Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Lesson: Rocket Making for Infants
Children will engage in a hands-on activity to design and construct their own rockets using milk containers.
Materials Needed: Empty clean milk containers, colourful cards, markers, scissors, glue, tape.
Introduce rockets and space exploration to the children through use of pictures.
Each child is given a milk container and cards to decorate their rocket with colourful designs using markers, stickers.
The children will cut a cone-shaped top from card. They will place them on top of the milk container to complete the rocket design.
The children are encouraged to share and discuss their rocket creations with the group.
We will then have a rocket launch activity where children can pretend to blast off their rockets into space.
If time permits, they can create a cardboard launch pad for the rockets to take off from.
To conclude the lesson we will read the book ‘Roaring Rockets’ by Tony Mitton and listen to the song ‘We’re Going on a Rocket Space’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE0qcTPGCVsReally like the integration of PE with the theme. Would not have thought of this myself. Very comprehensive list of how it can be integrated across the curriculum.
Lesson on the different types of houses and where people live through hands-on activities.
· Pictures of houses
· Lego, big blocks, jenga etc
Circle time – Talk and discussion about their house – size/ colour/ rooms. Show the children pictures of different houses. Divide the children into four groups and distribute lego, jenga, big blocks and play dough. Each group will create their own model of a house using the materials provided. Informally using the globe and pictures they can be shown images of unusual homes in different countries. I will read the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and we will talk and discuss about the materials they used and what was/ wasn’t the best option and why. To conclude the lesson, the children will gather together on the floor to showcase their house models and share what they learned about different types of houses and where people live.
Songs – The Right Note ‘Gotta build a house now’
Cúigear fear ag tógáil tí
Saoirse
I also agree using peg boards to create constellations is such a lovely idea. Dress up as Milo and Marvin is something that can be easily incorporated into Aistear.
A lesson on Space and Aliens;
1. Storybook “Aliens Love Underpants” by Claire Freedman
2. Props such as toy spaceships, paper alien masks etc
3. Paper, twistables
4. Space-themed background music
Lesson will start by playing space-themed music such as Star Wars in the background to set the mood. I will elicit from the children what they already know about space and aliens. Record their responses on the whiteboard. Read the storybook ‘Aliens Love Underpants’, engaging the children by showing them the illustrations and encouraging them to ask questions. Ask leading questions; “What did the aliens look like?” “What do you think aliens eat?” “If you met an alien, what would you say to them?” Paper and colours are distributed and the children are encouraged to draw their own alien or spaceship, reminding them to be creative and use their imagination. An extension activity could be using an A3 sheet of paper folded in quarters. Class divided into 4 and each group given a specific body part to draw. This could be further tied into Maths by saying they could only use 2D shapes. We will listen to the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbpCrp2mbjQ Time will be given at the end of the lesson to share their drawings or any new things they learned about space and aliens.
Claire
Such a good idea to use the Smeds and the Smoos for this lesson. I can imagine how this would really engage the kids as the majority of them should be familiar with the characters.
Lesson on Introducing Infants to the concept of the sun and shadows.
– Small flashlight
– White wall or board for shadow play
– Objects for shadow exploration (e.g teddy bears/ small world figurines)
– Chart paper and markers for drawing
• Elicit from the children if they know what the sun is and what it does. Explain that the sun is a bright light in the sky that gives us light and warmth. Introduce the concept of shadows by asking the children if they have noticed their shadow on a sunny day. If the day is fortunate enough to be sunny, the class can be taken outside to draw each other’s shadows. An extension activity could be labelling the body parts ; arm, leg…
• Inside the classroom, gather the children near a window where they can see the sun. Use a flashlight to demonstrate how light creates shadows. Have the children observe how objects block the light to create shadows on a white surface. Encourage the children to experiment with different objects to see how they create different shadows. Like in the vimeos, we can use their teddy bears from Maths for this activity.
• Circle time – gather the children around and talk about what they have learned about the sun and shadows. Questioning as a means of assessment “What creates shadows?” and “How does the sun help us?”
• Listen to the song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QYz2jJjz38 Shadow song
Great idea Laura to have them note differing positions of the pencil etc over the course of the day and record it by mark making.
An inquiry-based lesson using Bee-Bots to simulate space exploration
1.Introduction: Start by introducing the Bee-Bots and explaining the goal of the activity – reaching different planets. They will be displayed on charts in the classroom, Programme your BeeBot to go to Neptune, Jupiter…
2. I will elicit information from the children about the solar system and the planets. They can gather information about each planet’s size, distance from the sun, and unique characteristics.
3.The children will programme the Bee-Bots to simulate traveling to different planets. They can create a map or layout representing the solar system and use the Bee-Bots to navigate to each planet.
4.I will encourage students to think critically about the distance between planets, obstacles in space, and how the Bee-Bots can overcome challenges to reach their destination.
5. After the activity, the children will reflect on their experience. I will ask them what they learned about the solar system, coding, and problem-solving.
