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Hi Laura.
This sounds like a lovely, well-rounded plan. The Aliens Love Underpants hook is a great way to spark curiosity and get some giggles. The mix of activities — rocket building, planet making, the space spill investigation — covers creativity, engineering and real scientific inquiry all in one week.
Encouraging questions, predictions and teamwork throughout, then finishing with a class showcase, ties it all together nicely and helps children consolidate what they’ve learned. A fun, hands-on way to bring science to life.
Activity based on rockets for a senior infant class.
Learning Intention
Investigate what makes a balloon rocket move, and test how to change its flight path or distance.
Success Criteria
I can predict what my rocket will do
I can test it and observe what happens
I can talk about why it movedResources
Balloons, sticky tape, straws, small car, open indoor/outdoor space, recording sheet (near/medium/far)1. Hook — Show a short rocket launch clip. Ask: what makes it move?
2. Explore — Blow up a balloon, hold it closed, then let go and watch it fly freely across the room.
3. Predict & Test — In pairs, predict and test variations: more/less air, pointing the balloon in different directions, or taping the balloon onto a small straw and attaching a car to make it drive along the floor instead of flying.
4. Record — Circle visual prompts for near/medium/far on a sheet for how far it travelled.
5. Discuss — Why did it move? Keep it simple: air rushes out one way, the rocket/car goes the other — “push back.”
STEM Links
Science (forces), Technology (using materials as tools), Engineering (building a balloon car), Maths (comparing distances)
Follow-Up
Compare free-flying balloons with the balloon car — does adding wheels change how far it travels?
Hi Monica,
The balloon rockets are such a great fit for early years science. Simple enough for little hands to build and test, but with enough going on that real inquiry can happen naturally.
I really like how you’ve involved books, songs, role play, building, plus some ESA/ESERO videos to spark curiosity. That mix makes it accessible to every kind of learner.
Linking it to your SSE really stood out for me. Loads of teachers do a nice one-off STEM lesson and stop there (myself included). You’re using it to actually look at practice across the whole school (how much inquiry-based learning is happening, gathering photos/work samples/pupil voice, spotting gaps such as not enough open-ended questioning). That’s the difference between a nice lesson and something that actually builds change.
Lesson I might use based on the activity set: animals in the cold
Activity goal: Children learn polar bears (Arctic) and penguins (Antarctic) live far apart and have never met, and how each adapts to the cold.
1. Watch a short animated video clip from SciShow kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwfKCX_8fbA on how Whales, Polar Bears and Penguins keep warm.
2. Chat
Present a globe and pass it around — point to North and South Pole. “Polar bears live at the top of the world, penguins at the bottom — they’ve never met!” Remind them of previous lesson on gravity related to polar bears and penguins, who is upright and who is upside down?3. Adaptation discussion
Questioning: How do you think they keep warm?
Polar bears: thick fur, blubber, big paws for ice
Penguins: feathers, huddle together, slide on bellies4. Movement activity
“Waddle like a penguin! Stomp like a polar bear! Huddle together! Slide on your belly!”5. Wrap-up
“Where do polar bears live? Where do penguins live?” End with: “They live far apart, but both know how to stay warm!”Extension STEM sorting activity: “Fur or Feathers?” exploring how animal coverings help with warmth.
Using picture cards or real samples of different textures — cotton wool (fur), feathers, fabric scraps, bubble wrap (blubber-like), sandpaper (bare skin) — plus two hoops or trays labelled “Keeps Warm” and “Doesn’t Keep Warm.”
Children take turns touching/feeling each material.
Ask: “Do you think this would keep a polar bear or penguin warm in the snow?”
Sort each item into the correct tray, explaining their choice: “Feathers keep warm because they trap air,” etc.Wrap-up chat:
“Polar bears have fur, penguins have feathers — both trap warm air next to their skin to protect them from the cold!”Hi Laura,
This is such a fun one! Space and aliens is a great hook for Second Class — kids are naturally curious about it, so they’ll be hooked straight away.
I really like how you’ve linked alien features to planet environments — it sneaks in real science without it feeling like a “lesson.” The group work, art, and writing tie-ins mean it covers loads of ground while still feeling playful and creative.
Taking photos of the models and drawings is a handy bit of evidence too. Sounds like a lesson the kids would genuinely love.
From the acivity set ‘Stars’, this is an activity I might do with an infant class.
Activity goal: Children learn that stars are night-time lights and explore their shape.1. Chat/Questioning: Show a night sky picture as a stimulus. “When do we see stars?”
2. Explain: “Stars are far away and only visible at night. They twinkle.”
3. Star hunt: Trace a star shape, count the points, spot stars around the room. What 2D shapes can we use to make a star shape. Star tangram.
4. Song: Sing “Twinkle, Twinkle” with actions.
5. Craft: Stick stars onto black paper with glitter/chalk.
6. Wrap-up: Hold up our star pictures and sing ‘twinkle twinkle’ again.
Differentiation ideas
Motor: Larger stars, chunky glue, hand-over-hand support
Visual: Textured stars, high contrast, verbal description
Speech/language: Picture cards/signing with key words
Attention: Short chunks, breaks, quiet space option
More able: Stars as distant suns; constellation comparison
Sensory: Textured materials; movement during the songHi Aisling
I also agree this was a fantastic lesson. It love the way it links naturally with maths, as the children are asked to spot 2D and 3D shapes. The way language development is integrated also works really well. The hands-on nature of the activity, combined with the strong focus on children using language and reflecting throughout, means it should keep them genuinely engaged throughout the lesson.
An activity I have previously used on a sunny day outdoors is where the children learn that shadows form when something blocks sunlight, and shadows change shape as they move. Children were put in pairs.
1. Questioning: “Have you seen your shadow? What makes it?”
2. Simple explanation: “The sun gives light. When you stand in its way, you block the light — and that makes a dark shape called a shadow.”
3. Shadow hunt – Each child finds their shadow. Teacher calls out: “Make it tall! Make it small! Make it disappear!”
Partners stand on each other’s shadow hands/feet4. Questioning: “Did your shadow move with you?” Explain: “No sun, no shadow!”
Fun extension activity we did was they used big chalks to trace their partner’s shadow. We checked again later in the afternoon to see it had changed position/size.
One inquiry-based acivity we could do in the classroom is to investigate what happens when we let go of something?
For engagement: Drop a ball in front of the class. Ask what they predict will happen before, then what they noticed.
Explore: In small groups, the children can drop everyday objects (feather, block, scarf, beanbag, paper) from the same height. Questions: “Did it fall fast or slow? Straight down or floaty?”
Gather findings — everything falls down, though some float more. Simple explanation: “An invisible pull brings things down. Scientists call it gravity.”
Extend: Free play throwing beanbags up, noticing they always come back down.
Vocabulary: drop, fall, push, pull, fast, slow, gravity
Assessment: Listen for children describing what happened and predicting how a new object will fall.Hi Aindrea,
Thank you for pointing me in the direcion of Chris Hadfield and his videos. I also loved your fun space fact about astronauts drinking their recycled urine. I think the children would really get a giggle out of learning that fact.
Hi! My name is Jackie. I have been teaching 4th class for the last few years but I am moving to senior infants this coming year. I have found there are always a few pupils who find the topic of space absolutely fascinating but generally all pupils enjoy learning about it. My favourite space fact is that we only see 5 % of the universe.