[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 !

[Shona Murphy]

I found the video ‘Home’ very moving. The drone footage and music really added to the emotion of the whole thing. I think what struck me the most is that in terms of time our existence on earth is so insignificant yet we have had such a detrimental effect on this planet. It also amazed me to learn that over 1 billion people still like as humans did 6,000 years ago. These people live in a way that barely if even has any negative impact on the planet. Yet these are often the most vulnerable to climate change. We have been taping into the ground for our energy for hundreds of years now, fossil fuels and many other resources are running out rapidly. Yet the wealth, power and greed of a few are controlling or at least influencing our response to this. The solution is staring us in the face : get our energy from the sun!!We have the science, technology and knowledge for this but not the will due to greed. I found the drone images of quarries very upsetting. I also was struck by the chemicals being pumped into the atmosphere by industry. I am also very proud of Irish farmers after watching this , we farm in such a sustainable way compared to the USA, the 2 systems are literally worlds apart.  It is hard to know how I would use this in the classroom, perhaps I would show parts of it to show what a beautiful planet we have and that we must protect it.

[Shona Murphy]

Good point Saoirse..we have to balance the severity of the issue with hope and possible solutions. I also find empowering the pupils with a few simple things they can do helps with anxiety.

[Shona Murphy]

Hi Saoirse, I agree that it was nice that the video ends on a hopeful and positive note. I think a lot of children are experiencing anxiety around this whole topic. It is important that they understand how serious climate change is but equally that they know they can take action to help.

[Shona Murphy]

I liked this activity ‘Climate Reporters’. I feel it may be best suited to middle or senior classes.

·        I would begin with a discussion around climate change. Hopefully children would have a good grasp of the concept after completing activity 1 and 2.

·        I know that the Paxi’s video is mainly aimed at younger children however I think I would use it with middle /senior classes as I think it explains the concept of global warming in a nice clear way.

·        Class discussion – how scientists predict what earth’s climate will be like in the future. Focus on how scientists make and run models to predict future climate. Explain climate scenarios.

·        Divide the class into groups – use the Teal link to source different climate scenarios. I would use the worksheet provided for this activity. Children discuss how their scenario would affect their lives. How could we take action at home, in school and in the wider community to reduce the impact of the scenario.

·        Each group reports their findings and conclusions to the class.

·        Agreement : We would then work as a whole group to compile 2 things we will do in school to combat climate change and 2 things we will do at home to combat climate change. We will check in weekly to see how this is going …this could be taken on by the whole school. Perhaps the pupils from 5th and 6th class could pop in to the other classes once a week for feedback and maybe create a pictogram or chart on progress.

[Shona Murphy]

Hi All,

Yes there is plenty of scope for integration here across many areas of the curriculum such as science, math, visual art and english.

[Author]

Posts