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As I have not ever planned a Space week, I would be guided by the ESERO resource How to Plan and Run Your Own Space Week. I would consider topics for assemblies e.g. ‘Older than the stars’ – Karen C Fox & Nancy Davis and ‘Katie and the starry night’ – James Mayhew. I would plan fun whole school activities e.g. as well as a teachers Solar System Race and individual class activities based around themes e.g. Stars and Planets. I would research guest speakers from the local community, perhaps those working in third level colleges or factories manufacturing technology etc. I would read the guidelines for visitors and appraise them of them from a safety point of view. I would welcome parental involvement e.g. in STEM Detectives Think of a time inviting parents to be STEM Detectives on behalf of the children and asking them to share how they are using STEM in their workplaces and helping children discover STEM in their local environment.
This course has considerably enhanced my knowledge of the wide range of online resources available to us as educators, particularly when preparing lesson plans on topics such as Space. I love the huge range of fun stories, read-alongs and you tube videos mentioned in the forums as well as fun videos of aliens and Planet songs in the modules. However, on another level there is a huge amount of useful and appropriate material available that is very educational and child friendly as well as being a great help when planning. I am especially happy with “ Do Try This at Home” videos, Leabhrán-Acmhainní-don-Seomra-Rangat-Mars, Stellarium/Stellarium-web.org – Milo and Marvin – ESA and ESA Kids and the Astronomy Picture of the Day as well as of course Curious Minds- an invaluable resource. I am adding them all to a resource bank to have for my return in September and am really looking forward to using them.
Stars
Learning objectives:
To begin learning about stars and constellations
To recreate simple constellations seen in the northern hemisphere using a Star Lantern.
That children are able to describe how stars make patterns and that we
call these patterns constellations
Children can name at least one famous constellation and make its pattern
Lesson
I would ask pupils to close their eyes and imagine they are looking at
the dark, night sky. What can they see? Stars, the moon, a
planet, a satellite? I would ask them to describe the
stars they can see – are they shiny, twinkly, sparkling, bright,
yellow, etc.
I would ask if anyone has seen a very starry night? Where was
this?
I would explain that many years ago, people looked at the stars and
imagined they could join them up like dot to dot pictures and
make animals, objects and story characters. I would show the children
a picture of the Plough and explain that a plough is a tool used
to dig up the earth ready for planting. I would tell them we can often see the
Plough in the night sky as it’s near to the pole star which is
always visible in the sky. Has anyone seen the Plough in the
sky? A group of stars that forms a pattern is called a
constellation.
I would show pupils some pictures of simple
constellations and talk about the patterns they form.
Then I would give them white paper and some star
stickers and ask them to create a constellation with the
stickers. They could create the Plough or a constellation of
their choice.
I would integrate this lesson with responding to “Starry Starry Night “ painting by Van Gogh and also making a Star Lantern, by asking children to look at drawings of constellations and questioning- “What do you see? Can you recognize some of them?” Then we would make a star lantern that is going to project the constellation on the walls. We would do this using the downloaded resources from the module 3 resource pack.
Thanks very much for sharing that resource. I love the way it not only pets structure for Space Week, but also offers so many extra activities in art, drama etc.
<p style=”text-align: center;”>I agree that the Curious Minds website is a great resource when planning science, space and engineers week and having a site like that means people are more likely to engage as they have a structured starting point.</p>
Lesson Plan:
1. Introduction:
o KWL: Gather students in a circle. “Who knows what a planet is? Does anyone know the name of a planet?”
o Sing the Planet Song.
o Introduce the sun drawing. “This is our sun! It is a giant star and all the planets in our solar system orbit around it.
o We’re going on an adventure to learn about the amazing planets that go around our sun!”
2. Planet Exploration:
o Introduce each planet one by one, showing its picture/model.
o Concentrate on The Moon using Activity Set: The Moon -What Does the Moon Look Like? -The Man on the Moon -The Multicultural Moon from Module 2.
o Give some memorable information about other planets e.g. “Here’s Mars, also called the Red Planet. Scientists think there might have been water on Mars long ago!”
3. Activity: Create Your Own Solar System (10 minutes):
o Give each student a piece of construction paper.
o “Now, you will create your own mini-solar system!”
o Have them draw the sun in the middle of their paper.
o Then, have them draw or cut out and glue pictures of at least four planets around their sun. Encourage them to try and draw rings for Saturn or red for Mars.
o They can use string to show the orbits if they like.
4. Conclusion:
o Have a few students share their solar system drawings and name a planet they drew.
o Quick review: “What’s our home planet called? What planet has rings?”
Show “We are the Planets”: Outer Space: “We are the Planets,” The Solar System Song by StoryBots | Netflix Jr – YouTube
Differentiation:· For advanced learners: Encourage them to try and draw all eight planets in order. Provide more detailed facts about each planet.
· For struggling learners: Focus on just 3-4 planets. Provide pre-cut planet pictures for them to glue.
Assessment:
· Observe if students can name at least four planets during the activity and wrap-up.
· Check if their drawings show planets orbiting the sun.
Thank you for linking to those you tube videos. It will be lovely to have them for the new school year. I agree that’s it’s always a great idea to start by finding out what children know. It can be very educational and informative for others too.
Mary
Thanks for that. I always collect books on various topics and am delighted to have another one to look out for for the space theme.
An inquiry-based activity I would like to explore with my second class is having them design a space mission to a specific planet or moon. First, they research their chosen planet’s conditions (temperature, atmosphere, gravity, presence of water). Then, they brainstorm and design the equipment, food, and habitat needed for humans to survive there. Finally, they present their mission plans and explain their choices, addressing any challenges they foresee.
I would integrate it with art, maybe responding to Van Gogh’s Starry Night and other art pieces as well as drama and creative writing.
Thanks for sharing that Emma and for the link. It’s a great idea for helping children become active learners. I’ll make a note of it for the future.
Mary
everyone,
My name is Mary.
The number of stars in the Milky Way is probably higher than the number of humans that have ever been born, is a pretty mind- boggling thought about space. I will be teaching second class next year and am looking forward to trying the lessons as children have a great interest in storage at that age. I’m also looking forward to getting lots of ideas in the forums.
Space Week activities for First/Second Class.
Science Activities:
Fuzzing and Foaming experiments.Art activities:
Starry, Starry Night picture based on Van Gogh’s art but using constellation patterns learned in class.
Handprints to make aliens.
Rocket making.
Planet making.Writing activies:
Write a postcard from Space.
Write a weather forecast.
Write own poem or story with a space theme.Whole school activities through school radio:
Table quiz based on Space/Moon/Planets.
Music such as Reach for the Stars, What a wonderful worlfMaths:
Present rainfall/temperature findings on charts and graphs.P.E.
Astronaut dressing up race with helmets and wellies.Drama and Dance based on sunlight travelling to Earth, storms, lightning flashes etc.
Cinema: Watch a movie with the theme of space (Wall-E, Space
Chimps, Fly me to the Moon, Space Buddies). Short films from the
Literacy Shed: https://www.literacyshed.com/the-sci—fi-shed.I would generate interest and elicit prior knowledge of weather by observing current weather outdoors, wondering if we will get outside to play today. Then I will take the children outside to observe the weather using all their senses. We might observe through guiding questions that the grass feels wet today, the flag is blowing strongly, how the sky looks, how things smell, the type of outerwear adults are wearing etc.
Reflect on observations in the classroom. Make a display of the weather words used. Gradually through discussion, categorise students’ descriptions of weather according to weather factors such as temperature, precipitation, wind, and cloud cover.
Children should be directed towards knowing that they can use their senses to detect thevweather. “How do I know what the weather is?” e.g. I feel the sun warning my skin.
Finally children take turns to record the weather daily on a classroom chart, having explained to the class how they observed it.
Activity set: Space and Aliens.
To begin learning about stars and constellations.
I would introduce the story Aliens Love Underpants. We would discuss whether all aliens were the same.
Children close their eyes and imagine they are looking at the night sky. They describe what they see – moon, etc. Where were they when they saw a very starry night. They use as many words as they can to describe the stars. Just as aliens were not all the same in the story, children will learn that the stars can make patterns and that these are called constellations.Children will look at images of simple constellations and describe the pattern they form. They can replicate these patterns physically in a PE lesson or paint them in an art lesson against a starry sky, having also looked at Van Gogh’s representation. Children in groups could also invent and name their own constellations and each group would have a specific number of stars to arrange.
I would use the Planets activity set for a lesson for second class.
First, I would question the pupils to see what they know. They would fill out a “What I Know About the Planets” worksheet initially. Then they can talk to a partner and tell them one fact about a planet.
We will then listen to the Family of the Sun song about the planets.I will then present the information on the Solar System using posters, colourful images and videos. I will use the traditional mnemonic to help children remember the order.
Then pupils will play a game, “Order the Planets.” Choose one student to be the Sun; one student to be the Moon; nine students to be each of the planets; the rest of the students can be stars, asteroids, comets, etc. The “planet students” will line up in the correct order. The “sun student” will be in the center. Then, show the orbit of Earth around the Sun. The “Moon student” will walk around the “Earth student: to show how the Moon orbits the Earth. The “planet Earth student” walk around the “Sun student”. The other “planet students” can also walk around in a circle to show the orbit of their own planet.Then children can play a bingo game where they match a planet to its most renowned attribute.
Children will work in groups, to represent each planet and fill out a sheet..”What I learned about.. ”
They will then share with the class some things they wrote down.
