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Marvin and Milo Issue 19, Balloon Rocket Activity, 2nd Class
I like this simple activity a lot because it is very open ended which would support child-led and scientific enquiry.
Here is a lesson I would use based on this cartoon:
ENGAGE:
I would show partially inflated balloon. I would let the children see me inflate it, hold the opening closed, and then ask them to predict what will happen when I let go. I would encourage them to wonder and discuss their thoughts using questions such as: What do you think will happen? Why do you think that? Where have you seen something like that happen before? What is inside the balloon? How could we investigate what makes it move?
INVESTIGATE:
I would provide the balloon rocket materials (balloons, string, straws and tape) for the children to explore, but still no direct instruction on what to do. In small groups, pupils would be asked to plan a simple investigation to test if/how the balloon could move, using all equipment provided. Again, discussion and sharing ideas would be central here.
Once the groups have share their ideas, I would give out copies of the cartoon and discuss the investigation with class, focussing on key vocabulary. Each group would then be challenged to carry out the investigation, but by deciding on one variable to change (e.g., the amount of air in the balloon, the size of the balloon or the tightness of the string), while keeping the other variables the same. This would help to introduce the idea of a fair test.
Pupils would carry out their investigation and record their observations in a form suited to their needs (writing, drawing, orally, photorgraphs etc.). They could measure and compare results by measuring how far the balloon traveling using a metre stick and tape, counting how many turns reached the end of the string, using a stop watch etc.
Teacher questioning during the activity would guide thinking and application of skills. E.g. What are you changing? What are you keeping the same? Did your prediction match what happened? What evidence do you have? What would you change if you repeated the investigation?
TAKING THE NEXT STEPS & REFLECTING:
Groups share their findings and compare results. As a class, we would discuss what they discovered about how escaping air creates a pushing force. Pupils would be guided to reflect on whether their predictions were correct and how they could improve their investigation.
We would then relate this learning to every-day examples. How then do you think an aeroplane can fly? What about a sail boat?
We would finish with a reflection like, Today I discovered….. Something that surprised me was… Next time I would….
I like this lesson for younger classes. I particularly like the idea of challenging the children’s thinking to compare the impact of force (how blowing hard effects the rockets distance). Continuing on the idea of ‘taking next step’, exploring push and pull forces could further develop the learning here (or even start it). The prompt/engaging phase then could include explorative play with toy cars travelling over various ‘alien planet’ surfaces. E.g. when we push the cars across wood do they go further than when we push the across grass.
This module got me thinking about SSE and it changed my understanding of the process. Whereas previously I would have looked at it as a cycle of reflection on practice, now I recognise that meaningful improvements in teaching and learning isn’t just based on teacher reflection and assessment, but rather, should be informed also by the children’s voices.
For me, the children’s voices has always been an important factor in my room, where I have used it to inform and guide future learning and activities, but I now see how their voices can practically and importantly be included in SSE focuses on a while-school level.
Looking specifically at STEM, a core area of the new curriculum, I think choosing the skills of scientific enquiry would be great focus for SSE. The skills are an integrated set which focus on real-world learning and problem solving, therefore allowing a single SSE focus target a multi-curriculum areas. I have learned that, as we shift from teacher-led instruction to more child-led enquiry, we now have a perfect opportunity to access and include the children’s reflections in our own evaluations. Even if we just chose a couple of skills at a time, for example observing, questioning and predicting, we could use things like learning journals, smiley face rating, wonder walls etc. to have the children provide their feedback, communicate things that worked, and inform the direction they would like to go next.
This feedback would be invaluable in the SSE process, ensuring those at the centre of the learning process are those whose voices are included. So I now think that choosing a skill or set of skills, rather than the traditional subject focus, while including the children’s voices more, would be a great SSE focus.
For my classroom, I hope come September to focus much more on the process rather than the product in STEM teaching. I want to slow down and work on units/themes rather just prescribed content. Project work will be a useful approach for me and from this module, I really want to allow more time for reflection to ensure scientific skills are discreetly focussed on too.
This is a lovely unit of work. It really starts with what the children know and expands on their own experience with hands-on activities in a meaningful way. Use of story, such as the traditional Three Little Pigs, could also help integrate discreet English and Drama lessons. Then keeping with inquiry based activities, the children could design and make shelters for toy pigs using various materials and test their strength. I will definitely be utilising more thematic units like this in my teaching next year.
Stars – 2nd Class
Lesson Intro: I would darken the classroom and use a star/galaxy projector on the ceiling (we are lucky enough to have one of these in our sensory room which is portable). I would use this as a stimulus for discussion- what do you see, do all the stars look the same, in what ways are they they same/different, can you make out any shapes, can we all see the same pattern/shapes?
Discreet teaching: People have been looking at stars for thousands of years, all from different parts of the world, all noticing different shapes and patterns, called constellations. As humans, we naturally look for shapes and patterns. The constellations were given names. We are going to explore them today.
Group activity, observation: students are given cards with dots/stars but no ‘lines’, they have to try identify the familiar shape. Compare and discuss. No right or wrong ideas here. Children can also draw lines to make their shapes/patterns more visible.
Group activity, investigation/creative: Like the activity suggested in this module, children would now use hanging tinfoil on black card to create their own constellation. They should give it a name, and a story. They could be hung from the ceiling for others to observe and try to name a pattern. I really liked this idea because it showed the children, through hands on experience, that stars in a constellation are not actually close together in space, but from our perspective they can appear as a shape. For higher level differentiation, some children could be challenged to recreate a given constellation.
Whole Class Study: looking at photos of real constellations and hearing their names/stories. Children’s comments and questions here could inform next lesson.
My thoughts on this lesson are actually similar to many of the replies- that the idea of comparing and contrasting the landscapes of our world and an alien world is wonderful. Not only is it guiding the children to closely observe their own environment, but it’s also scaffolding their activity with language and ideas. Julia Donaldson’s The Smeds and the Smoos comes to mind as a great story (with wonderful illustrations) to further develop and support the learning
Activity Set- the sun and shadows
2nd Class lesson based on a selection of activities from Module 2
Learning Objective: To develop an understanding of how sunlight creates shadows and how they change as the Sun appears to move across the sky.I’d begin this lesson with free exploration of shadows. The children could explore shadows outdoors, discussing what causes them and (high-level) if/how they change throughout the day. Then to investigate this, in pairs, the students draw around each other’s shadows with chalk and return at different times during the day to compare how the size, shape and position have changed.
To further develop this, the idea of using the sun to tell the time could be explored and investigated. Children would create a simple sundial by placing a stick in the ground at an angle and marking the position of its shadow each hour during the school day. So for example, at 10:00 they mark with chalk on ground, 11:00 and so on. The next day, the children could test their sundial to estimate the time before checking it against a clock and discussing how accurate it was.
Questioning would be central to these activities. I would encourage the children to make predictions, observe carefully, record their findings and share their ideas.
I love the play-doh moon phases idea for a younger class. The tactile learning experience is so engaging and beneficial for this age. Similarly, including dance and movement is another really inclusive way to hit all learners in the classroom with the targeted content and experience.
Inquiry-based activity for an infants classroom.
Based on- Curious Minds Resource, exploring the environment using the sense of smell
Engage/Prompt: blind smell testing, e.g. coffee, flower, soap, lemon, mint. “I wonder” type questions e.g how did you smell it, can you describe the smell, how did you know what it was, what things in our classroom/yard/field can we smell, how does our nose help us?
Investigate: (pre-teaching and modelling of target vocab.) Children collect items to share and smell, describing each one. Guess which item I am describing from its smell. Sorting items by scent, e.g. sweet, strong, unpleasant. Design a perfume challenge.
The next step: reflecting on why smells are useful. Linking to smells and danger. Does the container/amount of water/covering effect the scent.
This is a gorgeous lesson, the kids would love it! Especially the prompt/hook, they idea of an umbrella for teddy is so well for infants. There’s lots of language here too, guided by questioning which would lead to great discussions. This lesson really gives the students to engage, investigate and extend their own knowledge.
Hi, my name is Lucy. September class level TBC. I’ve chosen this course because this year in school it was a topic that was adored by my class, and I feel I want to know more myself, particularly around active and investigative approaches. Favourite space fact (thanks to my 5 year old!) is that there is a huge storm on Jupiter called the Great Red Spot that has been going for over 150 years.