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I have decided to choose Space-Designing a Spacecraft based on Space Week’s content. I have already earmarked Space Week in my school diary and all the reference materials from this course to utilise, both in my own classroom and to share with my colleagues.
Firstly, I would show the pupils a picture of a spacecraft on the board and generate discussion about it. I would pose some questions e.g. What is it? What is it used for? Where does it travel to? Who might travel in it? What size might it be? What shapes can you see? Why do you think it is designed like that?
Then, I would explain to the children that the very first spacecraft left Earth in the year 1957. I would lay out materials and explain that we are going to make a spacecraft using a variety of materials i.e. paint, paintbrushes, glue, coloured paper, water, effervescent tablets and tube and a scissors. I would model how to make a spacecraft in a step-by-step manner. Then, I would display the visual pictures from page. 2 of the Spacecraft Lesson on the board for the pupils to follow (in small groups).
*We would aim to perform the task outside if possible.To conclude, I would ask the pupils to revise the steps and complete a sequencing activity (create a storyboard of the steps involved and include drawings and key words also).
I am the exact same Valerie. What a simple yet practical and effective way for younger classes to explore the concept of rockets. The plastic cartons reminds me of asking pupils to bring materials in for Junk Art in Aistear. It just shows how everyday items can be used in so many different ways in the classroom! I will have First Class in September so when it comes to teaching this, I feel I will start with the Rocket Mice and then progress to the Fizzy Rockets if I feel the pupils are able for them.
I have decided to focus on Hands-on classroom themed activities-Animals in the cold
I would use this activity in the classroom and explore animals in the cold in a very fun, engaging and interactive way. I would use ideas from Animals in the cold climate-Lesson 7-Esero and also add in my own ideas.
Introduction: I would firstly explore different types of weather in general and show the pupils a video based on weather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfamR09Jklw
We will discuss key vocabulary i.e. sun, rain, clouds, snow, thunder, lightning, hot, cold etc.Development: Look at a map of the world and point out Ireland-discuss our weather. Point to various places and guess what the weather is like e.g. North Pole, South Pole. Ask the pupils can they think of any films/cartoons with these places in them? Point to Antarctica-pose the question? What would the weather be like here? Hot or cold? What animals would live there? Show the pupils the story of Polar Bears and Penguins-A Contrast Book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nKKbz_wSg0
Application: Recap one the polar bears’ and penguins’ key features for survival in an extremely cold climate/weather conditions. Ask the pupils to sketch their favourite-a penguin or polar bear and label the parts of their bodies. I will display key vocabulary on the board for the pupils.
Conclusion: Hot-seat a penguin or polar bear and ask it questions e.g. What is your name? What age are you? Where do you live? How do you survive?
I could further incorporate STEM by providing opportunities for the pupils to incorporate technology into the lesson and further explore the life of penguins and polar bears on apps such as National Geographic Kids and Kiddle.
I couldn’t agree with you more Anne! Stellarium is a fantastic tool and resource that I will be sure to bring to life in my classroom next year! I can see it really engaging the pupils and making way for exploration and guided discovery learning!
I haver chosen to base my lesson on Space and Aliens. I would follow a number of steps in the lesson to explore the theme of space and aliens with my First Class next year.
Introduction: I would pose the question has anybody ever heard of aliens before? What or who are they? Where do they live? What do they look like?
Development: I would introduce the story ‘I’m from Outer Space! Meet an Alien’ by Lisa Bullard and illustrated by Mike Moran. We will discuss what an author is, what an illustrator is and predict what is going to happen in the story by looking at the pictures and by using any prior knowledge of aliens also. The story will explore the life of an alien named Zeeton and his journey on his spaceship. We will follow Zeeton’s journey to Planet Earth also! We will focus on the skills of prediction and questioning throughout the lesson.
Application: The pupils will discuss what they perceive aliens to look like i.e. colour, size, shape. We will discuss the fact that no aliens have been found yet but we can see them as imaginary characters/creatures. The pupils will then be given A4 paper and a variety of mediums to complete their drawing and picture and come up with a name for their alien.
Conclusion: The pupils will introduce their alien friend to the class and describe it. A poem called ‘The Alien’ will be read also.
Sinad, I really like your idea of using a story as a stimulus for your lesson on space. “Aliens Love Underpants” is a great story and is sure to gain the pupils’ interest and attention. I am very intrigued by the various art and science activities you have included here also! I particularly like the idea of growing your own alien. Thank you for this wonderful inspiration.
Celine, I really love this idea. I have always found that chalk is very popular in the playground and the pupils really love using it. This is a perfect example of using it in a child friendly, fun and educational way. I really like how you revisited at different stages of the day to mark and outline their shadows. I am definitely going to do this with my class next year. Thank you!
I found Module 2 to be a very interesting, informative and interactive module. I have decided to focus on Activity Set: The Planets.I would base my lesson on, and take several of the ideas from the Esero lesson plan provided ‘Journey through the Solar System’. I would also tweak/change some of the ideas to suit my class level.
I really like the idea of introducing the lesson by starting with the pupils’ locality and where they live and then extending the conversation to the county/country they live in, the continent they live on and what planet they live on i.e. Planet Earth. This will lead very nicely into a discussion about the Solar System and all the planets. I would play the “We Are The Planets’ song here by StoryBots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHAqT4hXnMw to allow the pupils to visualize the planets and the position of the sun. I would also show the pupils simple profiles of each planet i.e. colour, size, position from the sun and discuss them as a class.
I would then play the ‘Planet Game’ using hula hoops and place the yellow sun in the middle. I would explain to the pupils that they can ‘planet hop’ between planets and when they land on a planet, they have to pose a question e.g. ‘Mars, what colour are you?’ (while having the planet profiles visible to the pupils as a reference).
Then, I would finish the lesson by passing a speaking object to each pupil and ask them to share one fun fact they learned or one thing about the lesson they really enjoyed. If there was time, I would play The Planet Song again.
The Egg Drop Challenge is a favourite of mine too. It really engages the pupils and allows them to explore the concept in a fun and interactive way. It is so interesting listening to, and observing the pupils designing and creating a model to prevent the egg from breaking! It affords them the opportunity to explore the characteristics of a variety of materials and what is effective/ineffective.
Hi. My name is Emma and I am looking forward to teaching First Class in September.
My fun space fact is one million Earths could fit inside the Sun!
An example of an inquiry based activity that I would carry out with my class would be ‘Tornado in a Bottle’. This is based on a lesson plan from Science Foundation Ireland
https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/sci_at_home_tornado.pdf
This would involve discussing the steps of the process with the pupils and discussing what we all know currently about tornadoes through a KWL process.We would also discuss what we would like to find out and how we might carry out the experiment.
1. Equipment-gathering the necessary equipment needed for the experiment i.e. clear plastic bottles, water, food colouring, glitter and tape.
2.Experiment-The pupils will orally predict how to use the equipment create a tornado and once it has been confirmed, the pupils can create their own tornadoes in a bottle following the steps as outlined in the Tornado in a Bottle experiment.
3. Results and Conclusion-the pupils will observe and discuss what happened and why it happened.
The pupils will also draw a picture/pictures sequencing the steps involved. The pupils can reflect on what they learned as part of the KWL process.
