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I completely agree with you here Annette. It is something that I have not really thought of before but I think that using the yard and yard time to engage the children in something like this is a brilliant idea. As you mentioned, children have such curious minds and I think that they would be fascinated with a sun dial. I think that engaging the children in active activities in the yard will really appeal to their interest in the topic. I love the idea of tracing their shadows etc in the yard!
I chose the One Year on Earth resource (Understanding the Seasons). I particularly liked this resource and topic as it can be tailored for different age groups. I can think of ways in which to teach the children about seasons from Junior Infants to sixth.
This resource has a number of fantastic lesson ideas in it. From identifying the difference in trees and satellite images of earth during different seasons to understanding why the earth has different seasons. I would definitely start through engaging the children in activities based on different seasons we experience on earth first. I would ensure that they understand and identify different seasons. I particularly like the activity on identifying the difference in trees during winter and summer etc. I would definitely teach this through art and have the children do arts and crafts on trees for different seasons.
Once the children have a good understanding of the seasons then I would engage them on a conversation about why we have different seasons. I think that this would be appropriate for 5th and 6th classes most. I would definitely complete the activity ‘Build a sun earth model’ with the children. I would do a demonstration and explanation first. Then I would get the children to complete the activity in groups. I think that the children would be engaged in this group activity and also they would be scaffolded in their learning.
