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Module 5 Assignment
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?
The night sky has inspired countless songs, poems and works of art throughout history. Like all aspects of nature, it holds a universal beauty that connects us to one another. We often gaze upward not just to admire its beauty, but in the hope of finding answers, guidance, and even a sense of self. For some, the night sky becomes a bridge to loved ones who have passed, a silent space for unspoken conversations.
From our earliest years, the night sky is woven into our lives—whether through lullabies like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, sung to soothe a baby, or star-themed mobiles gently spinning above a crib. Popular music also draws on its symbolism: Reach for the Stars encourages limitless ambition, while the timeless Moon River evokes love, longing, and dreams.
Poetry offers equally rich imagery. In Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the stars appear “continuous…along the margin of a bay,” sparkling like companions in the night sky. Similarly, the whimsical lines from Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussy Cat capture the joy and wonder the night can inspire.
“They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.”Visual art, too, has immortalised the night sky. One of the most famous examples is Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, painted while he was in an asylum. The swirling, luminous sky suggests both turbulence and beauty, perhaps reflecting Van Gogh’s search for solace and meaning.
As Oscar Wilde once wrote:
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
Module 5 Assignment
The night sky has inspired countless songs, poems and works of art throughout history. Like all aspects of nature, it holds a universal beauty that connects us to one another. We often gaze upward not just to admire its beauty, but in the hope of finding answers, guidance, and even a sense of self. For some, the night sky becomes a bridge to loved ones who have passed, a silent space for unspoken conversations.
From our earliest years, the night sky is woven into our lives—whether through lullabies like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, sung to soothe a baby, or star-themed mobiles gently spinning above a crib. Popular music also draws on its symbolism: Reach for the Stars encourages limitless ambition, while the timeless Moon River evokes love, longing and dreams.
Poetry offers equally rich imagery. In Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the stars appear “continuous…along the margin of a bay,” sparkling like companions in the night sky. Similarly, the whimsical lines from Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussy Cat capture the joy and wonder the night can inspire.
“They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.”Visual art, too, has immortalized the night sky. One of the most famous examples is Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, painted while he was in an asylum. The swirling, luminous sky suggests both turbulence and beauty, perhaps reflecting van Gogh’s search for solace and meaning.
As Oscar Wilde once wrote:
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
So—keep looking up. And as the song says, Don’t stop believing!
Thanks for this Ellen. I must save your list of songs poems and art works in my notes. It’s brilliant to get so many great suggestions for integration between STEM and arts education.
Module 4 Assignment
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity?Laois Co Council have videos, books and colouring books on biodiversity in the garden which are really nice and they can be ordered free of charge for the children or for the class library. I would introduce the topic of biodiversity to the children with these resources and the David Attenborough you tube video on biodiversity https://youtu.be/GlWNuzrqe7U
The more the children realise that every creature has its role to play and has a valuable contribution to make to our planet as a whole is so so important. We are all interdependent on each and all ecosystems and biodiversities and the services they provide for life to continue.
We need to protect the environment by preventing pollution and climate change and eliminating all threats to biodiversity. If we start by doing this at a local level, then it will naturally spread to the wider world. A lot of local birds and bees and other creatures and plants are currently under threat in Ireland and this needs to be addressed first. By teaching the children about their local areas and encouraging them to just look around and observe the nature around them we can get them invested in learning how they can protect the beauty around them.
The RTE clip about the long eared bat was very interesting. They suggested a good website to look up the 10 different bat species that are found in ireland.www.batconservationireland.org and learnaboutbats.com.
Who knew! I would have always considered bats rodents with wings but I have changed my mind. The video about the conservation of the lesser horseshoe bat in Mayo was very interesting too. The children will be inspired to protect the bats after researching all the different types and the threats they face, especially the threats from light pollution. Plus they will love playing the Bat Moth Game and will give them a greater appreciation of echolocation.The ESERO day and night in the world 30 resource suggests a lot of different activities to teach the kids how light pollution can impact on plant grown and on different creatures in their every day lives to hunt, eat, sleep and to survive!
One of my fondest memories of my primary school years is the nature walks we used to take around the school grounds and locality. We learned so much from our surroundings and from each other about nature, plants and animals than we did from any book.
We are so lucky to have technology and videos to help us observe and understand a wide variety of biodiversity’s both locally, nationally and beyond.I agree completely Sharon. A lot of people are just not aware of the existence of Light Pollution Let alone the impact that light pollution is having. By implementing small changes and making children aware and conscientious at a young age will help improve the problem.
Module 3 Assignment
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.I suspect most children in my class aren’t even aware that light pollution exists. This module has opened my own eyes to the issue, and I’m curious to see how they’ll respond when I ask, “What can you tell me about light pollution?” or “What are its impacts?”
Dark sky planning guidelines offer practical tips to reduce light pollution, supporting both the preservation of our night skies and the work of astronomers. The International Dark-Sky Association’s Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting—targeted, useful, low, controlled, and colour-appropriate—provide an excellent framework for the children to follow.
Learners could investigate light pollution by conducting studies in the school grounds, at home, and in their local communities. Activities from the ESERO “Light and Darkness” pack would be a great starting point. Equipped with the IDA’s Five Principles, they could explore their surroundings and gather evidence of how artificial light affects our area. The ESA “Magic of Light” packs would also provide valuable learning opportunities.
Even though we are a rural school and light pollution is less obvious than in urban areas, it can still be reduced. Raising awareness is key. The children could design posters to display in school and around the community, and use the school website to promote their message. Perhaps, with enough effort, our area could even earn a place on Ireland’s Official Dark Sky Places map alongside Kerry, Mayo, and Davagh Forest Park.
Create an observing plan for autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky.
Using resources such as timeanddate.com and Stellarium, I found out that autumn is an excellent time for stargazing. In early September Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus will all be visible to the naked eye. With a telescope or good binoculars, Uranus and Neptune can also be spotted. Stellarium is an amazing tool and Stargazing Ireland is also really helpful.
In class, I would introduce timeanddate.com and Stellarium on the iPads, then send links home for parents. Students could either search for suggested planets or create their own observing plan. They could take photos and send them to me for sharing on the interactive whiteboard, or work on them digitally by labelling images or making their own drawings.
I can differentiate this lesson by providing the pupils with a template and a ready-made list of dates and times to stargaze or alternatively they can choose what to search for and how to record their observations. In advance, we will explore the differences between stars, planets, and constellations and make our own Starwheels.
Although the focus is on planets, they can also observe the stars and constellations too.
Setting this as an after-school task would also require some extra support for pupils with limited tech access, but it is still very achievable and parents I’m sure would be more than happy to help and observe too.
Gravity/Weight – Assemble an Earth Tube and one other planet tube – decorate in a suitable manner.
To begin with I would introduce gravity to the children by explaining how it varies from planet to planet depending on each planet’s size and mass. We would discuss how our weight changes with gravitational pull, while our mass stays the same.
For the Earth Tube, pupils could work together to make them and decorate them with familiar Earth features. For the second tube, they can choose another planet Venus, Jupiter, Mars etc. If we selected Mars, for example, we could use red and orange tones, adding craters and dust storms. Children can research their planet to find out their special features and decorate them accordingly.
I think the examples shown in the video from Module 1 were wonderful, and it was inspiring to see the children so engaged and excited. I think this activity would be an excellent way for pupils to understand gravity and weight in a hands-on and visual way.
Hi Grainne. This sounds like a very engaging activity. I really appreciate how you have integrated all the SESE subjects. Giving children a role in selecting the location and the materials makes it very meaningful for them and using stones to mark the hours is such a simple and very effective idea.
Hi Sarah, you have some great ideas. I’m sure my students would really enjoy using Skyview and stellarium. Children are naturally fascinated by space and the planets and this activity would be a perfect homework project for them during the autumn or even the winter term.
Module 5 assignment
Choose one of the activities or activity sets outlined in this module – How would you use the activity in your classroom?
I am looking forward to trying out the Rocket activities with the children next year. I think they would really suit the children in 2nd class.
To begin with we would brainstorm the word ‘rocket’ and make a whole class mind map with their contributions on the whiteboard. This will allow me to gauge their current knowledge of rockets.
I will then play the Launch of Vega video from this module as I think it will be very engaging for the children. I will also show them some other videos and images of rockets on the whiteboard.
We can discuss what makes rockets fly. We will spend time designing and creating the rockets. The children will decorate them. They can let their creativity flow for this.
The children will then carry out the rocket mice experiment in groups. The children could experiment with different sizes of cartons and use mice of different weights. I will encourage them to identify what makes the mice rise and what makes them fall. The children can compare and contrast the results.
We will collate the results and I can photograph the process. We will the create a display in the classroom incorporating their rockets, their mind map and the results and the photographs for all of the children to enjoy.
I really think this lesson allows for a lot of cross curricular integration with STEM, Maths, art and oral language.
Fantastic suggestions for Space week there Criona. I love how you introduce the children to the wonders of space through so many cross-curricular activities. Plus they’ll have so much fun engaging in all those activities.
Module 4 assignment
Online resources and tools: How would you use the activity in your classroom?
Stellarium is really cool. I think this would suit the children in 2nd class. I think it’s graphics and engaging space related subject matter will be really appealing to the children. I have downloaded the Stellarium app which will come in very handy to use with the IWB to show the children the night skies and the beautiful star constellations. They can then use the stellarium-web.org browser and the unawe.org website on the chromebooks for individual exploration and stargazing.
ESA Kids is a fantastic resource by the European Space Agency that I will definitely be using with the children next year. They will really enjoy the online games as well as the arts and craft lesson activities. The rocket lesson in particular has excited me and I think the children will really enjoy designing and making their own rockets. I also really like the Solar System Explorer game. https://www.esa.int/kids/en/Games/Solar_System_Explorer
The various Paxi videos and the Milo and Marvin cartoons are fantastic. I will also use the Astronomy Picture of the Day resources during Science week and Space week.
I agree Eleanor. I have learnt about so many great resources here on this course and I’m writing the list down in a separate notebook for reference and to remind that it’s there and readily available.
Stellariun is really cool. I’ve downloaded it now on my laptop so will come in handy to use on the IWB and the kids could use the stellariun web browser on the chromebooks.
