children place different materials over the top of the jar and pour the water on top of teddy.
Which materials works best to keep teddy dry?
Discuss as a whole class which material worked best and why the children think it worked. Why did other materials not work?