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Activity Set: Stars
I think the topic of stars would be an interesting lesson to use in the Junior Infants classroom. I would begin by asking the children what they know about stars-their colour/shape/size, when we see them, their brightness etc and record their answers on the whiteboard.
I would then introduce the children to a video of ‘Stars’ on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuAPFMXcYM. After the video, I would get the children to discuss what they learned from the video which was something they didn’t know already and I would add these to the whiteboard list.
The children would then take part in a hands-on activity by creating their own starry night sky picture. Using a template of a night sky, they would add some materials to create their own design. I would have a mixture of stickers, glow in the dark stickers, star cut-outs, paint, cotton buds, sponges, pastels available on each desk. Once finished, I would get the children to show their individual pictures to the class.
At the end of the lesson, I would read the story ‘My Pet Star’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9vnS_pT_ak. I would also ask the children to observe the stars over the next few nights and discuss each morning with the class what they noticed about the stars from the previous night.
Activity Set: Stars
I think the topic of stars would be an interesting lesson to use in the Junior Infants classroom. I would begin by asking the children what they know about stars-their colour/shape/size, when we see them, their brightness etc and record their answers on the whiteboard.
I would then introduce the children to a video of ‘Stars’ on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuAPFMXcYM. After the video, I would get the children to discuss what they learned from the video which was something they didn’t know already and add it to the whiteboard list.
The children would then take part in a hands-on activity by creating their own starry night sky picture. Using a template of a night sky, they would add some materials to create their own design. I would have a mixture of stickers, glow in the dark stickers, star cut-outs, paint, cotton buds, sponges, pastels available on each desk. Once finished, I would get the children to show their individual pictures to the class.
At the end of the lesson, I would read the story ‘My Pet Star’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9vnS_pT_ak. I would also ask the children to observe the stars over the next few nights and we would discuss each morning what we saw the previous night.
I like the activity on ‘Rockets’ for my Junior Infants as I feel it would really grab their attention and provide a great hands-on activity lesson.
Firstly I would question the children on their prior knowledge of rockets-what they look like, what they do, where do they go? I would then show the children a cartoon video of a rocket construction and how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R8V68viXqk
I would introduce the video of ‘Rocket Mice’ and explain that we are going to create our own ones and test them as a class. I would have containers of varying sizes and all the children would choose one and put their ‘mouse’ on top. We would test them and see which ones went higher/furthest distance and discuss why this may have happened. We could narrow down our findings then to what size container was used and what pressure was applied.
As a class, we would then discuss other materials we could use for our rockets and whether to experiment with them inside or outside and if there were any other changes they would make to the experiment.
To finish the lesson and as an extension activity, I would read the story ‘Sadie Sprocket builds a Rocket’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8QXnpBch2Y and get the children to design and draw a rocket of their choice.
I like the activity on ‘Rockets’ for my Junior Infants as I feel it would really grab their attention and provide a great hands-on activity lesson.
Firstly I would question the children on their prior knowledge of rockets-what they look like, what they do, where do they go? I would then show the children a cartoon video of a rocket construction and how it works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R8V68viXqk
I would introduce the video of ‘Rocket Mice’ and explain that we are going to create our own ones and test them as a class. I would have containers of vary-ing sizes and all the children would choose one and put their ‘mouse’ on top. We would test them and see which ones went higher/furthest distance and discuss why this may have happened. We could narrow down our findings then to what size container was used and what pressure was applied.
As a class, we would then discuss other materials we could use for our rockets and whether to experiment with them inside or outside and if there were any other changes they would make to the experiment.
To finish the lesson and as an extension activity, I would read the story ‘Sadie Sprocket builds a Rocket’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8QXnpBch2Y and get the children to design and draw a rocket of their choice.That sounds like a great lesson Abby. I’m sure the children will be very interested to see what the ‘Alien drink’ will look like! It grabs their attention from the start.
In my Junior Infants classroom, I would provide regular hands on, play based activities that encourage children to explore, investigate, and solve problems as part of a STEM focused SSE. I think a ‘Homes’ theme whereby children design and build houses using construction blocks, recycled boxes, Lego and other everyday materials is a good lesson as it’s something we discuss in different lessons in Junior Infants about where we live and what materials houses are made from. We did something similar last year by basing it on ‘The Three Little Pigs’.
They would be encouraged to think about what makes a house strong and how they can build one that stands up on its own. It’s encouraging the children to ask questions, listen to other ideas, test their ideas, and discuss the results. The children could test their houses to see if their chosen materials are suitable by pouring water on them, placing extra cubes on top, leaving them beside an open window and many more.
To further develop STEM in my classroom, I would leave plenty of different resources out especially during free play whereby children could choose a different material to construct a house. I would also leave worksheets out so that the children could draw the materials they used to construct their original house and add in anything different they would do.
These activities are very beneficial for children and gets the children talking, thinking, listening, experimenting, observing, predicting and reflecting.
Our school is the very same Aindrea. We need to put more emphasis on the teaching of Science and scientific skills and be more consistent as we have plenty of resources available but sometimes, we feel time is against us and trying to fit other things into the timetable.
Activity Set: Stars
I think the topic of stars would be an interesting lesson to use in the Junior Infants class-room. I would begin by asking the children what they know about stars-their col-our/shape/size, when we see them, their brightness etc and record their answers on the whiteboard.I would then introduce the children to a video of ‘Stars’ on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuAPFMXcYM. After the video, I would get the children to discuss what they learned from the video which was something they didn’t know already and add it to the whiteboard list.
The children would then take part in a hands-on activity by creating their own starry night sky picture. Using a template of a night sky, they would add some materials to create their own design. I would have a mixture of stickers, glow in the dark stickers, star cut-outs, paint, cotton buds, sponges, pastels available on each desk. Once finished, I would get the children to show their individual pictures to the class.At the end of the lesson, I would read the story ‘My Pet Star’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9vnS_pT_ak. I would also ask the children to observe the stars over the next few nights and we would discuss each morning what we saw the previous night.
That sounds like a lovely lesson Monica for Junior Infants. The use of torches would add great excitement and interest in the lesson.
In my Junior Infants classroom, I would base my activity set on ‘The Moon’. I would begin by asking the children about the moon, ‘’Where it is?’’, ‘’What it looks like?’’ etc. I would then show the children a picture of the Moon and ask further questions such as, “Does the Moon look like what you thought it looked like?”, “What colour is it?”, and “What shapes or patterns are on the Moon?”
The children would then make their own Moon using paper plates/clay/playdoh. I would have a photo of the moon displayed on the whiteboard and the children could work in pairs or as individuals. Throughout the activity, I would ask simple questions such as, ‘’What are the holes in the moon called?’’ ‘’Why do you think it’s that colour?’’ The children would be encouraged to share their ideas and listen to each other’s answers.
At the end of the lesson, the class would come together to discuss what they learned about the Moon and share their artwork. I would also make the children aware of who was the first man on the Moon.
As a home-school link activity, I would get the children to draw the shape of the Moon over a few evenings/nights and we could discuss them at the end of the week or the following week. This activity encourages curiosity, observation, and creativity in a fun and engaging way.
The game of shadow tag sounds really fun. It’s something I’d definitely use with my class next year.
I would use an inquiry-based STEM activity based on designing a ‘boat that floats’ with my Junior Infants. I always start my lessons by questioning the children to see what they know already. For example, ‘’what materials would float in water?’’ ‘’How do you know it will float/sink?’’. With the class, I would test different materials in water to see if they would sink/float and it would give the children an idea of which ones might suit in order to make their boat float. Children would work in small groups to investigate different materials, such as foil, plastic containers, paper, and lollipop sticks. They would design and build a simple boat before testing it in a basin of water.
Once their boats float, we could then discuss what would happen if we added extra materials or weight to their boats. The children would need to discuss whether they think their boat is strong enough if we were to add plastic bears or counters to their boats. The children could discuss the outcome then and ways to improve their boats if needed. Throughout the activity, I would encourage inquiry by asking open-ended questions. There are lots of questions which could be discussed such as ‘’What materials were better to use?’’ ‘’How could we improve some boats that started to sink once more materials were added?’’. This activity develops children’s teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and hands on approach appropriate for Junior Infants.<p class=”isselectedend”><span style=”font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: ‘Comic Sans MS’;”>I would use an inquiry-based STEM activity based on <span style=”font-family: ‘Comic Sans MS’; font-weight: normal;”>designing a ‘boat that floats’ with my Junior Infants</span>. I always start my lessons by questioning the children to see what they know already. For example, ‘’what materials would float in water?’’ ‘’How do you know it will float/sink?’’. With the class, I would test different materials in water to see if they would sink/float and it would give the children an idea of which ones might suit in order to make their boat float. Children would work in small groups to investigate different materials, such as foil, plastic containers, paper, and lollipop sticks. They would design and build a simple boat before testing it in a basin of water. </span></p>
<p class=”isselectedend”><span style=”font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: ‘Comic Sans MS’;”>Once their boats float, we could then discuss what would happen if we added extra materials or weight to their boats. The children would need to discuss whether they think their boat is strong enough if we were to add plastic bears or counters to their boats. The children could discuss the outcome then and ways to improve their boats if needed. Throughout the activity, I would encourage inquiry by asking open-ended questions. There are lots of questions which could be discussed such as ‘’What materials were better to use?’’ ‘’How could we improve some boats that started to sink once more materials were added?’’. This activity develops children’s teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and hands on approach appropriate for Junior Infants.</span></p>Hi, my name is Louise and I teach Junior Infants. My favourite space fact is that Jupiter is so big that 1,300 Earths could fit inside it by volume.
