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Activity Set: Rockets
From previous experience I find that the children love lessons about spaceships/rockets. It is a topic that they tend to engage with as it is exciting and fun. It also allows for cross curricular integration for the teachers planning.
I would introduce the topic by asking the children what they know about rockets – have they ever seen a rocket?
We would listen to the story Mousetronaut by Mark Kelly. We would discuss the story and sequence the events in the story.
I would then get the children to create their own mice rockets using the mouse rocket activity in module 5. This will allow the children to get active and creative with the idea of rocket launching. I feel that the children will engage well with this activity. I would get the children to predict what they think will happen to the mice. We would all get to launch our mice observing which one goes the furthest and discuss why this might be. Each child would countdown from 10 before launching integrating maths into the lesson.
I am looking forward to using this lesson with my class!
This is a great lesson idea – I especially like the gallery walk as this allows the children to see other ideas as well as giving them the opportunity to be proud of their own work!
I would teach the children about the topic ‘where we live’.
Introduction: Ask the children where they live and establish their thoughts on this – from previous lessons this can open up a great conversation as some will have different answers to this question: Dublin, Ireland, planet earth etc. Once this discussion is had – get them to think about where they live with regards to houses and homes. Discuss the different types of houses and homes that we see in Ireland – this could be expanded to look at different houses seen in other countries (depending on different climates they need different styled houses)
Investigate different ways of constructing houses – blocks, Lego, playboy etc. which houses are stronger etc. Get them to create their own home with boxes – adding them all together to make a village of different structures – I did this one year at Christmas and we made a village for elves – this could also be used in conjunction with the previous lesson on aliens to make an alien village.
This lesson offers the children the opportunity to get creative and imaginative with their houses as well as learning about different types of houses and homes.
I really love the idea of integrating drama into the lesson – I can see how much fun the children would have acting out their alien characters. I will definitely try this with my class!
Activity: Space and Aliens
The topic of space and aliens is one that I find the children really engage with. It allows opportunities for children to get creative and use their own imagination.
I would introduce the topic of aliens and space by asking the children what they already know about the topic. I would use the book ‘The Smeds and the Smoos’ by Julia Donaldson as the prompt to engage their interest. I love this book as it’s rhyming and artwork are very good for catching the children’s attention.
I would use questioning to investigate what they think about aliens after the story. I would ask them to create their own alien using different means – play doh station, junk art station and drawing and colouring station – this would allow the children to create their own idea of what an alien looks like using various ways and materials.
To conclude I would get the children to present their favourite alien to the class and encourage them to think of a name to give it.
Teaching Lesson: The moon
Introduce the children to the topic by asking them what they know about the moon helping to gauge where the children are at with the topic.
Use a song or video to engage the children with the lesson.
Investigate the topic by asking questions:
What shape is the moon?
Is it always visible in the sky?
When do we see it?
This will get the children thinking about and using previous knowledge to explore the topic. Get the children to record the moon shape in a notebook over a week and discuss what they see – is it changing etc.
Conclusion: the children will be able to describe the moons appearance over time
This is such a lovely idea – I will definitely add this to my mind map for ideas for fun ways of teaching!
Inquiry based learning in my Senior Infants classroom
Topic: Sinking and Floating
Engage the children with a visual prompt of the sea/ocean. Have a discussion about water/ocean – elicit their prior knowledge and understanding of the sea. Talk about what happens when you throw a stone in the water – What happens to the stone? Explore ideas about other items that you might see on the water. Discuss the floating and sinking – allowing the children to use this vocabulary when talking about things in the water.
Investigate their knowledge of floating and sinking – what do you think would happen if I put a an object in the water? Get the children to work in pairs and look at some various objects – what are they? Do you think they will float or sink – make predictions for each object.
Conduct the investigation – allow the children the opportunity, resources and information needed to test their predictions – They can record their results on an age appropriate result sheet. Circulate the room asking questions and allowing the children to give reasons for why they are making their decisions. Collate the information as a class
This is a great way to teach using a fun and interactive method – the children will be engaged and using paired work will allow them to collaborate and discuss ideas.