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This activity involves predicting future temperatures based on greenhouse gas emissions, this activity can be a highly interactive and engaging topic for children to engage in. It will build on their awareness of the environmental and global warming and also lead to discussion on how best to look after the environment.
To incorporate this into my class, I would begin by showing the Paxi video as my stimulus, this would open up discussion on the concept of greenhouse gases. Tar éis é seo, I would guide students through the use of a simulation tool, allowing them to adjust variables and observe how these changes affect temperature predictions. This interactive, hands-on approach would help deepen their understanding of climate change and the impact of global warming.
To further enrich the activity, I would show children real world data and statistical trends on temperature increases and then have children propose solutions.It really is a great initiative for the Green Shools committee to take on. Each classes representatives could provide feedback to their respective classes on how the weather stations are developing and progressing.
The ESA resources offer excellent activities for classroom use, with a clear and practical layout. If I were to incorporate these into my teaching, I would begin by exploring the distinction between weather and climate. Although this difference may be clear to adults, it’s a concept that young children could benefit from understanding more deeply.
Weather station – I would aim to establish a weather station in the school sensory garden. The first step would be to assemble my class and the classes of those collaborating. Collaborating in this way not only fosters teamwork and cooperation, but also broadens the effectiveness of the activity, allowing more students to engage in the learning.
Instruments such as a thermometer, rain gauge, and wind vane are essential to the activity. These items would be discussed with children beforehand, how they work and what their functions are. Once the instruments are in place, we would start collecting and recording data. We would also have some parents or members of the local community centre to work with the children, fostering collaboration and relationships between school and community.
The idea of the follow up art activity is a great idea for the mouse rocket building task as it makes the learning a fully immersive experience for the children. Look at the NASA kids website for ideas on how you want children to design/build their space crafts.
I would design a spacecraft for my class.
At first, we would discuss what we know about spacecrafts and who travels in them, we would delve deeper by discussing the different types of a spacecraft using a visual, for example, the cargo hold, the crew module and the service module.
I would attempt to get a guest speaker in or online to discuss the important features of a spacecraft, such as the communication systems, life support systems, the windows and protective features. This would conclude the first lesson on designing a spacecraft.
For the second part of the lesson we would discuss spacecraft designs, eventually moving onto designing our own ones on paper, labeling the different parts and materials in the process. I would encourage children to add certain features in their designs such as windows, solar panels, the cargo hold and an antenna. I would ensure the children design their space crafts on paper, taking into account what materials from around the classroom they could use.
For our final lesson on designing a spacecraft, we would gather what materials we need and construct our spacecraft using art materials from home and around the class. Once finished, we would engage in talk and discussion regarding the names of our spacecrafts.They are some great ideas, you should also have a look at NASA kids website for information and interactive games. They also have a great channel you should check out on YouTube.
Online resources and tools
There are many excellent online resources and tools that can make teaching science to primary school kids engaging and interactive.
One of the websites I have used in the past is the NASA kids club, not only does it show age based videos to children, it also has some interactive games and educational activities that compliment the learning. NASA also has an excellent YouTube channel for kids which explains missions and has videos of astronauts giving talks on astronaut life.
National Geographic also has lots of videos, games, and activities on a wide range of scientific topics including space.
The European Space Agency’s site for kids is excellent as it involves educational content about space missions and the universe.Love the idea of using dice to decide what features the alien would have, integrating math with art in a subtle way.
Activity: stars
I would begin this lesson by getting children to do a join the dot exercise which would be of different constellations. I would then discuss the different constellations and which ones can be best seen for Ireland, for example, Orion.
I would use Orion as my focus and show the children the constellation on the IWB.For English integration I would share the story of Orion from Greek mythology, including how he was a great hunter and his place in the sky.
For Geography integration I would show children the constellation in relation to other stars and constellation. Explaining that Orion’s Belt is one of the easiest star formations to recognize and is a good guide to finding other constellations using cardinal directions.
For Visual Arts children could make their own map charts, showing the major constellations in relation to each other.
For a hands on, practical activity I would bring children to the darkened sensory room and give each student a torch and a piece of black paper, I would tell them to punch holes into the paper where the stars of Orion would be. Afterwards we would shine the torch through the paper to project Orion onto the wall or ceiling, simulating the night sky.
This is a good lesson for this age group as it gets them thinking about colours and shapes. It is also a good opportunity to increase their vocabulary, for example, full moon, crescent.
To help children understand, you can use a torch that represents the sun, a football to represent the moon, and a stationary object that represents Earth. Move the ball around the object whilst shining the light on it to represent different phases of the moon.
I would choose the activity on the planets as a focus for the lesson. My choice would be to create a scale model of the solar system, integrating art in the process. In order to do this there would have to be a lot of prior learning, the class would discuss the planets, their sizes and relative distances from each group. Children would be divided into pairs and assigned a planet to research, creating an index/information card on it.
Once children have made their own planets to scale, for example, 1 cm could be equivalent to 5 million km. I would have each group place their planet at the appropriate distance from a central “Sun’, either on poster board or hanging from the ceiling.
Following the lesson we would reflect and discuss on the learning and the scaled project would be left up for the year and used to elicit prior knowledge for future learning.I also really like the growing seeds experiment, not only is it inquiry based. But it gives children a better awareness of their own environment and how they’re connected to nature. It also teaches them about the life cycle and gives them responsibility in looking after something.
Hi, my name is Luke and I will be teaching 3rd and 4th class this coming September. My favourite space fact is that it would take 1.3 million Earths to fill the Sun’s volume. Which is astonishing when you consider that our sun is only an average sized star compared to others.
An inquiry based lesson I have done a few times is to investigate how light from the sun creates shadows and how the angle of light affects the length and position of shadows. To do this I turn the lights in the room off and pull down blinds. Children investigate shadows using torches and spherical objects. They then measure with the torch at different angles to the sphere. I would then discuss with children how the the experiment relates to the movement of the sun in the sky and the changing length and direction of shadows throughout the day.It is a good idea to integrate Green Schools into lessons on sustainability. Using the digital, online videos simultaneously gives school children an interactive way to learn about sustainability.
Our school is in a very well known area in County Mayo very close to Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. I engage my children in lessons in sustainability often in my classroom in order to build on their awareness of the area and understanding of sustainability. As a class we have engaged in the Picker Pals programme and gone on community walks throughout the local area in order to pick up litter. Children in my class have a good understanding on why this is important for local plant and wildlife. We also teach the importance of local sourcing and sustainable agriculture. For example, why local restaurants should source locally grown and harvested food.
Children in my class also have a good awareness of historical preservation. Sites such as Cong Abbey and Ashford Castle are close by our school, they are maintained not only for their historical significance but also for their potential to educate visitors about sustainable practices through history modern practices.
