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I do like to use a picture book as a springboard for cross curricular learning in infants. For this moon focused learning I would use Jill Murphy’s Whatever Next. We would examine the illustrations and discuss/name craters. We would discuss how earth’s atmosphere protects us from most similar impact damage.
Geography
Strand – planet earth in space
Science
Strand- energy and forces
Strand unit- explore how the shape of objects can be changed by forces/ investigate how forces act on objects
Moon crater investigation
You need a large tray, flour, cocoa powder and balls of different sizes.
Fill a tray with flour and sprinkle cocoa powder across surface of the flour. Children will then prepare to drop balls of different sizes into the tray, first predicting the outcome. We can drop from various heights, stand on desk and also throw the balls upwards, predicting and observing the various results. A ruler can be used to measure crater size.
I’ve done this with infants and they love it. Especially when they get to stand on tables.Hi Emma. This cognitive conclusion spinning wheel sounds like an excellent idea to encourage reflection on the learning. It could be very useful for plenary sessions right across the curriculum.
Hi everyone. I’m Fiona and I teach junior infants. I love teaching space themed lessons and the children are always very engaged. They love the fact that there are still footprints and rover tracks on the moon.
I have chosen the planets activity set. I will begin by asking the children what they know about planets/what planet we live on etc. After the discussion I will read the very simple book Hello World! Solar System by Jill McDonald to the children There are probably lots of other similar books you could use. We could then have a chat about anything we have learned.
Next we could do our planet song. I noticed that the “Family of the sun” song includes Pluto but we could just explain that it is a dwarf planet and too small to be called an actual planet. I always liked the Blues clues planet song but it also has the Pluto problem.
I tend to use this one more now as it is about the 8 planets
Afterwards we would go to the p.e. hall for the amazing activities described in the pdf.
Finally, I have an inflatable solar system set so I would have the children holding their planets and revolving around a child holding the sun as a live solar system.
I agree Deirdre that the day and night demonstration with torch/globe/bears and children’s bodies is super. When you’ve finished all your excellent day and night activities you could do a nice simple art activity. Children can make a picture which is half day and half night. Stick an A5 piece of white paper on one half of an A4 black piece of paper. Children draw a daytime picture/activity on the white side with crayons and a night time one on the black with chalks. This can look really effective.
Hi Maria, I smiled when I saw this as my lesson involved poor Teddy being outside in the inclement weather too. But children do relate so well to that kind of thing. I really like that you introduced the lesson with people in cold climates for the geography strand of people in other places. I think I will borrow that idea.
Hi I’m Fiona and I will be teaching junior infants this year. I love how starlight travels from the past so to speak. It is so cool to think that , since dubhe in the plough is 123 lightyears away, the light I am seeing is from long long before I was born.
My inquiry based lesson is on properties of materials, but waterproof, not absorption. Trigger would be to leave Teddy out in the rain, observe what happens and enquire what we could do differently next time. We would move on to designing coat and hat or umbrella and brainstorming what materials to use. We would test out these materials by dropping water on to them from pipettes ( I think the children love to use “sciency” equipment). Each child would have a plate with their own scraps of the materials eg kitchen towel, plastic bag, newspaper, j cloth, tin foil. finally they could have a template of raincoat or umbrella and, folowing discussion, stick on the materials they think are best.
