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I love the idea of stations. Although they may not work in my setting,, some like the cushion walk and the bubble wrap would be perfect for my setting. What child doesn’t love a bit of dress-up.!
Choose from one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module:
Activity: The Spherical Earth
Activity Set: The Planets
Activity Set: The Moon
Activity Set: The Sun and Shadows
How would you use the activity in your classroom? Post a reflective piece to the forum (150 words min) as a reply to this post. You may include digital records of the activities.Activity Set: The Sun and Shadows (assuming the children have already learned that the sun is a light source)
(I have created this lesson with my special education setting in mind)
Aim: Explore how objects block light to create shadows. Show flexibility and inventiveness in thinking. Explore and describe spatial relationships and shapes.
Introduction: To spark curiosity I would sing the song “Where is Shadow from “The Bear in the big Blue house”
“Oh, Where Oh Where Oh Where Is Shadow?
Where Oh Where Oh Where Is Shadow?
Where Oh Where Oh Where Is Shadow?
Where Can Shadow Be?”
I would sing this whilst creating shadows on the whiteboard with a bear using the projector. I would move the bear around to show that shadows can change size.
Main body:
Activity 1: distribute a little sensory box to each of the children. Inside will contain a mini flashlight and textured toys and objects of various sizes and some different surfaces. The children can cast unique shadows that they can touch and explore combining sensory stimulation with play.
Teacher will use talk and discussion throughout the lesson incorporating all the vocabulary relating to the shadow and sun theme. Sample statements…
the torch acts like the sun and makes a shadow.
look what happens when you hold the light close to the teddy.
look what happens when you move the light away from the teddy.
Can you make teddy jump up and down?
What happens if we turn the light off? What happens when the sun goes down?
Activity 1; give each child a turn to come up in front of the projector to carry out their own action, making their own shadow. e.g. star jump, hop, act like an animal etc. give the children different ideas to explore using their bodies.
Conclusion: sing the song again, this time with the shadow disappearing in the end and leaving the children in darkness. At this point the children will be lying down on their mats with blankets and cushions and cuddlies. I will read them the story “I love my Shadow”
The book will then be used to open the next lesson.
Please also respond to at least one other participant’s post.
Oh I love this. I’ll have great fun using and exploring it. Will be great to have for the classroom, as I hadn’t heard of it before this course. Nice to see how it looks.
Hi Felicity- also an SET teacher. Just wondering what was your outcome with the Science blast. I hadn’t heard of it before now, thanks for mentioning it. I’ll be looking into it.
Hi Eoghan, I love how you have laid out your activity. I should have done that myself. By looking at it in this way it really does simplify the task at hand. It leaves no stone unturned. It allows you to delve deep into the question at hand.
I will definitely be taking this approach in the future for breaking down a task.
Thanks
As a reply to this post, introduce yourself on the forum:
Hi all, I’m Siobhan, I teach in a special education school. I didn’t know what class I would have before I signed up to this course, and it turns out I’ll be in resource. However I carry out projects with some small groups and I have decided to use space as my theme this year. Teaching in special education means that despite this course is aimed towards infant level- it will have much relevance across the board in my school.
Share your favourite space fact:
Hmmm, my favourite space fact, I have become quite the “feminist” (i use this word in the lightest sense) in my later years, and I have always loved the fact that Valentina Nikolayev (Yes I had to google how to spell her surname) was the first woman to fly into space in 1963 (the year my mam was born, so I always remember this). I remember teaching this to the equivalent of second class in my school. We did a KWL chart about what we wanted to know- which was everything- but I remember the children asking the most interesting of questions (the nitty gritty) like, was she married, did she have children, what age was she when she passed, how did she pass, what did her husband do for a living etc. etc.
Anybody we studied over the course of the year we put up on a display board with a fact file. It was a great way to see and remember all the interesting people we learned about.
Add a reflection (150 words min) on how you would use one inquiry-based activity in your classroom:
(Assuming we have been covering the topic of space and the children are familiar with it)…
Using Buzz Lightyear figurine as the “teacher” giving instruction, the children would explore the wonders of the night sky. (Bearing in mind I come from a special ed setting).
I would create a starry night sky sensory bin. I would fill the bin with black rice to act as the night sky, and add glow in the dark, star shaped wall tiles, for the children to find amongst the rice. This lesson is tactile allowing the children to touch and feel “the stars”, whilst learning about the concept of of stars in space. during this interactive play teacher will explain how stars twinkle in the sky and exist far far away. The children can explore this with their eyes closed and then open. By closing their eyes it will stimulate their sense of touch.
I would darken the room, according to needs and project the night sky onto the ceiling of the room, whilst playing the lullaby of twinkle twinkle little star music in the background adding space themed cuddlies, to help ensue a comforting experience. the children would each have their own blanket and cushion to lay on to experience the night sky.
By using a multi sensory approach the children are more likely to engage and grasp the concept.
