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Thanks Tracy. I have read this book before. You’ve given some lovely ideas in relation to Mars and Aliens as part of your follow on activities.
The Sun and Shadows
I liked the Sun’s Energy video from the Astronomical Soc. Of the Pacific which was part of this module. I would use the Storybook The Sun is My Favourite Star by Frank Ashe which was mentioned in the vidro. A story is always a great lead into a new topic for younger children. As part of the following discussion (Using the large orange ball as a talking prop) we would discuss how the sun helps us and then focus on UV rays. The children would enjoy heading outside and using the UV sensitive beads to further develop their understanding of the Sun’s energy. As a follow on lesson I would then introduce Shadows. I tend to do pair work during different times of the year with Junior Infants and 5th or 6th Class. The older children could help the younger children in drawing their Shadows on the school yard and repeat the exercise again with them later in the day. Lots of opportunities for shared learning with older children supporting the younger children in their work.
The idea of incorporating the theme of Space into Aistear is a great idea. Lots of opportunity for learning through play. Thanks Rachel.
<p style=”text-align: right;”>An inquiry based activity that I have done was based on the book How to Catch a Leprechaun written by Adam Wallace. It linked both STEM and Literacy. The children were asked how would they catch a leprechaun. Firstly they designed their own plan on paper. They were allowed to use their imagination for this (lots of explosions etc!!!). Then during another lesson they were given a choice of resources that they could use ( egg boxes, small plastic containers, cups, string, straws, masking tape etc). They planned their design and chose which resources they would use. This was in Junior Infants and some of the children really amazed me!! (Using the masking tape as a sticky substance to catch the leprechaun- creating a drop down mechanism using string). It was really fun and they children worked in pairs. They got an opportunity to speak about their trap at the end of the lesson.</p>
Thanks Michelle. I like the idea of the waterproof coat for Teddy that was mentioned during this module too. It’s a nice follow on from looking at the different materials that were tested based on the Oops inquiry activity.
Hi My name is Marguerite. I have taught Junior Infants for the last three years and I will be teaching this age group in September again. My interesting fact is that in 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a ‘dwarf planet’ after 76 years classified as the outermost planet in our solar system since its discovery in 1930. Looking forward to the course.
