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I love the idea of using a video of a real life rocket launch as a stimulus for activities. I think this would work especially well in senior classes!
I love linking picture books with science and I think an Oliver Jeffers book could work really well as a starting point for a science lesson, especially in the junior classes, as his stories encourage curiosity, imagination and questioning. Here We Are would be a lovely link for a space-themed science lesson, as it opens up conversations about Earth, space and the idea of exploring beyond our planet.
Following the story, I would use a few hands-on rocket activities to allow children to investigate and test their ideas. One activity could be making balloon rockets, where children use a balloon attached to a straw on a piece of string to explore how air pushes the rocket forward. They could predict which designs might travel the furthest and test different variables.
Another activity could be designing and building rockets from recycled materials. Children could work like engineers, thinking about the parts a rocket needs, creating their own designs and improving them after testing.
I would also try a paper rocket investigation, where children make simple paper rockets and explore how changing the shape, size or weight affects how far they travel. This would encourage them to make predictions and compare results.
A final activity could be a rocket launch countdown and investigation, using simple materials such as straws and paper rockets, where children record which rocket design reaches the highest or travels the furthest.
The picture book is a great stimulus to move to practical investigations, as it gives children a context for their learning while developing skills such as predicting, observing, testing and explaining.I have little “STEM” boxes in my classroom (colourful photo storage boxes I got on Amazon) they contain lego, marbles, lollipop sticks, matchsticks, small jenga blocks; small plus plus blocks etc. They are just so handy to put out on tables for any activity described above and you can laminate and attach “STEM Challenges” to them too such as building bridges etc
Junior Infants could explore the theme of cold weather through engaging, hands-on activities that encourage language development, scientific thinking, and play-based learning. Children can participate in activities such as sorting pictures of clothing into “cold weather” and “hot weather” categories, dress paper dolls in suitable winter clothing, and create cotton wool snow scenes. We use the Rainbow Oral Language programme in our school for Junior Classes and there are lovely posters on the Arctic/Antarctic which could provide a really good starting point to discuss cold weather and appropriate clothing for it.
The children could investigate animals that live in cold places, such as penguins and polar bears, by matching animals to their habitats and discussing how they stay warm. Sensory play with ice, snow-themed small world play, and role-play in a “winter clothing shop” could further develop vocabulary and oral language. Fine motor skills could be supported through cutting, sticking, threading scarves, and winter-themed playdough activities.
These activities support the School Self-Evaluation process by promoting active, collaborative learning and developing pupils’ oral language, observation, and problem-solving skills. It is quite straightforward to gather evidence of learning through observation, questioning, children’s work samples, and photographs of practical activities. A science journal (either whole class or individual) could be a good way to keep all observations and samples together. This information could be used to reflect on teaching approaches, monitor pupil engagement, and inform future planning for Science across the whole school, ensuring continuous improvement in learning experiences for all children.Love the idea of the invitation to play in a space station role play Alison and the “alien parade” is a great way to spark a question and answer session about their alien creations!<!–/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_260806_140455_958.sdocx–>
<span style=”font-size: 15px;”> I’m going to be teaching Junior Infants in the new school year so I’m basing my activities around that! For my space and aliens activity I would use a stimulus such as a picture book(I love The Smeds and the Smoos or Aliens Wear Underpants). Oliver Jeffers also has some fab space themed picture books and I find its a topic that really inspires awe and wonder in the children.
1. Introduction
Gather the children in a circle. Look through a toy telescope at a picture of a starry galaxy. Ask the children what they think lives far away in space. Introduce the concept of a friendly alien.Maybe even give it a name or use an alien puppet
2. Designing and Making
Provide each group with an array of art materials such as: Googly eyes (encourage them to use three or four eyes), pipe cleaners twisted into fun shapes,mini pom-poms, shiny tinfoil scraps, and markers for mouths.Children practice fine motor skills by peeling stickers, gluing materials, and bending pipe cleaners.
3. Sharing
Each child holds up their creation. Help them give their alien a funny space name and share one thing their alien loves to eat or do. I have done a similar activity with my class over the years. Simple but very effective! </span>
<!–/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_260806_140455_958.sdocx–>If I’m doing a topic on the Sun and shadows with Junior Infants,I try keep it really hands-on. A simple favourite of mine is going outside to find and talk about different shadows, then tracing the children’s own shadows with chalk. If you can, go back later in the day to see how they’ve changed.
Another easy activity is a building challenge. Give the children blocks or LEGO and ask them to build a tower that makes the longest shadow. They love comparing whose shadow is biggest!
You could also use a torch indoors with small toys and let the children investigate which objects make dark shadows and which let light through. This works well for introducing the idea that some materials block light while others don’t.
A fun engineering task is to challenge them to build a little shelter for a teddy that keeps it in the shade. They can test their ideas using the Sun (or a torch if you’re inside).
The key is lots of predicting, observing, talking and testing rather than explaining everything first. We know that Junior Infants learn so much through exploring and asking questions, and that they do!!Hi Frances, love your fact about butterfly galaxies and how lucky you are to be able to use a smart telescope! August has lots of cool space events coming up including a Perseid meteor shower so hopefully you get plenty of cool shots!!
Hi, I’m Louise and I’ll be teaching Junior Infants this year. My favourite space fact is that 1.3 million Earths would fit in the sun by volume, it’s a mind blowing reminder of how tiny we are in the vast universe!
Inquiry-Based Learning Activity: Space – The Moon
I would start with an exciting prompt/a picture book about space or the Moon, something along the lines of “Oh no! A friendly astronaut has sent us a message from space. They looked out of their spaceship window last night and noticed the Moon looked different! They need our help to find out why the Moon changes shape. Can we become Space Detectives and solve the mystery?”
I might use a toy astronaut puppet asking for help. The infants would be encouraged to share what they already know about the Moon and ask their own questions. We’ve been trying to keep a Maths journal throughout our school since last year, it might also be a good idea to have a science journal to support inquiry-based learning too- the children could record what they already know about the moon in this. WALT and WILF could be useful here.1. Children investigate using photographs of the Moon, storybooks, videos and a torch with a ball to model how light shines on the Moon. They observe how the Moon appears to change shape over time and discuss what they notice.
2. The class asks questions (the puppet could model these questions) such as:
Why does the Moon shine?
Does the Moon change shape?
Can we see the Moon during the day?
What do astronauts see on the Moon?
3. Children predict answers, test ideas using the torch-and-ball model, and compare their observations with real photographs.4. Pupils share their discoveries with partners and the class. Teach the idea that the Moon does not make its own light—it reflects sunlight—and that we see different parts of the Moon lit up as it moves around the Earth.
Integration: Pupils could create a Moon craft using paper plates or black and white paint to represent different Moon phases. They could also keep a simple Moon diary for one week by drawing what they see in the evening sky with their families. Record any findings in their Science journal.A lovely list Elaine, I would add any Oliver Jeffers books to the list also, they are fabulous, for example “How to catch a Star” “Meanwhile, back on Earth” and “Where to hide a Star” would all fit in beautifully with any project work on dark skies and biodiversity.
I chose to plan a project for senior classes collecting Ireland’s píseogs, traditions and night stories
Curriculum Links
English: Oral language, interviewing, report writing, storytelling.
History: Local history and folklore.
Geography: Sense of place and community.
Visual Arts: Illustration and design.
Drama: Storytelling and performance.
SPHE: Respect for older generations and community traditions.
Project Overview:
Students become folklore collectors, interviewing parents, grandparents, neighbours or family friends to discover traditional Irish beliefs (píseogs), stories, sayings and customs connected with the night.
The emphasis is on preserving local culture rather than proving whether stories are true. I would envisage this being a lovely thing to get started around Halloween time and continue throughout the year.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the project pupils will:
understand what folklore and píseogs are
develop interviewing skills
collect oral history respectfully
compare traditions from different counties
recognise how stories were used to teach, entertain and explain the unknown
produce a class folklore collection.
Explain to pupils that a píseog is an old Irish belief, superstition or tradition passed from one generation to another.
Examples include:
Never whistle at night.
Seeing the new moon over your right shoulder brings luck.
Knock on wood for good fortune.
A robin visiting the garden brings good news.
Stimulus questions could be:
Why were nights different before electricity?
What sounds would people hear?
What frightened children?
How did families entertain themselves?
Talk about:fairy forts, banshees/ghosts, strange lights, lucky and unlucky signs, and weather signs seen at night.
Interview Task:
Each pupil interviews an older person in their family or wider community.
Questions could include:
Were there stories people told after dark?
Were there places you avoided at night?
Did people believe in ghosts or fairies?
Píseogs
What beliefs did people have about night-time?
Was there anything you should never do after dark?
Did anyone say special prayers before bed?
Sounds
Were there sounds people thought meant something?
Were owls, dogs or birds considered lucky or unlucky?
Nature
Did the moon have any special meaning?
Were there signs in the stars or weather?Classroom Activities could include: Story Map- add each tradition to the county where it came from, a night timeline comparing long ago and today, look at answers to interview questions and compare traditions in each area/county, art activities such as drawing the moon, imagining a fairy fort or banshee, an owl/bats etc, perform a story using teacher in role or still images, creative writing using prompts from interview questions.
The project could be ongoing for the year, culminating in a class “Night Folklore Scrapbook” including collected interviews, illustrations, county map, pupil reflections etc or the children could create a digital slideshow or short podcast where pupils retell selected stories.
A nice way to end the project would be to invite a local storyteller or historian to visit the class or even visit a local heritage centre or library to explore collections of Irish folklore.
I like the creative aspect of this project-linking the unknown and the unproven aspect of folklore and píseogs with the knowns of science, maths and technology.Hi Bernie,
I love all of your poem and song suggestions as an introduction to biodiversity lessons- inspiring lots of creative and critical thinking in the children! You mentioned photographs also- a wildlife photography competition would be a lovely way to elicit interest in biodiversity and a great focal point for further work in class.
I teach Junior Infants in a DEIS 1 Urban school so I would use a highly active, sensory, and playful approach when teaching about biodiversity and the effects of light pollution.
I would introduce the topic by helping them to explore local urban biodiversity. I would use the following methodologies:Predictive Drawing: Before heading outside, I would have children draw creatures they think live in the schoolyard. This illicits prior knowledge and builds anticipation.
Sensory Yard Safari: I might take pupils to the concrete edges, fence lines, or grass areas of the yard. I would give them cardboard “magnifying glasses” or toilet paper roll binoculars to narrow their focus and for an element of fun and excitement!
Give them a focus by searching for:
Minibeasts: Woodlice under rocks, snails on walls, ants in tarmac cracks.
Plants: Dandelions pushing through concrete, clover, or moss on walls, leaves, buds etc
Birds: pigeons or robins nesting in nearby gutters, and also mention endangered species of birds in Ireland such as puffins and how we might help them.
I might use a resource such as a minibeast checklist or Spring checklist depending on time of year (Twinkl have some good ones)
Picture Books: Night Monkey, Day Monkey, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Superworm, etc
It might also be useful here to mention common Irish nocturnal animals that we don’t see during the day such as moths, hedgehogs, foxes and bats, and discuss how light pollution might affect them more.To explore the effects of light pollution in an age appropriate way, I might do the following:
Set up a pop-up tent or drape a dark blanket over a classroom table.
Have children climb inside with the blanket down. It is dark, cosy, and perfect for a “sleeping hedgehog.”
Shine a bright flashlight directly through the blanket. Ask: “If you were a little animal trying to sleep or hunt in the dark, would you like this bright light in your eyes?”
Streetlamp Mapping: Walk to the front of the school where streetlights are visible. Point them out. Ask them to look out their bedroom window at home that night. Is there a big bright light shining into their garden or street?
Light Detectives: make colourful stickers/signs near light switches etc as reminders to turn off lights. This can be part of a Green Schools campaign also.
Make bug hotels:Gather loose sticks, leaves, and bark from around the schoolyard. Stack them in a quiet, shady corner to make a mini-beast hotel. Explain that this creates a safe, dark, damp place where bugs can hide from bright city lights during the day and night.