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Class: Junior or Senior infants
Lesson: How to launch a rocket.
I would start the Lesson with children watching a video by kiwico – how do rockets work. Children would watch the lesson and then we would discuss their thoughts on the lesson and what they learnt. Children would have a few minutes to work with a partner to discuss their thoughts before sharing with the class. Next I would demonstrate 2 ways how to launch a rocket. I would ask some children to help. First I woild show how a balloon can be stuck to a straw that was threaded onto a piece of string. The strength would be held by two children and another child would let it go, as it sped across the string to the the end. Next I would explain that today the children would be making their own rockets, which they would get to launch but in a different way as we want the rocket to go up in the air. I would demonstrate the mouse rocket cones. First i would make the cone and stick the end. I would show the children how to decorate it so it looks like a mouse. I would then show the children how it can be launched by placing it on a plastic bottle and applying the force needed to launch it, by clapping my hands together to dispell the air form the bottle and launch the mouse rocket.
I would explain that the children could work in pairs or as a table group. After rockets were made, we would spend time launching the rocket as everyone watched.
At the end, children would summarise what they learnt today and what makes a rocket launch.
An extension of this lesson could be children working in groups during science week with groups from older classes on the balloon rocket ideas. They would record their experiment by drawing the experiment, listing the materials needed and recording the findings if the rocket launched or not.
Hi Niamh, I think it’s a really lovely stimulus to read a book to a class, especially a younger group. I haven’t heard of that book but will look it up, for future lessons. Thank you for sharing.
Class: Junior or Senior Infants
Activity: What clothes to wear? Esero lesson 11
I will have the children stand up, dance and act to seasons of the world song. After this, we will chat as a class. I will ask them what time of year did they see and hear about? I will ask do they know what a season is and can they give me an example of what they would wear for that season. I will then pass out the worksheets to the children. They will work in pairs to colur them in and discuss what they see as well as what season they think it is. Each pair will share their thought with the class and why they think the children are dressed a certain way in their worksheet. I wil give the children the words for the seasons as I write them on the whiteboard, some can help me sound out the sounds to make the words. Children will write down the season that they think their picture is from. These will be gathered and kept for assessment later as well as observations made from a list of higher and lower order questioning with the class.
Next I will show a set of pictures on the screen on the weather on different days, during different seasons. I will ask the children to tell me what they would wear for that day? We will revise the seasons and how the weather is during that time of year. I will also prompt children on what we may celebrate during that time fo year. For example in Winter, we celebrate Christmas, in Spring we celebrate Easter etc. After this, I will take the class bear. I will have a box of clothes to dress the bear in to suit the season as well as small props that suit the season/ time of year. I will show a picture on the screen of the weather for a season. The children will tell me what our bear needs to wear, so it is dressed properly for that day. I will invite a child from each table group to dress the bear to suit the season picture I put on the screen. We will summarise the 4 seasons and how we dress for that type of weather as children get a worksheet to match up the item of clothing with the season picture on the opposite side. These will be used to assess the children and help plan for future support for those that may need it.
Next, children will be given a worksheet to design clothes for 4 bears; one set of clothes for Spring, for Summer, for Autumn and for Winter. Children will show their designs to the class. They will be place on the display board for all to see. We will summarise our learning as I give children a scenario that Ted must dress for such as – Ted is leaving his house and he looks out the window. It is raining. What will he wear?
This lesson could be continued throughout the week through Aistear.
In Aistear; the home corner will have children dressing Ted to match the photos of the seasons. They will also have a dress up box for themselves. An art station – children will draw clothes on a person to suit a season with the name of the season on top. For SESE children will draw the be given a sheet with a person on it dressed to suit a certain season. They must draw the weather to suit the clothes the person is wearing. There will also be a fine motor station for children to thread around the different types of clothes. They will then place their threaded piece into the correct box to match the season. in maths, children will match up the correct item of clothing with the type of weather in the season box.
Hi Sharon, I think thats a great idea to start the lesson off with Tom Crean. It makes it more engaging for the children as they can think about a person who had expeince going to a very different environment than the children are use to. It also motivates the children in listening to stories about others and teaches them the history of an Irish explorer that maybe some have never heard of.
Class: Junior Infants
Lesson: What is a star? I would use esero, Lesson 13 for most of the lesson.
I would start the Lesson with the song Twinkle, twinkle little star. I would have children sing and do the actions along to it. I would ask who knew the song and I would ask – What is a star? I wonder can anyone tell me. I would get the children to work in pairs and share their ideas with their partner. Afterwards, I would ask some children to share their thoughts with the class. Next, I would explain to the class what a star is. I would also ask if anyone knew what the biggest star in the sky is? I would explain how the sun is and how it gives us our light and during the day when earth is facing it. I would explain the the sun is are closest star. I would then ask what gives us our light at night? When children answer the stars I will show them 5 marbles, which we will count together as I place in a jar. I’ll ask do you think there are more stars in the sky than the 5 in this jar? When children answer yes, I will ask what if everyone in class added a marble to the jar, would that be the same number of stars in the sky. Each child will add a marble and we will count together. Again I will ask is there the same amount of marbles in the jar, as there are marbles or do they think it would be hard to count all the stats? Children will share their thoughts. I will then add more marbles to the jar until it is full, but this time, we will not count them. I will ask the children do they know how many marbles are now in the jar? Can they see them all? Is it hard to count them? Children will share their thoughts. I will then explain that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the earth. I will show them a sand timer and pass some around to each table for children to look at. They will have a few minutes to discuss their new leaning with their partner. Next, I will ask the children can they tell me something new they leaned today. I will write the new facts on the whiteboard. Then I will explain that we will now make our own starry night picture. Children will choose what colour of card they want to use from blue, dark blue and black. I will explain this will be the sky at night when we look up. I will explain that we will use splatter paint to make the stars. I will ask what colours do we need for this? Children will then watch me demonstrate how to use a small brush to flick the paint so that it splatters and makes the stars, I will ask can anyone count how many stars I made on the page. This will reinforce todays learning that there are lots of stars and impossible to count them all. After children have completed pictures, they will each show their work to one another. Giving feedback on what they like. I will make them aware how all pictures are different, just like at night the sky can look different wherever you are looking up from. Afterwards, we will go outside and sit in a circle. I will ask do theu see any stars in the sky? Children should say they see the sun. I will ask if thr see any other stars. I will then explain that the sun is so bright as the earth is facing it, that we can not see the stars that are far away until the sun goes down and they can be seen shining brightly. We will sing twinkle twinkle little star and summarise that we now know what a star is.
Hi Sarah, I really like the idea in your lessons to compare the school environment with the aliens landscape. That’s a great idea and will keep the children very engaged in the lessons. It sounds like lots of fun especially for a younger class. It can help them see things from another perspective, which younger children can find hard to understand at the beginning.
Activity Set: The Moon
Class: Junior or Senior Infants
First I would read the story – On the Moon, to the class. I would ask the children about the book, what is the moon and what they thought the moon would look like if they could fly it. These questions could help me gather information of any previous learning they would have. I would guide their thoughts by saying I wonder if the moon is smooth/ flat/ bumpy or what colour is it. The children would chat in pairs to discuss their thoughts with a friend before the class shared their thoughts.
Next I would ask the children to draw their ideas of the moon on a piece of paper, which they would title – the moon. After this, I would show an image of the moon on the screen and then pass printed images of close ups of the moon in different sizes to the classroom. The children could compare their drawings to the images they were examining. I would ask them to describe the printed images of the moon. I would introduce the words rough, crater, space rocks, meteorites, crash etc to help with this, as well as to describe how the moon is a large rock that floats in space around our world. I would explain that it has no light but reflects the light of the sun, which helps to give us light at night-time. This could be demonstrated with the help of some of the children. One would hold a torch to represent the sun, another would hold a sphere I covered in foil to represent the moon, while another held a small globe of the earth, which will be tilted slowly up and down to show how day and night occurs.
The children would listen to the rhyme – Man in the Moon. Next they will create their own moons with a small foam sphere. A box of resources will be left for the children to decide how they will create their own moon with a choice of card, paper all in shades of white and grey as well as foil, take and glue. After the children are given time to make their moons, they can present them to the class. Children will use 2 stars and a wish to comment on each person’s moon. The children will continue to recite and learn the rhyme in English – The man in the Moon. Aistear will have a space themed creative play station and children will have opportunities during the week to use the new vocabulary learnt. An extension of this lesson will see the children work on the man in the moon activity as they discuss what they further see on the surface of the moon and if it reminds them of a person or silhouette. They will then create their own man in the moon pictures in art. In English, they may search for rhyming words in the poem- The Man in the Moon. All work will be displayed on the display boards for all to see and recognise their achievements of new learning on this topic, as well as been seen by other teachers and the principal. In drama, children might act out in mime what it would be like to walk on the moon. As their is no sound in space, this can make the children more aware of this fact. This could be done outside as well as indoors, in the classroom.
Hi Irene, that’s a lovely lesson that you have described. I like the questions you asked and how they guide the children’s learning. Bringing them outside and getting them questioning and investigating for themselves, as well as making their own shadows, makes the lesson very collaborative and fun for all.
Module:1 Assignment – How I would use one inquiry-based activity in my classroom.
Activity: Making a boat (Float or sink)
Materials: paper, lollipop sticks, metal spoons, lego bricks, playdough, peas, basins of water, jugs.
I would introduce the lesson by asking the children what material is this made from as I held up a different object each time for them to discuss. Next I would say, I wonder which ones can float and which can sink. Childern would share their thoughts and predict what would happen. I would take one child’s prediction from each of the 5 tables in my room. Next, the children would be given a sheet to fill in. They will draw all 5 objects in the left boxes and nect fill in their predictions by writing yes or no under the words float or sink or they could place a tick for yes or an x for no. Each table will get a set of objects and a basin of water. They will collaborate as a group and each child will have a turn to place an object in the basin to see if it floats or sink. In a final box on their sheet, they will record their findings in a coloured pencil or twistable of what happened to the object and if it did float or sink. The children will share their thoughts on the activity and summarise what happened each object. I will finally ask them why they think some things floated and why some floated.
An extension of this activity to follow on in the next lesson is to summarise what capacity means. I will use a video from SciKids on capacity as a stimulus to the lesson. Children will share new learning and what capacity means to them. Next, I will explain that they will work in pairs to make a boat out of playdough that needs to stay dry and carry a pea as a pretend passenger. The children will then watch my attempts to make a boat and we will test it to see if it floats or sink. Then children will go back to their tables and work in pairs to design, make and finally record the findings of their experiment as they have the opportunity to test their boats out in a basin of water. They will be handing a sheet before they begin their work, to draw their design first. I will provide other materials such as paper, lollipop sticks etc. They will build their designed boat and handed a pea to make sure it fits safely in their. When all are finished. their will be time given for the children to test their boats as each pair comes to the basin. Children will be encouraged to give praise for efforts made even if the experiment fails. They will finally record their own findings on their sheet of their design. The lesson will be finished with a summary of how capacity works.
Hi, my name is Helen. I’ve been teaching infants for a few years and felt this course might help me add some new ideas. Fun fact about space: It is silent in space.
Hi Mary, thanks for sharing some lovely ideas. This sounds like a lesson that children in Infants would really enjoy. I really like the idea of having a magnetic hunt in the classroom. I never thought of doing that and might use it in the future. It’s nice to do this activity to include pair work which you mentioned. I feel children can learn alot from sharing their ideas with others and learning to listen to their friends share their thoughts top.