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The activity set that I would choose to use in my classroom would have to Space and Aliens.
I would first begin by reading allowed the book ‘Aliens have underpants’, I find that stories and even educational videos are amazing triggers to encourage the children to the creatively on the subject in question. After reading the book I would then supply the children with paper, markers, crayons etc and allow them to draw and create their own aliens. We would then discuss the aliens as a class, sharing ideas and opinions to encourage further thinking. I would have some trigger questions prepared for the class , ‘where do aliens live ?’ ‘Do aliens know we exist ?’ ‘Would we be considered aliens in space?’. I would hope we could use the questions in a discussion, as it is of vital importance that the children not only learn the topic in question but team work skills and constructive debates where they can share thoughts positively. for a continuation of the topic , I would allow the children to create 3d versions of the aliens they have previously drawn (using supplies such as clay ,playdough, paints etc …)and following that allow them to play and interact with each others aliens in whatever way they believe aliens would.
What a wonderful idea ! Incorporating nursery rhymes into the lesson is such a good way to capture the children’s attentions.
The activity set I would choose to teach would be the ‘Sun and Shadows’ as it’s a topic I feel that could be reached in a fun and educational manner. A manner in which child could participate in a hands on way and engage rather than a traditional sit and listen approach.
I would begin the lesson by introducing the idea of our own individual shadows. Have the children ever noticed there shadows ? Why do there shadows continuously follow them around ? I would let the children thoroughly discuss their ideas and swap them back and forth .
Following this and depending on the environment (outdoor or indoor) I would have the children 1. Go outside and pair up, in these pairs the would aid each other in tracing their shadows onto the tarmac using chalks. 2. I would have them divide into groups, within these groups the students would each have a lamp and freedom to place whatever objects they would want in front of it in order to create shadows which they could trace with pencil etc on the paper . With method 1 I would have the children revisit the shadow traces later in the day and observe have the shadows moved if they were to stand in the original position. While with method 2 I would simply have the children alter the lamps angle to recreate the sun changes positions.
Finally I would finish the lesson by discussing all that the children have learnt about shadows today , in order to solidify the knowledge further.
Hi Anne , I love how you’ve first assessed the children’s own knowledge on the topic , it truly allows a wonderful basis to start the lesson.
Hi Stephanie , I really love the idea of the hands on lesson ‘ sink or float’ as the children truly get to engage and learn rather than just observing . I will definitely be keeping this in mind for September.
Hi ,my name is Mary and I’ve been teaching for over 20 years now.
My favourite fact about space would have to be that you wouldn’t be able to walk on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune as they have no solid surface!
The inquiry based activity I would choose to recreate with a younger class would be that of creating our own model solar systems. I would start the lesson by watching a YouTube video explaining in fun and simple terms what a solar is and what it consists of. Following that I would have the children go into groups of 4 and begin discussing why they think the solar system follows the order it does . After the topic has been discussed and questioned I would begin the physical task of creating our solar systems. The equipment the children would have in their groups would be either foam spheres of alternating sizes or even stones, I would supply them paint ,pipe cleaners , glitter, glue and Pom poms and then they would have put the planets in the order they think is right. After each group has completed this task I would have them present their solar systems to the class one by one and explain why they put the planets in this specific order. I believe this would be an educational and fun inquiry based lesson .
