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I also love the idea of using the mosaic activity in this way and a great way to work on fine motor skills. I love the variety of art elements and lessons that can be included in lessons on these topics.
An inquiry based activity on gravity for 2nd class students would link with the children’s story “Jack and the Beanstalk.” This classic fairy tale provides a fun and imaginative context for exploring gravity.
Before the hands on experiment, I would read the story aloud, emphasizing the scene where Jack climbs the beanstalk and later chops it down, causing the giant to fall. This sets the stage for a class discussion:
“Why did the giant fall down?
What made him come down instead of floating?”
These questions naturally lead into an inquiry about gravity.
After reading, we would conduct the “What Falls Faster?” experiment, using small props such as a toy giant, beans and leaves to simulate the story. The children would be encouraged to link their observations back to the story: “If Jack had dropped a feather and a stone from the beanstalk, which would have landed first? Why?”
This storytelling link helps children connect scientific inquiry to narrative thinking, making the concept of gravity more relatable and fun.
A super idea Rachel and one that the kids can definitely relate to. Some lovely lesson ideas to use here next year. Thanks.
Hi, I’m Claire from Louth and I will be teaching 2nd Class in September. An interesting science fact that I came across is that the sunset on Mars appears blue. Space is such an interesting topic for both adults and kids alike and I’m looking forward to learning more about it during this course.
Thanks for sharing this link. It is a great idea to incorporate movement into lessons and I look forward to trying this out next year.
Activity Set: The Sun and Shadows – Sun Activities
I would begin the lesson by discussing with the children things that they do during the day and comparing them to things that they do at night time. I would link this activity with time in maths and encourage the children to make their own day time line (hours and half hours) to depict a typical 24 hour day.
I would then progress on to discuss light, its sources and its importance in being able to see. Using the ‘Day and Night: My Sky Tonight’ activity, the kids will be able to actively discover and understand how the earth moves thus creating day and night. Using the story ‘Bear’s Shadow’, I will use it as a stimulus and introduction to shadows. The children will then use torches and objects in the classroom to create their own shadows.
Integrating with art, the children will then create their own shadow animals – outside if it is a sunny day / inside using torches.
My mind map: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVOmIylHM=/
This sounds like a fabulously interactive lesson that the children would enjoy. Thanks for sharing this idea.
Inquiry Based Activity in the classroom
Forces
2nd class
The trigger: Magnetic Minions
Wonder: How can you make your own magnetic minion? What materials can you use?
Exploring: Allow the children to experiment with a variety of magnetic and non-magnetic materials. Questions to consider – what items attract to the magnets? What materials don’t attract? What have the items that attract to the magnet got in common?
Starter Question: Which items are magnetic?
Predictions: Are all metals attracted to magnets?
Conducting the investigations:
The children will work in pairs and given various materials to experiment with. They will carry out the experiment to create a magnetic minion and record findings on a worksheet – identifying magnetic and non -magnetic items.
Interpreting the results: The children will compare their results to their predictions
Next steps:
Can you add material (eg: hair or clothes) to your minion? (This will focus on magnets working through materials)
What happens when your minion goes swimming? Can you add any more items in the water?
