TEACHING VIS KIDS ABOUT ASTRONOMY WITH A FOCUS ON SPACE
Astronomy is the analysis of the universe and all the things in it like stars, planets, galaxies, black holes, space, and comets. This topic involves various activities that make it interesting for learners. It is also an opportunity to help kids discover things about the planet.
Teaching kids about space can be challenging. However, with some understanding of astronomy and the planet you can encourage them to enjoy the lessons. Astronomy comprises a wide range of topics that will give learners the desire to know more about the earth. The foundation stage learners at VIS had a field day learning about space in the school. Read on to find out how everything progressed.
During the first half term back to school, the children of Class A turned their attention to the stars and planets as they rocketed up into their topic of space. During their time at school, the foundation stage learners participated in activities such as:
- Dropping egg-carton rockets to see if their astronaut eggs would survive
- Putting on a picnic on the moon
- Inventing all sorts of different languages
- Making their own paper-mâché planet and describing what life on the it was like
- Making moon cookies from a strange kind of goo they discovered with a note that was left from a visiting alien spaceship
Through these activities, VIS teachers deepened the children’s understanding. They also created more connections between all the different subjects that the students are currently learning in classes.
Students enjoy coming into class and discovering the activities they will be participating in. They also look forward to establishing the transformations in their learning environment meant to support their exploration of new concepts, and interpersonal skills. Learning about our planet can help learners in various ways, as seen below.
Knowing Daily Rhythms
Children get to know the day-to-day realities that we often assume. Understanding daily routines and rhythms like calendars, clocks, leap years, seasons, and the setting and rising of the sun is easy through planet-related topics.
Trains Humility
Studying the scale size of the universe helps children understand our position on earth. They gain a connection with the natural world through which they also learn humility. Through these lessons, learners know that the world is limitless, and humans are but a small fraction of significance. Children also learn that life is precious and extraordinary, and that they should protect the earth.
Teaching about space requires lots of creativity, and the VIS teachers outdid themselves during this lesson. Let us find out how they did it.
To close off the half term, and the topic of space in Class A, the children arrived at school only to discover that they could not access their classroom. The reason was that their teachers had discovered a big mess in it. They were worried that whatever had made the mess was still in the room.
DISCOVERING AN ALIEN
On conducting a search, the teachers and children discovered a spaceship in the remains of a space station they had built. Sadly, the space station had been destroyed. They would later spot an alien. Before the lesson about space, various activities had been organized. These activities would accommodate different possible pathways to take when choosing what to do with the students based on their reactions. Every choice, down to the name of the Alien was left up to the children to lead.
As the Alien was only able to speak in its squeaky language, the children soon realized that they could understand and guess to a certain extent what the Alien was telling them. It was an incredible experience to see how deeply the children dived into their imagination. The belief in their new friends was so strong that they still ask about them to this day.
INTERACTING WITH THE NEWCOMER
The children loved the experience that came with teaching and guiding an individual with such limited experience. By scaffolding all the different activities, they had been learning during their lessons children were able to excel. They also noticed how amazing it was to be independently teaching a newcomer to the planet about how it works. Whether it is the way our number or letters work or how to properly communicate and listen to one another.
During the ‘Fabulous Finish’, the teachers took the time to explore possible areas of opportunity in the children’s learning journey. Evaluating how well the children perform at communicating what they have been learning about is crucial. Teachers can identify and understand the general level of all children and the class as a whole. This is a VIS strategy that teachers use to support learners in the second half of the term.
HOW THE DAY ENDED
The day culminated with teachers and students creating a new spaceship for ‘Kiki the alien to use to get home. The children recorded all their favorite parts of the day with beautiful drawings showing how immersive their learning experience can be.
