Geography Short-Term Plan

Ms. Cardiff
Date: Class level: Senior Infants
Strand: Natural Environments
Learning objectives:
The child will be enabled to:
Identify the planets in the
solar system
Recall a number of facts about
some of the planets
Collect and present a number
of facts orally about a specific
planet during the group work
activity
Recognise the difference
between day time and night
time activities
Identify signifiers of night
time in the story Peace at Last
Sort pictures of night and day
scenes into groups
Order scenes from a typical
day into a chronological
sequence
Draw a picture of a typical
day time and night time
activity/scene
Differentiation:
Subject: Geography
Strand Unit: Planet Earth in Space
Learning activities:
Video: Watch We are the Planets by story bots.
Questioning: What were all the planets moving around? What is
the closest/furthest planet from the sun? How many planets are
in our solar system?
Whole group improvisation: Become astronauts and take off
from the ISS to collect data about Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.
Fact search: Children look for hidden clues around the
classroom for facts about the planets. They will look in books
and look at pictures to find more facts.
Oral presentation: The children will present their findings
orally to the rest of the class and show a picture/s of their planet.
Talk and Discussion: Why is the sun so important? What would
the earth be like if there was no sun? What happens to the sun at
night time?
Story: Peace at Last What sounds could be heard in the
garden at night? How is it different from day time?
Sorting activity: Sort pictures of night time and day time scenes
into two groups.
Ordering: Sequence the pictures of activities from morning to
night, creating a timeline of our daily activities.
Picture and Caption: Draw a picture of a favourite day time
activity and a favourite night time activity and write a caption.
Resources
Video, printed facts about planets, IWB presentation, pictures and books
about the planets, Peace at Last, pictures of night and day for sorting

Teaching style: A variety of methodologies will be used to reflect the different ways in which children learn.
Groupings: The children will be placed in mixed-ability groupings for the fact search, the oral presentation,
and the sorting/ordering activities; this will ensure that every child understands the task.
Support and Pace: Some children will be given more support/time to complete the picture and caption task.
Assessment:

Teacher observation: Observe them during the fact search and oral presentation task to determine group work
skills and ability to deduce information. Observe during the sorting task to determine reason behind grouping.
Questioning: Can we see the sun at night? Where does it go? What would Earth be like if there was no sun?
Teacher designed tasks: The sorting and ordering activities will allow for the assessment of the childrens
prior knowledge of the sun, moon and stars. The picture and caption activity and the oral presentation will
allow for the assessment of the childrens ability to discern the most important things to bring to space.
Linkage and Integration:
Oral language Introduction of new vocabulary related to day/night and planets, Reading Peace at Last,
Writing Writing captions for the day/night picture, Science Light: Talking about the importance of the sun,
Drama: Whole group improvisation, Visual art Drawing day/night images, Integration with Space theme in
other subjects: English, Maths, Science, Art, Drama, Music, PE
Reflection: