[Mark Murphy]

This is a great lesson Siobhan. Thanks for sharing this. It has given me some great ideas for September

[Mark Murphy]

Space and Aliens
My learning objective for this topic would be to encourage imagination in the children. I liked the way this lesson was presented in module 3 and I would extend this lesson further. I would encourage the children to explore the idea that life could exist on other planets. We would explore the basic needs of humans and ask ourselves if life on other planets would have the same needs.
This also can be linked to SPHE

This lesson could be introduced with a book like “Zog” by Julia Donaldson. The children could be encouraged to design their own aliens as well as the planet that their alien lives on. Using rocks, sand etc is a great idea so that children could feel their planets with their own hands.

Life on our planet need our sun. Children could also be introduced to the fact the the universe has many suns that are much bigger than ours

[Mark Murphy]

This is a great idea Eoghan and one that I intend on using in the coming year. It would be great for getting the children out of their seats and actively engage in their own learning.

[Mark Murphy]

Topic:The Moon
I really enjoyed the suggested activities in this module based on the moon. I can see these working very well in both a junior and senior class.
I loved the experiment showing how to recreate craters in the moon using flour and a heavy round object. This experiment really brings to life for the children the impact that an astroid might have on the moon. Hands on experiments like this would really engage the children imaginations.

I also really liked the craft activity where the children tried to recreate the texture of the surface of the moon. Showing the children close up pictures of the moons craters would help them to imagine how the surface of the moon really looks like.
Children learn so well through working with their hands and this craft activity could spark genuine interest in the moon, planets and outer space in general.

[Mark Murphy]

Hi everyone, my name is Matk and I have been interested in space since I was very young. I have been teaching on the senior end for nearly 20 years and will be teaching on the junior end this coming year.
One very interesting thing about space that I recently learned is that our sun is falling through space at 70,000km per hour and it is dragging out solar system with it. If you haven’t seen the video please Google “the helical model” as it is really well demonstrate.

A way in which I could promote inquiry based learning would be the following.
I would ask the children to imagine the they were standing in a trampoline. ” What would happen if I threw lots of small ball on the the trampoline?” ” Would they stay in the edge or roll towards you?”
The children, in groups of five, would then be given large pieces of fabric with in child holding each of the four corners. The fifth child would place a heavy object in the center and roll light balls onto the fabric.
The balls would roll towards the center and demonstrate the suns amazing pull on our planets.
The children could remove the heavy object and try the experiment again.” What happened this time” and “why did all the balls not roll towards the center?
This experiment can help to show the children the gravitational pull that larger objects have in smaller objects.

[Mark Murphy]

Hi Michelle I love your Brian Cox reference. He is such an interesting and intelligent man. I have been interested in space since I was very small and Brian Cox makes it all a bit more understandable

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