[Olwyn Matarazzo]

Activity set: Space & Aliens

Junior Infants

Learning objectives:

·        Children will learn to describe what they think an alien would look like

·        Use adjectives to describe an alien

Activity:

I would set up a space role-play areas for Aistear. All children would design their own space alien to how they think it would look. Model this first. How many eyes? Legs? Arms? What colour hair etc. Allow children to name their alien.

Using a black tent to act as the ‘Space Ship’ I would put pictures inside of all the children’s aliens.

Children could make their own telescopes from toilet roll holders/make helmets from junk modelling. Give the children torches and during Aistear groups take it in turns to use their telescopes to search for different aliens. Allow children to feed back to the class on what they saw and use adjectives to describe the aliens.

Extension: Add pictures of the planets, stars, sun. Can children describe the planet to a friend and have the friend guess which planet it is?

Adapt for older children: After a group has explored in the ‘Space Station’ display all the aliens in the classroom and allow children to describe the alien they are thinking of. Can others guess the alien?

[Olwyn Matarazzo]

Eileen I love this lesson idea for Junior Infants to learn about Shadows. It is definitely an idea I will take into the classroom in September. I love that you have included a book at the beginning which always sparks an interest. So much learning in this lesson where children would have to place the sun in the correct place to create the shadow and depending on where they place the sun would be what shadow it creates.

I think I would link this lesson to taking children outside and allow them to trace their shadows at different point in the day to see if it’s longer/shorter etc.

[Olwyn Matarazzo]

Activity set : The Planets

The planet song, The planets

Junior Infants

Learning objectives:

·        recognise the names of the planets

·        Know that there are 8 planets

·        Name some of the planets

Activity:

Check for previous knowledge by asking children what they know about the planets.

Introduce the children to the planets by learning and singing the planet song.

Have pictures of the different planets and a picture of the sun. Give different children the pictures of the planet and of the sun and place the planets in the correct order. Tell children a fact about each planet as they are being put in place. Allow other children in the class to move around the planets and play a game where they move to their favourite planet and say the fact about that planet. Children work in groups at their tables with pictures of the planets and the sun in the middle. Children to work together to order the planets.

Link to Art- Allow each group to make a model/picture of a planet. Display the pictures/model in the classroom in the correct order.

[Olwyn Matarazzo]

Caroline I love this lesson idea. So much fun involved and so much learning. The children will all be eager to have a go of having their hands covered in Vaseline to see how their hands would keep warmer and keep the water off. Its such a playful lesson for them and something that they would definitely remember. I teach my Junior Infants about the polar bears each year but have never thought of linking it to a Science lesson before so this is definitely an experiment I will incorporate into the lesson next year.

[Olwyn Matarazzo]

Inquiry-Based Activity for Junior/Senior Infants:

What objects can float and what objects sink

 

Learning objective:

·        Children will develop an understand of what floating and sinking means

·        Children will investigate which object can float and which object will sink

Lesson:

Discuss with children what they think floating means and what they think sinking means. Refer to their own lives. I can float when I do swimming lessons etc.

Group children and allow them to collect items in the classroom that they will investigate with e.g. feather, lego, coin, pencil, spoon, toy car)

Pose a question to the children. Which object do you think will float? Which objects do you think will sink? Children to group objects into two groups.

Allow children to investigate with their objects and a basin of water. Which objects floated? Which object sunk?

Allow each group to feed back to the class on which objects were able to float and which sunk.

Assessment: Give children pictures of different objects from the investigation and get children to cut and paste into 2 groups i.e. float/sink

Extension: Leave a basin of water and different objects out during Aistear/yard time and allow children to investigate further

 

[Olwyn Matarazzo]

Hi I’m Olwyn and I will be teaching Junior Infants next year. My favourite fact about space is that shooting stars aren’t actually stars but pieces of rock burning up!

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