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Hi Eimear, this is a really interesting lesson – I really like how you show the inquiry framework can still work nicely for older classes too. I would be very interested to know how you would design your shake table!
Great lesson Deirdre, it sounds like it would be extremely engaging and fun for the children. It could be good to add a small discussion on materials to this lesson too, like how for rain you would want something waterproof.
Hi Aisling, I really like how you took a lesson you have done previously and redesigned it under the inquiry framework. Does this lesson look much different from how you would have executed it before?
Aileen – this could be a nice way to discuss the differences between the different planets too, such as temperature. For example, on Venus it is extremely hot so they could consider a spacesuit that can withstand the hot, acidic atmosphere with a cooling system built in. However on the Moon, temperatures vary from extremely hot to extremely cold, so the students could consider solutions that fit these different environments.
Sarah I like how you emphasise the use of descriptive and mathematical language when describing the aliens you see in the book. Aliens are such a great subject for cross-curricular activities and for stimulating the imagination, so it’s important to keep these learning goals as the focus of your lesson.
Nice work Rebecca, I would definitely recommend going out and observing your shadows at multiple times throughout the day to really show off the Sun’s effects on us – weather permitting of course, you might want to do this in the Summer!
It sounds like your class are going to have a very exciting Space Week Michelle – this is a great weeks lesson plan for showing how Space can be used to teach so many other subjects. I especially like your imaginative astronaut interview.
Great rocket lesson Keith – the straw rockets can be very light because they are just paper, so if you’re going to do this outside you might want to make sure it’s not too windy of a day!
Great lessons Emer – I really like how you describe the science behind what is making the rockets move. I’m not sure if you plan on making these with your class, or just demonstrating for them, but the elastic rocket can be difficult for smaller children to master launching.
Brenda I really like how you mention that STEM encourages children to embrace failure as part of their learning. I also haven’t seen that website before, thank you for sharing!
Andrea – what a great idea to have the children make something that you could use in future lessons.
That sounds like a lovely lesson for younger children. It’s great to be able to incorporate Space into so many areas of the curriculum.
As a side note – one of my colleagues at Blackrock Castle Observatory uses that nursery rhyme in her planetarium shows to explain to children that planets don’t twinkle in the sky. She will say “Everyone knows twinkle twinkle little planet?” and is quickly corrected that its star not planet. She then explains that twinkling is one of their differences – stars do and planets don’t!
This sounds like a very lovely lesson Rebecca, very well suited to infants. However, to make use of the inquiry framework we want to introduce a prompt or question that the children can then explore and come to conclusions about themselves through first hand investigation.
For example, you might ask, ‘Why are there craters on the Moon?’. You could discuss and then provide the children with a tray of flour and marbles/rocks of various sizes. The children can then drop these on the flour the see if the effect looks similar to the Moon’s surface. Covering the flour in a light layer of cocoa powder can help make this more effective. Another option would be to ask why do we see different phases of the Moon. Then you could explore this with a ball (representing the Moon) and a torch (representing the Sun), allowing the children to discover and understand the moon phases first hand.
Hi Keith – I like all of your ideas and the inquiry process can be used for research, but be careful with being too vague/broad in your initial prompting. The children should have an appropriate starter question and then gather information based on that question. Covering too many different topics at once and providing activities for each different group could prove to be a lot of work for you too.