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Hi Claire,
Great ideas. Another fun way to extend shadow detectives it to challenge them to make specific shapes with their shadows! That shows they really understand and keeps them engaged trying to figure out the answerHi Ciara,
Wonderful lesson plan, i love the links between art and science too! You can go on to experiments with dropping objects to demonstrate gravity. Resources from Nasa for children for Gravity: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/search/gravity/
Hi Bernie,
Great lesson plan overall. I love the integration of recyclable materials. I think you could also use this lesson as a chance to talk to the children about what a unique planet ours is to be able to support life. We exist in the so called goldilocks zone https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ready-get-go-goldilocks-or-not/goldilock-or-not-ready-jet-go/Hi Barry,
The activity pack is excellent for the younger kids. One way you can subconsciously communicate distance of the planets is by placing the ‘nearby’ planets hoops closer together (Mercury, Venus and Mars), and the giant planets hoops further away (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune). So our nearest neighbours are a hop, and our furthest are a sprint.Hello Ashling,
Welcome to the forum, the man on the moon is a great introduction into the stories we share about the moon and its cultural significance. Ask the children to share what they see when they look at the moon. Heres a great resource for seeing a high resolution 3d model of the moon: <span class=”TextRun SCXW19953528 BCX0″ lang=”EN-US” xml:lang=”EN-US” data-contrast=”none”><span class=”NormalTextRun SCXW19953528 BCX0″ data-ccp-charstyle=”Hyperlink”>LROC QuickMap</span></span><span class=”EOP Selected SCXW19953528 BCX0″ data-ccp-props=”{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"335559685":0,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":160}”> </span>
Hello Aoife,
Props are a great way to get the kids engaged with the lesson. Learning why sun burn happens is a really important lesson, and reinforcing its still good practice on a cloudy day is even more so! Why Does the Sun Burn Us? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for KidsHi Annemarie,
Great lesson plan and leaning into some more cultural aspects of the moon. There are a lot of great resources for visualising the surface of the moon too.
Very high resolution photos of the moon surface can be found here: https://quickmap.lroc.im-ldi.com/?prjExtent=49214.9802053%2C-1023652.7207492%2C122489.8248804%2C-987992.2963407&earthShadowEnabled=true&proj=10&stack=3314&defs=N4IgzGCMAsIFygPYAcCGBjAlgFwJ70gF9Cg. Taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera! (LROC)Hi Anna,
Good point about the size of the torch, i agree that its easier to understand when presented on a larger scale. I like the relation to Bluey too!Hi Anna,
Great activity, a longer project is great for learning about documenting and observation. If you want to extend the creativity angle, you could include the different shapes that people see in the moon and ask them what they see https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/media/documents/resources/MoonStoriesASP2019.pdfHello Aishling,
Designing their own planets is a great activity. One thing you could do is explain the sun as a source of heat and ask them where their new planet goes in the order of current planets. How warm would their planet be? What kind of clothes would they have to wear ?Hello Aine,
Great lesson. Make sure the children are alway facing the planet to show how we always see the same side! You can show them photos of the so called far side of the moon https://science.nasa.gov/resource/far-side-of-the-moon/ to compare to what we see here on earth!Hi Edwina,
Such a nice use of non-standard measurement here, using cubes or footsteps to measure shadows is perfect for Junior Infants to compare sizes before they’re ready for rulers.Hi Elaine,
This a great practical for First Class. Predicting the areas that will be warmest and coolest and then letting them investigate is great inquiry based learning. You could place different materials outside (like metal, wood, and fabric) to see which heats up the most in the sun, or turn it around and ask the children how they might cool a hot area down, could they design a simple Shade? How do trees help with heat?Hello Linda,
Really sharp to flag that Earth’s shadow misconception upfront! it’s such a common one even among adults, so addressing it directly before the torch and ball demonstration is a great idea. You might find this NASA page useful for explaining the light reflection of the moon causing the shape we see: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-phases/en/