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Resource: Design a Martian (from Mars Booklet) (2nd Class)
I would begin by asking the children, “If life existed on Mars, what might it look like and why?” I would show images of Mars and encourage them to observe its surface and temperature. Rather than providing answers, I would use open-ended questions such as, “How would a Martian move?”, “What would it need to survive?”, and “How might its body help it live there?”
I would encourage the children to investigate these ideas through discussion, sketching, and sharing their predictions. I would scaffold them by questioning do we know animals that live in very cold habitats, do we know any animals that live with very little water and talking about how these animals are adapted for these environments. I would then ask them to design and create their own Martian using a range of materials such as playdough and fabrics, explaining how each feature helps it survive on Mars. I would facilitate opportunities for pupils to compare ideas with their peers and refine their designs based on new thinking. To conclude, I would organise a gallery walk where the children present their Martians and answer questions from classmates. I would finish with a reflection on what they liked about other children’s ideas and whether these could be incorporated in their own designs.
I like the idea of beginning the topic by looking at different cultural representations of the moon. We have a very multi-cultural school and I think that this is a lovely way of introducing the topic to the children and allowing them to bring some of their own knowledge about the topic to school.
Resource- What does the moon look like? (2nd class)
In this lesson, I would want the children to learn about the four main phases of the Moon: New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter. I would begin by reading a story about the Moon to get them interested and encourage discussion. Next, I would create a Moon Word Bank with the class using pictures, books, and objects they had brought from home.
I would ask the children to observe the Moon at home over four weeks and draw what they saw each week (trying to start with a full moon). Back in class, we would compare our drawings and talk about how the Moon seemed to change shape. At this stage I would encourage the children to discuss in pairs what they notice about their drawings. What reasons could there be for why the moon looks different during each of the weeks. I would tease out that the moon does not change but the way in which the sun lights the moon is what causes the moon to look different to us.
Finally, I would show pictures of the Moon’s phases and finish with the movement activity included where the children used their bodies to represent each phase.
Investigation- Day/Night Cycle of Earth
I would begin the lesson by introducing the class to my brother in Australia. I would video call him in the morning and have him explain that it is actually quite late at night in Australia.
I would then brainstorm some questions with the classes such as ‘What do you notice about the sky during day/night?’,’ Have you ever seen the sun coming up/going down?”What causes Day/Night’?’Does the sun move or are we moving’ etc.
Next the kids would rotate between different stations. At one station, they use a globe and torch to investigate how Earth’s rotation changes which areas receive sunlight. At another, they examine images of Earth taken at different times of the day and identify patterns. At a third station, they compare sunrise and sunset times from different locations and discuss what they notice.
Groups record their observations, identify patterns, and develop an explanation based on what they have observed.As a follow up, I loved the idea another poster had of tracking shadows over the course of a day to see how the earth is moving gradually over the course of the school day.
Sounds like a great way of showing how to earth is rotating! Lovely idea and great to get them outside and active.