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Children infant classes always get excited when we carry out the dancing raisins experiment. It is a go-to experiment used during Science Week with infant classes. The main hall of the school is given over to the different classes who take turns to demonstrate to their school peers and to visit and observe the experiments undertaken by other classes.
With Infant classes, some supervision is required however allowing the children to discover and witness themselves really piques their interest and curiosity. It is an excellent STEM activity that can also be used with slightly older children using predictions and observations (which can also be used with Infants), we record our findings in copies. It introduces scientific vocabulary and familiarises the children with procedural writing.
We consider what might happen if we were to substitute the raisins with items of different density/buoyancy, such as coins, rice, match (wooden) sticks. This always generates lots of excitement and curiosity. There are plenty of opportunities for ‘Oops questions, such as, Oops, I spilled my ‘Sprite’, what might happen if we use water now instead of the fizzy drink?’Even the children in 6th observing the experiments always marvel at the spectacle. A simple experiment which appeals to all ages.
I have used similar lesson plans to that of ESERO 7 Animals in the cold. Winter is the ideal theme which to link Shape in Maths, Art – build own Polar Express using used circles for wheels, rectangles and squares for body and windows of train and a triangle for the roof of the cab and in Science – exploring the North and South Pole. and the animals that live there.
Watching small segments of the film The Polar Express, across December, would lead to discussion as to who or what animals we could meet in the North Pole. I think the photos in the Esero lesson would be very useful to look at the fur and feathers. It is always interesting to see which of the children know that Polar Bears and Penguins live in entirely different places. I would also borrow the suggestion in the lesson plan of applying Vaseline to the hands of the children. We could use prediction to prompt what would happen if we poured water over their hands. Additionally, I would model ‘scientific words’ to extend vocabulary – water repellent. insulation, protective barrier etc. With slightly older children you could explore the properties of materials. It is a great topic that can go many directions to develop science skills.
Hi Leana, I was actually thinking the same thing. Module 4 is packed full of many resources that could be used across all classes not just infant. I need to spend some time getting more familiar with Stellarium software
With infant classes Story is the ideal way to introduce a topic. One of the books that I return to, time and time again is Tim Jeffers ‘How to Catch a Star’. I am not surprised to see that other participants on the course have also referenced this book! I would base an Art lesson around the story, linking it also to SPHE and developing friendships.
Art Lesson.
Materials: Wax crayons, diluted black paint, white card and paint brushes.
Using crayons the children draw how they imagine space looks like. We would look at images from the book as a stimulus. I would encourage them to lean heavily on the crayons so that the colours pop in the final picture. (Possibly more suited to children in SI or First Class who have developed the tripod grip). Using the black wash, the children would paint over their sky. It is lovely to watch their reactions when the paint does not adhere to wax drawings. I have found that they marvel at the contrast between the black was and the coloured crayons.I particularly enjoyed The Day and Night – My Sky Tonight video. It was so simple but it never occurred to me to attach bears to a globe to teach about day and night. As an extension, you could use Velcro dots (hook) on the base of the bears and place corresponding (loop) sides randomly around the globe to consider the location of the sun in other countries vis a vis Ireland.
It would appear obvious to link this to the strand Time in Maths. I imagine many of us who have taught younger classes have used the term ‘When it’s daytime in Ireland, it’s nighttime in Australia’. Actually taping bears to the two locations and rotating the globe, illustrates this wonderfully! I also would use the activity of children turning on the spot in the darkened room with the light. It is a fantastic out of seat activity suited to experiential learners.
I have also taken note of the books mentioned by Frank Ashe ‘The Sun is my favourite star’ and ‘Moonbear’s Shadow’ to support learning. They could be used as a gentle way to either introduce the topic or to conclude.It is so true that Senior Infants are so full of wonder and excitement. It is a really nice age with which to explore Space.
I would introduce my enquiry based activity under the Aistear Theme ‘exploring and thinking’ in Space. I would use the following stations
- Crafts
- Roleplay
- Sensory
- Literacy
- For crafts – developing fine motor skills through colouring space themed sheets
Use of playdough to make simple representations of the planets. Manipulating the dough with fingers and palms to make different colours sized planets. - Roleplay: Dress up and pretend that you are walking on the moon. I would also have boxes, tin foil and sand at this station to fuel their imaginations.
- Sensory: Different covered ‘Sensory boxes’ containing glitter, flour, sand, marbles to give an impression of how the moon might feel in our hands.
- Literacy: At this station, this children would listen and make predictions. Possible stories include Space Dog (Mini Grey) or Winnie and Wilbur in Space (Valerie Thomas). At this station we could extend vocabulary by modelling and asking questions ‘I would what Winne might need to take on her trip to space…….?’ I wonder how long it would take Winnie to get to the moon?
Hi,
My name is Dee, my class is yet to be confirmed in my school but was most recently teaching 3rd class.
My fun fact is that The Milky Way smells of raspberries, rum and other alcohol. How did scientists ascertain this?
Hi Michelle, I agree that hands on learning is more effective. Field trips where the children buddy up and looking for particular items generates lots of excitement in my class. From previous years I recall how engaged children were when there were different workshops were arranged in the school. Consequently, I imagine they would adore a visit from ARC!
I am fortunate to live by the coast where ‘adopt a patch of beach’ has been active for fifteen years. Locals, schools and various groups pick up litter and maintain small areas along the beach. It proves the point ‘in unity, there is strength.
I try to use ‘discreet’ learning and sometimes not so discreet learning to encourage sustainability in the classroom and by extension, the surrounds – using scrape paper to draw on, use of recycling bins in the classroom, switching off all lights and equipment when not in the classroom. The school established a gardening club which is extremely active, taking the message out of the classroom and into the garden. The impact on the children has been far more potent. Much effort has been put into planting vegetable beds and the choice of plants to attract pollinators. The children are putting into practice ‘from field to fork’. We want the garden to be a sustainable entity, so a roster has been set up for the summer months, to maintain our wormery with the view, to generating our own compost for the plants. Also, as a school, in an attempt to promote and sustain biodiversity, we placed bug ‘hotels’ at various locations, over the past few years. This year we went further and participated in ‘No mow May’.
We lead by example so hopefully we are instilling a sense of responsibility in the children.Hi again Michelle, I agree that children are often reluctant to try fish. I actually thought that the BIM Nutrition Booklet, which listed a whole array of fish, might just pique their curiosity with regard to sampling different fish.
The school in which I work seeks to review and revise its healthy food policy on an ongoing basis. We strongly discourage parents from sending in cakes and sweets to celebrate occasions but it is not always easy to implement.
Most years I would discuss the food pyramid with my class – SPHE (RSE Programme), Science, Learn Together. This lesson was really enlightening, as I was unaware just how ‘super’ a food fish is. I was really surprised to learn about the high levels of certain micronutrients (Iron, Zinc, Calcium and Potassium), contained in fish, additional to being rich in Omega-3. I spent some time reading through the BIM Seafood Handbook. It fascinated me to discover the levels of macro and micronutrients of personal favourites. Lemon Sole is a good choice! When discussing the Food Pyramid, I definitely think, this booklet could be used with older children to highlight the nutrients found in different fish. A fun activity could be to compare levels of selected nutrients found fin fish as to those in shellfish or white fish to oily fish. The eye spy game could be used with younger classes in a variety of guises – Science, Art, Literacy, Maths, Geography, enabling them to read and recognise sustainable logos, design their own logo or even in Maths to support place value learning by identifying units or tens when reading gram content.
