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I would choose the Aliens and Rockets activity set for my class. These activities provide an engaging and imaginative way to introduce children to early scientific thinking while developing language, creativity, and teamwork.
I would begin by reading a space-themed story to spark curiosity and encourage the children to imagine what an alien might look like and where it might live. We would discuss how scientists ask questions and make observations rather than making assumptions. The children would then design and create their own aliens using a variety of art materials, describing their features and explaining how those features help the alien survive in its environment. This would encourage communication, critical thinking, and creativity.
The rocket activity would provide an excellent opportunity for hands-on, inquiry-based learning. Children would design simple rockets from recycled materials, make predictions about which rocket might travel the furthest, test their ideas, and compare the results. This would naturally introduce concepts such as push and pull, forces, and fair testing in an age-appropriate way.
To celebrate Space Week, I would extend the learning across the week by creating a role-play space station, singing space-themed songs, incorporating counting and measuring into Maths, and using STEM challenges during play time.
I would encourage parents to work on space activities at home during space week.
Overall, the Aliens and Rockets activities support the Primary Science Curriculum by encouraging curiosity, investigation, problem-solving, and communication. They provide meaningful opportunities for children to learn through play and exploration while developing a positive attitude towards science from an early age.
I think the use of the Story is a great stimulus as we know children especially at that age love stories. Squeezing the ketchup out of the bottle is also a great idea as it is allowing the children to use their own environment in their learning.
- I agree with Michelle and your staff sound similar to mine. We were covering the curriculum but definitely needed more focus on teaching the skills. We had a science inspection in recent years and it was one of the concerns that was raised. Michelle has laid out the points very well.
I chose to focus on the Hands-on Classroom Themed Activities. I believe young children learn best through play, exploration and practical experiences. I would use a simple space-themed investigation where the children explore how rockets move by making and testing balloon rockets. This activity encourages children to predict what will happen, observe carefully, and discuss why the rocket moved. It naturally develops the science skills of questioning, investigating, observing, recording and communicating their findings.
To support the learning, I would integrate picture books about space, songs, role play in a space station, and opportunities for the children to draw or build rockets using construction materials. Digital resources such as short ESA or ESERO videos and interactive images of the Solar System would help to spark curiosity and reinforce learning in an age-appropriate way.
This activity also links well with a STEM-focused School Self-Evaluation (SSE). As a staff, we could review how often children are given opportunities to participate in inquiry-based science and STEM learning. We could gather evidence through photographs, samples of children’s work, teacher observations and pupil voice. Reflecting on this evidence would help identify strengths and areas for improvement, such as increasing the use of open-ended questioning or providing more hands-on STEM challenges across the school.
Overall, this module reinforced the importance of creating engaging, inquiry-based learning experiences that develop children’s curiosity, confidence and problem-solving skills from an early age. I look forward to incorporating more ESERO activities into my classroom and contributing to the development of a whole-school STEM culture.
I think the children would absolutely love this lesson. The part with the Martian coming in and messing up all their stuff would be so exciting for them and something that they would remember.
I would choose the Activity Set: Stars to use with my Junior Infant class as it provides an engaging and age-appropriate way to introduce children to the night sky. The activities encourage curiosity and allow children to develop their observation, questioning and communication skills through hands-on learning.
I would begin by asking the children what they already know about stars and encouraging them to share their own experiences of seeing stars at night. This would help build on their prior knowledge and spark discussion. We would then complete the practical activities together, using torches, dark spaces and simple models to explore why stars appear bright and why we can only see them at night.
To extend the learning, the children could create star pictures using black card and chalk or paint, make their own constellations with stickers, and listen to stories related to the night sky. We could also link the activities to literacy by reading storybooks about stars and to maths by counting and sorting stars of different sizes.
This activity set promotes inquiry-based learning. The children are encouraged to ask questions, make predictions, investigate and discuss their findings with their classmates. I would observe their language and thinking throughout the activities and record their ideas using photographs, drawings and short quotes from the children.
Overall, I think the Stars activity set would be highly engaging for Junior Infants. It combines science with play, creativity and exploration, helping children develop a sense of wonder about the world beyond Earth while building important scientific skills from an early age.
I chose the Activity Set: The Moon.
I would use this activity in my Junior Infant classroom as a hands-on, inquiry-based learning experience. I would begin by asking the children what they already know about the Moon and encouraging them to share their ideas. This would help identify their prior knowledge and spark curiosity. I would also focuses on the language asking the children to make a list of different words in relation to the moon and space.
The children would observe pictures of the Moon from a slideshow that I have created and discuss how it changes shape over time. Using biscuits or playdough, they could recreate the different phases of the Moon, making the learning fun and engaging. We would also read a story about the Moon and sing songs to reinforce new vocabulary.
To extend the learning, I would encourage the children to observe the Moon at home with their families and draw what they see over several nights. They could bring their drawings back to school to compare observations and discuss the changes they noticed.
This activity supports the Curious Minds Framework by promoting observation, questioning, predicting and communicating. It also integrates Science, Art, Oral Language and SPHE, allowing children to learn through play and exploration. I feel this activity would inspire curiosity about space while developing important scientific inquiry skills in an age-appropriate and enjoyable way.
I thought this lesson was excellent. The integration with maths is seamless asking the children to identify the 2d and 3d shapes. Also the incorporation of the use of language is great. I think that the children would be engaged in this lesson as it is very hands on and focuses on the children using language and reflection alot throughout the lesson.
Inquiry-Based activity: Space – Push and Pull (Junior Infants)
Introduce with a prompt; I would show the class pictures of rockets, astronauts, and planets. Questioning; Ask, “How do rockets get into space?” and encourage children to share their ideas. Use of Language; Introduce the words push and pull. Let children investigate by using toy rockets, cars, and different objects. Ask them to predict whether each object needs a push or a pull to move. I would then encourage them to test their ideas and describe what happened using simple language such as, “I pushed the rocket,” or “I pulled the wagon.”
Gather the class to discuss their observations and compare results. Link the activity back to space by explaining that rockets are pushed upwards by powerful engines.
Conclusion; Finish with a challenge: “Can you find something in our classroom that you can push and something you can pull?” Children share their discoveries, helping them build scientific thinking through questioning, exploration, and discussion.
Ciara that is such a good idea for a lesson. It is very hands on and the children would definitely be engaged doing this. A great one for science week.