STEP 3 - ENGINEERING

Design and Build:

Senior infants and 1st class took part in a very interesting and enjoyable design and build project using the story of the 3 little pigs as their starting point.

In small groups the children had to build houses using different materials, they had straws, lolli-pop sticks, play dough,  lego and wooden blocks. Children had to use their problem solving skills to make their houses as structurally stable as possible, as it would be put to the test by the big bad wolf!!

Engineers Week 2020

We all took part in engineers week this year and really enjoyed it! We invited parents in our school who work in engineering to come in and talk to classes. It was a great learning opportunity for us all and  a great opportunity for children to ask questions. We learned about civil engineering and water in particular, we also got the opportunity to learn how to write binary code and discover about the engineering behind computer systems, it was fantastic!

Thanks to all our parents who volunteered!!

STEP 1 - ENERGY AND FORCES

Science Investigations by 3^rd and 4^th class

Investigation Title - Exploring Magnets

Date:  January 2020

Curriculum- Strand: Energy and Forces     

Strand Unit: Magnetism and Electricity

Resources:  Bar magnets, Investigation Sheet (See attached document)

Success Criteria:

·        Through investigation of bar magnets the pupil can identify that a magnet has two poles- North pole and South pole

·        Pupil gains an understanding through investigation- When two opposite poles are placed near each other- they pull together, when two poles which are the same are placed near each other- they are forced away from each other.

·        Through investigation pupil can explain what the words repel and attract mean

·        Pupil can use Maths skills before during and after the investigation- estimation, problem solving, gathering of data and analysis of results

·        Differentiation: More detail in fourth class recording of investigation

Use of Maths In this investigation:

·        Before Investigation :

Pupils used estimation strategies to answer what may happen when poles were placed near each other

·        During investigation: Pupils worked collaboratively in order to solve problem posed

·        After Investigation: Pupils used reasoning, and problem solving skills to make deductions. Pupils used analytical skills in order to present findings and data

Investigation Title: Investigating Magnets and materials

Date:  January 2020

Curriculum- Strand: Energy and Forces    

Strand Unit: Magnetism and Electricity

•        Resources: Magnets, Fork, Knife,  spoon,  pencil , Pennies , A drinking bottle  , A drink can , Investigation Sheet ( See sheet attached)

   

Success Criteria:

·        Pupils can predict which materials are magnetic and which are not

·        Pupils can carry out investigation to see which items are magnetic and which are not

Use of Maths In this investigation

Pupils used the following skills and strategies-working collaboratively, reasoning, problem solving, and estimating during the course of the investigation

·       

         Before Investigation :

Pupils used estimation strategies to answer what may happen when objects are placed near the magnet

·        

      During investigation: Pupils worked collaboratively in order to solve problem posed

·        

      After Investigation: Pupils used reasoning, and problem solving skills to make deductions. Pupils used analytical skills in order to present findings and data

STEP 1 - LIVING THINGS

In Second and Third Class, we looked at various aspects of the Living Things strand in Science. We examined how many bones our skeletons are made up of and looked at  the function of our skeleton. We even drew a skeleton! We also examined different features habitats of animals and sea creatures. We chose different animals and fish and investigated some fun facts about them. Lastly, we looked at the life cycles of butterflies. We divided the life cycle into stages and drew a diagram to represent the life cycle.

STEP 1 - ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS & CARE

Junior Infants – Mrs. Marlborough

Strand : Environmental Awareness and Care

Strand Unit : Caring for my locality – specifically our classroom!

We talked about and identified simple ways that we can keep our classroom clean, tidy and safe. We all agreed that it is important to have a nice, clean, safe and tidy room. As a class we all work together to achieve this.

Key words we used:

Clean, Tidy, Safe.

Here are some of the ways that we achieved this goal

·      In our classroom, we have learned to keep our school bags under our seats. This makes it safer for everyone and ensures that no one trips or falls over a school bag or the straps of a school bag. Our classroom looks tidier as a result.

·      We push our chairs in every time we leave the classroom. This ensures that no one is going to fall over or trip on a chair that is left out in the middle of the floor.

·      We have learned to tidy our books away either by putting them into the centre of each table if work is not finished or by putting them onto the shelves in the press. Also our toys are tidied away after play time. We make sure that all lids are put back on, playdough is put back into containers, lego into its boxes and everything is neatly in its place. We have 2 minion leaders that oversee these jobs every day.

·      Reduce, reuse and recycle: With the help of our green schools team we have learned over the past 6 months to be more aware of how we dispose of our rubbish and also how certain materials can be recycled and reused. We wash our cartons and containers which can be reused for various art projects.

·      When using scissors, we hold them in a safe manner and we never ever run with a scissors in our hands and after use the scissors are always put back into the scissors box.

These are just a few small steps we have made to make Room 1

a safe, tidy and clean learning environment.

Well Done Junior Infants!!!