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Hi Ciara,
I love the use of the alien puppets to learn about the planets. After learning some facts about each planet, you could extend this by asking the children what an alien would actually need to survive there, would it need thick fur for the cold on Neptune, or a special suit to survive the heat on Venus?
Hi Catherine,
The Moon diary is a great way to get whole families involved in the observation over time and consolidate the learning.
For the torch and ball demonstration, a good simple resource to back this up visually is NASA Space Place’s moon phases page, clear diagrams that match nicely with what the children will notice in their diaries: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-phases/en/Hi Laura,
This is a lovely blend of movement and creativity here,
For the clay planets, one nice fact worth mentioning is that Saturn is so light for its size it would actually float in water if you could find a bath big enough, since it’s made mostly of gas rather than rock: https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/facts/Hi Ciara,
Thats a nice use of the KWL style chart to keep a running note of their ideas that they can then test their ideas against.
The outdoor movement activities are lovely too, can you run away from you shadows is a great way to learn they will always stay attached to their source.Hi Zara,
Experimenting with different light sources and materials is a great way to expand the shadows lesson. You can cover the lights with coloured cellophane to create coloured lights and show how they change the colours of the shadows too
Hi Emma,
This is a nice simple, well-paced structure for Junior Infants, moving from song to naming to physically ordering the planets with images and asking them to create their own solar system.
One nice fact for the favourite planet conclusion, if anyone picks Saturn for its rings, you can let them know that Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings but they are very hard to see.Hello David,
You have a nice clear structure, the outdoor chalk tracing paired with the indoor torch exploration gives children two different ways to test the same idea, which really reinforces the learning.
Good use of language too, the Sun appears to move across the sky is the right way to phrase it, since it’s really the Earth spinning on its axis that causes the change.Hi Sarah,
Great itinerary for the day and it ties every part of the inquiry cycle together really naturally.
Just a small correction it’s actually the Earth spinning on its own axis that causes shadows to change through a single day, while the Earth moving around the Sun causes the seasons over a full year.Hi Emma,
Great idea to act out the temperature of the planets. It could be a nice way to also bring in the different types of planet, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are rocky, Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants, and Neptune and Uranus are ice giants, a mix of ice and gas. The children could try acting out what each of these might look or feel like.Hello Geraldine,
This is a very sweet lesson plan, i love the moon passport and moon rocks! That bumpy texture is a great way to explain the craters on the moon and ask them how they think they got there.
Hello Siobhan,
Great that you caught the misconception about the planets sitting in a straight line.
That orbiting model actually gives you a perfect way to explain why we can only launch missions to Mars roughly every two years. Earth and Mars orbit the Sun at different speeds and distances, and about once every 26 months they line up in a way that makes the trip most energy-efficient. Since Earth moves faster and than Mars, the two planets are only in a good position relative to each other periodically. With your hula-hoops, if two children orbit at different speeds, you could ask the class to spot the moment they’re closest together and they can high five to represent the craft launch, then watch how long it takes for that same alignment to happen again. Here’s a short video about it if you are interested in adapting: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/resources/video/mars-in-a-minute-how-do-you-get-to-mars/
Hi Siobhan,
Great lesson, you could make it a competition to see who can make the longest shadow. They will notice that this is caused by bringing the light sources as low as they can.
Hi Orla,
This is a fun way to bring the planets to life for 2nd class. After learning some facts about the planets it could be fun to let the children choose which fruit to represent which planet when they are building their solar system. For example, maybe the strawberry for mars because its red. Or a melon for Jupiter because its the biggest.Hi Lynn,
Following up moonbear with with challenge cards is a good way to layer more thinking on top of the story before heading outside to test it for real. You can always get the children to think of shapes they want to make, and then go see if they can outside.Hi Sarah,
Using the breakfast club oranges is a nie tactile way to bring maths and space.
Dropping the orange shows gravity pulling it downward toward the Earth, but careful that children don’t come away thinking “down” is a fixed direction in space. Gravity is pulling towards the centre of the earth, which is why no one falls off
