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I really like all of the different activities that you’ve outlined in your Space Week Plan. There is a great variety within the plan itself and also within each lesson and idea. I particularly like how you would integrate storytelling into your lessons to engage the children, while I’m sure the solar system creation activity would be really interesting, fun and enjoyable for the class. Thank you for the lovely ideas!
I think that there are plenty of materials and activities in this module to create an engaging Space Week plan, where the children will get to explore, investigate, and collaborate on some really interesting space-based ideas.
The first activity I would introduce to the class is paper aeroplane making. Either individually or in pairs, the children would be asked to create their own paper aeroplanes. As part of this, we could discuss what we think are the most important things in helping an aeroplane to fly. The children would then get the chance to throw their aeroplanes, before measuring how far they travelled, and writing down some ideas on how it could be improved next time.
The next activity that I would introduce is that of propulsion and the idea that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This could be explored by inviting the children to create balloon rockets with straws and strings, observing how the air rushing backwards from the balloon propels it forward along the string. Again, the children could discuss how it might be improved, for example, by using smaller or bigger balloons.
To finish Space week, the children could then investigate the MAterials aspect of the SESE Curriculum by making Alien Slime. This activity would give the children a chance to explore and discuss the properties of different materials, whether they be solid or liquid, before observing how some materials can change when mixed with others. This could be extended to link even more with Space Week by adding in glitter and colours to create the effect of stars shining in the night sky.
I really like all of the ideas that you have presented here. Firstly, I think it is a lovely idea to focus in on the animals themselves, their characteristics and their adaptations to their climate. I think the class would then find it really interesting to find out more about these areas, before consolidating their learning with a report or project.
I really like the idea of using the “Where do you Live?” resources to explore different houses and homes with the children, as I think it is important that they have a sense of place and community, which starts with knowing their own house or home.
I would start this particular activity by inviting the class, in groups, to think about their houses, before, in turn, telling their group mates a little bit about their houses. I would then invite a couple of children to tell me one thing they learned about someone elses’ house during the discussion.
Following this, I would then ask the children to tell me about the town they either live in or live close to. We could then look at these towns on Google Maps, before making a list of all the different places we can see on the map, and what they do in the community. We could then link this with people who help us, discussing the role of doctors, post men and women etc….
I would then invite the children, again in groups, to draw a rough sketch of a building in their local area that they think is important. Each group could then be given either modelling materials or Lego materials to try to create this building as best they can. Each group could also present their building to the class, before placing each of them side by side to create a streetscape.
I really like the storytelling based aspect to your ideas around teaching about stars. It is an enjoyable and fun way to invite children to learn about the topic. The starry night activity with mixed media also sounds really fun. I’m sure the children would really enjoy this!
Activity Set: Stars
The activity set that I would really like to use with my class is that of Stars. I would try to encourage children to think about stars by asking them what they can see when they look up into the night sky. We could then make a topic web of all of our answers.
Following this, we could link with art by observing the painting Starry Night by Van Gogh, and learning a little bit about what inspired him to paint it. We could then create our own starry nights with cotton buds, white or silver paint, and cotton buds. This could then be linked back to the idea of collections of stars, that is, constellations. The class could then watch a Youtube video based on all of the constellations visible in Irish skies. This could also be linked to ancient Greece and Greek mythology around the constellations. The children could listen to a few stories based on ancient Greek stories about how the constellations came to be.
Following this, the class could then create their own constellations using the activity set provided, and extended by inviting them to create their own brand new constellation, while also giving it an origin story explaining how it got its name.
Finally, the class could then learn the song Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay for an assembly, while also presenting their own constellation creations.
I think that these activities sound really great. They are a nice mixture of discussion, collaboration and hands on activities. I also really like how you thought to extend it to a fun observational activity at home in the evenings.
Activity Set: The Sun and Shadows
I think that the idea of exploring the Sun and Shadows has a lot of potential for effective teaching and learning in the classroom. In order to explore this with my class, I would ask them how they think shadows are made. We could then discuss how the Sun shines on the Earth, giving us night and day, before demonstrating it with a ball and a torch , observing how, as the light shines on one side of the ball, the other is in darkness.
We could then observe how the Sun casts shadows at different times of the day, marking where a shadow is cast on the wall as the day progresses. This naturally leads to the idea of the Sun being used to mark the passage of time. The class and I could conduct a survey of the school grounds, looking for a place that is in constant sunlight and unobstructed by buildings, trees etc…
In groups, the class could then create simple sun dials around the school, using a stick as the dial, clay as the mount, and stones as the markers of time. Each day for a week, the groups would be taken outside once per hour to see if the shadow from the dial has moved, and if the stones need to be adjusted to correspond with the time. The children could keep journals of their findings and observations.
Hi Laura, that is a really fun and practical idea. I’m sure the children would have great fun recreating the craters on the Moon in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Enjoy the All-Ireland celebrations!
The inquiry based activity that I think my class would really enjoy is an egg drop activity, whereby the end goal would be to build a parachute to protect an egg during a fall from a height. We could frame this as a space-themed activity by pretending the eggs are our astronauts returning to Earth, and wanting to do so as gently and effectively as possible.
This activity could be started by dropping a variety of materials from a height, predicting how they will fall, and marking where they land, before discussing the reasons why they may have done so. We could also discuss any outcomes that surprised us about how and where the objects landed.
We could then explore the idea of how and why different materials fall differently, touching on the idea of weight and gravity. We could then start to investigate which materials would be best to use to protect our falling astronauts.
In groups, the children could then design astronaut parachutes, while being encouraged to test out different materials as they go. Once the class have designed their egg parachutes, we could test them by dropping them from a height, checking to see if our egg astronauts landed safely.
The children could then discuss what they might do differently if they were to take on this challenge again.
Hi, my name is Karl. I am a teacher in a small country school, and will be teaching 2nd Class in September. My favourite space fact is that one million Earths could fit inside the Sun!
Hi Emma,I think the idea of linking the idea of Dark Skies to a physical place like a dark skies reserve is really lovely. I think the children would love the chance to learn more about something that is so close by, making it a tangible topic to explore for them.
Hi Carol,
Those are some lovely examples of nice songs and nursery rhymes that might link well with this topic. Just as you’ve mentioned, this module has been great in getting me to think of the beauty associated with the night sky.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?
This is a very interesting topic, as there are a multitude of songs or poems that children could explore. For younger children, something as simple as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star could be a nice little nursery rhyme to learn. For older classes, Sky Full of Stars by Colplay could be a nice song to learn for assembly, alongside the Irish version by TG Lurgan. To tie in with the idea of dark skies and nature, Blackbird by The Beatles could also be a good option to learn. Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra could lend itself to a lovely art lesson where children create a picture in response to the song.
In terms of art, an obvious example of what could be done is a looking and responding activity with Starry Night by Van Gogh, alongside a suitable verse of Starry Starry Night by Don McClean.
