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Great lesson – a good addition for this age group would be the rocket mouse activity (https://learning.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/resources/rocket-mice/)
Rocket Mouse is a great because it uses inexpensive materials and a really simple task for them to get involved in!
Hi Claire, this is a very full and fun lesson. I love the idea to use biscuits to represent the Moon, but I wonder how long the biscuits would last before disappearing into their bellies!
Your idea to model the Sun, Moon and Earth is so simple but very effective. It’s a great visual representation.
Hi Deirdre, very nice lesson. I like how you explain the constellations were created to help navigate and tell stories. I think it’s important to understand that the stars in constellations are not actually connected, they just look close together from our position on Earth.
Very nice David – I love the simple activities you have come up with like matching clothes to weather and I think its a great idea to integrate with Irish. Wonderful!
This seems like a really well rounded week of Space Week activities Criona. I like how you incorporate the topic into other areas of learning like art and writing. What digital tools would you use to document learning?
I like how hands on this lesson is. Experimenting with balloon size and angle are great for getting children thinking and I find that they are always very determined to get their rocket to go as far as possible!
The outside shadow experiment is so fun! If you have a big enough area you could use your shadow measurements and chalk to make a simple sundial.
Hi Ciara, that sounds like a lovely lesson. This is a great topic for children and I really like how you talk about tracking the weather, that’s a lovely simple experiment for the children and great for showing the change in weather throughout the seasons if you can consistently track it throughout the school year.
Hi Ciara, a fun thing to do when looking at Mars is show the kids a mix of images from Earth deserts alongside Mars images, and have them guess where the image was taken. Certain areas of Earth do share a lot of the same features Mars has and it’s quite nice to show them how the planets are so different to Earth, but still be somewhat familiar to us.
Good work Ciara, allowing the children to make their own guesses and predictions before giving any guidance is so important for developing their critical thinking.
Making your own floating device is also a great way for them to test out what they’ve learned in a creative, hands on way.
Great lesson Caroline, I like your use of the KWL chart and giving them the opportunity to try out making different kinds of rockets is very nice. Rocket mice are especially very simple but so fun.
Hi Caitlin – this would be a nice lesson for 5th class to practice making simple circuits. You could link it to light pollution by creating a simple circuit with a light and discussing/creating ways of focusing that light downwards with simple covers on the top of the light source.
This is a lovely lesson Amanda! I checked out the story you mentioned – I hadn’t seen it before but it’s got a great amount of detail on the planets. There’s also a great ESA video with their kids mascot Paxi about the Solar System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mibxJwpennU&t=9s
Hi Aine – Stellarium is a really great tool, we use it all the time at Blackrock Castle Observatory. Another one that’s great for visualising the solar system as a whole is NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/home?embed=true