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Hello Elaine,
I really like the mind map with drawings instead of words as it is such a nice inclusive touch for this age group, and having them physically act out orbiting the Sun really brings the ordering to life!
On the ordering activity, one thing children often find surprising is that the planets don’t just get bigger or smaller in a neat pattern as you move out from the Sun, the four closest (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are small and rocky, then there’s a big jump in size to the gas giants further out, Jupiter and Saturn, before it shrinks again with Uranus and Neptune.Hi Louise,
love the mix of song, story and art here, a really nice multi-sensory way to introduce the planets to 5 yo’s
On Saturn’s rings, since that one always grabs children’s attention, it might be a fun fact to add that Saturn isn’t the only planet with rings, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune all have them too, they’re just much fainter and harder to seeHi Emer,
Thanks for sharing your activity with us,
One fun fact for the flashlight investigation, if any child asks why the shadow gets longer or shorter, it’s all down to the angle of the light source, the lower the flashlight (or the Sun) is to the horizon, the longer the shadow stretches, which is exactly why our own shadows are so long first thing in the morning and late in the evening, but short around midday.Hello Hannah,
The Planets game is such a great way to get them moving and learning the names at the same time. The playdough modelling could also tie in nicely with size comparisons, if you fancy extending it further, Jupiter is so big that over 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.
Hello Shirley, what a great collection of books and ideas.
Guess How Much I Love You is a nice hook since “to the moon and back” only really clicks once children know how far away the moon is (Around 384,400 km!).
An interesting fact is that its actually moving away from us very slowly too, about 3.8cm a year, as it drifts further out over millions of years.Hello Shirley, what a great collection of books and ideas.
Guess How Much I Love You is a nice hook since “to the moon and back” only really clicks once children know how far away the moon is (Around 384,400 km!).
An interesting fact is that its actually moving away from us very slowly too, about 3.8cm a year, as it drifts further out over millions of years.Hi Dolores,
Great to see measurement built right in with the metre sticks, it’s a nice way to move from qualitative observation to something more quantitative for that age group.
On the “why shadows move” question, it’s actually the combination of the Earth’s rotation and the Sun’s fixed position that causes it, worth being precise with the children that the Sun isn’t really moving, we are!Hello Gemma,
Thanks for sharing your activity with us. The shadow puppet video is a great way to spark the children’s imagination from the outset. I like that you pair them with 6th class buddies, giving the older pupils an opportunity to help their younger partners explore and explain what is happening. The torch and toy animal follow-on activity is a lovely way to apply their learning about light and shadows in a new context.
Hello Sinead,
Thanks for sharing your activity, starting with real planet pictures to draw out prior knowledge and surprise them with how familiar other planets might look. Your questions are lovely and open. Why is there life only on earth is a great jumping off point to talk about what makes our planet so special.
Before ordering the planets, it would be great to have the children guess the order first, maybe in pairs, and jot down their reasoning, so the ordering activity becomes a way of checking their prediction rather than just a sorting task.
The planets rap song is a brilliant way to reinforce the order in a fun, memorable way.
Hello Colin,
Thanks for sharing your activity, using Bear’s Shadow to introduce children to shadow through story is a great way to start the lesson.
Before you go outside you could ask your class what they think will happen to their shadow when they move, or whether they think they could ever leave it behind like bear tried to, so they’ve something to test once they’re out with the chalk.
The follow-up drawing and discussion ties it together nicely, giving the children a chance to apply what they’ve noticed about how and when their shadows changed.
Hi Riona,
Thanks for sharing your activity, and what an important topic to bring into the classroom! It can be easy to overlook the importance of sun safety in a country where we don’t often experience hot weather (although we’ve certainly had a good stretch of it these last few weeks!).
The bead bracelets are a a nice hands-on hook, and bring in a bit of art and self-expression alongside the science, which really helps children focus in. You could build on this by having them predict, through drawing or discussion, what they think will happen to the beads before heading out, so they’ve something clear to compare against once they see the results.
The follow-up linking the beads to sunburn and UV light on our skin is a great way to help the children apply what they’ve learned to real life.Hi Valerie,
Thanks for sharing your activity. It’s a fun one, and you certainly need to think about safety when it comes to children and stones!
Before beginning, you could have a discussion with the children about why they think the Moon is covered in craters. This would encourage them to share their ideas and make predictions. For example, they could predict how the size or depth of their craters might change depending on the size and shape of the object they throw, as well as its angle and speed.
I like the comparison to real landscapes afterwards and the opportunity for the children to apply their new knowledge by thinking about how those craters may have formed. The papier mâché extension and assembly presentation are also great ways to develop the activity into a longer project, giving children the chance to share and teach others!
Hello Amy,
Thanks for sharing your activity. This is a lovely one, the opening questions get the children wondering straight away, and tracing shadows in pairs is such a simple, engaging way to get them investigating light and shadow hands-on. You can also as them to predict how the shadows will change by the end of the day before they go out to check at different times! To add some variation, each group could choose a different pose to hold throughout the day. By tracing the shadows of these different poses at several points, the children can explore how the shapes, lengths, and positions of the shadows change over time, while also comparing the interesting patterns created by different body shapes.
Hello Marcia,
Thanks for sharing your activity. The mind map is a good way to see what the children already think about the moon, and getting them observing and drawing it at home over the month is a great introduction to long term investigations.
Before starting you can ask them if they think the moon will look the same every night? so their drawings become a way of testing their assumption. You could ask them to draw what shapes they think the moon could be before starting. Comparing drawings back in class is a good way to tie things up and encourage discussion and allow the children to come up with more questions!
Hi Fionnuala,
Thanks for sharing your activity. Using pictures of the Moon over several days is a great way to build observation skills at Senior Infants level, and the discussion at the start is a nice way to draw out what the children already notice at night.
One thing to build on here is the investigating step, It would be great for them to come up with a question for them to explore, like “what do you think the Moon will look like tomorrow night?” before they see the next picture, so they’re making a prediction and then checking it.
The class Moon display is a great way to wrap up and consolidate learning, maybe you could finish by asking the children their favourite moon phase, or what else they are curious about in the sky.
