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I love that story and how you’ve used it to introduce the lesson—it would make the rocket activity really exciting for the children. The hands-on investigation is a great way to get the children thinking, talking, and working together while also having lots of fun with science.
I would use the Fizzing and Foaming activities in my Junior Infant classroom.
Whole-class discussion: Ask the children if they have ever seen bubbles in fizzy drinks. Encourage them to describe what they see, hear and feel before introducing the experiment. The questions suggested in this activity would help stimulate curiosity and scientific thinking.
Next, demonstrate dancing raisins experiment and ask the children to predict what they think will happen before placing raisins into water and fizzy water. As they observe the raisins moving up and down, encourage them to describe what they notice using simple scientific vocabulary such as bubble, float, sink, gas, and fizz.
Working in small groups the children could create a glittery fizzing mixture using baking soda, food colouring, glitter and washing-up liquid before adding vinegar. This activity encourages teamwork, communication and problem-solving while providing an exciting visual demonstration of a chemical reaction. After, discuss why the mixture foamed and compare it to a volcano.
Using the Alien Slime Activity
Introduce the slime activity as a sensory investigation. Before mixing the ingredients, encourage the children to feel and describe the cornflour (eg. soft, powdery, smooth). After adding water, the children would explore how the mixture sometimes behaves like a solid and sometimes like a liquid.
Ask open-ended questions such as:
What happens when you squeeze it?
What happens when you let it rest?
Does it feel like a solid or a liquid?
Can you explain what you noticed?I really like the insulation experiment and getting the children to design their own animal shelters. Using weather apps and real climate data is a great way to bring technology into the lesson in a meaningful way.
I would use the lesson ‘Animals in the Cold’ as part of a play-based, inquiry-based STEM unit on weather, habitats and animals.
Begin with a whole-class discussion about different types of weather, encouraging children to share their own experiences of hot and cold weather before introducing animals that live in icy climates.
Do practical investigation using Vaseline and water in small groups. Predict what they think will happen when water is dropped onto a hand covered in Vaseline. Compare the results with their predictions and discuss how the greasy layer helps penguins and polar bears stay dry and warm.To extend learning:
Sort animals into hot and cold habitats.
Explore different materials (cotton wool, feathers, fur fabric, bubble wrap) to decide which might keep an animal warm.
Build simple shelters for toy animals using construction materials.
Record their observations through drawings and oral explanations.
Integrate literacy by reading The Snowman and discussing winter weather.I really like these ideas. They are really engaging lessons that encourages children to use their imagination while developing oral language skills. I like how it links imaginative play with observation of the school environment, helping children compare fiction and reality in a meaningful way.
I would choose the theme ‘Space and Aliens’ for my Junior Infant class. As I cover themes across the curriculum I am including some ideas for various lessons.
Circle Time: Show pictures of the moon, stars, earth, a rocket, cartoon aliens. Questions: Have you ever looked at the stars? What do you think is in space? What might an alien look like? If you met an alien, what would you say?
Song: “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon.”
<p data-start=”1040″ data-end=”1081″>Literacy Activities:</p>
<p data-start=”1040″ data-end=”1081″>1. Story Time: Read picture book Whatever Next!</p>
After the story children create story maps in groups.2. Phonics– Sort pictures by initial sounds (eg moon, meteor,rocket,robot,star,satellite, space)
3. Oral Language
<p data-start=”1417″ data-end=”1448″>Describe the alien.</p>
<p data-start=”1417″ data-end=”1448″>Show a colourful alien picture.</p>
<p data-start=”1450″ data-end=”1468″>Children describe colour, eyes, legs, arms, spots, antennae</p>
Model sentences:
<ul data-start=”1536″ data-end=”1603″>
<li data-section-id=”1hst82r” data-start=”1536″ data-end=”1564″>”My alien has three eyes.”
<li data-section-id=”wr9p3u” data-start=”1565″ data-end=”1581″>”It is green.”
<li data-section-id=”hyv75e” data-start=”1582″ data-end=”1603″>”It has four legs.”Maths Activities
<ul data-start=”1536″ data-end=”1603″>- Count aliens (1–10)
<li data-section-id=”1q29mi8″ data-start=”1831″ data-end=”1852″>Match numeral cards
<li data-section-id=”1fpt211″ data-start=”1853″ data-end=”1884″>Sort aliens by colour or size<p data-start=”1886″ data-end=”1896″>Questions:</p>
<ul data-start=”1897″ data-end=”1975″>
<li data-section-id=”irdyqi” data-start=”1897″ data-end=”1920″>Which group has more?
<li data-section-id=”19z8zpv” data-start=”1921″ data-end=”1939″>Which has fewer?
<li data-section-id=”19z8zpv” data-start=”1921″ data-end=”1939″>Can you make a set of five stars?Art Activity
<p data-start=”2045″ data-end=”2055″>Design Your Own Alien.</p>
<p data-start=”2045″ data-end=”2055″>Materials:</p><ul data-start=”2056″ data-end=”2130″>
<li data-section-id=”10o1jhz” data-start=”2056″ data-end=”2072″>Coloured paper
<li data-section-id=”1uv3oyf” data-start=”2073″ data-end=”2086″>Googly eyes
<li data-section-id=”10m5mn9″ data-start=”2087″ data-end=”2102″>Pipe cleaners
<li data-section-id=”9npeqe” data-start=”2103″ data-end=”2113″>Pom-poms
<li data-section-id=”1j4476b” data-start=”2114″ data-end=”2120″>Glue
<li data-section-id=”i5jsnn” data-start=”2121″ data-end=”2130″>CrayonsFree Play Ideas:
Role Play
<ul data-start=”2330″ data-end=”2393″>
<li data-section-id=”zrbg4z” data-start=”2330″ data-end=”2349″>Astronaut helmets, jet pack (made from bottles), costumes
<li data-section-id=”1wm1ezh” data-start=”2350″ data-end=”2363″>Toy rockets
<li data-section-id=”x0atkn” data-start=”2364″ data-end=”2376″>Clipboards
<li data-section-id=”wyugid” data-start=”2377″ data-end=”2393″>Walkie-talkies<p data-start=”2395″ data-end=”2429″>Children pretend to explore space.</p>
<p data-start=”2395″ data-end=”2429″></p>
<p data-start=”2395″ data-end=”2429″>Small World</p><ul data-start=”2457″ data-end=”2524″>
<li data-section-id=”179aa2c” data-start=”2457″ data-end=”2468″>Space mat
<li data-section-id=”b9mg5b” data-start=”2469″ data-end=”2478″>Rockets
<li data-section-id=”780a9w” data-start=”2479″ data-end=”2498″>Astronaut figures
<li data-section-id=”a9axxa” data-start=”2499″ data-end=”2514″>Alien figures
<li data-section-id=”w96zw9″ data-start=”2515″ data-end=”2524″>Planets<p data-start=”2548″ data-end=”2554″>Construction</p>
<p data-start=”2548″ data-end=”2554″>Build:</p><ul data-start=”2555″ data-end=”2617″>
<li data-section-id=”b9mg5b” data-start=”2555″ data-end=”2564″>Rockets
<li data-section-id=”57wnmj” data-start=”2565″ data-end=”2578″>Alien homes
<li data-section-id=”1qkrug1″ data-start=”2579″ data-end=”2617″>Space stationsusing blocks or LEGO.
<p data-start=”2638″ data-end=”2643″>Playdough</p>
<p data-start=”2638″ data-end=”2643″>Make:</p><ul data-start=”2644″ data-end=”2682″>
<li data-section-id=”1w7ul78″ data-start=”2644″ data-end=”2652″>Aliens
<li data-section-id=”b9mg5b” data-start=”2653″ data-end=”2662″>Rockets
<li data-section-id=”i5teug” data-start=”2663″ data-end=”2672″>Craters
<li data-section-id=”w96zw9″ data-start=”2673″ data-end=”2682″>PlanetsI really like this activity. You’ve included lots of opportunities for cross-curricular learning, and the Oreo moon phases activity is such a fun, hands-on idea that children would really remember. It’s a great way to make a tricky concept easy to understand.
Activity Set: The Sun and Shadows
Activity: Bear’s Shadow
I would use the Bear’s Shadow activity as part of a playful, inquiry-based science lesson in my Junior Infant classroom.
Lesson: Read Moonbear’s Shadow during circle time, encourage children to predict what might happen to Bear’s shadow and to notice how it changes throughout the story. This would promote language development while introducing the scientific concept of light and shadows.
After the story, organise the children into small groups to explore the activity using the bear figure, tree, flashlight and challenge cards. Working collaboratively encourages communication, turn-taking and problem-solving as the children investigate how moving the light changes the shadow’s size, shape and position. Use open-ended questions such as, “What do you notice?” and “How could you make the shadow longer?” to support children’s thinking rather than simply giving answers.
This activity aligns very well with the Aistear themes of Exploring and Thinking and Well-being, as it allows children to learn through active, hands-on exploration in a fun and meaningful way. It also supports the Primary Science Curriculum by developing children’s observation, prediction and investigation skills. I like that the challenge cards provide opportunities for differentiation, allowing children to progress at their own pace and extending those able for a challenge.
To complete the lesson, I would take the class outside on a sunny day to observe and compare their own shadows at different times. The children could trace their shadows with chalk and discuss how they have changed, helping them connect the classroom activity to real-life experiences. I really like this activity as it promotes curiosity, scientific inquiry and development of oral language in the Junior Infant classroom.I love teaching this lesson in Juniors. Anything that involves water always excites them. They also love to find other objects around the room and predict and test them.
Junior Infants Inquiry Based Learning Activity: Melting Ice
Subject: Science
Strand: Materials
Strand Unit: Changing Materials/Heating and Cooling
Skills Development: Questioning, observing, predicting, investigating, estimating, and measuring.
The Prompt: Freeze small world characters in large ice cubes- “Oh no! Look what happened overnight. Our classroom dinosaurs got trapped in a sudden ice age! They are freezing. How can we save them quickly without hurting them?”
Gather children on carpet to let them feel how cold the ice is. They can examine the ice through magnifying glasses and predict what will melt the ice fastest (eg warm water, cold water, salt, warmth from own hands). Create a simple tally chart on the whiteboard. Every child votes for the method they think will win.
Divide the class into groups of 4/5 students. Give each group a block of ice, pipettes/ small spoons and magnifying glasses. Assign a different method to each group.
Encourage them to look for clues. “Is the ice dripping? Are bubbles forming? Can you see the dinosaur’s tail yet?”
Conclusion: Gather back on the carpet. Look at the whiteboard prediction tally. Discuss what actually happened. “Which group rescued their toy first? Why do you think the warm water/salt worked so fast?” Explain in simple terms that heat makes ice turn back into water.