[Margaret O’Sullivan]

That is really interesting, I never knew that before! I look forward to trying out this heart rate experiment with my class this year!

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

I would like to try the activity from Esero called ‘Hot and Cold’. I think this would be a fun one to do with the class. It is a very active, hands on lesson which I think is very important. I like the idea of starting the lesson with the children deciding if the statements are true or false. This makes the children really start thinking before you get into the main lessons. I feel the children know the basics – the sun is hot, it is only visible during the day, etc, but I don’t think many have really thought about why! This lessons leads them to really building on prior knowledge, while being active and moving around. I think they would really enjoy the ice cube activity.
Finishing the lesson with the ‘When it is hot’ game is a lovely conclusion to a very fun lesson.

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

I love the idea of starting the lesson with a book. It is always a great way to catch the children’s attention and get them thinking!

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

I would like to do the activity from Esero called ‘lots and lots of stars’, partly because I am fascinated myself by the number of stars! I think this lesson gives a broad scope for all children to be included. The opening discussion is open ended, to an extent, and allows the children to really explore what they know about stars. I really like the idea of using the marbles in growing quantities to give the children a visual idea. I love the cross curricular aspect of the lesson too. Using art in a fun and interesting way, but yet giving the children a good inside into the concept of the large number of stars in the sky. The picture for discussion at the end is a nice conclusion to the lesson. They can compare the picture to their own creations and also to the night sky they say each night.

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

I agree, I think children always enjoy learning through song and it really helps them retain the information taught!

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

I really liked the activities based on showing how the earth is spherical from the Universe in a Box activity book. I liked that the activities are very hands on and they are inquiry based. I would start the lesson with a discussion on the shape of the earth. How do they know what shape it is? Have they ever wondered about it before? I would then move on to asking them how they think scientists discovered the earth was a sphere? I think this could lead to very interesting conversations! We would then complete the activity in 2.1 where the children make boats and investigate on a flat table followed by on a sphere or globe. I would let them discuss this with their peers for a few minutes before giving any input to see what they can discover for themselves. I always find it interesting what they can come up with and how they can figure it out for themselves.
As a follow up activity I would do activity 2.2 with the penguin and the polar bear. I think this will open up great conversations amongst the children.

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

The inquiry based activity I would like to do is asking the question ‘do shadows always stay the same size?’ I would begin with a concept cartoon to start a discussion with the class. I find the children always enjoy using the concept cartoons. They find them fun to talk about and it helps them get started when they are not sure of what the answer might be. After they have had a chance to discuss and predict what they think about the shadows I would bring them outside to draw their shadows with chalk. I would bring them out a few times over the course of the day to redraw their shadows using different colour chalks. Each time we have a discussion about what they have noticed. Have the shadows changed size, did they move or did they stay the same? We would then draw pictures to represent our findings.

[Margaret O’Sullivan]

Hi, my name is Margaret and I teach in a junior school. I will be teaching 2^nd class this year. I look forward to bringing what I learn through this course back to the classroom.

That’s so interesting Geraldine. My favourite fact is also linked to the sun. it is the fact is that the sun is so big in size that you could fit nearly 1 million earths inside. I find it amazing to think it is so vast!

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