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Adam, quirkly enough, one of the links often goes to a pet picture!
Can you spot the link from this one? https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240709.html
https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2540564/792×594/scale;webp=auto;jpeg_quality=60.jpg
or this one: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240708.html
Stephanie,
could you also ask parents to send in pictures of the children dressed at different time of the year, or if they went to the beach/ paddling in the summer?
Or, you might look at some of the clothing retailer websites, to look at the new season clothing – and ask the children – what would it be like when you wear this type clothing? https://www.dunnesstores.com/kids/new-season-styles
Sorcha
what a gorgeous book!
https://youtu.be/DfzggGoPW50?si=QAKsA1XEPSXtMF5r
There is so much going on besides the countdown from 12 to 1.
What a great prompt to engage children into the Penny Rocket
(which is similar to PopTop / Aer ag at).
The balloon rockets have plenty going on, and the children may find unexpected results which they will have to try to explain – thus developing their understanding of forces.
Breda,
“planting a seed” is exactly the description of so much of these activities. For the very young, the key skills literacy and numeracy are vital, but the context within which they develop those skills can be so varied. As someone who got the space bug very early, I always like to share that interest.
Adam,
I like how you have incorporated the planet art into a starry backdrop. I once did the toothbrush – paint star scape, and the group then decided how to arrange each individual starscape to make a giant galaxy – which had more stars in the middle, fewer at the edges etc. We used one of the Andromeda images as inspiration. (source: https://esahubble.org/images/heic2501a/)
Thanks Grace,
It’s great that you have planned that “Each child chooses a material for hot or cold weather, justifying their choice:” – since the science learning comes from the children referring to their current understanding and then building on it.
Clothing for hot weather is interesting, since by keeping moving air next to your skin, you can be cooler. This is the idea behind robes that are worn in some very hot countries. You can read more here.
Brid,
the make the “Sun is big because it is close” really clear, I sometimes hold up my thumb, and position it near my eye, block out the head of a child on the other side of the room. I then say “my thumb is bigger than your head!”
They disagree – so I tell them to try it with their thumb and my head!
This always reminds me of a Canadian comedy show, where one character would “crush heads” – at least until he met the “face squasher”
Kevin – Stellarium is an incredibly powerful tool, and no internet means it can be used anywhere!
There are lots of support videos on it, and as part of the DOME project we made a guide to its use. The following is taken from that guide:
https://stellarium.org/ hosts the Stellarium software for Linux, macOS and Windows.
Use https://stellarium-web.org/ for a browser-based experience.
New versions are available regularly and since 2023 have been named YY.N where YY is the year of release, N is the release within that year. As of June 2024, the current release is 24.1. Most online instructions will refer to older versions of Stellarium, so you are advised to refer to the Stellarium User Guide for details of installation of the current version on your own operating system.
● See this guide for Raspberry Pi Installation.
● See this free OpenLearn Course “Astronomy with an Online Telescope” which refers to installation and use of Version 0.18.0.
If you require an older version of Stellarium (to match your operating system), these
are found at “All Releases.”to edit the config.ini file see https://youtu.be/K1hi7zva1cI?si=HWUmZ63IpJBh0WYy
Shauna,
The telescope station is a bit like this from My Sky Tonight: Hide & Seek Moon.
With the stars in a box, I wouldn’t use a torch to show them, since stars are their own source of light. Perhaps you could poke little holes in one end of the box and the children could look through to a light source outside the box and see the shapes of the stars?
Shauna,
thanks for sharing your experience and great recommendation for the movement break as part of it.
A simple discussion after the shadow work can be around which way do various sides of the school/classroom/their homes face? At what time of day does the Sun shine in the various windows – since the Sun is the source of the shadows in the natural world.
Jennifer,
I like how you have planned to link maths to the basic content knowledge of the planets – that’s exactly what this course is trying to promote – linkages through the theme of space.
Fearghal,
if you get even 10 minutes of sunshine, run outside to make the shadow drawings. In the time it takes one child to draw another’s shadow, their own will have changed. But, I agree, it can be tricky when you really do need bright sunshine.
I was lucky on the day that we recorded the sundials video that it was sunny for the whole day!!
Aisling,
the Inquiry Framework that we looked at in detail in Module 1 can be used to structure child centred activities.
Using it, children will “make predictions” set up fair tests and carry out investigations to “test their hypotheses”, and as part of the investigation they will “observe the outcomes in a tangible way.” They will also record their findings, and share results with each other.
I’ve already gone on and on about ramps and pathways, and how they are a really powerful (and simple) way for children to explore forces in a playful, self guided way.
Here is a teacher reflection on her use of ramps and pathways.
Aisling,
would you look at some of the famous paintings that have stars? I’m thinking VanGogh here – and you might want to go back to the SpaceWeek TV arts sessions
Here is 2022 – exoplanets https://www.spaceweek.ie/events/space-art-with-bco/
2023 – Van Gogh: https://www.spaceweek.ie/events/space-art-with-bco-van-gogh/
Ceire,
please do share any images of the Aistear rocket corner that you create, you can reach us at BCO via info@bco.ie
