Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Veronica, I love the idea of brining learning outdoors once a fortnight to observe changes in flora and fauna. The seasonal aspect would also be very effective too in teaching children how the weather and climate effects the flora and fauna in their local environment.
Susan this is a brilliant idea. I love how you plan to link the lesson with Maths by using the data provided by Met Eireann. This would definitely help to keep the children engaged and stimulate their interest in the topic.
For younger classes, describe how you would plan and conduct a lesson on map making and explain how you might incorporate some online tools such as Google maps or Geohive:
I am a teacher in the Junior end of a vertical school and I have often incorporated map work e.g. Google Maps in various lessons. One lesson in particular on map making that I planned and conducted began with me holding up a paper map for the class and asking higher-order and lower-order questions about it in order to gain an insight into their prior knowledge. I then put Google Maps (set to our local community) on the Interactive Whiteboard and asked the children to point out where they think our school is. We examined the various features of the map e.g. Street View, Satellite and Map view and then practiced giving directions from the school to our local church, playground and supermarket.
We then made use of our spatial awareness vocabulary to give directions to our homes from our school.Emma, this is a brilliant lesson plan. It makes great use of digital technology in the learning of STEM, as well as hands-on activities that allow for inquiry based learning.
I will definitely make use of the Curious Minds ESERO Framework for Inquiry in my teaching of STEM in the coming school year. It is a very structured and organised approach and it allows for children to be active in their own learning. It also sparks curiosity in children through hands-on, active activities. The planning guide is quite comprehensive and I just know it would be effective in my teaching of STEM.This framework would definitely make the teaching and learning of STEM subjects more effective and engaging for the children in my class. The Investigate stage would allow for the learners to ask questions, make predictions and conduct investigations which would allow for the students to take a central role in their own learning.
I would use the Online resources and tools in my classroom in order to have enhance my SSE lessons using STEM.
I have Junior Infants for the coming year and I just know how beneficial and engaging Milo and Marvin will be in my classroom. The animated creatures wonder why things happens which would therefore spark curiosity and wonder within the children in my class. The cartoon strip is very bright and vibrant which I feel will get the children very interested and engaged at the beginning of the lesson. This resource is so straight-forward as it provides a list of the equipment that will be needed for experiments and a step-by-step guide of how to carry out the experiments. The children will learn so many new skills from the various experiments provided.
Another online resource I would love to use is The Astronomy picture of the Day. I just know that the children will find it very exciting to see the different images each day. I would love to have the website open every morning as the children come into the classroom so that they can exam it themselves or with their friends before a whole class discussion on it. I feel like they would learn so many new facts and enjoy looking at the Earth or Space from various angles.
I would use the ‘Making a Rocket’ activity in my classroom.
To begin, I would introduce the topic of Rockets and Spaceships. The children would engage in think-pair-share and come up with some ideas as to what kind of features are important in rockets in order to make them suitable for Space.
The children would then work in pairs to create their rockets. They would firstly draw a labelled sketch of what they plan to do with the materials provided in order to create a rocket. They would then begin to design and make their rockets using a variety of recycled materials. The children would make use of their creativity skills in order to design and make their rockets. The could also make use of their mathematical skills to measure the length of the various parts of their rockets. The children could explore different ways to make the rocket stand up freely and then they would present their rockets to their classmates.This sounds like a great lesson idea, Laura. I love the fact that you would use recyclable materials to create the rockets as it also ties in to our planet and the importance of looking after our environment. You are right, it is a great way to develop creativity, fine motor skills and ensure the use of teamwork in a lesson.
I agree with you Aisling. The ESERO lessons are a very good guide for teaching the topics outlined. It is great to have a resource that covers all the different levels of the Junior school curriculum. The lessons are so engaging for the children and comprehensive for the teacher. I also love the idea of the ‘What Clothes to wear’ lessons for children in Junior Infants as it would very engaging and practical for the children to take part in such a hands on activity using real clothing.
I would use the Stars activity set with my class.
To begin, I would introduce the topic of Stars by playing the song ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’. The children would join in, sing along and dance along if they wish.I would ask them some lower-order/higher-order questions about their previous knowledge of Stars including ‘Have you ever seen stars?’ ‘What exactly are stars?’ ‘How far away do you think stars are?’ We would then talk about constellations of stars and I would show them some images of them on the IWB.
After this, each child would be given a template to draw their own constellations. They could compare them with each other and the images on the IWB. The children would then work in pairs to create Star Lanterns. They would copy one of their constellations onto their lantern. The children could then present their Star Lanterns to the class.Niamh these ideas are amazing! I am definitely hoping to use some of them in the coming year as I will also have Junior Infants.
I would use the Activity Set: The Planets in my class.
To begin, I would introduce the planets to the class. I would use visual aids and the IWB to display pictures on the different plants and how they differ from one another. I would tell the children the names of each of the planets and chose 8 individual children to stand at the top of the room. Each of these children would be given a label with the name of a different planet on it. The class would work to put the children in the correct order of the planets (the order could be displayed on the IWB in the background to assist them). I would then play ‘The Planets song’. We would listen to it twice and I would ask the children to join in with it. I would then go on to play The Planet Game with the children on the IWB for a few minutes. We would then finish the lesson with The Planet Dance.
I love this idea Laura. I did something similar with my class last year except we used our own shadows and drew them in the yard at 3 different times during the school day. The children were so fascinated how although we were standing in the same marked spot each time, the location of our shadows had changed as the Earth had moved.
An inquiry based approach I would take to a lesson with Junior Infants would be demonstrating how the Earth orbits the sun using our own shadows.
I would start the lesson with a question – do we think that the Earth spins slowly or stands still. Children use the think/pair/share to come up with their answers and reasons as to why. I will then explain to them how the Earth moves very slowly everyday around the sun which is why we have day and night.
Each child would be provided with a piece of chalk on a sunny day. We would head out to the yard three times on that specific day for example at; 9am, 11am and 1pm. The children would each be given a specific space on the yard and they would have to draw their own shadows. They would do this three times in one given day at the times mentioned above and it would show them how their shadow has moved as the sun has moved during the day.
