Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I have used the junk art workshop in Aistear previously to create rockets and spaceships. It always works very well and the children can create simple structures on their own, with little teacher input.
Module 5
Alien slime activity as a lesson for space week
I would aim to create alien slime with my class as part of science week. I teach in an all-boys school, and they all love anything slime! For this simple lesson all you need is corn flour, water and food colouring. Place the corn flour in a bowl and slowly add water. The mixture should harden. Add any food colouring you wish.
I will explain that the science behind this is that slime is a non-Newtonian liquid which means that is gets thicker when pressed or pushed down. This can easily be done as a whole class lesson where each table is given a different food colouring. The aliens can then be given names. An extension to this activity would be a creative writing activity based on aliens visiting a classroom as part of wide variety of activities for space week.Module 5
Alien slime activity as a lesson for space week
I would aim to create alien slime with my class as part of science week. I teach in an all-boys school, and they all love anything slime! For this simple lesson all you need is cornflour, water and food colouring. Place the cornflour in a bowl and slowly add water. The mixture should harden. Add any food colouring you wish.
I will explain that the science behind this is that slime is a non-Newtonian liquid which means that is gets thicker when pressed or pushed down. This can easily be done as a whole class lesson where each table is given a different food colouring. The aliens can then be given names. An extension to this activity would be a creative writing activity based on aliens visiting a classroom as part of wide variety of activities for space week.Language classes have worked to great effect in my own local area. Volunteers work with the refugees to help them with basic language skills. This is a great community event that fosters friendship, kindness and empathy.
Hi Conor, great there is a local organisation that is really refugees in Knocklyon. I live close to there to there and was not aware that it exisited. Thanks for sharing.
Module 4:
Activity: keeping warm
I will introduce the topic of animals keeping warm by reading the storybook ‘Big Bear, Little Bear’ by David Bedford & Jane Chaptman. I will explain to the children that we will be learning about Polar Bears. I will ask them what they first know about polar bears. I will then read the storybook. We will then discuss what life is like for a polar bear in the Artic. I will get the children to tell me what additional information we now know about polar bears. I will then show the children real photos of polar bears in the wild. I will ask them what they notice about the colour of their skin? Why do they think it is white? What effect does this have?
We will then create our own polar bears using painted paper plates. We will then display this around our artic classroom board. We will write up facts we have learnt about the polar bears around the board.
I feel with the new maths curriculum, there is now a renewed focus on stem in schools at present. It is very easy to integrate stem across lots of subject such as aistear activities, maths. Stem could easily be a priority for schools through the SSE evaluation process.We also use space as a theme for Aistear. I am in a boys school and the pupils love it. They become really creative and love everything space! We were very fortunate to have astronauts visit our school a couple of years ago and we have lots of pictures to add to the theme. The children when they see the photos of other pupils with a ‘real life’ astronaut in the classroom!
We normally tell the parents a week or two in advance what theme Aistear will be for the coming weeks and ask parents if they have anything at home that would be useful. In the past, parents have brought in dress up clothes which have been really useful.
Activity: Stars
I would introduce this lesson by reading the storybook ‘Can you see the stars tonight’ by Anna Terreros Martin. This should spark a discussion about stars in the night sky. I will ask the children have they every heard of the plough? We will then look at pictures of the plough and identify why it has its name.
We will then try to recreate our own classroom plough during an art lesson. I will give the children a variety of art materials such as black card, matchsticks, lollipop sticks, pipe cleaners etc. Every child will have an opportunity to recreate their own plough. This hopefully will help children understand its shape and help them identify the plough in the night sky. We will create a classroom display of our ploughs. We will then compare them to pictures of the Plough in the night sky and see how they are different/the same
I will email parents and ask them to help their children identify the Plough at night. This might be an nice activity to do during midterm in October, when the sky is very dark.Hi Michelle,
I really like the idea of the children taking photos of the plough at night. Really helps to put it in context for them. Pictures could easily be uploaded to google classroom for everyone to see.
Thanks a million for that tip Frances. We have lots of sand in the school, so this would be ideal. I just would need to remember to dry it out first. Looking forward to seeing this in action in the next academic year.
Module Two
Activity set: The planets
I would introduce the planets to the pupils but playing the Planet Family Song on Youtube. This is a great resource. The song is catchy and perfect for younger classes. We will make a list of what we have discovered about each planet for the song. We will then add to the list, by discussing if we know any other planet facts. This can be displayed on a board and children can add to the fact list. Parents can also be linked in with the song on our class blog.
We will then design a giant solar system for our class using playdoh and a large white chart. Children in groups of three will be tasked to design a planet each. What colour playdoh to use, what do we know about this planet.
This can then be displayed on a notice board and we can discuss when planet is nearest the sun etc? We can invite other classes to visit our classroom solar system and think of interesting questions to ask on the solar system we have created.
