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Senior Infants Space Week Plan
Monday – Blast Off!
Read Whatever Next! by Jill Murphy
Discuss “What is space?” and introduce key vocabulary
Look at images of Earth, moon, and stars
Begin Space Passports for the week
Aistear: Role-play in a spaceship, build rocketsTuesday – Zoom to the Moon
Read Moon! Earth’s Best Friend
Write/draw: “If I went to the moon…”
Create and play with moon sand
PE: Astronaut obstacle course
Aistear: Moon crater art, moonwalk role-playWednesday – Rocket Day 🚀
Make and test balloon or straw rockets
Predict and observe rocket movements
Count down from 10 like a launch
Art: Create paper rockets
Aistear: Launch stations, build launch padsThursday – Planet Explorers
Read There’s No Place Like Space
Learn 4–5 planets through song and images
Paint planets and create a solar system display
Aistear: Planet hop game, planet small worldFriday – Space Adventure
Act out a space journey as a class
Draw/write about favourite part of Space Week
Present work to class or parents
Celebrate with Space Week certificatesHi Louise, I really enjoyed your post. I love how you’ve built such a rich and imaginative learning experience around the ‘Rockets’ activity set. Using the Aliens in Underpants books is such a fun and engaging way to enage younger pupils, and your integration across subjects, especially linking PE with javelin throwing is so creative. Thanks.
I have found this module extremely interesting and have learned a great deal about the wide range of online resources available to support and enhance the teaching of space in the classroom. One resource that particularly caught my attention was the “Animals in the Cold” activity from ESERO.
I have always noticed that children are fascinated by animals from colder parts of the world. In the past, I would typically focus on penguins, as they are well-known and engaging creatures. However, last year I had a child who developed a strong interest in polar bears. This curiosity led us to explore both Arctic and Antarctic animals, which opened up a wonderful opportunity to compare the two regions and the fascinating creatures that inhabit them.
We began by having a class discussion about these animals—talking about what they look like, where they live, and how they survive in such cold environments. We used a globe to locate the Arctic and Antarctic, helping the children visualize where these animals live and how far apart the regions are.
To deepen their understanding, we carried out a simple and engaging experiment. The children applied Vaseline to one hand, then placed both hands into cold water to feel the difference. They loved this activity, and it helped them understand how blubber acts as insulation—like a warm coat for animals.
As a follow-up, we explored how different materials insulate heat. We wrapped cups of warm water in various materials, such as cotton wool, bubble wrap, and tinfoil. The children predicted which would work best, then used thermometers to measure and compare the temperatures after a set time. This allowed them to investigate which materials are most effective at keeping heat in, reinforcing their understanding of insulation in a hands-on and scientific way.
I have also never heard of this resource. I agree that it would be a fantastic way to spark curiosity about space and encourage talk and discussion. I am going to bookmark this page for use in September. Thank you.
The activity set that I would choose is Space and Aliens. I find that the mystery of this topic always excites and engages children and this make it a great theme for Play bases activities.
I would begin the lesson by reading the story “Aliens love underpants”. Children always love this story and it is great for starting discussions on Aliens.
After reading the story we would discuss the book. What happens? What did the aliens look like in the story? What did they travel in? We would discuss other famous aliens- Monsters inc what did the aliens look like in these movies, how many eyes? how many legs? colours? traits? hairy? smooth? etc
I would follow this up by letting the children design and make their own alien. I would provide children with A4 paper and art supplies (crayons, pencils, markers, clay, feathers, pipe cleaners, goggle eyes etc). I would ask the children to design their own alien, encouraging them to use their imagination and what they learned from the story.I am also a big fan of Oliver Jeffers story ” How to catch a star”. I agree it’s a great starting point for young learners on this topic.
I always think using a picture book is a lovely way to start a lesson. A great way to ease children into the concepts of light and dark in a comforting, relatable context. I also love your outdoor shadow games and chalk drawing. It will make the learning so concrete and fun for the children.
For my module 2 assignment I chose ‘Activity Set: The Planets’.
I would start my lesson by having a talk and discussion session with my class about the planets. I would brainstorm with them and ask how many of the 8 planets do we know already. We would then use ‘The Planet Song’ as an engaging stimulus and check which planets we knew and which ones we need to add to our brainstorm. I would also check for knowledge by asking questions like “Which planet is red?” or “Who is the hottest planet?” afterwards.
Next we would watch the video again and pause it after each planet is mentioned. We would then as a class group discuss a fun fact about each planet. e.g., “Saturn has rings that are made of ice and rock.”
Finally we would engage in a hands on activity to consolidate what we have learned. I would split the class into 8 groups and give each group a planet name. Using the information learned from the song, each group would get to create a poster about their planet e.g. Name, what it looks like and a fun fact. The poster layout would be teacher modelled on the whiteboard to support them. Each group would then present their poster to the class in order of the song.
I have really enjoyed exploring the course content so far and all of the Curious Minds and ESERO resources. I would use and inquiry-based activity in my classroom based on Rocket Building and Launching. I think this would be a fun and interactive way for children to explore this topic. I would use YouTube videos as prompts to begin our lesson and we would have some talk and discussion about what things a rocket needs to work effectively. I would allow the children free exploration to design and build simple rockets using materials like paper, plastic bottles, or foam. The children could work collaboratively in small groups to launch their creations and take note of which rocket went the furthest/highest. The children could come up with their own ideas about why the winning rocket went the furthest/highest. They could then explore and discuss the following topics: What makes a rocket fly? How can we make it go higher or faster? What forces are involved?
This lesson can be nicely integrated into other subjects e.g. Artwork is involved in creating a cool rocket, Mathematics: measuring the distance and height of the rockets, Drama: the children could role-play being the astronauts in a rocket launch.Hi Criona,
Great ideas there in your post to design a space habitat. I love the collaborative and inquiry based learning in this activity.
Thank you.
