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Hi keith
I really like how you’ve made the activity so hands on and fun, especially using the story and NASA videos, making and decorating the rockets, and then letting the children test different bottles and see how far their rockets can fly.
For Space Week I would choose the Rocket Activity and adapt it for my Junior Infant class. I think this would be a fun activity that would let the kids explore forces, movement and cause and effect while learning about rockets. I’d start by showing them how to make the paper rocket that sits on top of a plastic bottle. The kids could decorate their rockets and we’d then use different sized bottles and ask the children to make predictions about which rocket they think will travel the furthest. They could take turns squeezing the bottles and watching their rockets fly. I would encourage the children to ask questions and we could compare our results and talk about why some rockets travelled further than others. This would be particularly suitable for Junior Infants because it involves play. Id also ask them what makes the rocket come back down reminding them of gravity.
Hi Sarah,
I really like how you’ve made the activity so hands on, especially the ice cube experiment as it would make learning about how animals survive in cold places fun and easy for the children to understand.
I would choose the online resource and tools activity focusing on Marvin and Milo and adapt it for Junior Infants. I think Marvin and Milo would be a fun way to introduce the kids to simple STEM concepts through stories, experiments and hands on learning.
I’d begin by introducing marvin and milo to the kids and showing them a short activity or experiment. Before starting I’d ask them what they think might happen and encourage them to make predictions. Because they are Junior Infants, the activity would be very simple and focus on observation and questioning or describing what they can see.
I would also allow them to work in small groups and record their learning through drawings. This would support oral language, early scientific skills and collaboration. I like that Marvin and Milo can make STEM learning feel like play but aL so encourages children to be curious, ask questions and explore. I would use the resource regularly throughout the year to build their confidence and interest in STEM from an early age.
Hi Denise,
I really like your idea, especially how you use the kids imagination and curiosity about aliens to make learning about space fun. You’re also giving them opportunities to be creative, develop their language skills and work together through play which is great.
I would choose the Stars activity and adapt the constellation activity to suit Junior and Senior Infants. I think creating constellations using paper, string and tin foil would be possible for them to do instead of adapting to straws. We could choose a simple constellation like the Big Dipper and use black paper as the night sky. They could place small pieces of tin foil to represent the stars and use string to join the stars together to create the constellation.
For Junior Infants, I would keep the constellations very simple with only a small number of stars and short pieces of string. Rather than expecting children to measure accurately, I would have pre-cut lengths of string. For Senior Infants, I would introduce simple measuring with a ruler and let the children measure and cut the string with support.
I would explain that the distances on our models are not the real distances between stars. The focus would be on recognising patterns, measuring and developing an understanding that people have connected stars to make recognisable shapes called constellations.
Hi Catherine,
I really like your idea as it combines hands-on, creative and engaging activities, particularly the papier-mâché planets, songs and mnemonic, which would help the children develop a memorable understanding of the planets while encouraging curiosity and creativity.
I would use the Sun and Shadows activity set with my Junior Infant class to help the children explore how the Sun creates shadows. I would start by taking the kids outside on a sunny day and asking them what they notice about their shadows. We would talk about how a shadow is made when our bodies block the sunlight.
As a fun activity, I would give each child some chalk and help them outline their body and shadow on the ground. We could then look at the outlines and discuss their size, shape and position. They could make predictions about what might happen to their shadows later in the day.
Later, we would return outside and compare the new shadows with the chalk outlines. The kids would notice that the shadows have moved and may be longer or shorter. This would encourage them to ask questions and develop an understanding that the Sun changes position in the sky during the day, causing shadows to change. I would record their observations through photographs and class discussions.
Hi Brendan
I really like this answer because the investigation is engaging, age-appropriate and gives children a great opportunity to think and learn like scientists.
Hello, My name is Erica Stokes and I teach Junior and Senior Infants. My favourite space fact is that Saturn would float if you could put it in a big enough bath because its average density is lower than waters.
For the inquiry-based activity, I would explore gravity using an apple. I would start by showing the kids an apple and asking what do you think will happen if I drop it? I’d encourage them to make predictions before dropping the apple and observing what happens. I’d ask them why did the apple fall down? The kids could test other safe classroom objects and compare what happens. This activity would introduce the idea that gravity is a force that pulls objects towards the ground.