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I love this way of teaching as I am myself a Junior Infant teacher and I think it is so beneficial to the children to teach thematically across a fortnight/month on a certain topic as it really consolidates their learning and makes sure that each type of learner in the classroom is being met in someway.
This year in our school we are engaging in ‘Space Week’ for the first time. As a Junior Infant teacher I am a big believer in ‘thematic planning’ so I will be exploring all about ‘Space’ through each curricular area. For example, in Language & Literacy/Gaeilge, I will explore a CJ Fallon Rainbow oral Language poster based on ‘Space’ with the children in order for them to start to learn new vocabulary. I will be exploring Oliver Jeffers ‘Space’ book to focus on reading/writing i.e. The way back home etc., The children will incorporate visual art into their English lesson by drawing how they think (predicting) the boy is going to get back home by just reading the title/looking at the front/back cover. In drama/Aistear, we will explore ‘Teacher in Role’/Roleplay as teacher becomes the boy/alien and the children will get to explore themselves as astronauts/aliens going to space in their aircraft etc., In Music, we will make up a song ‘Climb above the spacecraft’ based on the theme tune (itsy bitsy spider) which will incorporate Maths into this lesson by counting back wards from 10,9,8 etc., We will explore ‘space safety’ in our SPHE lessons which will add a sense of wonder/curiosity amongst the children about various ways the boy may need to keep safe in space/on the aircraft. Finally, as part of SESE we will look at constructing an aircraft from junk art material (interlinking aistear/visual art) as part of a class project/experiment and explore as ‘scientists’ what we need in order for our spacecraft to be ready for liftoff. We will also look at Neil Armstrong blasting into space landing on the moon so the children know that is has been carried out before and we will also look at Dr Norah Patten and how she is preparing to set off on her space mission in 2026.
I was very drawn to this activity as I am a Junior Infant teacher myself and it is wonderful to gain great ideas and explore other activities to bring into my own classroom in the upcoming September.
As a Junior Infant teacher I think hands on themed activities are a must in the infant classrooms across the country. In our school, we ensure that we chose a theme each month to explore with the children. For example, ‘The Weather station’, ‘The Science Lab’, ‘Space’ etc., We thematically plan our subjects to incorporate this theme into our lessons for the month. Thus, from exploring the online resources and tools from module 4 I have gained and explored a number of activities and resources/websites that will enhance my thematic planning for the year going forward. When focusing on the theme ‘The Weather station’ in our classroom we look at the various types of clothes we wear during each season by using real everyday life clothes that the children already wear (to elicit prior knowledge/learn from own personal experience). Various types of clothing (that the children bring in) are displayed around the classroom and each group must find their appropriate type of clothing for the season they are exploring (i.e. the foxes are exploring the theme of ‘Summer’ they must find clothes suitable to wear in the summer). As we can sometimes wear the same type of clothes in various seasons, it is up to the children to explore and pose wonder as to why we may need a jumper sometimes in spring/summer. We then explore/discuss with why we wear these clothes and reflect and consolidate our learning by drawing a portrait of ourselves with clothes that we love to wear during a season we enjoy throughout the year (these portraits are then displayed in the classroom which also incorporates the theme of ‘myself in SPHE.
I love the idea of getting the children to draw what the alien looks like. This would especially be interesting in a Junior Infant class of boys as they love to use their imagination when it comes to drawing which is great to see. I think it would be a great idea and something that the children could share openly with the rest of the class as to their alien they have drawn (authors chair). I can just imagine the laughter the class would get out of some of the aliens that some of the children would come up with.
I would focus on using the ‘Stars’ activity in my Junior Infant classroom. To introduce the lesson and to elicit the children’s prior knowledge on the topic of ‘stars’ I would show the children a picture/video of a child friendly night sky full of stars. This would lead into an oral group discussion where the class teacher can ask open-ended questions to prompt engagement and curiosity of the children. Next, I would read the story ‘How to catch a star’ by Oliver Jeffers as this will further allow the children to explore their own personal perception of ‘I wonder how could we catch a star in the high sky etc., As a class we will use a white roll of paper across the floor so all children have access to it and each child will draw various stars of different shapes/size etc., (integration of Math/construction – visual art) across the paper. Next, the children will use glow in the dark paint and paint their stars various colours etc., once this dries we will cut out our stars and stick them onto black sugar card/paper. Next, we will turn off the lights/pull down the blinds etc., to make the room dark and for us to see our glow in the dark stars that we have created. Depending on the class, the teacher may need to model how to draw a star or have cut out templates at hand, otherwise the children are free to create their own versions of stars they see in the night sky. After this lesson we will reflect on what we have learned about stars etc., and if our predictions or thoughts about trying to catch a star has changed or stayed the same based on the L & L story read at the beginning of the lesson. (This activity can be integrated across Aistear/SESE & Visual Art). Whilst the children are working on their stars the class teacher is facilitating the children’s learning around the room by observing, using questioning/modelling etc.,
I absolutely love this activity for infants especially for ‘Aistear’. This year as part of the yearly Aistear programme in our school we are using the theme of ‘Space’ as a monthly topic of exploration and I am so looking forward to letting the children explore all about space/moon etc., I will be letting the children take into the role of Neil A walking on the moon wearing an astronaut costume with a helmet and jumping into his rocket ship as well as letting the children send notes through the earths atmosphere back home as they are stranded on the moon etc., This is an excellent lesson based on the Moon Claire.
I would chose to carry out the ‘Sun and Shadow’s’ set activity with my Junior infants. To engage all children in the lesson at hand I would show the children a picture/video of the sun and ask them open-ended questions on what they see etc., In groups the children will discuss all they know about the sun/shadows to elicit their prior knowledge. To carry out this inquiry based activity the class teacher would need to ensure that it is a bright/sunny day. Before setting outside to be a scientist I would show the children some chalk and would question the children as to what we might be carrying out or why we are using chalk etc., (posing some curiosity within the classroom). Children would work in mixed ability groups (all children having a job/role within the group i.e. observer, scribe, materials manager etc., Each group will create different shadows (fun/silly movements etc.,) because of the suns facing and they will trace around these shadows with some chalk. Depending on the class, I would model what I would like the children to carry out or I would let the children explore for themselves the sun/shadows whatever way they wish. Whilst the children are carrying out their investigation I will facilitate their learning by asking open-ended questions etc., By the end of the activity as a group we will reflect on our learning by consolidating through oral discussion or by creating a drawing in our math/visual art lesson of what shadows and shapes we came up with in our groups.
Hi Dympna, I love this inquiry based activity for infants as it interlinks the story of ‘The Three little Pigs’ which I always use in my classroom when I am teaching construction as a theme in ‘Aistear’ or part of SESE (Houses/buildings/locality) etc., I also use it as part of Maths recently when children are exploring 3-D shapes for the first time using cocktail sticks and mini marshmallows. When I saw your inquiry based learning I also thought about how I could explore this activity as part of Language & Literacy not as a stand alone subject but interlinking it through oral language, reading & writing which then could lead on to interlinking this with Visual Art (create the three little Pigs houses using only crepe paper, mini lollipop sticks & red card etc.,
Hello, My name is Rachel Byrne and I will be teaching Junior Infants this year. My favourite aspect about ‘Space’ that I remember from my own childhood is how the shape of the ‘Moon’ is not round but in actual fact shaped like a ‘lemon’. An inquiry-based learning activity (materials) that I have used and will continue to use in my classroom is ‘splashing in muddy puddles’. To ensure that I appeal to all learners in my classroom I always use a prompt/stimulus to engage my pupils in their learning at the beginning of the lesson and for students to use their prior knowledge/own personal experiences. For this activity I always use a video of a child in the rain jumping in muddy puddles with an umbrella/wet gear/wellies etc., I then start to ask the children ‘open-ended’ questions about what they have heard/saw and we start to predict/discuss what other materials we already know are waterproof etc., We then investigate ‘how to keep our socks dry’ by carrying out an experiment using a wellington, shoe, socks & water (basin), towels, outdoor/indoor area. Teacher asks the children to bring in some old clothing i.e. shoes/socks/wellingtons from home prior to these experiments. First, we predict whether the shoe/wellington will keep our socks dry. TI get children in groups (mixed ability all who have a different job) to carry out their experiment to test whether the shoe/wellington will keep their favourite socks dry. (Sometimes I will model what I want the children to do depending on the class, otherwise I let the children explore their own ways). At the end of the experiment we reflect on what happened and which shoe/wellington kept our favourite socks dry but I also ask the children to think of ways they could make non-waterproof shoes ‘waterproof’. This will also interlink with Visual Art as I get the children to create a new design shoe with a teacher design task of ‘make it waterproof’. While the children are carrying out their experiment I am facilitating their learning by moving around the room and asking questions like ‘I wonder… etc.,’. I also remind the children that when we are carrying out experiments we are ‘Scientists’.
