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Aliens in underpants is a classic at this stage, my class could listen to it 100 times without getting bored.
In this module, I would like to teach the topic of rockets. We would begin by watching a video all about rockets, after which I would ask the children to share what they remembered from the video so I could write them on the board. Next, we would other rockets and their crews. We would then move on to a cutting activity, labelling the parts of a rocket to reinforce the learning that has already taken place. Using materials from a box of recycled items, I would encourage the students to build their own rocket and give it a name. This would also tie in with Aistear lessons in future. After that, I would display photos of the planets and we would talk about which was their favourite and why. We would link this to future art lessons where the children would design their own aliens, while discussing further what makes a good rocket
Sue you have some good ideas here to introduce the topic of weather to the children, I like the idea of using cotton buds for clouds and the flashlight to explain the sun.
I am focusing on the “Where do you live?” activity. I believe this activity links well with Aistear and the SESE curriculum while providing an excellent opportunity to develop science skills in an age appropriate and practical way.
In my classroom, I would start by inviting the children to describe their own homes. They could share what their homes look like, who lives there, and the different rooms or features they have. We would then expand the discussion to the wider community, exploring different types of homes and places in the local area. This would help to build early geographical and spatial awareness.
The children would then have time to design and create their own homes using modelling materials such as playdough, junk art, or building blocks. We would display the houses together to form a class village. This process would encourage creativity, fine motor development, and early skills in observation and comparison.
As an extension, we could talk about other areas and space, although people do not live there, it will help the children gain a better understanding of distance and the wider universe.I like the way this activity is cross curricular including, art and fine the development of motor skills.
I plan to use the stars and aliens activities in my senior infants classroom. We will begin with the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as an engaging introduction, followed by a short discussion about planets. Next, I will lead the children in a drama and movement activity where we imagine climbing into our rockets and flying to different planets. The children will act out how it feels to be on each planet. The final planet will have an alien living there, and the children will decide whether it is friendly or frightening.
After the activity, we will discuss the alien in more detail. The children can share ideas about what it looks like, what it eats, who its friends are, and what the planet it lives on is like. To conclude, each child will draw their alien and then create a model of it using play dough, bringing their imaginative ideas to life.This is a great idea for developing fine motor skills. Lots of infants struggle with this and this helps give them focus.
I like the idea of exploring shadows with the children. The use of torches and shadow puppet prompts sounds great. I would get the children to investigate the difference in the size of the shadow depending on the distance from the torch.
I would take the children outside at different times during the day. We would draw chalk outlines around our shadows in the morning, again at midday, and finally before the children go home. This would demonstrate how the sun is constantly moving. We would discuss directions and where the sun rises and sets.
These activities encourage scientific thinking by observing, asking questions, and making predictions in a fun and engaging way. They also allow for integration with art, oral language for language development, discussion of the sun as a star, and geography through learning about directions. It is also a lot of fun for the children.Adam
I think this is a great idea. If you wanted, you could also add a step where children record their predictions and results. Younger children could do this in pictures form.
One inquiry based activity I have used focuses on exploring the planet earth from space. It is an engaging and hands on experience that captures children’s curiosity. The lesson begins with a real image of Earth to spark interest, followed by the question: Why is Earth blue and white? This invites the children to share their ideas and interpretations of why our planet appears this way.
To investigate, the children work in groups using real materials such as water, cotton, blue food colouring, paper or other resources they suggest themselves. They create physical models of the planet to explore how light interacts with different surfaces, helping to make abstract concepts more concrete. By shining a torch over their models to represent the Sun, they can observe how various surfaces reflect light and consider how earth’s appearance changes when viewed from space.
The children record their findings using age appropriate methods such as drawings or pictograms. As a reflective activity, they can create an “Earth postcard” depicting the planet from space, labelled with their observations, and share it with their peers.My name is Damien, and I’m originally from Derry but currently teach in Dublin. I particularly enjoy teaching about Space, as it’s a subject that fascinates the children. They never fail to impress me with how much they already know and the many thoughtful questions they ask. I’m excited to deepen my own understanding of the topic through this course. My favourite fact about space is that the Sun is large enough to hold one million Earths inside it.
Conor
I completely agree. Songs, poems, and artworks have a powerful ability to deepen our connection with the night sky and spark a sense of wonder. President Michael D. Higgins poem “Stardust” beautifully captures the idea that we are all part of the universe, made from the same cosmic elements, which fosters a sense of unity and reflection.
Describe how you could implement a version of “Design Your own Dark Sky place” in your school/classroom?
Introducing a Design Your Own Dark Sky Place activity in my classroom would be a fun way to raise awareness about light pollution and conservation. To start, I would organise the children into small groups and provide them with resources such as maps, art supplies, and research materials. Each group would select a location like a park, the school grounds and reimagine it as a space designed to minimise light pollution.
The children would brainstorm features that support a dark sky environment, such as installing shielded lighting, planting trees to block excess light, and creating designated stargazing areas. They would then illustrate or build models of their envisioned dark sky place, explaining the reasoning behind their design elements.Finally, groups would present their projects to the class, highlighting how their designs help protect nocturnal wildlife, improve stargazing experiences, and support environmental awareness. This activity fosters creativity, collaboration while helping students explore real world solutions for creating dark sky friendly spaces in their community.
This is an excellent idea. I like how it connects the children to their community and involves real world engagement with the Dargle River. Wicklow county council will have lots of resources I’m sure, the library will be a good place to start.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
This topic is great for all classes at primary level and can easily be done as part of SESE and SPHE to build environmental awareness.
I’d use a KWL chart to see what the children already know about nocturnal animals, especially those in our local area. From there, we could explore key creatures like bats, owls, and hedgehogs, and discuss how they depend on dark skies to survive.
To make it more hands on, each group could take on a different nocturnal animal or insect, doing a project and then sharing what they’ve learned with the rest of the class. This would spark some great conversations about what these animals need to thrive. We could explore how they rely on dark skies for finding food, staying safe from predators and maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
The children could even sort which of these is most important for their animal. We could also take action as a school. The children could create posters and an information video for our school website, challenging them to teach their own families how to reduce light pollution.
