[Carmel Wright]

Hello Leanne,

Thanks for sharing. It never ceases to astonish me how many and diverse the functions of the satellites orbiting our planet truly are. Lists like yours are a great reminder of this often unknown and unseen network of activity.

As you mentioned, EIRSAT-1, I am reminded of last week when I saw a 3-D model life-size replica in the Explorium Dublin, and some lovely visuals and activities around space for those already thinking about school tour options for the coming academic year.

By using Apps like Orbitrack, learners can begin to understand the world of action that occurs above our heads and research various satellites, with schedules of what will be visible in the nights ahead, and various perspectives, etc. A great activity during Space Week!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the course.
I really like how you describe your approach to STEM in the junior classroom. We have come a long way in STEM from simply telling learners the facts to, as you say, fostering curiosity.

Hands-on constructing, sorting and experimenting is all part of the process for learners to develop their STEM skills, and it’s great to see you include the importance of questioning-“what will happen if” is a great question for any STEM lesson. To quote Carl Sagan, “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”

Accessible language is critical, and can be a real barrier for learners if the lesson is not pitched appropriately to the unique levels within the class. As the Curious Minds framework mentions throughout, Considerations for Inclusion are a key pillar. By using a variety of teaching resources, you can engage your learners and integrate subjects as part of an overall theme.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Anita,

Thanks for sharing. This is a lovely plan for senior infants. I think it’s wonderful to use natural materials, particularly with younger learners when creating maps, to add the tactile experience and sensory learning about these natural materials too.

 

As it is a 1km walk, there will be plenty of landmarks for learners to represent and look out for while using Google Maps.

 

I think the Bee Bot idea is a terrific extension of this activity, and one I have never come across before! It’s a great way to tie in technology in addition to the use of Google Maps, and undoubtedly will be a fun-filled hit for your learners too!

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Lorraine,

Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the course.

You have created a lovely plan to engage your first-class learners, and I really like your opening prompt of aerial views of objects to guess what they are.

By starting with a classroom they are all very familiar with, they will be well positioned to create a map-and it may surprise them how many things they did not notice in the room until they started mapping it!

A word hunt with older learners sounds like a fun-filled way to add to their map reading knowledge and excitement for the topic, even a reward for good measure! It could be interesting for them to compare their maps of the route to the playground to that on Google Maps.

It sounds like a wonderfully memorable and engaging experience for your junior learners. I hope you get a chance to carry it out in the rapidly approaching term!

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Anne,

Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the course.

I really like your idea for the planet tubes to reflect how they look and their unique features. It’s a wonderful opportunity for learners to carry out their own research on planets, and each group could have their own planetary focus. Together, the entire class could explore all the planets that orbit the sun and represent them.

In addition to using them to physically demonstrate weight differences, etc., they could also be used as props for a fun quiz, e.g., select the tubes that are Gas Giants, put the tubes in the right order as they appear in the solar system, etc., to consolidate learning.

It’s a wonderful way to integrate art into this STEM activity and make it a hands-on, fun learning experience. I am a big fan of these activities-great to see junk being transformed into something beautiful with an educational purpose!

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Ciara,

Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the course. I really like your introduction to this topic, telling time with just the sun- a far cry from the many device options we have today!

I think your learners will enjoy the opportunity to participate and have the coveted role of “Time Keepers”, and a photo diary is a great way to integrate some technology, which could be extended in various ways, like slideshows, etc.

It’s a great idea to repeat this activity another day so learners come to understand that this is not a one-off and to test their sundial. There’s plenty of scope for reflection on how to improve it and what you would do differently if you were to repeat the activity.

Lots of potential for cross-curricular links with art and history too. Here’s hoping for plenty of sunny days to carry out this activity once school returns!

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Jacqueline, and welcome to the course!

Thanks for sharing your lesson plan for moon observation. You have some lovely ideas for spreading this activity across school and home time, engaging the wider school community in this activity.

I really like your idea to use various textiles to create an art collage, a lovely tactile experience for junior learners and perhaps the use of materials that reflect how the moon surface looks. Great to see ideas for the consolidation of learning through engaging worksheets, games and quizzes.

Your Jaffa cake advert reference made me laugh(and want a Jaffa!)! Isn’t it incredible how a well designed advert can stick in the memory years later?! I am sure your learners would have no complaints if you used Jaffas as props, they could all enjoy while demonstrating moon phases!

Carrying out the provided activities during Space Week is a perfect way to celebrate this theme and engage young learners in this important topic.

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Niamh,

Thanks for your post. You have put together a great class plan, aligned with the Curious Minds Framework for Inquiry.

I really like your choice of questions and how you broke down this activity to cover the various aspects of the framework.

A word wall with new technical terms, such as beam and truss, may be helpful, especially for EAL learners.  SEN students may require support from an SNA for fine motor skills work, among other accommodations, to ensure an inclusive experience for all.

If you are lucky enough to have a local engineer willing to talk to learners about the challenges of bridge design, it’s a great way to conclude, bringing a STEM career and bridge design challenges to life.

Superb questions at the reflections stage-it’s so important to foster a continuous improvement mindset, and your choice of questions will help ensure learners come along in their STEM skills.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Aisling,

Thanks for sharing!

I really like your plan to ask learners whether they can see the moon during the day-I am guessing you may have a junior class. It can be worthwhile to capture their responses on a board-how many yes/no/not sure. From there, the hypothesis can be tested by observation outside, timed perfectly thanks to best observe the moon during the day…. here’s hoping for clear skies!

Delighted to read that you have recently acquired two telescopes, that is super news for your class, and perfect timing for trying out this activity in the fast-approaching academic year. While this activity works without these tools, it certainly makes the activity more exciting to see the details of the moon, craters, and build learners skills in using them to focus, etc.

Great to see a plan to continue this learning by exploring the why in a follow-up lesson.

[Carmel Wright]

You make a great point, Niamh, about making this a child-led initiative to make learning more meaningful. Is this something that you can see working in your school?

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Catherine,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the course. Reading your reflections, I can see you put considerable work into ensuring an equitable education experience for all your learners, and your STEM classes are very much aligned with the ideals outlined by Dr. Liston.

 

You make excellent points about how both activities could be improved upon to meet the needs of your learners, and I like your idea to use a word wall-important for learners generally, but even moreso for EAL learners. A Kahoot quiz or similar can also help consolidate learning.

 

As you mentioned, some of your own considerations for inclusion would be using visual aids, simplified data tables, and scaffolded instructions, to differentiate tasks for SEN pupils. With this tailored approach, all learners can participate to their full potential in an inclusive class lesson experience. A great activity for the Green Committee or school council, too-it’s great to get the wider school community involved in this.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by Carmel Wright.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Clodagh,

Thanks for sharing.

You’ve a wonderfully diverse list of examples of some of the movers in our skies above.

You make a great point, that many of us have a limited understanding of the uses of satellites, the scope extends far beyond what most of us can conceive, which makes for busy skies! Satellite tracking apps are a real eye-opener.

As you’ve likely noticed during this activity, there is a wealth of information available on what’s in orbit, including videos that may be useful as part of a class exploration of a satellite and its purpose.

I agree that children would be interested to see how much the use of satellites is integrated into their daily lives; it gives the lesson context and meaning. At the heart of a good STEM lesson is a connection to the real world.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Fionnuala,

Thanks for sharing. That’s quite the list you’ve put together! It’s incredible to explore the number of satellites that orbit our skies, and the diversity of work that they are carrying out, that we often benefit from wholly unaware!

I have to say, I think the Orbitrack app does a beautiful job with its visuals and mood-setting music, too! Our skies are becoming busier by the day, but we need to be mindful of not cluttering it with debris!

The ISS is a great one to do a project on, with so many resources available, and due for decommissioning in only a few short years.

I had a quick look for OBJECT WK, and it appears to be no longer in orbit according to the tracker you used. I also searched on Orbitrack, but it didn’t return any results.

I hope you get the opportunity to explore this with your learners in the coming year!

 

[Carmel Wright]

HI Andrea,

Thanks for sharing.

What a lovely lesson plan to engage younger learners in senior infants by integrating a story into this map-making activity. Great to start with inside the classroom-there is a lot to map there too-and it’s a great alternative if the weather is not suitable for heading out, too.

I like your idea to use symbols for trees on the school grounds. Young learners often enjoy the sensory aspect of using natural materials to add a fun third dimension to their maps.

Learners can explore the apps, connect maps to their own and begin to build a vocabulary and spatial awareness of their locality and landmarks therein.

A great plan that includes movement, visuals, and stories to engage your learners and help them develop their STEM skills.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the course.

I really like your plan to make this lesson a journey through time…exploring how the sun was used to tell the time with sundial devices.

Chances are, there may be an hourglass in your classroom. It would be interesting to see if learners think of this as an alternative for measuring time, and grounds for further discussion on how they are made and their limitations, too. These were particularly useful at sea, and it could be interesting to see why learners think this was the case.

Great to see an emphasis on learner-led participation, with collaboration to explore and determine the most suitable location for the sundial. Here’s hoping for lots of sunny days ahead to run this activity!

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