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I love the story Owl babies as theres so much art you can link in and I also read Ulchabháin Óga to link in Gaeilge. Thanks for the idea
I would include nocturnal animals in our school biodiversity plan by helping the children learn about animals that are active at night. With Senior Infants, I would start by reading Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. We could talk about the owl in the story and what other animals might come out at night.
I would explain to the children that some animals need the dark to find food, hunt and move around safely. Too much light at night can make this harder for them. As a class, we could look around our school and see where we have lights and discuss whether we really need them all on at night.
We could make a simple plan to help our nocturnal animals. This could include turning off unnecessary lights, keeping some areas of the school darker and planting flowers and plants that attract insects.
I think this would help the children understand that small changes in our school can help wildlife. It would also give them a chance to take care of nature in their own school environment.
I just had a look at that book and it looks super. I think that would be a great way to engage the children
I would use the Globe at Night programme with my Senior Infant class to help them learn about stars and the night sky. I think this would be a fun activity as the children are naturally curious about space.
I would start by reading The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield. We could talk about what the children noticed about the night sky in the story and what they can see when they look at the sky at night. I would then introduce the idea of light pollution in a simple way and explain that bright lights can make it harder to see stars.
I would make the children “Star Detectives” and give them a simple task to look at different night skies. We could use the Globe at Night pictures and see how many stars we can spot. The children could draw what they see and talk about the differences between the pictures. If possible, we could also look at the sky at home with an adult.
I think this would be a fun and simple way for the children to learn through looking, talking and asking questions.
I love this for infants. I have never heard of that book before so I look forward to exploring it with my own infants class. I usually use “adam’s amazing space adventure” to introduce the planets and I always find the kids love it!
<p class=”isSelectedEnd”>I would choose to observe the Moon with my class. I think this would be a fun activity for young children as they can see the Moon from home and at school. We would start by reading the story ‘Kitten’s First Full Moon’ and then I would ask them what they already know about the Moon. We could look at pictures of the different Moon phases and talk about how the Moon can look different at different times.</p>
<p class=”isSelectedEnd”>We would find out which phase of the Moon would be best to see in the morning from our school. On the mornings when the Moon is visible, we would go outside and look at it. The children could draw what they see and we could make a class Moon diary.</p>
We could also take some photographs and compare them with the children’s drawings. At the end, we could talk about what we noticed and if the Moon looked different each time. I think this would be a simple and enjoyable way to learn about space through observation.I love this idea of linking in the time zones! It would make it so interesting for older classes. You could also use google Earth or we sometimes use live animal webcams on Explore.org to watch animals and at times, depending which animal we are watching, it is dark so this could be a good way to tie it in!
I also love this idea of using animals. My Senior infants the last few years have been so interesting in discussing animals and their sleeping patterns so I know this would really help them
“Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
As an infant teacher, I would teach this through a simple observation activity. We would talk about the Sun and ask the children what they notice about it during the day. I would ask questions such as, “Where is the Sun in the morning?” and “Is it in the same place in the afternoon?”
We would go outside at different times during the day, such as in the morning, at lunchtime and in the afternoon. The children would look at where the Sun is in the sky and talk about what they can see. They could make a simple drawing each time to show where the Sun was. We could also take photographs to help us remember what we saw. We could also use chalk trace/mark shadows on the ground to give the children a visual point on the ground or use blocks/toys to mark where we stood and where our shadows were.
At the end of the day, we would look at all our drawings and talk about how the Sun had moved.
I would also maybe tie in some picture books such as ‘Sun up, Sun Down’ & “What makes a shadow”
We love learning about *Space Stars* such as Dr Niamh Shaw, Katherine Johnson, Tim Peake, Chris Hadfeild and Karen Nyberg, – Can’t see, Can’t Be.
We have sent letters to some of them and some other big names and they have come back to us with videos or messages to answer questions.We have done virtual tours of the space station and of NASA.
As an Infant school, first class are our senior pupils. Sometimes we organise with the younger classes to let my class be the teachers and teach their children some fun facts
lots of space art! The messier the better! We also Link in Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Lots of space games for PE
songs – mine particularly love Unicorn Noodles on Go noodle – the main line is “My Very Excellent Mother Just Serves Unicorn Noodles” teaching about the order of the planets
Opportunities to work on Adjectives – an angry Alien, a bossy alien, a clever alien, etc. We also draw some different types of aliens.
There is a wealth of story books available!I love this idea! I often do experiments too to see what insulates and we observe what prevents melting ice.
I know my class would love this idea though! The messier the better
Teaching infants, as we know, is predominantly done through hands on activities. I will defintely be using the Stellarium website for stargazing, particularly seeing as a lot of my children live in a built up town and don’t often have the opportunity to see the stars clearly. I will also be using peg boards to create constellations. Great idea!
I will also encourage the children to poke out constellations on paper or card and then shine a flashlight through them in a dark classroom to let the children see and guess their own constellations
I think it is so important to see aspects that they can relate to to get a better understanding. I always show children the outfits they wear in space and also what they eat and how they live in space. Tim Peake, Karen Nyberg and Chris Hasfeild have some brilliant videos where they demonstrate eating, sleeping, brushing their teeth, washing in space and the children love it
