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Rachel,
this can be a lovely activity of drawing early in a unit on space and aliens, and if you retain the drawings, they can return to them at the end of the unit and compare how much more they understand at the end. This is similar to the assessment in the EU-UNAWE, Universe in Your Classroom that we mention in module 4.
Orla,
Chris Hadfield’s videos might be perfect for your astronaut role play on day 1.
His “Chris’ Kitchen” outlines the difficulty with crumbs in space and explains why the ISS occupants eat tortillas instead.
The links from the Canadian Space Agency offer additional images and infographics: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/multimedia/search/video/17836
Have you a particular Brian Cox video you prefer? This one is of a talk to primary children, but is quite long:
Elaine,
there is the opportunity here to discuss how some stars are brighter, some are dimmer. This is linked to both how far away they are from us and how naturally bright they really are.
Would you offer different size and different point star shapes? Some cookie cutters come in different points, but 5 pointed stars seem to be the most common.
This could make an extra layer to the large Plough asterism that the children create, how would they represent the slightly brighter stars that make it up?
Brenda,
have you a particular video you have in mind? A search for that title brings up a few options:
Ranger Rick: https://youtu.be/6IDeyAIjbbo?si=5VDTDNqySlEosblo
Mystery Science: How do Polar animals survive the cold?: https://youtu.be/6suM2QMwjUE?si=bqAz9vj08DfTl3Bg
this has a nice connection to humans and has ‘pause the video and discuss’ to promote discussion amongst the children.
Orlagh,
thanks for sharing your specific experience with inquiry, where a scenario has been used as the prompt and children have had the opportunity to link their everyday understanding (that paper towels soak up water, so must be waterproof) to a prediction for an investigation. As you have commented, the discovery of the results helps children to discover new science.
Matthew,
which rocket would you think to use with your 1st class children? We have found that foam rockets stretch their fine motor skills, so making them is possible, but you may need additional older people with stronger hands to do some of the cutting.
There will also be at least two children per class who will cut three or five cuts in the end of the foam instead of four.
This could be a good opportunity to buddy up with an older class who can assist (and make their own rockets).
The simpler pop rockets with the fizzy tablet are more accessible and here the children may spend more time creating and decorating their rocket, knowing that the launch is relatively straight forward if you have a supply of new rocket bodies to be used.
Matthew,
I see Marvin and Milo as more of a science kick starter rather more than literacy, since they are tagged as “DO try this at home” so I would use them as practical impetus. Are there particular ones that you would consider using or sharing with your class?
Other teachers have mentioned balloon rockets, but I like the homemade sunset: https://spark.iop.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/32%20-%20Marvin%20and%20Milo%20-%20Homemade%20Sunset%202019.pdf
Do note, that sometimes the language can be a bit complex, as in Eerie Blue Water (https://spark.iop.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/62%20-%20Marvin%20and%20Milo%20-%20Eerie%20Blue%20Water%202019.pdf)
Perfect stuff Dayna, thanks for sharing. I really like the simple mathematics that you have included. Did you know that some of the rovers and spacecraft made by NASA have hidden patterns?
https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/programs/mars-exploration/rover-basics/
Hi Ciara,
You’ll find the majority of resources from Curious Minds can be used with classes and are designed to not require a lot of equipment.
The fingerprints prompt is great for getting the children interested and then active in wondering and exploring how fingerprints are viewed and a little bit about how they are different for different people. The task of viewing the fingerprints could be the subject of an investigation itself, as the children might suggest trying different ways to get a good look at a fingerprint. Younger children could consider how much you should blow up the balloon, older children might consider the material that should be used to make the prints, using perhaps different amounts of pencil or perhaps a different colour contrast.
Niamh,
would you touch on the role of light pollution in limiting our view of the sky? A long running project that asks participants to report on their view of a certain constellation each month is Globe at Night.
During the darkest part of the month you are asked to go outside about an hour after sunset and compare what you see to magnitude charts. For October 2024 the dates are
24 September 2024 – 03 October 2024 and then 24 October 2024 – 02 November 2024 for Cygnus and Pegasus.
The closer to the winter solstice you leave this activity, the earlier they will be able to go outside.
Sharon,
as you have noted, spaceweek.ie hosts resources for teachers to use in the classroom and also family activities and club activities.
Make a Spacecraft is presented as a family activity, so you may want to review which parts of the curriculum you intend it to support.
To review how rockets have changed over time, see the resource from the NASA rocket educators guide: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rockets-guide-20-history.pdf?emrc=231d29
There is also a powerpoint on scoilnet, that is sourced from http://www.spacekids.co.uk/spacehistory.
Finola,
see also the activity from Project Astro on Constellation Detectives (https://astrosociety.org/file_download/inline/808cd9d5-3a2e-4880-88d0-c29a6ecb60d5).
We have these printed A3 size, laminated, and tape them to the undersides of desks for children to lie on their backs and look up at the ‘stars’.
Some “simple star constellation template sheets” can be found at Mayo Dark Skies as https://www.mayodarkskypark.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MDSP-Constellations-v1.pdf
or you could use the Stellarium software (described in Module 4) to show constellation outlines and artwork on the IWB.
Matthew,
thanks for sharing that book recommendation. It appears to be one of a series of books by a prolific writer of non fiction for children.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/243967-out-in-space
There are limited previews of the book available, but it appears to have photographs and very simple text.
We have used a simple set of night sky drawings to help children find constellations, you can find them at Constellation Detective from Project Astro: https://astrosociety.org/file_download/inline/808cd9d5-3a2e-4880-88d0-c29a6ecb60d5
Niamh,
making parachutes to slow down falling objects is a good way to engage the children and to help them express their understanding of forces.
The connection between weight and falling is rather more tricky, and has been not well understood over the years until the 1600s when Galileo explored this with actual experiments. He used ramps and measured the time it took different balls to roll down a ramp. In this case the ball rolled slowly enough that he could measure the time it took.
See this Nova show that outlines the thinking of Aristotle and Galileo:
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nvmm-math-fallingbodies/galileos-falling-bodies/
and includes the hammer and feather experiment from the Moon.
Deirdre,
Floating and sinking is a staple of the infant classroom and allows children to closely observe and describe what they see as they attempt to sense build around ideas related to materials and to forces.
I’d be cautious about accepting “guesses” (even though that is the language of the primary curriculum skills for infants in Science), since their prediction should be linked to their emerging science understanding. If they are merely guessing they might as well flip a coin to state if an object will sink or float, and they have no understanding that can be improved on.
I’d suggest that you let them play with a variety of objects, group them according to if they float or sink, use similarities between the floaters or the sinkers to establish a simple understanding, and then, with that understanding let them choose other objects (an ‘informed guess’) that they believe will behave in the same way – either by floating or sinking.
The glossary in Science states:
floating: the tendency of an object to remain on the surface of a liquid; an object will float if its density is less than that of the liquid; the weight of a floating body is equal to the weight of fluid displaced; the force up and the force down on the body are equal
This is the only place where density is mentioned.
In work on weight and capacity, density may be referred to, but generally children might refer to a material as being heavy for its size (a metal cube) vs light for its size (a plasticine cube).