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Rockets and Alien Chemistry – for this I would use the make a rocket lesson with my class. Firstly, to engage the class we would look at videos of the launching of rockets or perhaps read the book Aliens in Underpants Save the World.
Then using the Milo & Marvin cartoons as stimulus we would make a balloon rocket. The cartoon is great to get them interested and asking relevant questions.
We will discuss the end result and try to understand that as the air rushes out it propels the balloon forward. We will then apply what we have learned into other learning situations such as sports (e.g. archery).
The making a Spacecraft activity is another lesson that would work well during Space Week and I am looking forward to trying this one also.A digital class book is such a great idea – not something I would have thought of until reading this. Excited to try doing this with my class this year.
I particularly liked the activity ‘What clothes to Wear’ so I will be using this as my lesson along with the Investigating Children’s Coats activity as outlined on the Curious Minds Teachers Planning Guide. I feel both these activities would really engage my class and cater for all needs. The resources would further enhance Science lessons.
A dressing up box would be used and the children will select suitable clothes from this e.g summer clothes/winter clothes and will explain why they chose the particular clothes for summer and for winter. This will be integrated with oral language and possibly art also. Children will recognise that some materials keep us warmer than others while some cool us down better than others. We can also investigate and recognise that plants and animals provide us with materials with which to make clothes e.g sheep and cows. The children can then design their own clothes for either summer or winter using materials we have just discussed and learned about.I liked the ,Where do you live’ activity also and agree it would be a good opportunity for effective differentiation.
Activity Set: The Moon.
I would use the Man in the Moon activity outlined on the website in order to teach the children that the moon is a sphere and that it does not always look the same. A lot of children are more visual learners so this will work well.
Engaging their interest first using a white paper circle and white paper crescent is a great idea. The Moon rhyme is also a great lesson introduction.
Talk and discussion/questioning will be important in this lesson once the class have made their moons = asking why they made their moons the way they did which leads in to explaining how we see one side of the moon from Earth sometimes it is a circle and sometimes it is a crescent. The worksheet Figures in the Moon will act as consolidation for the lesson.The resource I plan on using next year is Earth Mosaics. Laying the templates in a circle is great way of showing the children there is no ‘up and down’. I think I will incorporate this into art class. To be honest there were many useful activities in this module that can be used when teaching around the theme of the Moon.
The hands on activities outlined on the website will be really helpful when planning science lessons. I especially liked the lesson plan for Mighty Materials and planning a trigger to catch their attention – particularly in the junior classes. Reflections are important and these are something I hadn’t been doing recently so I will start asking my class what they have learned or a favourite fact from the lesson.
Hi my name is Emma and I will be teaching 2nd class in September.
Fun space fact – if you were to fly a plane to Pluto the journey would take more than 800 years!The resource I plan on using on return to school is Earth Mosaics. Once the templates are laid in a circle and the children discover there is no ‘up and down’ – a great way to break their fixation on up or down.
I think I will incorporate the Earth Mosaics resource with Art class. The template for this is very useful so each child will get a template and we will lay them on the floor to form a round mosaic. Visuals such as this completed mosaic are a great way to see for themselves – in this case the no real ‘up and down’ fact.
I believe this will work well with my class.I particularly liked the following resources/activities: What Clothes to Wear (ESERO) and Investigating Children’s Coats (Curious Minds) and feel these are activities which would engage my class.
I hope to use the resources to further enhance Science lessons – such as What Clothes to Wear and the dressing up box idea where children select suitable summer clothes and explain why these clothes in summer, and repeat the activity for winter. I will integrate this with oral language and also art and geography.
This will support the SSE process in school as I learnt how to examine science practice in our school and to find ways to improve science teaching and learning.
I am looking forward to using the ESERO resource – Lots and Lots of Stars along with the resource for making Star Lanterns (spaceweek.ie).
The plan is to create a starry sky by firstly looking at relevant images of night skies. Afterwards painting an A4 sheet to match the sky at night. Once this is dry the class will make stars using paint and toothbrushes. We will discuss the starry sky and use the worksheet to count the stars in the sky explaining that there are so many stars it takes a computer to count accurately.
