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As a part of our STEM program this past school year the students investigated and experimented with light and mirrors this year we conducted a number of activities.
The students investigated mirrors in different groups to look at different properties of light and mirrors in different ways.
Group 1- Make a simple periscope. Goal of activity is to understand how mirrors reflect light and how periscopes work.
Each of these activities were designed to be hands on and engaging with the goal of providing students the opportunity to experiment with in order to learn and better understand the basic concepts of light and reflection
Group 2- Mirror kaleidoscope. Objective to see how mirrors can create patterns through reflection.
Group 3- Exploring angles of reflection- Make a light maze
Group 4- Mirror writing.
Each group had 3-4 students. All materials, including simple instructions and science explaining activity were at station. Students had 25 minutes per station. The activities were completed over 2 days.
Michelle, I love the idea of adding vaseline to the children’s hands so they can really grasp the concept. Lots of opportunities for hands on learning
I had not used this book in this way before, what a great idea. Your lesson ticks so many boxes but opens so many new opportunities to extend in many different ways. Thanks
Hi Louise,
I really like the idea of having a constant astronaut/animal travel to each of the planets, so many ways to incorporate this, from changing outfits to suit the temperature and elements of the planets etc
Hi Rebecca,
This is always a nice quick lesson to get the kids excited about science and i really like Frances idea of extending the lesson to make more inquiry based. Great ideas thanks
I liked the lesson about spacecraft design and think it would be a great lesson to start space week.
I would start with reviewing what the students know about space and space travel. I would then show a short video clip of a rocket launch to capture the students’ attention.
Next, discuss the basic parts of a rocket: the body, fins, and nose cone, using simple diagrams or models.
Move on to a hands-on activity where students make their own paper rockets. Provide materials like paper, scissors, tape, and straws. I would make this as teacher hands off as possible to allow the students the opportunity to investigate and explore the materials independently. Once the rockets are assembled, let the students decorate them with markers or stickers.
After the rockets are ready, head outside or to a large indoor space for a launch activity. Use straws to blow air into the paper rockets, demonstrating how air pressure propels the rocket forward. Let each student take turns launching their rocket, observing how the different designs affect flight distance and stability.
I would conclude the lesson with a review and reflection looking at what the students learned about rockets and space travel. Encourage them to think about how rockets need to be strong and streamlined to travel through the atmosphere.
End with a fun fact about space to leave them excited and curious to learn more over the week.
To finish the week I would like do the rocket with the effervescent tablets as a demonstration and feel is a nice way to conclude with how we started Space Week.
Video links that I feel may be useful to watch of rocket launch. There are few nice videos that teach about the launch also
We began an informal school self-evaluation on science more specifically STEM at the end of the 2021/22 school year. It was a useful exercise as it allowed us the opportunity to see as a school what we were doing to teach and encourage science through the school and also made us conduct and develop an inventory of the resources we had as a whole school. We were able to identify our strengths and weaknesses.
The evaluation has lead to improved teaching strategies, better curriculum alignment, and more effective use of technology and resources . It Helped a small bit in identifying and addressing gaps in students’ knowledge and skills. Training and upskilling for teachers has been th most important outcome I feel of the process. Reading and learning a little about the EU-UNAWE program I am excited to use this as a way to evaluate the teaching and learning about space specifically in our school.The program emphasises Making learning about space fun and interesting, increasing student enthusiasm for science. Provides well-designed materials that simplify complex astronomy topics. Equips teachers with the knowledge and tools to effectively teach astronomy. It allows a way for us as a school to target and assess learning with the outcome of improving students’ comprehension of scientific concepts.What I am most excited about is the opportunity to create whole school and home/community involvement through events like stargazing nights, creating a broader interest in science.
Space and aliens
An infant based lesson that can also be extended for older classes on space and aliens
Begin with discussion about what space looks like and what might be out there.
First, we’ll learn about the planets in our solar system and discuss how each one might look and feel different. Use of pictures and models to see examples of rocky planets like Earth and Mars, and gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn.
Next, a sensory activity! Have available in tubs or trays different stations with materials representing the surfaces of planets. For rocky planets, we might use sandpaper to feel rough textures, and for gas giants, we could use balloons filled with air to feel smooth surfaces.
Discuss what felt at each station and compare it to the planets learned about. Talk about why planets have different surfaces and what makes them unique.
Art extension- create own planets using clay or playdough. Each child will make a planet with a surface texture they choose, like smooth or bumpy, to represent what they’ve learned.
To extend and discuss life on other planets
Read simple space books “Is there anybody out there ?” By Laura Krantz would be a good choice
This lesson can be extended in coming weeks to look at designing and landing a space shuttle, based on the surface of the planet what would be required ? What would we need to survive there? What must an alien be like to exist on the chosen planet?
For my lesson for 1st and 2nd class we would investigate the sun and shadows. The sun is a great area of space to investigate with classes with many areas able to be covered from heat and energy making smores in a solar oven to light
For a lesson on light and the sun and shadows I would begin by asking the class about how shadows are made, then investigate by using flashlights to shine light on different objects. We would observe how shadows change when the light is moved closer or farther away, and from different angles. After our observations, we’ll discuss and make guesses about why shadows change size and shape. If possible as with the Irish weather it is difficult to predict we would go outside to see how the Sun affects our own shadows throughout the day, Tracing our shadow in chalk at the start l, middle and then at the end of the day . marking its changes over the day.Apologies my fun space fact is that there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on all of earths beaches.
Hi my name is Felicity I am an SET teacher. I am the science coordinator and I ran weekly stem based lessons for all classes in the school last year and will do so again this new school year. We conducted many inquiry based lessons over the year. We entered ESB Science blast this year. Our investigation was do fruits and vegetables conduct electricity
The children had seen a tic toc about using a lemon to charge their phone and wanted to see if this was true. As part of their investigations they added in different fruit – bananas and also vegetables carrots than the standard lemon and potatoes
the initial investigation led to so many other predictions and investigations. The children led the lesson making and testing ideas as they worked. The science behind their findings was as taught and discussed as they progressed. The older children understood and gained greater knowledge of the science behind their findings throughout than the younger children but all learnt and made predictions which was the aim of the lesson
