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Marie – I like how you have started with cold objects that have warmed up – and then extended the thinking to a room temperature chocolate that needs to be melted. This will really pull out the children’s thinking about heat and how it affects everyday materials.
This is a lovely way to access: explore the effects of heating and cooling on everyday objects, materials and substances.
For infants this could be a complete investigation — they could explore lots of different items to see if warming them up makes them liquid.
I see that you have planned to explore removing heat from a liquid to make it solid –but is there a way to that easily other than put it in a freezer? – which isn’t particularly visual and obvious – compared to holding onto a bit of butter or chocolate until it goes melty!
Hi Keith – can you check permissions on the mind map please, I’m getting a “not found”.
Keeping food hot and cold for a picnic is a lovely engaging scenario. The children can consider what they already know and there is a nicely inexpensive set of materials that they might use to test out if the hot chocolate stays hot, and if the icecream stays iced.
Aisling – in your outline about the differences between day and night, you have included
- day vs night activities
- how we see objects (light travels from the object to our eyes),
- sources of light,
- and formation of shadows.
- extension: Sun in the sky.
That strikes me as an ambitious plan. Would you be guided by your class and what they are most interested in? Would you have a range of small torches and opaque objects to let them play with shadows?
Michael – I like the emphasis on the dangers of sunlight for young children, I don’t quite understand why it only shows in SESE Geography for 3rd and 4th class.
Aoife – alternatives for film canisters are fizzy vitamin tablet tubes (99 cent from most major supermarkets or Aldi/Lidl), apparently some yoghurt drink tubes (have not tried this), sports top water bottles, or regular water bottles with a cork (wrapped in electrical tape as needed to get it to the right size).
You can also put the alka seltzer tablet in a zip lock plastic bag and have it pop the bag — and then imagine the pop being directed to make a rocket fire.
Catherine – I came across using striking images for inquiry thinking skills in a course from the American Museum of Art — where they used “see- think- wonder” and asked children to describe what they saw (see) in detail, then describe what they thought was happening (think) and then pose their own questions about the image (wonder).
This was done as a group – see, in pairs – think, and then back as a group for wonder.
See this summary from the originators of the programme.
Patrice- that could then nicely link to staying warm / staying cool and how different clothing helps us do that.
Denise – I like how you have realistically planned to get in some support from an older class. I have made foam rockets with all classes from 1st-6th and 1st definitely do need a little bit of help with some of the fine motor skills and scissor work.
The angle can be simplified to be: “will the rocket go further away from me if I launch it straight up or if I launch it horizontally?” and the children can then predict based on prior experience of throwing object — and explain how they think the rocket will move.
Outside on a windy day can throw in some additional variables – and that can be fun to explore.
John – which rocket would you use? are there particular ones you have found worked well in the past? I have made the foam rockets with 1st class- but near the end of the year and with some extra help.
Thanks for the story suggestion: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52336519-the-smeds-and-the-smoos.
There are some short extracts from the planetarium show “We are Aliens” available from ESERO UK at stem.org.uk. They might be useful for engagement as they share what other people think about aliens.
Alexandra – do you use them in a very general way to capture all ideas that the children have about a theme? How do you narrow down the W to create a streamlined inquiry question?
Inquiry in science is about letting the children predict what they think will happen based on their understanding – and allowing the activity to verify or challenge their models and assumptions.Georgia – would you use Amazing Triangles as part of this? I’ve tried the marshmallow towers with 8-10 year-olds, and they enjoyed making the triangle structures, agreed that they made a stronger shape, and then made towers without a triangle in sight!! We rested our toy red panda on the towers – and over they went!!
Thanks for the link Conor – I have a copy of the book and just love it.
Special Life is a great activity – and can be linked to the idea of why the earth is so special –which has to do with its distance from the Sun, the so-called “Goldilocks Zone.” If children have lots of questions about this – remember that you don’t have to have the answers– you can help them word their questions into a way that they can then research – or explain that they are asking the same questions that scientists are trying to find out answers to.
Denise – I like basing ideas of weather and seasons into the children’s everyday experience of what do they wear to go outside. I am a volunteer leader with a youth group – and no matter how many times we say to our members – “bring a coat! we will be going outside no matter the weather!” they still forget/ or text before the meeting to ask – will you still be going outside, it’s raining!!
Children in school are much the same — how many forget coats, or expect that they will stay inside if it is raining.
Planning for a holiday trip is exciting – I love that.
Rachel – glad to hear your experiences with the awards of excellence. Some schools do share their blogs on line – and as you say, a photo of the children in action, or a snap of their copies is plenty of evidence for the awards.
If you want an inspiration for a blog – check out the Renmore Junior site.