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Hi Allesandra,
Amazing – I will be applying this to my classroom in the future. I like the way you approach geography in a tactile and colourful way. It is engaging for the younger years and keeps students interested in the topic.
My idea for Space Week, is to use the “Make a Spacecraft” task with my second class students. I found this task very engaging and creative while will spark interest with the younger years. I would begin my lesson by creating a KWL chart to find out what students already know and what they are curious about in relation to space.
I would ask students to sketch what their space craft using an iPad. We would look at images for space crafts and images of school-made rockets to inspire the class. Students would work in groups of four to create a spaceship from recyclable materials.
As it is Space week and the entire school would be learning about Space, I would invite junior and senior infants into our class to look at our rockets. I would hold a Q and A where they can ask my class questions about their rockets.
Wow Siobhan, the rocket making activity sounds fantastic. very creative. I will try this with my class next year.
I liked the slides about “The Earth – Where do you live?” regarding the weather, as it is very engaging and stimulating for students.
To begin, my class would create a KWL chart on the interactive whiteboard and fill in what the children already know about Earth and what they would like to learn about. It helps me determine the pace of the lesson and assess what the students already know about this topic.
I have attached a great resource online where students can dress a teddy bear for the weather shown behind it.
Students would then use a template of four blank teddies and give them an outfit for each season. https://www.abcya.com/games/dress_for_the_weather
This activity helps students understand more about the Earth and to critically thinking about why they are choosing particular clothes for particular weather. The activity can be differentiated for students by putting them with a partner to draw and colour their teddy.
I am inspired by the Space and Aliens activities we learned about in this module. To introduce any science lesson, I like to complete a KWL chart with the children to see what they know and what they would like to learn about regarding the topic.
Then I would ask students what does Mars look like and draw their ideas and colours in the interactive whiteboard. We would then look at a variety of images and videos of Mars and discuss how we could possibly survive there. Students would work in small groups to share their ideas.
I would then give students a piece of paper and ask them to create their own Martians. Students would use an iPad to take a picture of their Martian and upload it to a padlet of all of the class Martians where I would have a background of the planet Mars. If students felt confident enough they could stand up in front of the class and talk about their Martian and how it would survive.
I like the idea of tracing students’ shadows with chalk. This is interactive and engaging for students. I will try this next year!
Topic: The Moon
I would begin this lesson by asking students what they knew about the moon already and asking them to share on fact with the class (pairwork).
I would show students a globe and ask them to location Ireland, and some larger countries (China, Australia, America etc..). I would then ask student to point where the north and south pole is located. I would put a small toy of Santa at the top of the globe to help students remember ‘North pole’ and
To introduce students to the term gravity, I would explain that the Earth’s gravitation is always directed towards the centre of the Earth, therefore when I slowly turn the globe Santa will not fall off the globe! This should engage children.
As a finished activity I would print off the Earth mosaic and ask each student to design a piece and make a collaborate Earth to display on our science wall.
Hey! I love this idea- I think this could be nicely incorporated into an AISTEAR class . I look forward to trying this out as it is very engaging and fun for young learners!
An activity I did with my second class was the “Sink or Float” science experiment. I collected seven items for the class to test (rubber, pencil, sponge, orange skin etc..). Students examined the objects and guessed if the objects would sink or float. They also had to choose one of their objects and state why they believed it would sink or float. This pair work encouraged discussion and debate about certain objects. There was a lot of debate about the sponge.
We conducted the experiment as a whole class activity. I asked the students follow up questions to their guesses. For example, do you think the orange would also float or just the peel. This was an example of a higher order question for students.
I furthered the activity by asking students to choose one thing at home and test (with the help of a parent). We discussed this as the introduction to our next lesson.
