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I think that my class would really enjoy the Design a Martian activity. I would introduce this role using drama and would engage the children in a teacher-in-role activity. I would come into the classroom dressed up as an old man and would tell the children a story about a strange figure that I met once while on a walk. The figure told me that they were an alien and had landed on Earth from a foreign planet. What was strange however, was that they stayed hidden behind a tree the entire time so I never got a chance to see what they looked like. Before I knew it, they had disappeared in a big flash of light.
I would then encourage the children to discuss in their groups what they think this alien could have actually looked like. All of the groups would be given a chance to share their ideas. I would ask them questions about why they think the alien would have had certain features (for example, if they have fur – is it because the planet is cold?). I would then encourage them to really think about what they think the alien’s home planet would look like. Would this impact their appearance? How does our planet impact how we as humans look?
Modelling materials would be distributed among the groups and children would create their own aliens. Afterwards, they would be given a chance to present their figures to the class and to give reasons for why the look the way that they do.
Younger children have such wonderful imaginations, I feel that they would really immerse themselves properly in this activity. It also gives great opportunities for oral language development (physical appearances, habitats, weather, etc).
I agree with you about the wide scope for integration across other subjects Jane. I always find that children love the Space theme so it’s definitely worth stretching it across as many subjects as possible! It makes for a very fun Aistear theme in the infant classes as well.
I think that The Man in the Moon activity looks like a fun, hands-on task for my class.
I would use the book Moonbeam Bear as a stimulus for this activity. I have used this book many times with classes over the years and it is a really lovely story that the children always love.
I would first discuss with the children what they know about the moon based on the story, what they imagine the moon to look like up close, what patterns they might see, etc. I would then show them a paper plate (as per the lesson activity) and use this as a further basis for discussion. Does it look like the real moon? How is it the same/different? I would then explain to them that we are going to explore what the moon really looks like.
Children would then be given time to complete the art activity using as many materials as they would like. They would be given adequate time afterwards to present their moon and to engage in discussion both with me and their classmates. I would ask them if there is anything about the moon’s real shape that they notice is different to our art. This would lead into a discussion about the moon as a sphere. I would use images on the interactive whiteboard to further enhance this part of the lesson.
I would conclude the lesson with the moon rhyme. This is a lovely little rhyme that could be used in circle time regularly.
I think that I would hold off on the Figures in the Moon activity until a follow-up lesson as I feel that there is plenty in the lesson already for a junior class.
I really like the use of the bears to demonstrate day and night as well. It’s a very simple but effective way to teach the concept to the children. I have used a torch and a globe to teach about day and night before, but would definitely look to add in this extra element in the future.
Last year, my class really enjoyed the Skittles colour mixing experiment. The resources are very simple for this and it always causes a lot of excitement no matter what the age.
As part of this experiment, I would first show the children the resources (warm water, skittles and plastic plates). I would then display the inquiry question: What will happen to the skittles when the warm water is poured over them? Children would be given a chance to discuss their ideas in their groups before sharing them with the class. I would record all of their answers on a flipchart so that we could refer back to them at the end of the lesson.
Groups would each be given a plastic plate and some skittles to rearrange in a colourful pattern. This would also link into the Maths curriculum – they could discuss and identify the pattern within their group and others. I would then gently pour warm water over the skittles for the children to observe the results. Afterwards, we could discuss what happened and the reasons behind it. I would use the flipchart from earlier as a stimulus for this also and we could discuss why some predictions were correct and why some were not.
For younger children where water may be a hazard at their groups, I would perhaps perform just one experiment at the front of the room. I would use my visualiser connected to the interactive board so that the children would not miss out on any steps.
That sounds like a really fun lesson. I think the children would particularly enjoy the freedom and creativity afforded to them in designing their own bridge from scratch. There are nice opportunities for self-assessment and peer-assessment also.
