STE for 6th Class

Deepen Materials into change and Chemistry: dissolving and recovering, reversible versus irreversible change, and making new materials. Then run a three-lesson open-ended fair-test project on mixing and separating, ending in a clean-water challenge, and close with materials choices in Irish life and industry. Recording and presenting results is deepened across the separating project.

Deepen Energy and forces into demanding Stage 4 physics: air resistance, the force of moving water, pulleys and gears, and soundproofing. Build real low-voltage circuits, identify conductors and insulators, design a circuit that does a job, and audit energy use at school linked to clean energy in Ireland. Connects to the wider field of Physics.

Deepen technology into a real coding build and working with data: a three-lesson MakeCode Arcade game project, then micro:bit lessons that collect, log and present data, finishing with organising class data as tables and charts. Computational thinking taught with reused Coding Ireland classroom-tested coding lessons. Digital-systems basics and first Scratch sit in 5th Class.

Apply the full Stage 4 design process at depth: consider user needs, sketch plans, build and test a prototype, iterate, and present an analysis of the design. Anchored by a four-lesson bird-feeder design-build for Irish garden birds, a mechanisms build, a beam-orientation investigation, and a two-lesson integrated STEM capstone that brings science, technology and engineering together.