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Hi Claire, I love the idea of showing the children two completely different areas (urban & rural) and how each are affected by light pollution
Create a short teaching resource using Stellarium/ WorldWide Telescope
I would start my lesson with my Senior Infant class by singing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ as we all know this nursery rhyme. I will ask them what they know about stars and when do we see them. Next I will show them Peppa Pigs ‘Stars’ episode https://youtu.be/_qSpPTWSfc4 and we will discuss what Peppa saw ~ North Star, & constellations.
I will then put Stellarium on the interactive whiteboard and show them the stars that are over our location and how to use the website. We will look at the different stars and constellations that are over us. Next I will split them into pairs and give each pair an iPad that is already set up with their location so they can look at them themselves and explore the sky. They can lie under the tables if they would like a darker place to carry out the activity.
As a follow up activity we will carry out an art activity where the children make the night sky using A3 black or dark blue paper, white and yellow paint, toothbrushes or paintbrushes & glitter. They will use the toothbrushes to splatter paint on the paper like stars.
Hi Áine, I love the idea of using it for comparing the way the constellations appear in different locations across the world.
Hi Valerie, I really like your idea of using music to help the children understand the passing of time.
Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
Firstly, I would start the lesson by showing my Senior Infant children the video of ‘Paxi – Day, Night and the seasons’. I would only show them until 1:55 as this introduces to the children that it is Earth that is constantly spinning and how we have day and night. We will discuss what we learned from the video and then we will observe and record the position of the Sun at different times during the school day. After discussing where they think the Sun rises and sets, the class will make three observations: after they come into school (9:10), before lunchtime (12:10), and before they go home (1:30). Standing in the same safe location each time, the children will identify where the Sun appears. They will use simple drawings or even use chalk on the ground or wall to record whether the Sun is low, high or lower again in the sky and compare their observations throughout the day. Children will also notice the direction and length of shadows, helping them recognise that the Sun’s changing position affects shadows. As sunrise and sunset cannot be observed during school hours, I will encourage the children to observe these at home with the support of a family member and share their findings with the class the following day. We will continue this over the course of a week and then we will discuss what we observed, introducing the ideas that the Sun appears to rise in the east, travel across the sky during the day and set in the west.
Question: What impact do trees have on our climate and why we need them?
As my class are Junior Infants and too young to carry out the actual project we will start by reading the book the ‘Lorax’ by Dr. Seuss – it teaches children to treat our planet with kindness and to speak up when people are mistreating it. We will then carry out a KWL chart and a mind map to ascertain their prior knowledge of what trees can do for us.
Watch videos ~ ‘Climate heroes – the importance of trees’, ‘What if everyone in the world planted trees’ and more. I feel these are the best methods to engage the children in this project as they are too young to carry out other methods.
Data collection – going on field trips to Marley Park and Bushy Park ~ observing the trees and how many buds they grow in Spring and then return again before the summer holidays to see how many leaves there are. They can also use measuring tapes to measure the trunk of the trees and then measure again to see if they got bigger. The children can also observe trees that have been cut down – they can look at the rings and count them as you can tell a lot about the conditions during the years by looking at them. The children can do leaf and bark rubbings. If we have the space in our new school, the children can choose a suitable location to plant some native trees as a next step while we wait for the new build they could plant some pollinator friendly herbs or flowers in pots and observe their growth everyday.
The children can do earth observations by observing, measuring ~ taking pictures and using a measuring tape. The children can make a collage of their findings by using photographs and also drawing pictures of their findings.
Once the children have carried out their research and concluded their findings we will share their results by holding an assembly with the rest of our stream where my class can present them with their project and tell them about their findings and get the other children involved so they too can help us make a difference.
Teacher Guide & Pupil Activities for the ESA Resource ‘ Nose High Up in The Sky’ (slide 19)
After carrying out all these activities I found all three very interesting, engaging and fun to complete. I would definitely use these resources and activities with my class. The activities are suitable for all ages and abilities but the activity sheets will have to be differentiated to suit individual needs in each class. It makes Space more accessible for children – they will have a better understanding of what it is like to look down on earth from Space.
Activity 1 – The Earth seen from the ISS
This activity will appeal to the children of all ages. They will know the size of the ISS as it is the size of a football pitch which they all know the size of and they will be able to imagine it floating around space. Being able to see the photos from five different astronauts was fun and interesting and the children will love looking at them.
Activity 2 – Match the photos & Activity 3 – Higher up
The children will love carrying out this activity as they will be able to pretend to be astronauts looking out the window and they can match the photos to what they are – mountains, lakes, rivers, etc – this activity is very hands – on and accessible for all.
Hi Sinéad,
I agree that hands on activities for children is very helpful for their learning and understanding of a topic.
The film ‘HOME’ by Yann Arthus-Bertran is a fascinating and powerful video that shows us the impact we, as humans, have had on this planet so far. For children in a junior school it would be too much to show them this video in full – I feel breaking it up into much smaller sections or even just some of the pictures that are related to the topic we are doing that day would be more beneficial and the children will be able to concentrate and understand the topic better.
I believe that we need to focus on the positives for young children, things that they can do themselves that will help – recycling both in school and at home, walking to school or getting the bus instead of taking the car, using LED bulbs at home, turning off their tvs, games and lights once they are finished using them. Every small bit will help.
I enjoyed using the carbon footprint calculator but it was scary to see what impact I am having on the climate. I feel this calculator would be a fantastic resource to use with the senior side of the school as they will be able to use it themselves and they can also understand their impact on the climate.
Hi Tara, I like your idea of using cross curricular links. This would definitely give the children a deeper understanding.
already know. After we have discussed their prior knowledge and what they would like to learn about I will then show them the Paxi video on Greenhouse gases. This is an age appropriate video that the children will be able to follow and understand easily. It will give them a good introduction into greenhouse gases. The worksheet for this lesson will have to be simplified as it is too advanced for my class as I will have Junior Infants this September. I would include simple pictures and a matching activity as well as space for the children to draw their answers.
I would show the children the tool for predicting future temperatures on the board and then I would download it onto iPads, split the class into groups and then give them an iPad, one for each group, so they will be able to use it for themselves.
Hi Triona, I love your idea of dividing your class into ‘news teams’ with a different task to complete.
Robert, I love your idea of incorporating Google maps into the lesson. My children really love when we use it in a lesson.
In my classroom this year (Senior Infants) the children work in small groups with concrete materials so they can carry out their practical tasks by thinking critically and learning through investigation.
Activity 1: Is it weather or climate?
This activity was enjoyable and will be relatable to all children. I feel that relating the weather to the children’s birthdays will help the children understand the difference between weather and climate. I also feel the videos that are provided are age appropriate and particularly useful when explaining the difference between weather and climate for all children.
Activity 2: Weather Detectives
This activity can also be differentiated so that even children as young as Junior Infants will be able to carry it out. The children can help develop a weather station to mount the thermometer so that it will be able to be used by other classes in the school and there will be no fear that the heat from the children’s hands will change the temperature, the results will be constant and reliable. This will help the children become critical thinkers as they will have to decide on the best area for the weather station. They will become hands on learners as they will have to design and make the actual station.
Cross – curricular lessons for Junior Infants carried out over a fortnight as well as Space themed Aistear stations. I would first tell the children what our new topic is (Space) and then carry out a KWL chart with them – see what the children know already about Space and what they would like to find out. Throughout the fortnight I would recreate a display board
Literacy: Teach ‘Twinkl, Twinkl little star’.
Read the book ‘The Darkest Night’ by Astronaut Chris Hadfield and also the book ‘Busy people: Astronaut’ by Lucy M. George to give the children a sense of what it is like to be an astronaut in space and also what they how they had to train to get there. Discuss orally the books – what their favourite part was, what new information they learned from them, if they would like to train to become an astronaut, etc.
Another book that can be used is ‘The Smeds and The Smoos’ by Julia Donaldson. Have a discussion with the children about what an Alien might look like.
Maths: Counting backwards from 11 (or whatever number the children are comfortable with) to blast off.
Patterns ~ Cutting and sticking patterns to a rocket ship.
History: watch videos of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon in 1969.Geography: Identify and discuss the sun, the moon and stars. Discuss the differences between day and night.
Science: Explore how shadows are formed and bring the children outside so they can draw/trace around shadows with chalk.
Drama: Pretend to be an astronaut in Space with no gravity. How they would walk on the moon, how does it feel; to be wearing their spacesuit, to breath, to talk, to eat, etc.
Art: Colour in an astronaut outline – take a photo of each child, print and glue into the helmet so each child will be an astronaut.Aistear:
Role-play: Space travel Agent – the children will be able to pretend to buy tickets for going to different planets in space.
Art and crafts: Design and make an Alien on paper and then 3D. The children will be using a variety of resources – play dough, marla, clay, wire, tinfoil, pipe cleaners, goggly eyes, felt, paper, fabric, wool and anything else they would like to use.
Make slime and use different colours (paint or food dye) and add googly eyes/beads, etc.
Play dough: Laminated mats to make stars, asteroids, saturn’s rings, craters on the moon, satellite, flames for a rocket, alien, planets (available from twinkl).
Sand/water: Using miniature space items – aliens, rockets, astronauts, plants, stars. Moon. Astroids, etc.
Contruction: make a rocket ship using lego.
