[Shona Murphy]

Hi Grainne,

You have some great ideas there for science week. It is definitely something i would like to get up and running in my own school.

Shona

[Shona Murphy]

This module was once again been full of excellent resources, lesson plans and video clips. I really liked the idea of getting the children to make and use rockets.
Engage: I would begin with a story or book about space such as Marvin goes to Mars or the Sean the Sheep movie. I would then get the children to make the balloon rockets as outlined on primaryscience.ie. I would also use the Marvin and Milo resource here which poses nice questions.
Investigations: Starter question : Will blowing the balloon up more or less effect the distance that the rocket will go? Allow the children to make predictions. Carry out our investigations by using the rockets noting the distance.
Apply learning into other subject areas . The ‘Flying through the Air’. You could explore the history of space exploration, cover the topic of ‘space’ in science. The children could also create rockets in art (construction with cardboard).An obvious lint to maths would be measures, length in particular.

[Shona Murphy]

Hi Caoimhe, I like your idea of 2 truths and a lie. I think it would lead to good discussion and can easily be adapted to differentiate for EAL pupils.

[Shona Murphy]

There were so many resources and ideas in this module that I can see myself using. For the purpose of this question I have chosen ESERO Activity 7 Animals in the cold.
1. Discussion : Types of weather – perhaps give the children 1 minute to work in pairs and come up with as many weather words as they can eg windy, storm, hot, cold etc
explain that different places have different types of weather and the North and South Poles have very cold weather. Pose the question ‘How do animals in cold places keep themselves warm?’Ask them do they know any animals in cold places? Perhaps a game of ‘who am I?’ would add some fun here.
2. share photographs of a polar bear and a penguin. what are these ? Perhaps a story here would be nice eg ‘Baby Polar Bear’ or ‘ Penguin can Dance’.
3. What do we wear in cold weather? A warm coat …polar bears and penguins have a thick coat of fur / feathers.
4. I also likes the idea of putting vaseline on each childs’ hand and pouring water water on it to demonstrate how they have a greasy layer on their coat which keeps them dry.
5. I would also discuss how on an extra cold day you might put a warm jumper under your coat and penguins and polar bears have a thick layer of fat under their coats for added warmth.

[Shona Murphy]

Hi Kim, I like your idea of using a buddy system here with an older class. I think both groups of children have a lot to gain from this style.

[Shona Murphy]

I again found this module very helpful. I particularly enjoyed the you tube clips to inform teachers eg How many stars?
I will be using the ESERO 19 Activity ‘Special life’.
I would start with a discussion about life on Earth.What life is there? Plants, animals ect Can we sort oc categorise these? If people lived on another planet what would you like to show them of life on Earth? I would suggest creating a picture that you would send to these humans all about life on Earth. Children create their pictures using A4 paper and colouring pencils.
Circle Time: Children take turns to describe their drawings to the group, the group must try to figure out what is in the picture before the picture is revealed. It might be nice to use a timer here …can you figure it out before the timer runs out? or children can choose to act out their drawing instead of describing it (differentiation) I have a creature , it is a mammal, it has 4 legs and a very long neck etc. Continue till each child has a turn.
We would then have a whole class discussion. This an be followed up by children creating their own image of what an alien might look like. This might be a nice activity for group work , give some prompts eg can your alien see?how? Does it have eyes? How many?Where are they? How will it move, eat, sit etc

[Shona Murphy]

I like this idea and it would tie in nicely with a history lesson around telling time.

[Shona Murphy]

There were so many excellent resources to choose from in this module that it was hard to narrow it down ! As I will be involved in active learning groups next year I chose some activities with station teaching in mind.
Topic: Our fantastic Moon:
Station 1: Fact file : children research the moon using teacher provided info., books and websites. Each group chooses their top 5 facts and creates a fact file to present to the rest of the class at the end of the lesson.
Station 2 : Distance to the Moon : This station would be working with a teacher. Teacher assists children to create a to scale representation of the Earth and Moon using a globe and model of the moon . This will be done outside and videoed to show the whole class at the end of the lesson.
Station 3: Lunar Landscape : Children cover a baking with flour and add cocoa using a sieve. They then toss different size stones at it from different angles to make crators. They can then compare this to images of the moon taken from various angles.
Station 4: Moon Storytelling : Children look at pictures of the moon and place transparency over them. They then draw in their characters and write a story to be shared with the class after the lesson.

[Shona Murphy]

Hi Caoimhe ..I love this idea. I thin the use of marshmallows would add great excitement to the lesson ! Thanks for sharing.

[Shona Murphy]

I really think the curious mind Framework is a great planning tool for science lessons. It is very well structured. I would use the framework to develop a lesson on floating and sinking as follows :
Engage : Read the story “The Duck Who Didn’t Like Water” to the class as a prompt. Investigate Starter Question: Discuss how we will design a boat for the duck that won’t sink. I wonder what materials we could use etc ?
Predict which materials will sink / float therefore be un/suitable to use. Investigate by testing materials. Interpret results and select best materials.
Take the Next Step: Apply Learning : Children plan and make a boat for duck. Test out their boats in a basin of water. They can interpret and share their results through demonstrating their boat in use.
Reflection : Allow kids to reflect: Discuss tweaks we could make to our designs.
Teacher Reflection : What went well ? What would I change next time?

[Shona Murphy]

Hi, My name is Shona. I am in SET but will be involved in active learning groups in 1st and 2nd class next year. This will be happening 4 days a week for 2 terms. Interesting space fact : A NASSA spacesuit costs a whopping $12,000,000 !

[Shona Murphy]

I would love to participate in the SFI Science and Maths Awards. As a beginner I would start with the cert and see where we go from there.

We have a raised bed planting area on our school grounds. It is a semi enclosed area. One part of the area gets a lot of sunlight throughout the school where as the other side gets no light till much later in the evening. The question posed :

Will the plants in the shaded area or the ‘sunny’ area grow better?

I would use the DPSM framework to shape my lessons.

We would first have a class discussion about the topic to find out the children’s prior knowledge and pre conceptions.

I would then pre teach the vocab and allow the children to do some research eg web search , speak to a keen gardener.

We would then plant various herbs (easy to grow) at the same time in both areas of the raised bed garden. We would then observe, photograph and analyse plants in both areas weekly.

Children could create various graphs etc to analyse their findings.  A review and analysis of the outcomes would then be made into a video for other classes to watch,

[Shona Murphy]

Yes there certainly would Breeda… the opportunities for cross curricular links are endless.

[Shona Murphy]

I chose the 3rd module assignment.

I liked the ESA resource ‘From the ground to the sky’

I would think this would use this with 4th /5th class.

·        As a nice starter activity I would use my drone with the class to take photos of the school grounds from the air then take photos from ground level. It might be a nice introduction.

·        I really liked the photo matching activity. The children would enjoy matching the photos taken from the ground with those taken from satellites or the International Space Station. The photos are really varied and should capture their interest.

·        I would get the children to complete the activity worksheet provided in groups then we would have a whole class discussion on their answers.

·        I also like the sentence starters eg Photos of Earth taken by Earth Observation Satellites…. This and the others given would spark off a great brainstorming session.

·        I think this whole area would be a fabulous topic for English writing eg Write the diary entry of an astronaut on the ISS who took one of the photos.

·        The links provided also would be super for project work.

 

[Shona Murphy]

Yes thanks, this is an angle that I didn’t think of !

[Author]

Posts