[Fionola Ruane]

I like the way you asked it to create a song to go with your lesson. This would be so effective also for older classes maybe to the tune of a modern song.

[Fionola Ruane]

There are many resources I would use from this course for lesson planning including MagicSchool and Gemini. Here, I went with Copilot and inputted some prompts to teach a lesson on teeth to 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class. I realise now that I could have included instructions for differentiation. For integration purposes, I asked it to generate a short science experiment and an art lesson, which I’m very happy with.

Curricular Links (SESE – Science, Ireland)

• Strand: Living Things
• Strand Unit: Human Life Processes

Class Level: 3rd Class

Time: 60 minutes

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to:

• Identify and name the four types of human teeth: incisors, canines, premolars and molars.
• Describe the function of each type of tooth.
• Explain why teeth are important for eating and speaking.
• Demonstrate understanding of how to care for teeth.
• Participate in a simple science experiment showing how substances affect teeth.
• Create an art piece showing the structure and types of teeth.

Language of Learning (Vocabulary)

• Tooth / Teeth
• Incisors – cutting
• Canines – tearing
• Premolars – crushing
• Molars – grinding
• Enamel, dentine, gum, root
• Decay, plaque, cavity
• Hygiene, brushing, flossing

Introduction (10 minutes)

• Ask pupils to feel their teeth with their tongue and notice different shapes.
• Show a diagram of the mouth and point out where each tooth type is located.
• Discuss why we need different types of teeth for different jobs.

Main Teaching Points (15 minutes)

Types of Teeth and Their Functions

• Incisors: flat and sharp, used for cutting food.
• Canines: pointed, used for tearing food.
• Premolars: wider, used for crushing food.
• Molars: large and flat, used for grinding food.

Use a mirror activity where pupils look at their own teeth and identify each type.

Science Experiment (15 minutes)

Eggshell Teeth Test – How Drinks Affect Teeth

Materials:

• Hard-boiled eggs (representing enamel)
• Cups
• Water
• Cola
• Vinegar
• Tea
• Milk

Method:

1. Place one egg in each liquid.
2. Predict what will happen to each egg.
3. Leave for several hours or overnight.
4. Observe changes such as staining, softening or erosion.
5. Discuss how drinks can affect real teeth in a similar way.

Learning Outcome

Children understand how sugary and acidic drinks can damage enamel.

Art Integration (15 minutes)

Option A: My Mouth Map

• Pupils draw a large open mouth.
• Label incisors, canines, premolars and molars.
• Colour-code each tooth type.

Option B: Tooth Monster

• Pupils design a character made entirely of different tooth shapes.
• Each tooth type must be included and labelled.
• Encourages creativity while reinforcing learning.

Assessment

• Oral questioning, for example: “Which teeth help us bite an apple?”
• Check diagrams for correct labelling.
• Observe participation in the experiment and discussion.

Home Link

Ask pupils to keep a tooth diary for one day:

• What they ate
• How many times they brushed their teeth
• Drinks consumed
• Any sugary snacks

Suggested Follow-Up

Invite a dentist or dental nurse to visit the class, or create a healthy teeth campaign for the school.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by Pat Brennan.

[Fionola Ruane]

Using Reading coach as a standalone weekly task sounds like a brilliant idea. It would be  structured, as sometimes when we get our chrome book slot, I end up giving the class  a project but this would be so structrued and they could continue a story for a period or improve reading skills without the pressure of reading aloud to the class.

[Fionola Ruane]

For lesson planning, I am so impressed and looking forward to magic school, gemini and co pilot. I’ve already used chat gpt but I feel magic school is better. As I said previously, I do wonder about costs and ultimately, one probably has to narrow it down to 2 or 3 AI tools.

I really can see the value of the AI tools for developing the children’s awareness of bias. I think for the older classrooms, thia would be amazing preparation for critical thinking in secondary school.

I think for my class levels, scratch or khan would be the better option. We have enough chrome books for each child. I think Khan would bring history to life and really help with difficult concepts in science. I think Scratch is a lovely tool for that mid section in schools to help them develop imagination and in a fun way to build projects. It would also be useful for EAL students as it can switch languages. It would also help with problem solving by helping the children break things down into smaller steps.

I also feel that children are instinctively better at navigating these platforms and thay themselves would be able to get more out them than they would with us showing them.

[Fionola Ruane]

Reading coach which you mentioned at the end of your post would be an excellent tool, Barbara. It can be tailor mad to suit individual children struggling with specific phonics.

[Fionola Ruane]

Part 1: I  can see how all of these tools would assist my teaching but I especcially liked magic school and image creator from microsoft. I loved the examples of Charlotte’s web and Fern and can see how easily children would try to enhance their descriptive language to create a more detailed image. I think these tools would save hours on lesson planning and actually cut out a lot of writing on the board.

In terms of assessment, I would be able to create quizzes and assessments that are visually attractive in seconds.

Part 2: I explored magic school in detail and managed to create an excellent problem solving sheet for 2nd class with renaming and asked it to involve football and farming. Not alone did it generate an excellent worksheet but scaffolded it also with questions scattered throughout to orally ask the children to consolidate eg. some using base 10 blocks. As I’ve previously stated, I have 3 classes so this will be invaluable for me.

I think Image creator will be great for visual learners and really help to develop imagination and make lessons more engaging. I feel they will retain information to a higher degree when using more stimulating tools like these in the classroom. I see there is also a vocabulary generator on magic school which will enhance reading, comprehension and spelling in a fun way. Regarding assessment , it would of course be paramount to avoid using real names when planning or assessing.

[Fionola Ruane]

I agree with your comments Barbara. I would also be interested in the immersive reader and I especially think it has a place in SEN as you can personalise each child’s learning and really see the progree being made.

[Fionola Ruane]

It is very obvious from this module that AI is here to stay and will eventually  lead the way for teachers in the future. I was very impressed with Carnegie Learning and Mathia x as I’ve only used Chat Gpt previously. I especially would like to look further in to Mathia x as I have 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes this year  and maths is the one where the most jumping around between classes takes place. I presume it may help me tailor some streamlined lessons in Maths eg. Capacity,  where as you specify in this module, input requirements  and be specific with learning objectives for the 3 levels and direct this tool to differentiate so  3rd will be challenged as the lesson proceeds and their lesson objectives are achieved . This would eliminate the need to feel confined to the maths book but still cover the Maths curriculum.

Gemini , co pilot and Chat GPT would also be useful here. I would also delve into Dreamspace to create some problem-solving suitable for all 3 class levels to start with and ask it to add some more challenging problems along the way.

I would be confident that I would be able to embark on using AI for whole class teaching but I feel most teachers would need more in service training for some of the individualised tools you have mentioned.

[Fionola Ruane]

I agree Arlene with your points about how amazingAI is for logos and podcasts and this can really impress children and make learning more stimulating. However, when you say that becoming dependent on AI can be a danger, this rings true also. At the end of the day, teenagers have to knuckle down in secondary school and write long detailed questions on poetry etc and need to have originality to a large extent and learn to think for themselves.

[Fionola Ruane]

I have learned a lot about the use of AI in the classroom in this module. I hadn’t heard at all of Gemini or Vidnoz AI until now.

I have been using just chat gpt for the past year but solely for the PDST writing genres. For example around St. Patrick’s day, I inputted the main points for a narrative involving a leprachaun, pot of gold, asked it to provide setting, describe 3 main characters, 3 main events, problem and resolution. The results were  fantastic and this has helped  me throughout the year with the ‘modelling’ part ofnarratives, debates, poetry etc.

However, I have only used chat gpt and have never created worksheets or actually printed anything so don’t know how to generate a document or if it’s possible for free.

I feel if I can get my hands on the right tools, AI will do wonders for planning. I have 3 classes next year and time is spent juggling and differentiating. AI can aldo help to generate interesting science and art lessons but again looking for the best free tool or finding one that a school  subscription would be worthwhile for may be difficult.

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