[Niall Smith]

Hi Brenda,

In October this year the Moon has the following phases:

Oct 2: NEW,  10: 1st Quarter,  17: FULL ,  24: 3rd Quarter

so it will be visible in the afternoons during Space Week, as a tiny sliver at the start of the Space Week to beautifully placed low in the late afternoon sky by the end of Space Week.

If you wanted to view the Moon in the morning sky, then wait another two weeks to catch it at 3rd quarter.

As noted in some other responses, phases of the Moon is not part of the primary curriculum, so we recommend treating the changing appearance of the Moon as an example of shadows across a 3-D object, in essence that night on the Moon is because the Moon is solid (much as night on the Earth is because the Earth is solid and only one side can be lit at a time).

[Niall Smith]

Lauren,

what an engaging prompt, although, as you have remarked in response to another teacher, an actual physical scenario can be striking too. I would expect the physical letter, (slightly water stained?) would be very effective.

The scenario you proposed would lend itself to testing materials that hold  or surround the mermaids tail when it is submerse. Did you make the mermaid tail out of card or sugar paper? If so, it would be very easy to see if the tail had become wet when submersed.

I found this craft of making a mermaid from a paper towel roll: https://www.thecrafttrain.com/cardboard-tube-mermaids/

There could be an interesting discussion with an older class on the breakdown of plastic in the ocean. See this adult level article: https://www.kqed.org/science/1941258/after-3-years-in-the-ocean-these-supposedly-biodegradable-bags-are-still-intact

[Niall Smith]

Linda,

by including the blubber activity you are connecting the children’s science understanding to a testable investigation.

Polar Bear Blubber – Science Fun

has the “Extra Experiments” which could easily arise as ‘take the next step’ and in each case the children could make predictions to their own starter question and extend their learning.

Try to use other types of insulators such as butter, cotton balls, or sand. Which one works as the best insulator?

Try using room temperature water or water that is 100 degrees Fahrenheit (Be careful with hot water when you are testing it). Does the glove work in these situations?

[Niall Smith]

Lorraine,

thank you for sharing your relevant and detailed account of Houses / Where do you Live?

It is imperative for students to begin with what they themselves are familiar. In identifying different kinds of houses, it gives a focus on different types of houses, suited to different environments and different climates. I love the planning, designing and making of 3D models of the different pigs’ houses and then their own houses.

By sharing their own house styles, this can lead to comparisons and discussions. An “Architect’s Walk” of the local area would enhance learning in this area too, and also embed new vocabulary learned. There is a nice overlap with other lessons on weather and climate, on materials, and of course on art and on make & design activities.

[Niall Smith]

Aaron,

I can see a 2nd class really getting a lot from this activity sequence.

Some of the suggestions appear from Twinkl, such as https://laxey.sch.im/site/uploads/pages/114/_media/20201118_b7ecd8e8/Solar_System_Code_Breaker.pdf

Information on Mae Jemison might include Mae Jemison by Mary Nhin (https://youtu.be/tuMVjqvIuTI?si=ryx11ucXE21RxkXY) or Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed (https://youtu.be/tuMVjqvIuTI?si=ryx11ucXE21RxkXY)

The NASA Rocket Educator’s Guide has a short history of rocket design at https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rockets-guide-20-history.pdf?emrc=231d29

 

[Niall Smith]

Rachel,

you have captured the essential elements of inquiry learning in your summary of the lesson activity. SESE Science skills use the language of guess

Predicting
• guess and suggest what will happen next in structured situations
What will happen to the ruler if we place it in water?
I think it will float/I think it will sink

but for children to improve their science thinking they need to use their understanding to make a prediction based on their understanding.  This often means that the children will need to play with a bowl of water and a range of items to get a sense of what is happening before they pose a starter question and predict in relation to it.

The child who has noticed that it isn’t just the mass of the object that matters, but its density (phrased as ‘heavy for its size’) is showing a deep understanding of a complex idea, and an idea that can be tested.

[Niall Smith]

Shulagh,

thank you for the poem suggestion for the prompt, this is sure to get the children started! https://poetry4kids.com/poems/im-building-a-rocket/

and the author states:

You are welcome to use the poems from my books and website in your classroom activities. You may photocopy them, enlarge them, illustrate them, or do just about anything you like with them

The verse that has

But what do you mean
when you ask how we’ll land?

offers a whole “take the next step” for the Rocket Mice, since these do tend to fly off in random directions. Children could measure how far from the launch did the mouse land and consider ways to make it land closer.

[Niall Smith]

Chloe,

thank you for sharing such a varied and interested week of activities for an infants class. I appreciate that you have included video links, this will allow other teachers to easily find and bookmark the same resources.

A teacher in a previous year recommended symbaloo for storing links.

[Niall Smith]

Aideen,

what a super plan for Space Week, something for everyone with plenty of stories and references.

https://youtu.be/vez_K8GhgqE?si=-QxPc2pRX-7bUCio

https://youtu.be/t_WfJ8wEFq0?si=PqLss4IkK5aiMEzq

Do you have a link or author for the Astronaut’s Handbook?

Is this the tour of the ISS that you would take?

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/suni-iss-tour/

or would  you prefer this one from ESA? https://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/virtual-tour-iss/

I recently saw that Neptune (as described in your first story book) is not actually as blue.

See this article: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2410954-neptune-isnt-as-blue-as-we-thought-it-was/

[Niall Smith]

Maria,

You have integrated Geography and Science in a seamless way with this activity on houses and homes, with plenty of opportunity to include families. Nice work, may we include it our our end of summer summary?

Thanks for sharing the song suggestion

https://youtu.be/QPegarQBMiA?si=mDOKTVA3K7bINcrx

[Niall Smith]

Colette,

offering the children the opportunity to experience shadows and then to model this in the classroom with the little bears means you should not be too much at the mercy of the weather.

Carrying this out in spring or early summer adds one slight twist, given that the time of midday in Ireland once we are on daylight savings is 1.30 pm. If you have an infants class they might be going home at that time, so will have to carry out the final observation after school time.

Shadows in the winter (Sun willing) are interesting to observe since they are so long, with the Sun low in the sky even at midday.

[Niall Smith]

Nicola,

in this course when we are referring to inquiry based learning we are specifically referencing the Curious Minds ESERO Framework for Inquiry that was developed in Ireland. Research can be an inquiry process, but the children should use their scientific understanding to make a testable starter question and then verify it with their research.

So, for solar system facts, a group might share that they know the order of the planets from the Sun and might suggest that the planet closest to the Sun will be the hottest, because…. (their own understanding). They could then research that to see if they are right. They will find that the hottest planet is actually the second planet from the Sun, because of a different reason (its atmosphere) and so they will have to modify their thinking in light of their investigation.

This could then lead to a next step where they model Venus’ atmosphere in some way, possibly by making a model greenhouse from a box and cling film and comparing the temperature inside the box vs outside the box, see this from ESERO: https://esero.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/47_The-ice-is-melting.pdf

Or see this activity for slightly older children from ESERO: https://esero.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/67_The-Greenhouse-effect.pdf

[Niall Smith]

Finola,

you have described an activity with all the features of the Framework of Inquiry. The children were engaged by a scenario from the real world (even if you might have accidently left teddy outside), and from this they are interested and want to wonder and explore the idea of ‘waterproofness.’

Did the children have to explain why they thought one material might be water proof compared to another? This gets to the heart of inquiry, where testable predictions can be made and then tested.

For a child who thinks that being waterproof means that the water does not escape (I’m thinking of nappies here), they may find that an absorbent material can soak up a certain amount of liquid and will then be saturated and unable to take in more, and this is not the same as repelling all liquids which a true waterproof material will do.

[Niall Smith]

Bridget,

there is a picture sequencing activity in the ISS Education Kit that might be of use in prompting the steps for a rocket launch. You can find it at https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/primedukit/en/PrimEduKit_ch2_en.pdf

on page 54.

The full link to the whole kit is at https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Education/Primary_level_ISS_Education_Kit_-_download

[Niall Smith]

Bríd,

if you have astronomy picture of the day available on ipad you could ask the children to find the link that goes to a picture of an animal (one link each day does!)

Today’s APOD had a link to this image!

https://i.chzbgr.com/full/9047697920/hF7BB9AC7/

With Stellarium Web you will need internet access, but if you download the full Stellarium package, then you do not.

 

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