Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Fiona,
I think the children would really enjoy your lesson. I think it’s a great idea to show them a video of a real rocket launch as this would really engage the children before carrying out their own experiments. I have tried the balloon rocket experiment previously with my class and they really enjoyed launching their rockets! You have done a great job adapting the experiment to suit the needs of the children in your SET class.
Every year we have science week in our school and I think it would be fantastic to include some of the activities outlined in this module during that week. I think that second class would particularly enjoy the idea of alien chemistry experiments.
I would allow children to choose an experiment that they would like to carry out in their group. They could choose from the dancing Raisin experiment or the balloon rising experiment. Preparation would be carried out before experimenting. Each group would be given a copy of their chosen experiment. The children would have to decipher what equipment and materials they would need to carry out the experiment.
In order to discuss the science behind fizzing and carbon dioxide I would bring in a fizzy drink and quiz them as to why it was fizzy. How do you know? What does it feel like/taste like?
Dancing raisins experiment:
Equipment needed:
Container filled with water
Container filled with fizzy drink
RaisinsMethod:
1. Children predict what will happen when they put raisins into each container.
2. Raisins are dropped into each container.
3. Raisins fall to the bottom of the container filled with water.
4. Raisins initially fall to the bottom of the container filled with fizzy drink, however they absorb the CO2 and start to move and make their way up to the surface. They release the CO2 at the surface and then sink down to the bottom again. This process will continue until all the gas or fizz is used up.Balloon Blow Up Experiment:
The children will discover that carbon dioxide can be created and used to blow up a balloon.
Equipment needed:
baking soda
vinegar
an empty bottle
Method:
1. The children predict what will happen to the balloon when they lift it upright.
2. The empty bottle is filled with vinegar.
3. The balloon is filled with baking soda and secured on the top of the bottle.
4. The balloon is held upright causing the baking soda to fall into the vinegar.
5. The chemical reaction releases CO2 which makes the balloon blow up.These experiments support stem in the classroom as the children are encouraged to predict, carry out hands on experiments, observe and draw conclusions leading them to a better understanding of science and the world around them.
Hi Sinéad,
I really liked your lesson plan. I particularly liked how you introduced the topic of different materials being used to build houses by using the story “The Three Little Pigs”. This would be a great way of discussing what materials were suitable/unsuitable as building materials. The pupils would find it very interesting to learn about different houses around the world such as boathouses and stilt houses and would enjoy the activity of building homes from recycled materials.
Activity set: Animals in the cold
I would introduce this topic to second class by showing bitesize videos from the BBC learning hub. These videos are about 3 minutes long and they are beautifully shot and narrated by David Attenborough. There are a range of videos to choose from including a video on “Young animals of the Arctic and Antarctic” which includes footage of polar bears and penguins and another video entitled “Polar bears emerge during spring”. These videos depict the harsh conditions and vastness of the Arctic and Antarctic and will capture the imagination of the pupils.
I would use these videos as a springboard for discussion about cold climates and conditions and how animals adapt and stay warm. I would ask the children to “think, pair, share” their ideas on how animals adapt to cold conditions and then record their answers on the whiteboard. We would discuss how polar bears
stay warm due to their furry outer coat and the blubber under their skin and penguins stay warm due to their feathers and the oily covering which coats their feathers.
I would then put the children in groups to conduct a winter animal adaptation experiment. This experiment is a great way to bring biology, winter adaptations, and survival strategies together while encouraging critical thinking and hands-on exploration.
Materials Needed:
• 2 large bowls or containers
• Ice water
• Rubber gloves (optional for easy cleanup)
• Zip top bags
• Various insulating materials:
• Wool (represents animal fur) – use a wool glove or wool sock.
• Feathers (bird insulation) -use craft feathers work or even bubble wrap to simulate how real feathers trap air for insulation.
• Vegetable shortening (polar bear blubber simulation)
• Cotton (control, not naturally found on animals) – use a cotton sock or glove!
• Timer or stopwatch
• Notebook and pencil (for recording observations)
Steps:
1. Prepare the Ice Water: Fill one large bowl with ice water. This will simulate cold winter temperatures.
2. Create the Insulation Layers: Place each insulating material inside a separate rubber glove or bag. For the blubber test, coat a hand with vegetable shortening, then cover it with a plastic bag.
3. To test the Insulation, Submerge each insulated hand in ice water for 10-20 seconds. Then, remove the hand and note the sensation: Which materials kept your hand the warmest?
Repeat for Accuracy: Try different materials and compare results.
Record Observations: Use a simple chart to rank the effectiveness of each material. Rank the materials on a scale of 1-10!
This is a stem focused lesson as it allows for integration with other subjects. For example the use of timers in the experiment can be linked with the topic of time in Maths. It allows for integration with English by developing oral language skills, discussion and critical thinking skills.Hi Margaret,
I really like your idea of introducing the alien theme through the story Aliens Love Underpants. I think that the pupils would really enjoy the hands on activity of creating their own aliens. I also like the way you showed how this lesson could be integrated with maths lessons on counting, shape and pattern and also with literacy through oral language.
I would use the story “how to catch a star” by Oliver Jeffers to introduce the Activity set: stars to second class. This story encourages curiosity and is a great way to introduce Stars in an imaginative way whilst also introducing scientific facts. I would invoke a discussion about whether we could really catch a star or not. I would conduct a brainstorming session to gather the pupils’ previous knowledge and facts about stars and I would use this as a springboard to discover further information about stars.
I would use a PowerPoint about stars and their composition to help broaden their understanding about stars. I would include simple facts such as stars are giant balls of gas that are far away from the earth. They are bigger than the earth and the sun is a star. I would use question prompts so that the children could think pair share to further their understanding of stars. Some questions could include:
Why do stars appear small in the sky?
What kind of weather is best for stargazing?
Why can we only see stars at night?
The children could compare the story and. complete the lesson by playing a “story or facts” sorting game. They could record their results with an art activity. Pupils could divide their page into story and facts and compare imaginative parts of the story to real facts about stars. The theme of stars could be continued in further lessons using the beautifully illustrated book “The zoo in the sky” to discover more about animal constellations in the sky. A follow-up art lesson based on van Gogh’s starry night would work with this thematic approach.This looks like a great lesson and I love the idea of using teddies and the globe to model the idea of day and night for children. I like the idea of recording the children’s findings using photographs as the children can really see and compare their shadows. Good tip about checking the weather forecast before outdoor shadow activity!
Activity set: The sun and shadows
Learning objectives: Pupils will recognise that the sun is a source of light, observe how shadows are formed, and investigate how shadows change.
I would begin by asking the pupils to look outside and describe the weather I would ask them the following questions:
Where is the sun?
What happens when you stand in the sunlight?
What is your shadow and when can you see it?
I would explain that shadows are made when an object blocks the light. Then I would bring the pupils outside for a shadow hunt asking the pupils to find shadows made by trees, buildings, playground equipment etc. I would prompt discussions about shadows by asking questions such as
What objects made this shadow?
Which object created the greatest shadow?
Working in pairs the children could try to predict which one of them would cast the longest /shortest shadow. Pupils could trace each other’s shadows with chalk. They could discuss how they could make their shadows longer or shorter.
Back in class the pupils could share their findings and discuss how shadows change because of the sun’s position. They could record some of their learnings by drawing themselves, their shadow, and the sun. I would complete the lesson with a fun activity creating shadow puppets where pupils use their hands in front of a torch to create shadow animals and try to guess each other shadow.Hi Caoimhe,
I think that children would love your lesson on what materials are waterproof and what would keep teddy dry. This hands on approach would really appeal to them and the use of teddies would really pique their interest.
I would conduct an inquiry based lesson on floating and sinking with second class. I would show the children a mystery bag filled with objects such as a toy boat, a paper clip, a stone, a metal spoon, a plastic spoon. I would engage the pupils by asking them to explore the materials and I would ask them to predict in their groups which items would float and which ones would sink. They could record their predictions on whiteboards.
The pupils would then conduct the investigation in their groups and record their results on a whiteboard. The class would then get together to discuss the results of their investigation. I would prompt the children by asking if it was always the heavy items that sank and if any of the large objects floated. A further lesson/challenge could be to ask the children if they thought a ball of modelling clay could float? They could be prompted to see if they could manipulate the clay into a shape that might float .I did this lesson with my 5th class and it was interesting to see how many of them understood that by reshaping the clay into the shape of a boat that they could make the clay float. 5th class children could pair up with a younger class during Science week to help with this investigation.My name is Glenys Healy and I’ll be teaching first class next year. Children are always curious about space and I wanted to acquire exciting ideas and practical activities to help me expand their knowledge. My fun fact is that the footprints left by the Apollo astronauts will remain preserved for millions of years because there is no wind or weather on the moon to erode the surface.