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Sun dial construction:
Building a sun-dial would be a highly engaging STEAM activity for almost any class in our school. This project offers extensive curricular integration, including History, Geography, Maths and the core elements of STEAM.
We have a flat, open area next to the yard which would be ideal for the sun-dial. The first activity for the senior class would be to research the pros and cons of using this area. The children would also need to consider the material requirements, ensuring the sun-dial is sturdy enough to withstand wind and durable enough to endure the various weather conditions.
Once installed, students could take hourly measurements during school hours and mark the positions indicated by the sun-dial. This project would be valuable to revisit at different times of the year, allowing students to observe how the sun-dial is affected by the sun’s angle and position during various seasons.I agree Lyndsey, I will definitely be adding his books to my library as well as using them to further my teaching of the space topic.
After looking through the various activities, I have got a lot of inspiration for various lessons. One that I am looking forward to trying out with my Junior Infants this year is the set surrounding the sun and shadows. The activity shown by ‘My Sky tonight’ seems to be a very accessible activity for this age group. By using the lamp in the classroom the children can visualise night and day. The will move towards the light to represent daytime and move away to represent night time. As this is very visual the children will grasp this concept very easily. This in turn will move onto the discussion of shadows which can be created by the same lamp in the classroom. I personally think that these activities are important for the junior classes as it makes it easy for them to understand some concepts as they are visual and makes the learning real for them
My name is Niamh and I will be teaching Junior Infants this year. I don’t know much about space, and I hope to use it during my Aistear lessons. I have chosen this course to find out more about the topic. I really enjoy learning about astronauts and how they live in space.
My lesson focus would be materials, materials that are good at keeping us warm and materials that are good at keeping us cool when it is warm.
I would use pictures as a stimulus where the children would discuss what people are wearing and why they are wearing various clothing. This will lead onto the discussion of the different materials of clothes and the benefits of them. A person wearing a wolly jumper must be in a cold place because that keeps you warm etc.
In groups the children will classify various pieces of clothing into winter or clothe to keep you warm or summer, clothes that keep you cool. This will lead to a discussion of why the children put clothes into the different piles.
