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These Space Week activities are fantastic for engaging junior infants with a hands-on and creative approach to learning about space. Each day’s theme is thoughtfully designed to combine storytelling, visual media, and interactive projects, ensuring a well-rounded and exciting educational experience. The variety of activities, from painting galaxies to building rockets, will undoubtedly spark curiosity and enthusiasm for space exploration in young learners.
I really like the Rocket mice activity. I have made lots of other types of rockets with my classes over the years but never this one. While my favourite rocket project would be the foam rocket, I don’t think this is realistic to use in a Junior Infants class.
The Rocket Mice activity develops observational skills as students watch the rocket’s flight, noting the effects of air pressure, gravity, and air resistance. Through hands-on experience, students understand how compression of air inside the bottle generates the force needed to launch the rocket.Critical thinking and hypothesizing are encouraged as students predict how changes in the bottle’s pressure, size or rocket’s design might affect its flight. Measurement skills come into play when comparing different rocket designs or launch techniques to determine which factors contribute to a higher or more stable flight.
Additionally, students learn about scientific inquiry by conducting experiments and drawing conclusions based on their observations. This activity also promotes creativity and problem-solving as students design and decorate their rockets, making it an engaging and educational experience that integrates multiple STEM skills.
This hands-on themed activity is excellent for engaging junior classes, as it combines practical learning with the relatable topic of weather, which is a favorite discussion point in Ireland. I would use this lesson to help students understand how animals in cold climates stay warm by comparing their natural adaptations to the winter clothing we use, reinforcing concepts with activities like the vaseline demonstration for waterproofing and discussions about camouflage.
Children put their hands in the drawstring bag (‘Feely’ Bag), with the
various materials in it. They pick one piece and, without taking it out
or looking at it, describe what the material feels like, e.g. smooth/
fluffy, hard/soft, silky, etc.
2. Having talked about the children’s coats, and asked them some of
the trigger questions, they could be asked “What is the commonest
colour of coat here today?”
They should first predict, and then a bar chart could be made of the
colours of their coats. They should now answer the question.
(a) The children could then be asked what else they would like to
discover about the coats in the classroom, e.g. “I wonder if all
the red coats have hoods?” or “Do all the waterproof coats have
pockets?”
A Carroll diagram, or a Venn diagram with two circles or hulahoops could be made. Questions such as “How many red coats
have no hoods?” can then be answered quickly.
(b) The children could be asked what material would make the
perfect coat for a cold wet winter.
They may suggest ‘soft, warm, waterproof’. A Venn diagram with
three circles could be made. This could be done with real coats by
using chalk or hula-hoops on the floor. Alternatively the children
could wear their coats and BE THE VENN DIAGRAMI love the idea of the children designing their own coats as a follow on from this activity especially focusing on what material they might use. This could easily be done through Aistear, with scraps of material for children to create with, especially for theme’s such as Spring.
Children are always very enthusiastic to learn about space and I love teaching Space through Aistear. One of our stations is usually junk art/ creative and I think the Design a Martian activity lends itself very well to this.
I would start with a book such as ‘Míp’ which is about space and discuss what the children perceive Martians to look like. I like some of the trigger questions in the activity as it encourages the children to think about the similarities and differences with Earth. (How are animals adapted for places that are very cold or very warm? (Polar bears have thick fur)• Are other planets the same as the Earth?
This lesson lends itself well to a three week theme like we have. I would give the children different materials to work with. They could then be extended to thinking about the surface of Mars and how their Martian would get around. Would regular wheels work? This gives lots of opportunity to use the Irish words the children know including body parts, numbers and colours.
This activity is highly useful as it combines art, counting, and interactive learning, making the concept of stars and constellations engaging and accessible for young children. By incorporating various methods like artwork, flashcards, and a simulated stargazing adventure, the lesson caters to different learning styles, reinforcing knowledge through both creativity and observation
I love how this hands-on, interactive method promotes teamwork and critical thinking, as students discuss and observe the differences in orbital periods based on their distance from the Sun. The structured approach, with color-coded teams and organized steps, ensures clarity and engagement, allowing students to visualize and better understand the varying orbital speeds of planets.
I really love some of the amazing activities in the Spherical Earth section. I had never considered explaining that the Earth is spherical by using a model of a boat as they do in the Spherical Earth activity. While I have used toys to do a similar exercise to Up and Down, however I really like the idea of using a polar bear and penguin. I like the fun way they have the animals talking to each other. Humour is always a great way to engage the class and encourage them to remember the lesson. I think the Earth Mosaics are a fantastic idea. I think it is a fantastic, easy way to explain gravity and the spherical nature of the world to young (and old) children. As I teach in a Gaelscoil visual explanations work best in Junior Infants especially in the first term. These activities are very visual and easy to understand for every child.
Hello everyone. My name is Síle and I teach Junior Infants for the past few years but taught the Senior classes previously. I love teaching the theme of Space in every class level. My class at the time and I loved everything to do with the Rosetta-Philae project. My fact is After bouncing off the surface twice, Philae achieved the first-ever “soft” (nondestructive) landing on a comet.
I love how easily the theme of Space lends itself naturally to inquiry based learning. I find children to be fascinated by rockets. It gives them lots of opportunity for hands on learning and loads of chances for trial and error. I usually start off making paper airplanes with the class and they get to investigate how to make them fly furthest. They quickly learn the impact wind can have when flying outside. I then tend to move on the paper straw rockets which are easy enough to do with Infants but also interesting for older children. I have seen children naturally investigate how straw width, size, weight and angles impact their rockets.
I have also experience of leading the activity listed on the website called Rocket launch with older classes. This activity lends itself to inquiry based learning because the children have a number of areas that they can investigate especially size and shape of balloon and length of string.
