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Rocket Launch lesson with Infants.
I would begin the lesson by reading ‘The way back Home’. We would discuss the story and the journey undertaken. We would then discuss how people travel in space and through this discussion get an idea of how much the children already know about space travel. I would then talk about forces and how a force is necessary for the movement of objects. We would look at both push and pull forces. We would talk about rockets and how they need a force/push of energy to launch them into space.
We would then look at some video clips of rocket launches and discuss this.
The children will then be asked if and how we might build and launch a rocket. The children will work in pair and then we will discuss our ideas and solutions.
Having looked at the different ideas we will proceed to making our own cone rockets. The children will use paper and straws for this activity. The children will first decorate their rockets and then use the straw to propel the rocket upwards.
Having practiced and tested our rockets we will discuss how and what impacts the flight of the rocket- weight, size, potential shape, force of air blown through the straws etc.
We will conclude our lesson with a class discussion on what worked well and what didn’t, what could be improved and whether other methods might be more effective.
Hi Stephanie, you have created a fantastic science week there. So many lovely ideas and it is spanning so many areas of the curriculum. I particularly like your PE games and art ideas which link the who week together with so many creative ideas.
Hi Emily, I agree this lesson is a real hands on one which encourages the children to observe, compare, make predictions and then discuss findings, but in a fun and informative way. We take our coats for granted, but this lesson teaches the children to evaluate the usefulness of a particular coat in different environmental conditions. It is such a practical and useful lesson – a life skill!
I would use the ESERO 5 – ‘Where do you live?’ activity with the Infant class.
I would begin with recognising that we all live somewhere, but that there are many different types of homes. We would read the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and discuss the differences we see between the houses in that story.
I would follow this up with showing the children a selection of homes from around the world and noting that there are many home types we may not see here in Ireland. The homes may include apartments, bungalows, castles, tree houses, mud huts, boat houses, igloos and many more.
I would then ask the children to discuss the homes we see in our local area with a partner and then get the children to draw a picture of their home. We would discuss similarities and difference between our homes and those we viewed earlier.
The children would them undertake an art activity where they would use recycled materials previously gathered to create their ideal home. We would then assemble these homes to create a village and come up with a name for our new village.
The children would be asked to describe their own creations identifying the different parts of the house. Construction problems/solutions could be discussed in small groups engaging the children in talk and discussion and creative thinking. I think the lesson would be fun and hands on.
Hi Sharon, I love the topic of Space and Aliens too and agree that the children would be instantly captivated by it. I love the fact that you engage the children in thinking what the aliens might need to survive here on earth. This is a good way of looking at our own needs here and links well with our wellbeing areas. I would live to see the 3D clay models of the aliens!
Activity – Stars in the Infants class
I would use the theme of Stars and begin by singing the song ‘Twinkle Twinkle little star’. I would then enter into a discussion with the children about their understanding of stars and establish this as our basis. We would discuss the song and it’s lyrics.
I would progress the lesson by darkening the room and showing the children a video and pictures of stars in the night sky. I would ask the children about their experiences of the night sky. We would discuss the light provided by the stars and how we see them twinkle despite being so far away. We would discuss the possible number of stars and compare to known and unknown quantities- marbles, a handful of sand etc.
I would explain that star constellations help us to recognise some stars in the night shy. We would look at a selection of constellations and the children would be given an opportunity to draw and name their own constellation.
To complete the lesson the children would engage in an art lesson where they create the night sky, first painting the sky back ground and then using the splatter paint technique to create the stars.
This lesson would engage well with the STEM aspects of the curriculum engaging maths talk and discussion, space and shape, the environment and also that of art.
Activity – The Planets
I would engage the children in a discussion firstly about where we live- our locality, country and then the great world. We would have a discussion about what lies beyond the earth itself and establish what the children already know about space.
Having established that there is a universe out there and having named those planets that we know I would introduce the Planet song which aside from being a fun song is very informative and would spark the children’s curiosity further, Having listened to this I would then explain that we are going to explore and learn more about our planets. We would discuss what we have learned about each plane- it’s colour, size, distance from earth etc. The children working in small groups could illustrate the planets and their planets would be displayed in formation.
We would discuss how the planets move around the sun and using a selection of hoops, balls etc. could practice orbiting the sun. This would give the children a greater feel for how planets move.
Having discussed what we have learned we would conclude our lesson with ‘The planets song’. The children’s art on display will re-affirm their lesson and understanding
Hi Glenys, I love your lesson on the sun and shadows. We looked at shadows and light a few weeks ago and the children really enjoyed finding shadows in the classroom and yard. You have lovey additional ideas which I will use next year and we will engage more discussion about the suns position and shadow length. Puppets are a lovely addition too to the lesson.
Hi Margaret, I love your lesson on fingerprints! I have never investigated this with any of my classes but thinks it looks so much fun. The children would love to investigate them and really investigative scientists! Thanks for your lesson. Will be giving it a go next term.
Inquiry based Lesson in Senior Infants
Theme ; Floating and sinking.
Materials: A selection of test materials such as wood, pencil, metal spoon, plastic ruler, a ball, piece of paper, wooden block, large bowl of water.
The children will be asked whether these items will float and sink after a discussion as what floating and sinking means.
Investigation; The children will predict whether the items will sink or float. They will record their predictions on a pre -prepared worksheet. The items will then be tested one by one and the findings recorded. The children will compare the findings to their own predictions.
A class discussion will follow where the children will discuss the material involved. The children will identify which items floated or sank and which might have surprised them. We will establish what we have learned today. Does size impact floating, or is the type of material involved more important? We will discuss common items in our homes that we have noticed in water and determine whether they float or sink… toys in the bath, items in the sink etc.
I will conclude with a summary of our findings.