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Hi Áine, I really like your lesson plan on designing and making a rocket! It’s engaging and hands-on, perfect for sparking curiosity in first-class students. The combination of investigation, planning, and evaluating is excellent for developing critical thinking skills. I would definitely use this in my class.
The first thing I would do with my class would be to show them a video (possibly of space x’s falcon heavy taking off and landing again) or read them the story ‘The way back home’ by Oliver Jeffers which I love. We would then hold a discussion about the rockets and how they work. I would model for the children a couple of different ways of making a rocket such as rocket mouse, balloon rocket, foam rocket or alien chemistry rocket. The children could then get together in groups and decide which type of rocket they would like to make. When they have made them the children can predict and then test how far they can make their rockets go and what effect do different materials make? Different pressure? Different velocities? We can then look at how we can apply our learning to other areas such as P.E when looking at the velocity of a football or apex of a ball thrown in the air.
Hi Clodagh I really like your lesson on “Where do you Live and Weather”! It’s engaging and interactive, perfect for infant classes. The activities on dressing for different weather and colouring worksheets are fun and educational. I would definitely consider using this with my class
I would like to teach my first class children about hot and cold. I’ll prepare two ice cubes, identical small bowls, A3 sheets of white, blue, and red paper, name cards, and colouring pencils. I’ll draw a table on the white paper with columns labeled sun and shadow and hang the blue and red sheets on opposite sides of the classroom.
I’ll start by asking the children what the Sun looks like and when it’s visible. We’ll discuss why the Sun is important, and I’ll prompt them to respond to statements about the Sun, such as its size, light, and heat. This will help them understand key facts about the Sun.
Next, we’ll investigate whether it’s warmer in the sun than in the shade. I’ll place an ice cube in each bowl, one in the sun and the other in the shade, and observe which melts faster, showing that the Sun gives off heat.
Finally, we’ll discuss hot and cold using the blue and red sheets to represent these concepts. The children will colour pictures showing their understanding of the Sun’s heat.I love your lesson idea on space and aliens! It’s engaging and imaginative, perfect for first-class students. The combination of storytelling, discussion, and creative drawing will captivate their interest and stimulate their creativity. I’ll definitely use this approach with my class, especially the story and the prediction activities.
To engage first-class students in a disadvantaged school with a lesson about stars, we’ll start by sitting in a circle. I’ll show five marbles and ask if there are more stars in the sky than these marbles. After counting the marbles together and placing them in a transparent container, I’ll explain that there are indeed more than five stars. Next, we’ll discuss if there are more stars than children in the class. We’ll count the children and place an equal number of marbles in a second transparent container, illustrating that the number of stars exceeds the number of students. To further emphasize, we’ll fill a third container to the top with marbles and discuss if there are more stars than can fit in this container. I’ll explain that there are so many stars we need computers to count them.
We’ll then discuss questions like, “Have you ever seen the stars? What did they look like? Do stars give light? Is the Sun a star too?” Using a discussion sheet of the starry sky, I’ll explain that stars are most visible at night, and the Sun, also a star, provides light so bright we can’t see other stars during the day.I love this lesson idea about the Moon for junior infants! It’s engaging and encourages creativity and critical thinking. Using nursery rhymes like “Hey Diddle Diddle” is a fantastic way to make learning fun. The activities, especially the KWL chart and drawing exercise, will captivate the children’s imaginations and curiosity.
For the ‘our spherical earth activity’ I would have a classroom discussion centred on where we live. We would discuss what a planet is as well as that fact that it is in the shape of a sphere, these lessons would be done in conjunction with 3D shapes. I would then ask the children to observe a toy boat on a flat surface such as a table moving into the distance. They would then look and imagine what an observer would see if the boat was moving away on a spherical surface while I move the boat away on a globe. We would then do the penguin and polar bear activity whereby they have an imaginary conversation with each other ‘what’s it like living upside down’ while turning the globe upside down and back up depending on whether it is the penguin or polar bear that is speaking. The children would then discuss how gravity pulls everything towards the centre of the earth. We would finish the lesson with the earth mosaics activity and let the children search for up and down and have a classroom discussion.
Hi Aoife that sounds like a wonderful lesson an one I will definitely try the next time I have junior/senior infants.
Hi, my name is Conor and I will be teaching first class next year. My favourite space fact is that Olympus Mons on Mars is the biggest mountain/volcano in our solar system.
Here is a link to my mind map:
An inquiry based activity that I would use in my class would be the gravity inquiry.
I would first prompt the children by droping something I would then get them to have a look at various different objects, predicting how they would fall.
After that the children would carry out an investigation on each of the objects and discuss their results – Did they all fall at the same speed? which direction did they go, did they spin or float?
We would then go further by promting the children again by showing them the globe and asking how things would fall in australia? or about how things fall in water (floating and sinking) or on the moon.
We could then watch some suitable videos about gravity.
To implement a version of “Design Your Own Dark Sky place” in my classroom I would first need to make sure that the children have a solid foundation and knowledge in the areas of earth and space, stargazing, light pollution and dark skies and biodiversity through using some of the activities and ideas covered in the previous modules.
I would then use our local park as example of a Dark Sky place that we need to design. I would introduce the children to the various different stakeholders that may wish to give their input into the design of the park e.g. the conservation rangers, visiting stargazers, local residents and light designers. We would discuss as a class the views and interests of each of each of the stakeholders. I would then divide the class into groups and give each child in the group a role to play.
At the end of the lesson we would come back together as a class and listen to some of the discussions from the groups and reflect on those discussions.Engaging learners in biodiversity and understanding the impacts of light pollution on local ecosystems can be both educational and exciting. To start, placing a bird feeder outside the classroom window can attract various bird species. Students can identify these birds using websites and posters, fostering observation skills and species recognition. This real-time interaction with wildlife can stimulate interest and curiosity.
Organising an insect hunt around the school grounds allows students to explore and identify different insects. Providing them with identification guides or apps can make this activity more interactive and informative. Setting up a wildflower area in the school can attract new insect species, which students can monitor and document, enhancing their understanding of plant-insect relationships and habitat creation.
In the classroom, learning about local bat and owl species can be particularly engaging. Discussions on how light pollution affects these animals, such as by attracting their prey to lights, can highlight the broader ecological impacts of artificial lighting. This can lead to critical thinking about human activities and their effects on biodiversity.Living in the countryside about 5 kilometers from a large town offers a mix of serenity and starry nights, but light pollution is becoming an increasingly noticeable issue. The glow from the town often permeates the night sky, casting a diffuse brightness that intrudes on the visibility of the Milky Way. This artificial light competes with the natural darkness, making it challenging to fully appreciate the stars. Additionally, outdoor floodlights around the house, activated by movement, further exacerbate the problem. These lights can be particularly intrusive when trying to stargaze, their sudden brightness disrupting the eye’s adaptation to the dark.
However, on clear nights, especially during a new moon, the experience can be breathtaking. When the floodlights are turned off, the sky reveals its full splendor. The Milky Way stretches across the horizon, and various constellations and planets become visible in all their glory. It’s a stark reminder of what’s lost to light pollution. Efforts to minimize unnecessary lighting, such as using lower-intensity bulbs and shielding outdoor lights, could help preserve the night sky’s natural beauty.
Here is a good and engaging plan for getting students to observe the position of the sun at different times of the day.
Preparation: Choose a sunny day and a suitable outdoor spot with a flat surface. Mark a specific spot where each student will stand.
Initial Explanation: Briefly explain how the sun moves across the sky, causing shadows to change length and direction.
First Observation: Begin the activity in the morning. Have half the class to stand on their marked spot and get their partner to draw their shadow’s outline with chalk. Label this shadow with the time. Then swap over and partners draw the shadows of the other half of the class. Label again with the time.
Subsequent Observations: Repeat this process at regular intervals (e.g., every hour). Each time, students stand on the same spot and draw their shadow’s new outline, labeling each with the current time.
Discussion: After several observations, gather the students to discuss their findings. Ask questions like:
• How did the shadows change?
• When were the shadows longest and shortest?
• Which direction did the shadows move?We need to choose a phase of the moon visible in the morning and plan an interactive activity. The waning crescent phase is best for observation as it is visible in the morning and it rises a few hours before sunrise. This phase occurs about 3-7 days before the new moon. Looking at a lunar calendar using time and date.com I see that the 28th of November would be a good time to begin observing the moon and its phases.
Start by explaining the phases of the moon using pictures and simple descriptions to help students understand. Model the positions of the earth moon and sun for the children and how they move relative to each other. Get the children in groups of three and allow them to practice as the earth, moon or sun. On the chosen observation days, gather the students early in the morning just after school starts. Have them observe the moon with the naked eye or simple binoculars, encouraging them to describe its shape and brightness. Provide worksheets for students to draw the moon and note the date and time of their observation.
After the observation, discuss their findings in the classroom. Compare students’ drawings and notes, and talk about why the moon’s shape changes and its different phases. To extend the learning experience, create a moon phase chart and update it daily. Additionally, read a story or watch a short video about the moon’s phases.
