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Topic- Space and Aliens.
Class-2nd classI would base my English and Art lesson on this topic for the week.
In the English lesson I would engage the children in creative writing. I would give them the opening sentence…’and there in my back garden was a huge spaceship. The door opened and………’
This would be the stimulus. The children would use their imaginations to create the story from the above opening line. We would discuss vocabulary around space and Aliens. I would write buzz (helpful) words on the whiteboard. I would encourage them to use descriptive language. I would make some suggestions as to possible endings if other children hadn’t..ie. perhaps the spaceship brought you back up to space, maybe you lived in space for a year, which planet did you land on? All the time trying to encourage them to use their imaginations.
The children would begin their story as independent writers. When they are finished we would have an authors corner and share our stories.
In Art the same week the children would create the spaceship from their story. We would use various materials and then they would share their creations at the end of the lesson.
We did this last year in our school and they loved building the spaceships from various materials. They were so excited to take them home.
Activity- The Planets
Class- 2nd classThe objective of this lesson is for the children to observe the various sizes of the planets and their distance from the sun.
Beginning of the lesson-
To begin the lesson we will listen to the planet song. I will then show the children a picture of the planets in order from the sun. We will name them together and talk about their size, shape etc. I will label each of the planets.
Middle of the lesson-
This will involve pair work. I will take down my picture of the planets. Each pair will have a large sheet of A3 paper and planets printed on paper and the names of the planets on another page. They must work together to put all the planets and names in the correct order from the sun. I feel working in pairs for this activity will promote conversation among the children and further their learning.
End of lesson –
We will put my picture back up on the board and discuss how each group got on. I will use this part of the lesson to evoke higher order thinking in the children…’Why do you think astronauts have not landed on Mercury?’. I feel engaging children in conversation is so important…..let them come to the conclusions without teacher always telling them the information.
The children can then stick down their pictures and change any they had in the wrong order. They can colour or paint it and we will create a display in the classroom. I feel this hands on approach in this lesson will aid the children’s learning on this topic.
Una, I love your idea of playing the planet song to engage the children. I always find it’s a great way to get them interested, especially the younger classes.
Module 1- Inquiry Based Activity
Class – Senior InfantsStrand- Materials
Strand Unit- Materials and ChangeTrigger- All the children bring in their favourite teddy. This will be the stimulus.
Wondering- We will discuss what clothes would keep teddy warm in Winter, cool in Summer, dry on wet days.
Explore- The children will have a bag of clothes on their table and we will discuss the items of clothing in relation to the seasons and weather. They can predict which items would keep teddy dry etc. They can feel the texture of the clothes. They must divide the clothes into various piles according to a picture printed out.( a sun, rain, snow …)
Share- Each group will report back. The teacher can ask higher order thinking skills to the children….’Why do you think a raincoat is made from a particular material’? ‘Why is the summer jumper lighter than the Winter one?’
Taking the next step- Each child will design a raincoat for their teddy on a page.
