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Hi Sinead,
I love your introduction to this lesson!! It provides every child with the opportunity to engage in the discussion as every child has something to say about where they live. It is a great low ceiling high threshold introduction.
I would choose the activity set based on The Planets. This lesson will be aimed at Junior Infants. I will begin the lesson by posing a question to gain an understanding of the children’s prior knowledge of the topic. We will then have a quick brainstorm and create a mind map of the topic. Next up will be the story There’s No Place Like Space! by Tish Rabe. This introduces the planets in a fun way and gives the children more information to enhance their understanding of the topic. In groups the children will be given a chance to engage in an art activity where they use their newly acquired knowledge to create their own solar systems using a variety of resources. To finish the lesson I will have a short interactive quiz for the children to test their knowledge. As a conclusion I will play the planets song to consolidate their learning.
My inquiry based lesson would be centred around the moon and as a class we would explore why the moon changes shape. It would be a very open ended lesson where the children try to formulate their own understandings before being though about how the sun and the moon interact resulting in the moon changing shape. The children could be given opportunities to get creative and show the moon phases using materials of their choice – show and tell could follow.
Hi Caoimhe,
I love this idea of using teddy as a character in the lesson. You could really develop this lesson and do so many activities with it for example a real life teddy bears picnic with water activities to explore different materials!
Hi,
I’m Emma and I will be teaching Junior Infants this year. I am moving from 5th class and have covered the theme of Space with my previous classes and so I am really looking forward to adapting my lessons to suit the younger children. My fun fact about space is that Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.
The night sky has long been a source of wonder, inspiring songs, poems, and art. To begin this lesson I would task the children to compile a list themselves of all the songs, poems or art pieces associated with the night sky. I would then go through my list. The first song that comes to mind has to be twinkle, twinkle, little star. Although being short it is very effective and majority of children will be familiar with it. It sparks the children’s curiosity and further more complex songs can be introduced to enhance this curiosity. I would then follow this up with A sky full of stars by Coldplay. We would then move on to look at some poems that link well with our topic. The first poem I would use would be “The Moon” by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is an excellent example to use as it contains many poetic techniques such as rhyme, personification and imagery. All of these could be further discussed with the children to enhance their learning. I would possibly follow this up with “The Star” by Jane Taylor. Two paintings that I would focus on would be “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh and Caspar David Friedrich’s “Two Men Contemplating the Moon”.
How to engage a group of 5th class learners to explore biodiversity in our local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity:
1. Begin this lesson by explaining to two key terms of this lesson: Biodiversity and Light Pollution.
2. Introduce a fictional character which will be used as tool to explore biodiversity and will help the children to imagine what impacts light pollution is having on this character. Henry Hedgehog would be my fictional character of choice. A simple story will be used e.g. The Mystery of the Missing Moths
Read aloud or tell a short story:
Henry notices his moth friends aren’t visiting the flowers at night. The frogs are croaking less. Some birds don’t sleep well anymore. He suspects too much light is the problem.3. We will go on a local biodiversity hunt in our local area. The children will have checklists where they will be on the lookout for trees, plants, insects and birds. The children will be encouraged to look for signs of nocturnal animals.
4. I will assign a homework activity where the children will engage in light pollution investigation. With parental support the children will observe a variety of things with key questions to guide them.
• How bright is the sky at night?
• Are there streetlights near trees?
• Can they see stars?
• Do they notice moths, bats, or other night animals?
In class, findings will be discussed and a chart will be created with the help of the children. This will be on show in the classroom.
5. To finish this lesson the children will be encouraged to create a project to demonstrate their learning. A choice board will be provided to give them a variety of options to express their ideas.Hi Jennifer,
I teach in a school in Dublin and I think the children would find it really interesting to compare their locality to a rural area and I feel they would find the results to be startling. This might push them to make more on a positive effort to reduce their light pollution.
Option 1:
To begin this lesson with my 5th class students we would explore the question ‘What is light pollution?’. I will use this as a guide to see what background knowledge my students have on the topic and I will alter my content based on gaps in their knowledge. Key vocabulary would include terms such as glare, skyglow, light trespass, and clutter. Children will then explore the Globe at Night website to count visible stars from school and they will compare with star charts. They will record their observations on a whiteboard and we will have a discussion as a whole class. We will then take our learning outside the classroom and we will go on a field trip around the local environment to check for light trespass. The children will use the app Lux Light Meter Pro to assist them with this. The final task the children will engage in will to be to create a campaign to help educate other classes/communities about light pollution, the impacts light pollution has on the environment and give ways that we can help reduce light pollution.Hi Aoife,
The ESERO resource sounds like a great idea and I always find that the children will remember more when they are actively involved in the learning.
Task 3 – Moon Observation for 5th Class: “Morning Moon Watch & Create”
Several days before the activity, I will set up a hands-on moon phase demo. Using a ball and flashlight in a dimmed room, we’ll act out how the Moon appears to change shape as it orbits Earth. This will be a hands on activity for the children and will provide a good foundation which will be built upon.Following on from this activity I will show the class a short video that clearly explains lunar phases (Phases of the Moon: Astronomy and Space for Kids by FreeSchool). This visual resource will reinforce the previous hands on activity strengthening the children’s learning.
The children will then be given the task of engaging in a “Morning Moon Watch”. For this activity the children will observe the waning crescent Moon from home—using binoculars, if available, and they will sketch its shape, brightness, and position in a Moon Logbook.
When the children come to school each pupil creates a small artwork (drawing, collage, or model) inspired by their Moon observations that day. This adds a creative reflection layer to their scientific work.
To conclude this lesson we will have a class discussion where the students will present their observations, thoughts and art to the class. We’ll explore together:
• Why the Moon appears to change shape
• How lunar phases connect to tides, calendars, and space science.Hi Rachel,
I love the layout of this lesson as it is engaging involves a variety of activities and would spark the children’s interest.
The activity I would chose would be option 3 where my 5th class students would observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day. I would make this activity a part of our daily routine for a specified period of time (a week or longer if engagement is high). The children will be given the task of choosing an outdoor spot in the school environment with a clear view of the sky. During the specified period of time the children will note where the Sun rises and sets each day using simple drawings or notes in their science copies. The children can use a compass or compass app on a digital technology to note directions. We will vary the time of day where we complete this activity so they can observe and discuss differences. As an added activity we will use a stick in the ground to track shadows at these times to help visualize the Sun’s movement. To finish the lesson we will engage in a discussion on patterns observed, such as how the Sun rises in the east, moves across the sky, and sets in the west.
