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Create an observing plan for autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky. As I will teach Junior Infants in September, I would start the lesson by reading the book “Luna Lucy and the planets” – this will provide some information about space for the children, especially those who may have never heard of it before. I will pose the question “would anyone like to see another planet?” If the answer is yes, I will tell them that they are going to become “astronauts” and look at some planets in the autumn sky. I will place planets around the room and they have to find them. On the interactive whiteboard, the sun will start to “set” as the children hunt for the hidden planets, they hold them up in the air to show them stand out in the night /evening sky. For homework, the children will be assigned an activity on their SEESAW personal account. With the assistance of a family member, the children search for planets in the sky and record the planets that are not twinkling as much as stars. I will then share their autumnal videos with the entire class to create interest among those who may not have gone in search outdoors yet! I am looking forward to trying this out !
I love this idea too! It really is a fun and engaging idea for the children and will definitely create an interest in the classroom. I will use this idea when I teach an older class again.
I agree Michael. It is nice to pinpoint it exactly to local area. Technology being used like this is both meaningful for the children and also creates a safety net for the teacher if tackling an area where there is uncertainty.
To observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day. I have tried to do this many times, but from my experience children love the hands on approach to learning the most. I would set the children into groups of three and supply them with chalk. When the sun is in the sky in the morning, assign each group to a specific area in the yard marked with tape, its is essential that they keep to their specific marked area. Each child gets their two partners to draw around their shadows as best as they can. Label the chalk outline with name and time. Measure each shadow with a measuring tape. Then at midday return to the same marked spot and get the children to draw the new shadows in a different colour chalk. Label again as previously done. Pose the trigger questions: Are the shadows the same ? Why? Are the shadows long? Short? Check to see if the children can guess why the shadows have changed even though they haven’t!? Complete this activity at home, provide the children with a chart etc to report their findings back to the class.
I absolutely love the way you interconnected so many subjects and interests here in your lesson. The inclusion of google maps certainly brings it to life for children too as they are so familiar with this software today. The use of the trigger question is key- I regularly use this “grab” technique at the start of lessons to get the attention of the children . Well done. Some really nice ideas here, Elizabeth!
