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Martha,
thanks for pointing out a key facet of the primary classroom – lack of time in a busy schedule, and the solution – incorporating integration of lessons.
Kevin,
your Aistear time planning sounds great! Sponge painted planet sound neat- I’ve not done sponge painting, but if they end up looking like this – how fabulous
https://www.hollandhavenschool.co.uk/science-blog/science-meets-art-sponge-painted-solar-system
Ann-Marie,
using small frozen water bottles is such a good idea. No drippy icecubes! This can help children understand fair testing, particularly if you make a larger ice bottle – and see if the children think it is fair to use that one to compare with the smaller ones.
Breda,
thanks for your thoughtful sharing on how this topic would work in your specific setting, with clothing rigidness for some of the children.
By dressing teddy in clothing for the weather they can access the curriculum in a way appropriate for their own needs.
Ann-Marie,
we used Starry Night as the theme for one of our Space Week Arts explorations – you can see the episode here:
https://www.spaceweek.ie/events/space-art-with-bco-van-gogh/
Margaret,
I agree with you completely on the value of predicting – and disagree with the curriculum that suggests that infants should “guess and suggest what will happen next in structured situations”
What will happen to the ruler if we place it in water?
I think it will float/I think it will sink”Predictions need to be based on what the child understands -so a child who thinks the t-shirt will be better than a paper towel might suggest that this is because the t-shirt is bigger, so it can soak up more water…
Clare,
hot and cold and the children’s experience of temperature extremes is a rich area to explore in the classroom.
In Energy and Forces > Heat, Infants should :recognise the difference between hot and cold in terms of weather, food, water and the body
and • identify ways of keeping objects and substances warm and cold.
the second statement could be a super next step – how do they keep a hot thing hot and a cold thing cold? This could lead to an inquiry investigation – perhaps finding out if wrapping an icecube in a sock keeps it cold or makes it hot. Do ask the children to explain their predictions – and if a child suggests that “it will make it hot, since my feet get hot when I wear socks” – the investigation results should surprise them and they will have to reconsider what they think is going on.
Sarah,
making your own planet is a lovely activity – I do this with infant children at BCO, using Crayola Model Magic.
To bring it to an inquiry activity as outlined in the Framework for Inquiry would need some supports, as the children should be encouraged to wonder and explore about the topic of planets, and then perhaps research (by asking factual questions). Slightly older children might wonder if the planets nearer the Sun are warmer than the Earth – and could look this up. This resource from ESA is for 8-11 year-olds. ESA Kids has this page.
As a practical activity they might wonder which is the biggest planet, and see if they can make one the same size – this might involve some early maths as they consider the amount of playdough they would need.
Clare,
you have described an engaging prompt (using the language of the Inquiry Framework from this module) – and have allowed time for the children to wonder and explore. Their starter questions should be discrete, answerable with what you have in the classroom – I often recommend that you avoid “why…?” questions and look at measurable “how much….?” or “does changing X make Y happen?” type of questions.
So the children might notice that the videos of astronauts on the Moon have them jumping and bouncing around, so they might wonder what affects how far you can jump (on Moon and on Earth) and then they might think that taller children can jump further… because…. and give a reason. This is then a straightforward investigation of do taller children jump further, linked to the original stimulus.
Ellie,
If you think the children are interested enough, and can think of the 3-d sky as a flat circle, you might look at the Star Wheels from Lawrence Hall of Science, they include this nice – no constellation – version.
https://lawrencehallofscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BlankStarwheel.pdf
Eimear,
it is great to hear a personal experience of the songs and activities from this module.
With 1st/2nd class you could look at pacing out the planets to scale – possibly using the Solar System Walk activity from spaceweek.ie
Or, you could ask some children to be planets, and they could roll their hoops around the Sun, other children could be moons or asteroids, and those with lots of energy could be comets- speeding up as the come close to the Sun, then slowing down as they head out!
Tommy -have you any images from your last space week? It’s great to share them to inspire other teachers.
If you are interested in arts activity, keep an eye on spaceweek.ie – my colleagues share an arts focused activity each year.
Meagan,
thanks for sharing the Christina Rosetti poem
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43197/who-has-seen-the-wind
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.I found the sheet music! https://www.feisceoil.ie/medium/files/Who%20Has%20Seen%20the%20Wind%20-%20e%20flat.pdf
and this version of Lita Grier’s Five Songs for Children, performed by Fourth Coast Ensemble.
Sharon,
you’ve captured a lovely way to use the theme of Planets to access other parts of the curriculum, including drama – which is key, since planetary science isn’t part of the primary geography or science curriculum to any great extent until 5th/6th class!
recognise that the Earth, its moon, the sun, other planets and their satellites are separate bodies and are parts of the solar system
Tommy,
did you realise that the hoods of Inuit snow parkas are designed to disrupt air flow and keep the wearer warm?
See more here: https://www.si.edu/object/fur-parka%3Anmnhanthropology_8343287