st. raphaela’s n.s....creating powerpoint and prezi presentations step two: i.c.t. students use...
TRANSCRIPT
St. Raphaela’s Primary School
Stillorgan
Discover Primary Science and Maths
Plaque of Excellence Submission
Award Number : D105.
8th May, 2017
1. Second Class: Designing and Making
2. Fifth Class : Parachutes
3. Fourth Class: Sowing and Growing
4. First Class: Investigating Magnets
5. First Class: Dancing Raisins
6. Investigating the Water Cycle
7. Sixth Class: Finding your Blindspot!
8. Fourth Class Trip to Airfield
9. Science Week Activities
Step One: Science
Strand: Materials
Strand Unit: Properties and
Characteristics of Materials
Demonstrating engineering
principals with the challenge to
create a building structure that will
not fall when it was flicked!
We investigated how materials may
be used in the construction of
structures and how the shape of a
construction can affect the
strength of it! We worked together
and talked about why different
designs and shapes were stronger.
We learned that a strong base is
needed!
Strand: Forces
Skills: Predicting, observing, experimenting, exploring, planning, making and evaluating
We worked in groups to construct parachutes and made predictions on how their parachute’s would fly and fall. We tested our parachutes flight ability outside and
recorded our results.
Strand: Living Things, Strand Unit: Plant and Animal Life We planted tomato seeds in compost soil, using a small pot. These were left in a sunny
place in our classroom. We water them every five days as they grow from seeds to seedlings. Once the leaves appear and they begin to flower they will be watered every three days. They will be harvested when the fruits turn from a small green ball to a
bright red tomato. This may take up to 22-25 weeks in total.
The children in Ms. Tighe’s class are taking part in a
group quiz on the topic of Magnetism, using the Kahoot
application on the school iPads
Mrs. Hehir’s Class were learning
about magnets, and investigated
materials in the environment that
were attracted to magnets and
those that weren’t. The children
used magnets of different shapes
and sizes in purposeful play, to
explore the effects on materials.
They went on a magnet hunt
around the school and the school
yard!
Forces: “investigate how
forces act on objects…
investigate floating and
sinking with a wide range
of materials and objects”
Skill Development:
Experimenting and
Observing
We saw the raisins
sank to the bottom of
the glass of lemonade
at first.
After a short time, we
observed air bubbles
forming on the
raisins,. The air
pockets in the raisins
attract carbon
dioxide, causing them
to float up and down
Strand: Environmental Awareness and Care
We investigated the water cycle and we wondered how the rain falls with
no salt in the water if it has evaporated up into the atmosphere from the sea, which is very salty.
We designed an experiment ourselves that might test were all the salt goes
and made predictions about what might happen. We measured 80ml of water and mixed it with 10g of salt
and mixed it together. That was three months ago!
Now all of the water has nearly evaporated and the salt has been left behind. We did these experiments in
groups of four and working as scientists we realised that scientific
investigations can take a very long time to prove and that some of them
may go wrong along the way!
Strand: Living Things
Strand Unit: Human Life
The blindspot is the part of
your eye where you have no
rods or cones. The blindspot is
different from person to
person
In these photographs we are trying to find our blindspot.
You can see that one eye is open and the other is closed. On the sheet we’re holding there is a circle and a cross
marked out. You have to slowly move the page in towards you until the cross is out of view,
while still focusing on the circle
We were split in to teams and each team did either the salts or the tartar. We mixed the
ingredients with water and left them on the window sill so the water would evaporate"
Strand Unit: Materials
and Change,
Skill Development:
Observing and
Experimenting
Keira and Emma: "we
were studying about
rocks and soils and we
wanted to see if we
could create crystals.
We used two different
methods, one that
used "cream of tartar"
and one that used
"Epsom salts".
Strand: Materials,
Strand Unit: Materials and
change.
Inspired by the videos and events
of Science, second class children
presented their own favourite
experiments!
The children created volcanoes
using cardboard, paper and glue and
then using coke and Mentos sweets
a physical reaction occurred.
Materials and Change
We wanted to investigate how
materials changed when they were
mixed. In groups we made lava
lamps by adding vegetable oil to
water and the adding food
colouring. An Alka-Seltzer tablet
was dropped in and this reacted
with the water to produce carbon
dioxide gas bubbles.
Jolie and Klara explain their
experiment:
• You pour milk onto a plate and
add food colouring, you have to
keep the drops in the middle
of the plate.
• You use the top of a cotton
swab and touch to the centre
of the milk
• Drop some liquid soap on the
other end and you see a burst
of colour.
• The colours continue to move
even after you remove the
swab
Demonstrating atmospheric pressure:
Inés : “ you fill a cup up with water and put it on the table. Take a
piece of paper and cover the top of the cup completely.
Place the cup on a sheet with your hand completely covering it. Then
you turn the whole thing upside down, keep your hand on the page for
a second and then let go of your hand. The water stays in the cup!
Check Ms. Delany’s page for more excellent work from Second Class:
ttps://twitter.com/teachermsdelany?lang=en
We visited Airfield Discovery Centre.
Our teachers gave the classes a tour
of Airfield Estate’s working farm. We
began to look at the work on the farm
changes with the seasons : the daily
work of the farmer and the animals
which they tend to.
Airfield’s Jersey herd helped the children understand the story of milk from grass to glass. This visit enabled the
students in understanding the importance of farming in
Ireland.
1. Using StoryBoards in Fifth Class
2. Using Laptops during Maths Stations in Second Class
3. Using ICT to access SESE and Maths information in Third Class
4. Participating in the Hour of Code
5. Using Scratch in Third and Fifth Class
6. Creating PowerPoint and Prezi Presentations
Step Two: I.C.T.
Students use technology to
support their literacy
development. Using Story
Board, the pupils in fifth
class created storyboards
as part of their English
writing work. They created
brilliant animations and
characters to bring their
stories to life!
In this example, the students in fifth class had created Hallowe’en themed StoryBoards using laptops.
They created their StoryBoards and then presented them to the rest of
the class.
Fifth Class published them on the school website and Ms.Crowley
captured them on Twitter!
We are very lucky to have
laptops and iPads in our
school. We love getting to use
them in pairs or in groups to
help our learning.
Ms. Delany’s class use laptops
as well as the interactive
whiteboard to complete
activities on maths topics
during Maths Stations every
week
We also have a school website, and
some of the teachers use this as
well as Twitter to communicate the
learning activities that we are
focusing on in school, or to celebrate
the great achievements of our pupils
(curricular and non curricular!)
Using the School Website to
support Maths Learning at
Home for Homework
Ms. Delany’s Class Website:
http://www.straphaelasns.ie/
classes/2nd-class-2
1. Using ICT to access information on
the structure of the tooth!
2. Using iPad apps for practising
multiplication facts
3. Looking up facts for their project on
Australia
4. Mrs. Riordan uses her class Twitter
page to celebrate learning and share
all the hard work with parents
We are very lucky to have laptops
and iPads in our school. Third Class
have begun to learn to code with
Scratch and Fifth Class have had a
little bit more practice and use it
during maths Stations. Creating
code in pairs!
Each week in Ms. Crowley’s class
there is a “Project of the Week
Presentation”. Students pick a
topic of their choice and research
it online using the school laptops
and iPads or as part of homework
Emma chose to do her project on
the year 2005 “I chose this
project as it was the year that I
was born” (Emma)
“I chose to do China
because I am from Hong
Kong but I find China more
interesting” (Emer)
The students use Prezi or PowerPoint to
present their work. They must use
animations and visual effects to bring their
presentations to life! (Ms. Crowley)
Zoe chose to do her project
on microscopes: “I chose this
title as a lot of interesting
things have happened using
microscopes!”
“The most powerful
microscope in the world is
worth more than €2 million”
1. Design and Construction in Senior Infants
2. Third Class visit Imaginosity during Engineers Week
3. Building Bridges in UCD!
Step Three: Engineering
Senior Infants and their Class teacher Ms. Smyth are taking part in the “Arts in Education Programme” and are working with Helen. Their Project is entitled
“Space to Grow”
As part of this project, the children have investigated shape and space, and
construction in designing and creating a fantastic Space Ship that is suspended
proudly in Ms. Smyth’s classroom!
The pupils investigated lots of different materials, while investigating and creating
their work. They described the materials and their properties and decided which ones
were the best for the job!
The pupils investigated lots of different materials, while investigating and creating
their work. They described the materials and their properties and decided which ones
were the best for the job!
Helen: “Through designing and building the rocket together the children began to understand structure and stability. With these new skills and a wide range of materials we further explored scale and constructions both inside and outside of the classroom”
The pupils of Third Class were delighted to attend a workshop
in Imaginosity. They took part in activities that helped them gain an
understanding of how electricity passes through and
circuit and then worked together to create their own
circuits!
Each year every class in our school gets to take part in special workshops run by the Junior Achievement Programme. We always love it and really
enjoy working with the volunteers who come in! This year, fifth class were invited to a special event in UCD to encourage
girls in to all areas of Engineering. It was a brilliant day and really inspired our girls to think about future careers in STEM!
The pupils got the chance to work with and listen to inspirational women leaders in STEM occupations. We met Cathriona Hallahan, who is a former
pupil of St. Raphaela’s Secondary School and the Managing Director of Microsoft Ireland and Peggy Johnson from Microsoft who was voted the
most powerful female engineer in 2017 in America! They were lovely to meet and inspirational to listen to!
The students learn the importance of keeping costs to a minimum as they
worked on a bridge building project. The workshop challenged them to
think about the importance of Project Management, and pupils had to take
on roles as accountant, designer, project manager and quality
controller!
1. Investigating the Water Cycle
2. Capacity Challenge
3. Measuring Trees
4. Manga High Maths Activities
Step Four: Maths
For this experiment we were
investigating the water cycle and we
were wondering what happens to the
salt when the water evaporates from
the sea.
We worked in groups of four and we
used our maths skills to measure out
18ml of water in to a glass jar and then
we added 10g of salt in to the water.
We stirred it, and then put it on the
windowsill to sit in the sun.
We had a lid on one container to stop
the water evaporating
We recorded our predictions on how it
would turn out
Three months later, most of the water
has evaporated and the salt has
crystallised and it has stuck to the side
of the jars.
We enjoyed this experiment because we got to make
predictions and every prediction was different because people
though different things would happen in different amounts of
time. Nobody was totally correct, but a few of us got some of
it right. Kate, Suzanne, Maria and Doha
The two Fourth Classes were
working together in Science
and Maths:
"We were challenging the other
class with subtraction and
addition of capacity
measurements" (Maria)
"when you would measure it out
the other person would have to
check if it was right, we used
measuring jugs, graduated
cylinders, and syringes that
measured millilitres using the
decimal point” (Suzanne)
We also had
medicine spoons
that would measure
2.5ml and 5ml.
We were doing
these activities to
learn about
capacity, it's an
important skill
because if you
need to measure
out a quantity of
liquids for cooking
you'd need to know
it (Kate)
We learned about
capacity for the
whole week in
Maths, but you
need capacity for
cooking or if you're
shopping or if you
worked in a
pharmacy or in a
hospital giving
injections. (Doha)
We measured the circumference of the tree and divided it by 2.5
to get an approximate age for the tree.
We were working in pairs and identifying if it was a deciduous or
evergreen tree. An evergreen tree doesn't lose its leaves but a
deciduous one does in the autumn seasons.
Pupils from Second, Third and Fifth Classes
participated in Manga High. They completed
curriculum based learning activities in class and
also kept their own log at home in which to
complete challenges!
Participating, and visiting, the RDS Primary Science Fair
Step Five: STEM Showcase
Miss Crowley’s Fifth Class
pupils represented our school
at the RDS Primary Science
Fair in January 2017.
The pupils developed their skills
of “designing and making” and
“working scientifically” to
investigate “What sort of kite
flies best?”
Their project was based on the
strand: Energy and Forces.
We researched the different shapes and parts of a kite and the criterial for
kite flying! Then we created our own individual kite designs. We had to find
our own materials and then we constructed the kite!
We made predictions and then we tested our kite designs outside in
different weather conditions. We recorded our results and then reported
them using graphs and tables
We discovered
that the box kite
flew the best!
We created a video
of our investigation
using “Filnora:
Wondershare”
software and this
video was played in
the RDS!
The pupils were responsible for
organising and displaying their work
in the RDS.
They explained the investigation and
findings to the adjudicators and
also to the other pupils from all the
different schools around the
country who were visiting!
We researched the different shapes and parts of a kite and the criterial for
kite flying! Then we created our own individual kite designs. We had to find
our own materials and then we constructed the kite!
We made predictions and then we tested our kite designs outside in
different weather conditions. We recorded our results and then reported
them using graphs and tables
We discovered
that the box kite
flew the best!
We created a video
of our investigation
using “Filmora:
Wondershare”
software and this
video was played in
the RDS!
Not only did Fifth Class make us
proud, they also inspired the pupils
from fourth and fifth class who
went to the RDS to support them!