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Patrick, I love these ideas. I would love to try bringing these activities into my own class and school. I think it really relates back to children being active citizens in preventing climate change.
I am teaching Junior Infants and my kids adore arts and crafts and are always using bits of leftover cardboard, paper etc so the research question that came into my head was:Which things can we reuse instead of throwing them away? Here are some activities I came up with.
1. Reuse or Rubbish?
Bring in clean everyday items such as cardboard boxes, yoghurt pots, paper, jars, toilet-roll tubes and plastic containers. Children sort them into “Can we reuse it?” and “Should it go in the bin?” groups. Discuss why they made each choice.2. Junk Modelling Challenge
Give children a selection of clean recyclable materials. Challenge them to create something new, such as a robot, house, animal or vehicle. Ask: “What was this before? What has it become?”. My kids loved this. They made their dream homes this year out of used items.3. Make a Classroom Organiser
Use empty boxes or containers to make pencil holders, storage boxes or containers for art materials. Children can decorate them and put their group names on them.4. Paper Investigation
Give children used sheets of paper and ask: “Can we use this paper again?” They could use the reverse side for drawing, cutting or practising letters. This is so effective with Junior Infants especially when it comes to mark making.5. “Before and After”
Show children an old box, jar or container and ask them to imagine what it could become. Draw their ideas before actually creating them.Homework:
Ask children to find one safe item at home that their family normally throws away and think of a new use for it. They can bring in a drawing or photograph and explain their idea to the class.Create a “Reuse Station” in the classroom where children can place clean materials that could be used again. Give them responsibility for deciding what belongs there.
This is such an interesting resource to know about especially for older classes. It makes what is up in the sky a little bit more relatable for children!
I chose the following assignment: Download the Teacher Guide & Pupil Activities for the ESA Resource ‘ Nose High Up in The Sky, carry out the pupil activities yourself and post your thoughts on the resource and if you would use it in class.
I was wondering how this might work in a Junior Infant class as I am teaching them this year so making these activities practical and fun are priority in order to engage kids of this age.
I think I would focus more on sensory experiences and familiar weather as some of the language can be too complex at this age. Children could begin each morning by looking outside and choosing a weather symbol for a class weather chart. They could use their senses to describe the weather—“I feel wind”, “I see clouds”, “I hear rain”—and discuss appropriate clothing.
A simple outdoor weather walk could encourage children to notice changes in the sky, temperature and wind. The satellite element could be introduced through photographs, asking children what they can see from “high up in the sky”. Songs, stories, role-play as weather reporters and art activities such as creating clouds, suns and rainbows would make the learning playful and accessible. These adaptations retain the ESA resource’s enquiry-based approach while making it developmentally appropriate. Through child led play each morning these ideas can be explored. This year we set up a Space Station, children made their own rockets and their own telescopes to look at the sun, moon and stars in the night sky. They loved role playing while also incorporating inquiry based learning. I printed off pictures of satellites and they loved this.I loved your ideas here Niamh as I also work in Junior Classes. Children also can learn from each other and compare how their own actions can make a difference to the world around us. Some ideas are so simple but extremely effective and building positive habits from a young age is so important.
The film HOME was a very powerful visual introduction to climate change and the impact humans are having on our planet. I loved the way the film shows both the beauty of Earth while also highlighting issues such as deforestation, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, pollution and the rapid use of fossil fuels. It was really effective and I think children really do appreciate these strong visuals. It really highlighted how our everyday choices can have consequences for the environment and that action is needed to protect the future of our planet.
When introducing these climate change facts to my pupils and to make it age appropriate, I would select one or two clips from HOME as a starting point for discussion. Depending on the age of the class, it might be nice to use a word cloud/ mentimeter online tool so they can contribute vocab that comes to mind when they see the clips.
I would then pause the film at key moments and ask pupils what they notice, what they think is causing the changes, and how these issues might affect their own lives.
I would then introduce simple facts and stats on climate change using photographs, maps and graphs.
Pupils could work in groups to investigate topics such as renewable energy, deforestation or plastic pollution. If using this as a theme for the month, then one of these topics per week could be explored as the activities and opportunities for these are endless.Finally, I would encourage them to identify realistic actions they can take at school and at home to help make a difference to the environment.
I really enjoyed Greta Thunberg’s speech about climate change and climate action in this course so this could provide some sort of inspiration to children also!
Hi Amy,
I liked the way you higlighted the importance of vocabulary when it comes to weather and climate change. Having this vocab displayed in the classroom encourages children to engage in meaningful discussions about such matters. We hear these conversations on the news everyday and if vocabulary is accessible to children, it makes climate change more real for them.
The Paxi video on Greenhouse Gases is very engaging and easy to follow and understand. It paints a very clear picture of the effects of greenhouse gases. I think the mpst important aspect here is to provide the differences between the natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effect. I think this makes it more real to children and help them to understand that they can make a difference to climate change.
The tool for predicting future temperatures is something I would love to use in my classroom. I really think children need to participate in this practical, real life tasks in order to fully understand the causes and effects of climate change. Having done this, they can take on more active roles and be active citizens in helping the environment. One thing I would like to add to this activity is the use of the Air Quality Index tool online. When I was teaching in Dubai, I used this with my class as part of a Global Citizenship project and they couldn;t believe how poor the AQI was in the country. We discussed how in the UAE, people don’t walk many places due to the very hot weather and how car emissions are the biggest contributor to pollution. Understanding climate conditions outside of Ireland may get children thinking how climate action may vary from country to country and they may even come up with their own ideas for different countries of how to reduce emissions.
This was also the biggest thing that stood out for me. STEM activities take careful planning ensuring to incorporate all aspects. I can see the emphasis they placed on engineering and that is something I need to consider going forward.
The article was really eye opening for me as to how I teach and incorporate STEM in my classroom. This part stood out to me most “Engineering is the glue that integrates science, mathematics and technology and forces them towards workable solutions. STEM activities and lessons use the Engineering Design Process (EDP) as a systematic, orderly, open-ended way of approaching problems and designing solutions for those problems”. I haven’t been placing as much emphasis on the Engineering aspect of STEM and using the EDP is something I will use going forward. Another aspect that stood out to me was ; “Many lessons are science lessons that do not incorporate any type of design, real world applications or core ideas of engineering”. This is something I also will be keeping in mind when planning lessons going forward.
Activity 1 Feedback: I really liked this activity, and I think it gives wonderful opportunities for collaboration and peer discussion. I also think it would be interesting to see if anyone spent their birthday in a different country other than Ireland and to be able to describe the weather there too. Children will be able to compare and contrast weather patterns. After completing this activity, I think children will really gain a deeper understanding of weather and climate. Also, I have played the game “Globle” with my students and it incorporates clues on climate. It’s a great way for children to get to know the world’s climate zones while also developing geographical skills.
Activity 2 Feedback: Children in my class would adore this activity. They love responsibility and committing to a task or job. I can sense excitement when they get to check everyday if there are changes in temperature across a period of time. It’s certainly an activity that can be adapted and changed for students from Junior Infants all the way to 6th class.