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Oh my,
I’m not sure if I want to thank you for sharing the red and blue Martians from Sesame Street, I have “yip, yip, yip, yip, yip, ah hah” going around my head now!
John,
what a lovely idea to have different constellations in different parts of the room. You could even have “pretend constellations” – asking one table to make a square, one a triangle, one a different quadrilateral etc.
Cassiopeia is always popular with the clear W / M shape. You can find the modeling of Cassiopeia in the Universe in a Box resource (page 151) from module 2.
Leanne,
thanks for reminding us of the Marrog.
Here is a link to the words and some additional ideas to incorporate it into teaching.
https://www.risingstars-uk.com/media/Rising-Stars/Other/Words-poem.pdf
Niamh,
would they be using their understanding of ‘good’ drinks for teeth to predict what happens to the egg? If they are only guessing with their predictions, then I would use the egg and liquids as the prompt, and then extend their learning once they have seen the effects.
They could wonder – will the egg break down more if we leave it longer? Or, will another type of juice that tastes tangier make the egg break down faster?
Then they are applying their understanding and testing out their ideas.
Lorna,
are you referencing this https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/col/growing_tomatoes.pdf
also in Irish https://www.sfi.ie/site-files/primary-science/media/pdfs/irish/col/tratai_a_fhas_o_shiolta.pdf
This is one of the older Primary Science activities, presented much as a task list. As you have said, the learning comes about when the children ask their own questions and extend their learning by looking at unusual cases or unexpected results.
Laura,
as you have said, in the infant and junior classroom, lots of learning takes place through play. A teacher who can pick up on the explanations the children are offering each other as they play can easily help the children to move into an inquiry activity as they play.
It sounds like they are naturally eager to ‘take the next step’ at home.
A lovely material to offer to float/sink is an orange, unpeeled vs peeled.
Roisin,
space junk is a very real issue, and ESA are working to reduce space junk. They recently created a resource around it, which can be found with an inquiry framework at esero.ie
https://esero.ie/upcoming-workshop/engineers-week-2024-space-debris/
https://esero.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SpaceDebris.pdf
With a 1st/2nd class I would structure this inquiry as a design and make, and once the children have researched (by watching videos
such as
https://youtu.be/vU8ZwsHjvi0?si=BZ4n9fu1Kj3CUnst
or
https://www.pbs.org/video/its-okay-be-smart-space-junk/
(for a slightly older class: BBC Learning English: Junk in Space: https://youtu.be/74JqU9MNclc?si=RAMmAjcs3Ya9dhxU)
or reading)
They can carry out some simulations to check their understanding.
Pamela,
the activity from https://mysteryscience.com/sky/mystery-6/stars-daily-patterns/128
is a great way to introduce light pollution linked to the appearance of the stars when it is dark, not when it is day.
I’ve signed up for it – its a shame the archived readings are to other sites that you have to sign up for, and some of the features are locked unless you refer people.
“You need to refer five friends to view past mini-lessons – here’s the current one instead.”
Jessica,
I like how you have structured this inquiry, from a suitable prompt (the story), with explore and wonder built around the behaviour of the sponge.
Would you use food colouring as in this video version?
Emma,
thanks for sharing the story suggestion
https://youtu.be/NobYtkKyW5E?si=h8mMMTcxXu3Km22b
It’s interesting how the book alternates between perceptions of aliens and then “don’t gather friends to fight me off, alien monsters have never flown to Earth, you and your planet are safe.”
Jane,
when getting torches for this, look for single LED torches. If you get torches with multiple leds, they then cast multiple shadows.
I go through torches at an unbelievable rate – I usually find myself getting a new set of 12 every year.
I like how you have structured this inquiry to allow the children the free exploration to wonder and explore.
Luke,
I haven’t used Nasa Kids Club (is this it here: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-kids-club/) but love Nasa Space Place (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/).
National Geographic Kids is another that I am less familiar with: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/space where do you recommend to start?
From Nasa Space Place I have just written my own loopy story! I provided the italics words and the site put them into the frame.
Lights in the Night Sky
Last year I traveled so far north, I almost made it to the North Pole. It was so cold that I felt like a frozen pea! I camped in a big sewing machine and made sure to put a lot of paper on the fire to stay warm. One night, I looked up at the bright night sky and saw bright shiniest lights. There were streaks of pale yellow and bright purple. It looked like the colors were crying high in the sky. I thought that I must be bouncing I found out later that I was looking at the aurora borealis, a dark phenomenon that happens when children from the Sun collide with dogs in our atmosphere.Denise,
Night Sky Network has activities with suggested scripts (written out, with participant responses) and videos of their simple activities in action, I think they are great, and they always add a new twist to something that I sort of know.
Main site search page: https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/download-search.cfm
Example activities:
Really worth poking around this site for supports.
Orla,
have you a suggested source for planet colouring? You could use the Tiny Little Book of the Planets that was shared in Module 2, which includes simple facts.
They wouldn’t quite be flashcards, so have you a suggested place to find those, or have you made some that you might share? Armagh Observatory & Planetarium have some that could be adapted to be a bit simpler for use with younger children, I think these would be better for 3rd class+ (https://s3.eu-west-1.wasabisys.com/armagh.space/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/19133706/AOPS-Guide-to-the-Solar-System-FINAL-min.pdf)
Cork Art Supplies (and other craft or home shops, the Range is good, and Baker Ross have this one) have a range of sytrofoam balls, but would you look at the mathematics of measures and have the children select their own?
This would allow access to Mathematics> Measure:
Chooses an object from a group of objects for a purpose based on a particular attribute