Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
This is a lovely poem! Children love reading poems and it is a great starting point for a lesson . Poems and stories really grasp their attention!
There were many interesting areas in this Module. The resources shared for Science week were excellent, I think the introduction of this week would be excellent in my school. There are so many activities and resources on line to support each class group, so I feel like it would be a relatively easy introduction to the school.
The Marvin and Milo Cartoons were excellent again and would be great to use as a trigger for the start of a lesson.
The activity I would like to use in my classroom is making Rockets.
Trigger: What is a Rocket? What does it look like? We would then read the story Sadie Sprocket builds a Rocket.
Talk about how we might build a Rocket. What materials would we need? Supply the children with arrange of materials and in groups allow them time to try and build their own rocket.
Show the rockets and discuss what worked/didn’t work.
Make connections to History about the fist astronauts to land on the moon.One of the next steps I would take towards a STEM-focused SSE would be to use the six-step SSE process to help identify an area of STEM that could be improved. I’d start by looking at what’s already happening in the school. For example, what STEM activities or programmes are currently in place, and what is working well? From there, I would analyse the information gathered and decide on one area to focus on rather than trying to improve everything at once.
Once that focus is clear, I would work with the wider school community to develop an action plan and put it into practice. Throughout the process, it would be important to regularly check how things are progressing and make changes if needed. Since collaboration is such a key part of SSE, I would involve teachers, parents, and students at every stage. Their input would help create a shared sense of ownership and make it more likely that any improvements to STEM teaching and learning would be meaningful and long-lasting.Hi there,
I feel the same as you re SSE. Collaboration is key to positive learning expreiences for the children.
SEE can as help focus teachers and school staff and make teaching and learning more specific and meaningful to our individual schools.
Linking learning to the local community can only provide positive engagemnet from all involved.
This is a lovely lesson on stars. I think the children in my class would also love this.
Thank you for the idea!
The Activity Set I would like to discuss is Space and Aliens. It is an activity set I feel the children in my class would both grasp, enjoy and engage in. I also think it is a lovely activity to be able to link to a range of other subjects, including maths, which we learned about as one of the STEM subjects.
The lesson I really loved and think with some tweaking my class would engage really well with is special life. Lesson number 19. I love how it incorporates Art and Drama as well. I think I would use it as a week’s lesson plan. The lesson I would start with would be explain that we live on Earth, there are other planets, but as far as we know there is no one living on them. We could discuss Earth and what they feel is special about it. They would then draw their favourite things from Earth. Day 2 recap the lesson, and extend it into Drama, act out what they drew. Day 3 we could do a Maths activity, counting drawings of Earth, maybe discuss the shape of Earth and then link to 3D shape.
Day 4 we could read the story Aliens love underpants. Day 5 would be an Art activity, design and draw your own Alien.I love this idea. I had a similar one forn 2nd class. I love how it encourages enquiry based learning, the inspectors are very keen to see this method being used across all the class levels.
I like the man in the moon activity. This activity encouraged children to explore their ideas about the Moon through discussion and hands-on learning. At the beginning, they were shown different shapes, such as a circle, a crescent, and a sphere, and asked which one looked most like the real Moon. This helped children think about the Moon’s true shape and recognise that it is actually a sphere, even though it can appear as different shapes from Earth. I really like the link to maths here. During the art activity, children created their own Moon using a variety of materials and then explained their design choices, allowing them to express their creativity while discussing scientific ideas. This shows inquiry-based learning in the classroom. The rhyme and picture activity encouraged children to talk about the “Man in the Moon” and other shapes they could see. Through discussion, they learned that these figures are imaginary and are created by the Moon’s lighter and darker areas rather than real faces or objects. This combined creative expression with scientific understanding.
In 2<sup>nd</sup> class I would begin a lesson on the moon by asking the children what they already know about the Moon and why they think it changes shape. Using a paper circle, a crescent shape, and a sphere, I would encourage them to discuss which object best represents the real Moon. This would lead to an explanation that the Moon is always a sphere, but from Earth we only see the illuminated part, making it appear to change shape. The children would then create their own Moon models using craft materials and explain their design choices to the class.
Inquiry-based activities changes the role of the teacher from a direct lecturer to a guide. Instead of the teacher telling students how things work or giving them step by step instructions, it lets them experience it first-hand. Inquiry based learning builds critical thinking and resilience. It teaches children that mistakes are a way of learning. Working in small groups helps children practice communication and listening skills. They learn independence and autonomy in their learning.
Teaching fractions for example, I would give the class a range of materials broken into halves and quarters and I would see what they come up with. Will they see the connection between halves and quarters? Will they break the halves into quarters and put the quarters together to makes halves? The teacher would have explained that a fraction is equal parts of a whole.