Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Introducing weather stations is a lovely idea to add to the lesson and is a great opportunity for oral language development.
This sounds like a lovely week of Space themed activities that the pupils would really love to be involved in.
Activity: Rocket Mice
This is a lovely activity that I think could be taught with junior, middle and senior classes. I would introduce the lesson with a video of a rocket launching into space. I have shown the video of Neil Armstrong’s rocket launching to my classes before. The pupils always find it fascinating and it is a lovely way to integrate History into the lesson.I would put the class into groups of 3-4 to make and design the rocket. This would be a lovely lesson to take outside and have a competition to see which mouse flies the furthest etc.
To develop the lesson further, I would use the idea of introducing different size bottles to see what impact it has on the mouse. The younger children would really engage with this lesson and I feel it is a great introduction to how pressure works for the Senior Classes.
Activity Set: Hands-on classroom themed activities
There are many nice lessons and ideas provided in this module for some class lessons. I think there are a lot of ways to teach the children about where people live and different types of homes. I liked the idea of building a home. For this lesson, I would also use the idea of showing the pupils some different houses in Ireland as an introduction and asking the pupils to work in pairs to describe the houses and if they are similar or different to their own. Then I would encourage the pupils to describe their homes.I would introduce the ‘Build a Home’ activity then, telling the children that they will be making a house using the materials provided. They will be encouraged to draw out a plan of the house first to develop their imagination and planning skills.
To conclude the lesson, I would invite the pupils to go on a walk around the room to see the different type houses made on the tables. It would be lovely to hear the pupils chatting to each other and discussing the houses.
As a follow-on lesson, I would teach about the different types of houses around the world and how they are built and influenced by the climate in that region. This could lead to the lesson “Hot and Cold” and eventually “What Clothes to Wear”.Activity Set : Stars
To introduce this activity, I would display a night sky on the board. Pupils would discuss the picture focusing on the stars, discussing their prior knowledge and sharing their thoughts and opinions about stars.I would then split the class into 6 groups and each group would be given a star card. On the back of the star card, there would be an interesting fact about stars that the pupils read with their group.
After a few minutes, the groups would pass their star card to the next table and read and discuss the new star card on their table.We would then introduce the ‘Starry Sky’ activity, creating a picture of a night sky with stars. When the pupils are finished, in groups they will try and recall some of the facts that they learned from the star cards earlier in the lesson. As a fun concluding activity, the pupils must think of a name for a star in the sky.
Marking shadows at different times of the day would be a very fun and engaging activity. It would be memorable for the children and help them to recall facts that they have learned.
Activity Set: The Planets
I would introduce this lesson by playing the rap ’We are the Planets’ . I have introduced this song every year when teaching the middle classes. The pupils really love it and engage well with the song. After playing the song to them, I would ask the children what facts they heard about the planets and write their facts on the board. This would lead to further discussion on the pupils’ prior knowledge about planets.
To develop the lesson, I would use bring the pupils to the halla or out to the yard to play the planet game. As well as having the hoops on the ground, I would place a card with 5 facts inside each hoop for the pupils to read. I would follow this game with the ‘Spin your Own Planet’ game, teaching the students about planets spinning on their axis.
To conclude the lesson, I would sing the song ‘We are the Planets’ again with the class to recap some of the facts they listened to and consolidate learning.What is a Shadow?- Inquiry Based Activity
Engage the pupils in a fun activity by giving them a series of shadow pictures. The pupils must work in groups to guess what the shadows might be. The children can call out many possible answers which makes the activity more interesting. At the end of the activity, look at and discuss the answers as a class.Pose a question- I wonder how are these shadows formed? Discuss possible ideas as a class.
In groups the children must investigate and explore using the materials provided(sheet of paper, small objects, pencil) how a shadow is formed. In groups, predict what might happen when they investigate with the torch. Encourage them to draw the shadows on the piece of paper using the pencil.
At the end of the investigation, the groups can discuss and present their sheet with the shadows drawn on it to the class.
Take the next step-
Think about how shadows are formed on the ground from the sun.
Further investigate shadows using the torch, objects and sheet of paper by placing the torch closer and further away from the objects and discuss the results.My name is Eimear and I am teaching in Cork City. I have taught Sixth Class the last two years and spent a number of years teaching First and Second Class.
I love teaching the theme of Planets and Space as it is relevant and fascinating for all age groups and there are numerous activities to do with the class.A fact that I find interesting is that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on Earth.
Thanks Una for sharing this story recommendation. I have come across Storybots before. They have some lovely interesting songs that are really engaging for the class.
I would do a rocket lesson with the class. To introduce the lesson, I would show some images of rockets and then a video of a rocket launching to engage the class and start a discussion. There are some lovely recommendations of books from this presentation that would be nice to read with this class.
I would then tell the children that they will be designing and making their own rocket. Each child will be given a sheet of paper to design their rocket. I would give the class some time to discuss rockets in their class groups before drawing a plan and writing words to describe their rocket. I would distribute different materials to the class to make their rockets. Each child would be given the opportunity to present their rocket to the class and they could fly the rockets afterwards.
I really like the ‘Rocket Mice’ idea and would do this as a follow-up lesson. The children could also bring in empty containers from home to experiment with.
This is a lovely video, thanks for sharing! I always find an engaging song very effective at the beginning of a lesson.
I like the ideas given in the lesson ‘Where do you live?’
To begin this lesson, I would ask the children to talk about their own house in their class groups, discussing the colour, their favourite room and different things you would see outside their house. Next as a class, we would discuss different types of houses in our area and I would display a picture on the board to help them with ideas. The children would be encouraged to describe the different features of homes and what makes each one so unique.
Then, the class would get a chance to design a house. They would be given a sheet of paper to plan their design and think about what might be outside the house. They would be encouraged to write down the different materials that would help build this house.
After some time, the class would be given some modelling materials to build their house and discuss it in their groups.
I like the idea of creating a village with the houses and would incorporate this into the end of the lesson.
As a follow-on lesson, I would teach the class about other types of homes that children live in around the world and how climate and environment play a role in these types of houses.I would teach a lesson on aliens. I would ask the class ‘What is an alien?’ and listen to answers from the class. Next, each group will be given a different planet and will be asked to imagine what life would be like if there were aliens living on them. This lesson would follow on from Planets in Space. Each group will be given three facts about their planet to remind them of what they have previously learned and a large sheet of paper to draw their aliens.
After their group work , the children will present their picture to the class and discuss their aliens. At the end of each presentation, the other groups will be invited to share their thoughts and discuss the different aliens. Once the group presentations are finished, the class will be asked to point out differences and similarities between the aliens from each planet.
To conclude, the class will take part in role-play and imagine that they are the aliens living on their planet.
