[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

<p class=”isselectedend”><span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif;”>I like the idea of using <span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;”>Space Week</span> to do something a little different. Rather than focusing on just one activity, I would spread a range of experiments around the classroom and let the children move through them in small groups. I think it would create a lovely buzz in the room, keep everyone engaged and encourage plenty of discussion. Activities such as <span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;”>Fizzing and Foaming</span><b>, </b><span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;”>Messy Mixtures</span><b> </b>and <span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;”>Dancing Raisins</span> are all simple to set up, but I think they would spark lots of curiosity and get the children asking questions and talking about what they notice.</span></p>
<p class=”isselectedend”><span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif;”>If I had a sixth class available, I would love to get them involved as well. They could help run the different stations, demonstrate the experiments and ask the younger children what they think will happen before each activity begins. I think the younger children would really enjoy working alongside the older pupils, while the sixth class would benefit from taking on a leadership role and building their confidence.</span></p>
<p class=”isselectedend”><span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif;”>One thing I have enjoyed throughout this course is how each activity begins by encouraging the children to wonder, make predictions and then discuss what actually happened afterwards. I would keep that approach at every station and finish by bringing everyone back together to talk about which experiment surprised them the most and why.</span></p>
<span style=”font-family: ‘Calibri’,sans-serif;”>I think it would be a lovely way to celebrate Space Week. It would not just be about carrying out the experiments, but about giving the children the opportunity to explore, ask questions, share ideas and learn from one another in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.</span>

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I love asking the children to describe what they think an alien looks like- they have great imagination its always a fun discussion.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I like the idea of using theses activities in SET I fell like the kids would love to do these expirments in smaller groups and go into more details. I could also degsin the next lesson based on the outcome of these activities.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

<p class=”p1″>I like the idea of using Space Week to do something a little different. Rather than focusing on one activity, I’d spread the different experiments out over the classroom and let the children move around in small groups. I think it would create a nice buzz in the room and keep everyone involved. Activities likeFizzing and Farming, Messy Mixtures and Dancing Raisins <span class=”Apple-converted-space”>  </span>are all simple, but I think they’d get the children asking plenty of questions and chatting about what they notice.</p>
<p class=”p1″>If I had a sixth class available, I’d love to get them involved as well. They could help run the different stations, demonstrate the experiments and ask the younger children what they think is going to happen before they begin. I think the younger children would really enjoy working with the older pupils, and it would be nice for the sixth class to take on that role too.</p>
<p class=”p1″>One thing I’ve enjoyed throughout this course is how every activity starts with the children wondering, making predictions and then talking about what actually happened afterwards. I’d keep that the same at each station and finish by bringing everyone back together to chat about which experiment surprised them the most and why.</p>
<p class=”p1″>I think it would be a lovely way to celebrate Space Week. It wouldn’t just be about carrying out the experiments, but giving the children the chance to explore, ask questions and learn from each other in a relaxed and enjoyable way.</p>

• This reply was modified 4 months ago by Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin. Reason: not formatting prorerly through notes

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

<p class=”p1″>I like the idea of using <b>Space Week</b> to do something a little different. Rather than focusing on one activity, I’d spread the different experiments out over the classroom and let the children move around in small groups. I think it would create a nice buzz in the room and keep everyone involved. Activities like <b>Fizzing and Foaming</b>, <b>Messy Mixtures</b> and <b>Dancing Raisins</b> are all simple, but I think they’d get the children asking plenty of questions and chatting about what they notice.</p>
<p class=”p1″>If I had a sixth class available, I’d love to get them involved as well. They could help run the different stations, demonstrate the experiments and ask the younger children what they think is going to happen before they begin. I think the younger children would really enjoy working with the older pupils, and it would be nice for the sixth class to take on that role too.</p>
<p class=”p1″>One thing I’ve enjoyed throughout this course is how every activity starts with the children wondering, making predictions and then talking about what actually happened afterwards. I’d keep that the same at each station and finish by bringing everyone back together to chat about which experiment surprised them the most and why.</p>
<p class=”p1″>I think it would be a lovely way to celebrate Space Week. It wouldn’t just be about carrying out the experiments, but giving the children the chance to explore, ask questions and learn from each other in a relaxed and enjoyable way.</p>

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I really liked the idea of the children creating their own cold climate animal.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

 

I liked exploring Stellarium because it’s a resource I could see myself using in the classroom. I’d use it at the start of a lesson to introduce the children to the night sky before moving on to a practical activity. Instead of looking at pictures in a book, we could explore the sky together and see what it would look like from Ireland that night. I think that would get the children asking lots of questions.

I also think it would work really well alongside a lot of the activities we’ve looked at throughout the module. We could use Stellarium to find some of the more recognisable constellations and talk about the stories behind them before making our own star lanterns. It would also be a good way to show the children why we see different constellations at different times of the year. I think seeing it on the screen would help make it easier to understand.

I like that the children can explore it themselves too. They could take turns coming up to the interactive whiteboard to find different stars and constellations, or guess what shapes they can see before we reveal the names.

I’d encourage the children to use Stellarium at home with their families to see if they could find some of the constellations we looked at in class. The next day we’d spend a few minutes chatting about what they found and whether anyone spotted something different.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I like the idea of the black card punching holes and using the torch- the children would love this activity.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I liked the Star Lantern activity because it’s something I could see working really well with the younger classes. I’d start by showing the children a few different constellations and asking them what shapes or pictures they can see. I think it would be interesting to hear all of the different ideas before introducing some of the stories behind the constellations. I’d spend a bit of time looking at some of the constellation stories first. It gives the children a bit of background before moving on to the art activity and makes the lanterns more meaningful than just copying a pattern.

Once they had explored a few of the constellations, I’d let the children create their own star lanterns. I think they’d really enjoy this hands-on activity, and once the classroom lights were turned off, seeing the constellations projected onto the walls would make the lesson feel that bit more special. It would also be a good way to talk about why we see different constellations at different times of the year and why some are easier to spot than others.

I think I’d finish the lesson by encouraging the children to look for some of the constellations at home with their families and see if they can spot any of the ones we talked about in class. They could come back the next day and tell us what they found. I think that would be a nice way to keep the conversation going outside the classroom.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I love the use of song in this lesson. I didnt know the planet song but find music and rhymes so important and helpful in the junior classes

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I love the use of song in this lesson. I dont know the planet song but find music and rhymes so important and helpful in the junior classes.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I liked the Earth Mosaics activity because it’s a simple way to help children understand a big idea. I’d start by showing the children a globe and asking questions like, “Why don’t people in Australia fall off the Earth?” I think that would get a good discussion going before we even started the activity.

I’d then give each child an Earth mosaic template to decorate. They could draw houses, trees or mountains above the ground and then rocks, roots or the seabed underneath. I’d also let the children decide whether their part of the planet was during the day or at night, or even choose a different season to draw. Once everyone had finished, we’d place all of the pieces together in a circle to create one large collaborative picture of the planet, leaving the centre empty. I think this is the best part of the activity because the children can see that everyone’s picture is facing a different direction, but each one is still the right way up from that part of the planet.

Afterwards, we’d chat about what we noticed and why nobody falls off the planet. It would be a nice way to introduce gravity by explaining that gravity pulls everything towards the centre of the Earth. I think the children would have a much better understanding because they’ve explored the idea for themselves instead of me just telling them the answer.

I also like that the activity links with other areas of the curriculum. It ties in with Art as the children create their own section of the collaborative mosaic and develops oral language through discussion and questioning. It would link well with Geography by looking at different places on the globe, such as Ireland, Australia or Antarctica, and talking about how people are all standing on different parts of the same planet. The children’s drawings could also lead into conversations about day and night or why it can be different seasons in different parts of the world. I think it’s a simple activity, but one the children would remember.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I love this activity and I think the children would love investigating all the different materials and trying to put the parts together.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

I liked the “Oops… I dropped it!” activity because it’s the kind of investigation I’d use in my classroom. I’d start by “accidentally” dropping something to get the children’s attention before showing them all of the different objects we’d be using. I think it would be a nice way to get them thinking and build a bit of excitement about the investigation before we even start. I’d then let them handle the objects and chat about what they notice before asking if they think they’ll all do the same thing when we drop them.

One thing I liked about the activity was that there’s learning before and after the investigation. Before we start, the children get to make predictions and explain their thinking. Afterwards, they can compare what actually happened with what they thought would happen and talk about anything that surprised them. I believe that conversation is just as valuable as the investigation itself.

I’d bring the activity outside if the weather was good, as I think it would make it feel like a real investigation. Afterwards, we’d chat about what we noticed and why we think the objects all fell towards the ground. It would also be a nice opportunity to link in with Maths by gathering and recording the children’s predictions and results. We could compare the data afterwards using a simple tally chart or pictogram and discuss any patterns we noticed. From there, it would be a nice way to introduce gravity because the children would have explored the idea themselves instead of me giving them the answer at the beginning.

I also like that the activity links across different areas of the curriculum. Along with Science, it develops oral language through discussion and questioning, and it provides a meaningful way to bring Maths into the lesson through collecting, recording and interpreting data.

[Ciara Ní Mhaolagáin]

Hi, I’m Ciara and I’m a SET teacher.

Fun fact: Astronauts can’t cry in space because, instead of their tears running down their face, they float around their eyes in little bubbles.

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