Infant and Primary Science Activities with Sensors

A compendium of investigations with sensors in primary science

Lesson idea. An updated and expanded ideas booklet by UK company Data Harvest which shows the scope for using sensors in primary science. The update introduces more ideas, more teacher guidance and more recent data capture equipment made by Data Harvest. Ideas include comparing bowls of porridge based on the story of Goldilocks and comparing the fabric transparency of curtains. Each activity has a teacher page with learning objectives. They were made for Vu equipment and software, so you may find detail differences in the instructions. The activities within this booklet might be adapted to work with other brands of sensors and software. The ideas however, ought to mesh well with UK curricula. A snapshot of the content may be seen below.

Teaching approach. This is a compendium of activities to engage pupils in inquiry^(ta) based learning in the scientific method^(ta), often making effective use of ICT⁽ⁱ⁾ and sensors^(tool). The activities involve whole class^(ta) questioning^(ta) and collaborative^(ta) group work^(ta).

Resource details
Title	Infant and Primary Science Activities with Sensors
Topic	[[Topics/ICT|ICT]]
Teaching approach	[[Teaching Approaches/Questioning|Questioning]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Whole class|Whole class]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Group work|Group work]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Inquiry|Inquiry]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Collaboration|Collaboration]],  [[Teaching Approaches/Scientific method|Scientific method]]
Learning Objectives	know how sensors display values know that temperature, light and sound can be 'measured' know broadly what the sensing equipment does learn about various science concepts such as reflection, insulation, transparency see ways to take their investigations further
Format / structure	Online booklet - contributed by Data Harvest UK Ltd. Thank you.
Subject	[[Resources/Science|Science]]
Age of students / grade	[[Resources/Primary age 4-11|Primary age 4-11]],  [[Resources/Primary|Primary]]
Useful information	The Vu equipment homepage is http://vudatalogger.com/wp/. Published by Data Harvest Group Ltd www.dataharvest.co.uk. Acknowledgements to Barbara Higginbotham (Data Harvest); Dyan Hewett; Keith Hemsley (Learning Connections) Rosemary Feasey.
Related ORBIT Wiki Resources	The first or 'Easy Sense' edition of this booklet: Primary_Science Curriculum_Activities with Sensors
Files and resources to view and download	The resource is available as printable PDF format - 113 pages editable .doc format - File:EasySense Vu eBook.doc