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My research Question; How does air quality in Shannon town compare to air quality in the seaside town of Kilkee? (I teach in Shannon) 5th Class
I would start off with a class discussion on Shannon and how the airport , the industrial estate and the amount of cars coming into Shannon each day might affect the air quality and then what impact has that on the health of people living in Shannon. I would let the children make their own predictions . We would the discuss the seaside town of Kilkee where there is no airport, no factories and much less population and less cars and let the children come up with their own reasons why the air quality might be cleaner in Kilkee. I would get some of the children to write to the Environmental Protection Agency to get information on Air Quality and how they measure atmospheric pollutants and how they measure same. I would get other children to write to Clare Co. Council for information. We would invite a member of the Environmental Protection Agency and the CO. Council to come to our school and talk to the children about air quality. We would study the Air Quality Map on http://www.airquality.ie to look at the most recent information on air quality.We would also look at various websites and the EU directives rules and standards on air quality and how they affect our health. We will look at the different air quality instruments used to monitor air quality and decide on which would be the best to use . We would look on the ground sensors, satellite sensors. This project will be ongoing for about 6 months and it will involve 2 trips at least to Kilkee. We would then put air quality instruments in place and monitor and assess, record , compare and discuss information over a 6month period and constantly compare the air quality in Shannon Town to rural sea side town of Kilkee to see if there actually is a difference in air quality in Shannon because of the airport, the industrial estate and the number of cars driving in each day. We would present our findings to the school at our annual science fair.
Children would really love that project as they just love learning about penguins and while learning about penguins they are leaning so much about climate change and of course the devastating affect on habitats
I watched the video Home. It is an excellent documentary which really clearly tells us how human life is impacting negatively on the ecological balance of the planet. The aerial shots are amazing and it is an excellent resource for older classes and leads to great scope for integration with history, geography, english, science, drama, art etc It is a great stimulus to start off discussion on how humans are destroying the earth and if we don’t act soon the consequences will be irreversable. However towards the end of the documentary it is good that children can see the countries and people who have made a positive impact on the environment.The TED talk by Greta Thunberg will be excellent as children will see what role they have to play and the fact that a young person is delivering it , they will be able to identify with it better. I especially like the integration of drama and consience alley as I feel children will be so interested if they take on the role of a penguin or a polar bear or an arctic fox loosing their homes. The carbon footprint calculaor is also a excellent resource to use.
I feel very strongly about eco-anxiety. I mentioned on a previous post about children feeling terrified after watching some of David Attenboroughs documentaries. We need to be really mindful of delivering age appropriate information to children.
I downloaded Nose High in the Sky and carried out the activities. It is an excellent resource which I look forward to using in the coming year. I really enjoyed the old weather proverbs and my family and 81 year old mother loved them and was familiar with many . My children loved them so I know my class will find them enjoyable and it will be a great way to start a lesson on weather and integrate with english and history . Activity 2 matching and identifying locations from Space and Earth will be very interesting and fun. Teach with Space is also an excellent resource which I will use and the astronaut Logbook will be fascinating for children to compare like on earth with life in space. The photos from the ISS will be a great stimulus for children to initiate conversation about Space and make observations from what they see. The scope for integration is fantastic. I also look forward doing hands on activities and making rain guages, anemometers etc in the coming year and making our own weather station will be so exciting.
I really enjoyed the old weather proverbs also with my children and with my mother who is 81. My mother was familiar with many of them. What a fun way to start an activity on weather. I look forward to using same this year.
The TEAL resource is excellent . I look forward to using it with my 5th class in the coming year. I loved the Paxi video as a resource for the junior classes.
Children today are very aware of climate change, in fact are more aware than a lot of adults. Greta Thunberg has motivated children all over the world to take action and challenge adults , politicians and governments to take action. In our school awareness of climate change has been included every year as a priority in all classes and our Student Council also includes it as a priority in their objectives. The Paxi Video on greenhouse effect is a lovely simple child friendly way of explaining the impact of fossil fuels , deforestation, urbanisation, and rearing cattle on our planet and how these are leading to increased levels of CO2 and thus increasing the planets temperature. I really love that the Paxi video explains to children how they can help in a simple way by turning of lights and devices, unplugging things and of course recycling. This empowers children to feel that they can do something to help our planet. This is very important as there are a lot of videos on social media and documentaries on netflix etc that children are watching like David Attenboroughs documentaries that are frightening children as they show explicitly that we are burning up the planet and show explicit videos that upset children. We must teach children in a way appropriate to their age level and empower them on how they can help in their own little way. The temperature predictor tool was excellent and I feel children would be very interested in predicting temperature increases especially where they live and comparing with other places.
Yes, Eoin, I agree totally Stem education encourages so many skills that are so important for children in today’s world, problem solving ,critical thinking, team building, collaboration, communication and many more.
Having reviewed the paper Unravelling Stem Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics I feel that I am confident going in to teach 5th class this year, armed with lots of resources and methodologies to integrate STEM concepts with engaging and practical activities . The videos were very informative and age appropriate and children would love them. The ESA Nose up high in the sky is excellent and it can be used as a resource over many weeks and the fact that it encourages children to engage in literacy, numeracy and Stem skills in a child friendly way using hands on activities developing problem solving skills and critical thinking skills. Children love going outside the classroom to learn so this resource and the weather detective is a fantastic way to encourage children to develop and enjoy stem , encouraging them to use their creative skills and team skills to come up with their own weather stations and going out to check their own rain gauges , wind speed and temperature is really what learning is all about. Learning by doing is the only way forward for children . They will remember when they have been actively involved in the learning process.