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Hi Katie, this sounds like a lovely lesson. I really like the idea about encouraging them to think about how the alien lives, moves etc. I think it will really get them interacting with what they create.
The Sun and Shadows
As an introduction to this lesson (with Second/Third class), the children will engage in a group discussion about shadows. The children will share what they already know and be invited to list any questions that they might have about shadows.
The children will engage in some free play with shadows using handheld lights. They will be invited to create pictures. Following this activity, they will discuss what affected their shadows (light position etc.) I would then introduce the topic of how the sun moves through the sky and why this happens.
I would engage the children in a day long observation of an object in the sun. This object would be a doll etc (something that can be easily traced. I would place this object in a well lit area with a large piece of paper under it. Every 45 minutes during the school day, a child will be invited to trace the shadow of the object on the page and mark the time. Different colours will be used to differenciate the markings.
The children will share their observations from throughout the day. This will be linked in with discussions around why we call it midday etc. Children will be encouraged to research ways we rely on the sun and how the sun’s movement effects us.
Hi Sharon,
I think that this is such a lovely way of integrating a story with teaching about shadows. I can see this working really well with the infant classes. Gettin the children to predict what happens when the light or object is moved is a great opportunity for enquiry based learning and learning through doing.
For my enquiry based science lesson, I worked with the children on a paper plane race. I started by asking the children to engage in creating a paper plane. We discussed why the children thought do the plane have wings. We watched some videos on how to create planes and the children choose their preferred method of construction. The children created their planes, with assistance where required. The children completed practice runs. The children then completed the paper plane race, two children threw their planes and the person who got their plane furthest stayed on until the next round. After the activity the children discussed what worked and what didn’t work. In a follow up lesson, the children were given a chance to make a new plane based on their findings and we conducted a second race. The planes were much more effective the second time and there was clear evidence of the children using what they had learned.
Hi Doireann,
This is a lesson that I have done with infants before also. It is a great one for challenging perceptions and the children are always engaged in guessing. I found it interesting to observe what they thought would sink. There was a great discussion about heavy things floating also.
Hello everyone,
My name is Niamh and I work in a Junior School in Dublin. I will be teaching Junior Infants next year. My space fact is that it rains diamonds on Neptune. This is due to intense heat and pressure.
I will be teaching a younger class this year. I have decided to take a proactive approach in looking at what can we do.
Research Question: What can we do in our classroom every day to reduce waste? Often, I find in the younger classes, there can be additional waste sometimes as more worksheets, colouring sheets etc can be required.
I would start with a story to engage the children-The Story of Rubbish. We would begin with a whole class discussion about what we are getting rid of every day. We would partake in a day/week long analysis of our wase as a class, taking note on a designated board when anything is noticed and making use of the investigation plan.
At the end of the analysis, we would discuss what we can do to assist with reducing waster. When doing something similar with a past class, we realised that there was a lot of waste during art and free time, with pages/scraps of paper being discarded. This led to the implementation of a scrap paper box, where early finishers etc. could use the scraps for artwork rather than using new blank pages.
We would implement our changes and engage in analysis over another day/week period. Once completed, we would compare the findings.Hi Cillian,
This is such an impactful activity. I have done something similar with one of my classes and I found it to be really beneficial in getting the message across.
I went through the Nose up in the Sky resources in this activity. I think that using old weather proverbs is a lovely way to start the activity and is very accessible for all children. In conjunction with the resources, I would probably begin this as a whole class discussion and brainstorm. This will allow me to assist with a few of the sayings if needed. It may also be a nice activity to include family members in, maybe asking the children to find out sayings and bring them in for the following day. I did find that some of the wording on this worksheet may be challenging for my younger class so I would adapt that.
Again I think the sensing the weather is a great idea that is very accessible. A walk might be a nice idea to include with this. News 2 day have a nice simple weather segment that would allow the children to compare their findings with, and is very child centric.
As mentioned in previous posts, I think the building your own weather station is an idea that can be easily integrated into the daily routine. It is very accessible for different age groups and can be an enjoyable activity.
Hi Aine, I agree that exploring old weather proverbs is a lovely way to engage children. I think weather superstitions/sayings are something that children find interesting/can relate to. I know having engaged in these discussions that children will often bring sayings that they have heard to it-e.g. their grandparents telling them that cows lying down means rain etc. It brings a bit of fun to the topic.
I think this video has great use in providing facts and engaging imagery. However, I do think that some parts present an opportunity to potential present climate change as something that will scare the children. I think that when looking for video resources it might be better to look for something geared towards children. BBC earth and BBC teach provide excellent videos that deal with these issues.
Additionally, having worked in rural schools with children who are farming mad (farming featured in the video), I think we have to be careful with identifying sources of blame for climate change. It is really important to have a positive ‘we can do it’ attitude for empowering children to engage with and identify how they can have a part in working against climate change.Hi Aine,
I think that is such an important point, it is vital to recognise that climate change is due to interlinking features and not isolated incidents or activities. I agree that I would probably make use of the video for the facts as some parts might be too impactful for the children.
I thought the video was very helpful in explaining the greenhouse effect in a way that would be accessible for a variety of age groups. As I mentioned in my last post, I have found that the younger classes often require a visual/concrete resource for understanding topics that are not in front of them. The tool for predicting future temperatures could also be helpful in this regard.I have also found that some children can find this topic a little scary and I think the video deals with it in an informative and positive way. The consolidation at the end was also a feature I thought was very practical. While I think some parts of this activity would be beyond my First Class this coming year, the resources provide opportunity for meaningful discussion and al base of knowledge for project work on what we can do to aid in the fight against climate change.
Hi Grainne,
The idea of introducing digital presentations or videos is a great one. I have found students really respond to this in the past and can have a lot of fun with it too.
While reading the paper, it is clear that when engaging in STEM it is vital to provide hands on practical activities for the children. This will encourage active learning and allow the children to take responsibility and make actual discoveries.
What I liked about the nose up in the sky resource is that it is something that could easily be integrated into the daily routine of the classroom. The measuring rain, checking the thermometer etc. could be a weekly job role. Integrated with maths through table records, the children will take responsibility for record keeping and analysis. I will be teaching First Class this year and I feel this is something that could be easily adapted to their age group, maybe focusing on one measurement at a time/ getting assistance from older students initially. There is a great opportunity here to integrate learning, perhaps through stories, art etc.
Weather vs climate offers some excellent resources (vidoeos, worksheet templates etc) and plans for all age groups. While some parts of this may be challenging for my younger class (the concept of climate, weather detectives) I feel that I could make use of Pax’s greenhouse effect video for engaging a discussion about climate change. I also found a lot of the videos in the module would be very beneficial in engaging in more in depth discussions about weather. Sometimes, with the younger classes, these discussions can jus be “it is hot/cold/wet today” etc. and not encourage the children to engage in active discovery.
