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Well done Michelle. You have a great plan for Space Week with lots of learning through engaging and fun activities.
Children love rockets so I have chosen the rockets activity set from this module.
To start the lesson I plan to show the children a short video of a rocket launch from CBC kids News. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqn-JjTmAps)
I will then use the ‘Design and Make a Paper Rocket’ resource from curiousminds.ie.
I particularly like the suggested trigger questions which will engage and focus the children on their learning.
What is the hardest part about going into space? (Getting off the ground!).
Why is this? (The strong pull of Earth’s gravity brings things back to the ground).
So how does something huge and heavy like a spacecraft manage to break away from Earth’s
gravity? (A powerful rocket blasts it into space).
What is a rocket? (A cylinder full of materials which produce gases).
How does it work? (Gases going out the back of the rocket push it forward, like an untied blown-up balloon goes forward when you let it go while the air goes out the back).
Where do these gases come from?(From burning fuel).
For something to burn what do you need? (Air/oxygen)
But there is no air in Space! So how do the fuels burn? (Rockets carry their own oxygen with them)
After the questioning stage I will demonstrate how to make the paper rocket and then allow the children in pairs to make their own paper rockets.
The testing stage will involve Maths and discussion of judgement of fair testing. Results to be recorded. I will encourage the children, after making the basic paper rocket, to make adaptations to see can they make their rocket fly better.
During Space Week I plan to have a homework challenge to make a rocket. I have done this in the past and the children , with the help of their parents have come up with amazing creations.Using real clothing is a great idea. Children love dressing up and play ‘guess the weather’ from how I am dressed.
This module has fantastic, user friendly, resources for junior classes. The activity I look forward to using is ‘Where do you live? From ESERO 5. As suggested in the activity I would start the activity by getting the children to describe their house. The vocabulary for different housing can be introduced- bungalow, detached, semi-detached, terraced, dormer bungalow, apartment, modular home etc.
From here I would distribute the worksheet and give the children the opportunity to colour the house that looks most like their home and then give the children the opportunity to draw their home. I will encourage them to think about the type of roof their home has, chimney or no chimney, height of the walls, number of windows and doors and the garden.
At this stage I would encourage the children to identify the materials that were used to build their home and homes in general in Ireland.
I have pictures of homes from different countries and the children will discuss how homes in other countries differ to Ireland – Reasons for the differences to be discussed – climate, economy, building resources available in different countries.
I would then give the children the opportunity to make a model of their home using the plasticine and as suggested in the activity put them togrther in a village setting. Asking the children what other buildings are missing is a key part of this lesson. The children will come to realise the importance of the shops, school, library etc in a community. I will then give the children the opportunity to construct the missing buildings and add them to the village.
The children would very much enjoy showing their village to younger children and explaining the different types of homes and buildings in their village.I have chosen the Stars activity set as there are so many fantastic hands on and engaging resources. I would start by discussing star and the night sky with the children and let them talk about their experiences of looking at the night sky. I will tell them that groups of stars are called constellations. I plan then to read the children the Constellation stories from the UAWE Activity book. I plan to show the children pictures of named contellations. From here I plan to concentrate on the Plough. I will will ask the children why they think it is called the Plough. I will use the pictures of the old plough to demonstrate how it got it’s’ name. I will explain the importance of the Plough for sailors in the past and how it helped with navigation. I will then use the ‘Draw your own Constellation’ activity where the children can draw the Plough but I will also give them the opportunity to draw their own constellation and name it. I will finish the unit of work with the activity ‘Seeing Stars- Looking at the Plough in two different ways’. The children will work in pairs and I love that they will get to use the Maths measuring Skills
I agree the Planet Dance activity is a great resource for getting the children familiar with the names of the planets. It is a resource I intend to forward to other teachers in my school.
I have chosen the activity set based on the ‘The Sun and Shadows’ for second class.
The concepts I would aim to teach are:
• The Sun gives us light.
• Light is energy.
• Light can cause a colour change.
• The UV radiation in sunlight reacts with a chemical in the beads to cause a change in
colour.
• The Sun gives us heat.
• The Sun gives us heat and light, without which we would not survive
I would start by finding out what the children already know about the sun and record their knowledge.
I would then conduct the following activities:
– Solar Beads
– Cooking in the sun
(I would love to experiment using sunscreen on the Solar Beads to see if it would stop the beads from changing colour.
The above activities will enhance the knowledge of the children on the sun.
Concepts I would address following the above.
– Ths sun is stationary.
– The Earth rotates
– Rotation of the Earth causes the night and day cycle.
I would do the following activities to address these concepts:
– Sun in the Sky
– Rotation of the Earth 1
– Rotation of the Earth 2
When the children understand the above concepts I would do some of the activities to explore Shadows.
The concepts
– Shadows change size and position as the Earth rotates throughout the day.
• The size and position of the shadow depends on the position of the Sun in the sky.
• The Sun does not move across the sky, it is the Earth that is rotating, making the Sun
appear to move across the sky.
I would conduct the activity:
– What Will Happen to Your Shadow in the School Yard During the Day?
– Make a sundial
On completion of all activities I will ask the children what they now know about the sun and compare with their initial knowledge.Hi Aileen,
I love your lesson and the powerful questions at the beginning will really get the children thinking. The children will particularly enjoy designing the space station and spacesuit. It is an activity I plan to use, this coming year, with my second class.
Inquiry Activity: “How can we help a toy car go the farthest using only ramps and gravity?”
Introduction: Pose the question to the class and then encourage the children to share what they already know about ramps, cars, and rolls, and invite them to suggest things they’re curious to try or experiment with.Exploring: Provide small groups (2–3 children) with materials such as cardboard pieces, plastic toy cars, books, wooden blocks, tape, rulers or measuring tapes, and an iPad
Let them:
Design and build different types of ramps—vary the height, angle, or surface (e.g. smooth vs textured cardboard).
Launch their cars down each ramp several times, measuring how far each car travels from the end of the ramp. Make a video recording of each launch using the iPad.
Record their observations and data using drawings and a table showing the distance travelled by the toy car on each of the ramps.Reasoning: Class discussion to talk about what they observed:
Ask: Which ramp made your car go the farthest? Why do you think that happened?
Guide them to notice patterns: maybe steeper ramps led to faster speed and longer distance, or certain surfaces slowed the car.
Introduce vocabulary like gravity, friction, angle, and force in simple terms (“steep ramp = strong push from gravity,” “bumpy surface = slows things down”).
Encourage them to explain in their own words, create simple hypotheses (“If we make it steeper, the car will go farther”).Reflecting: Invite each group to share their findings and thinking:
“What did you learn about building ramps?”
“What surprised you?”
“If you could do it again, what would you change?”
