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Option 3: For my Junior/Senior Infants class, I would create a simple project exploring Irish traditions, stories and folklore connected to the night. I would begin by asking the children what they know about nighttime and what they can see in the sky. We could discuss the Moon, stars and darkness and share any stories or traditions that children know from home.
As a class, we could explore some Irish traditions connected with the night, particularly Halloween/Samhain. We could learn about traditional Halloween customs, songs, rhymes or stories and compare these with how we celebrate Halloween today. I would invite children to talk to parents or grandparents about any night-time stories or traditions from their family and bring these back to school.
The children could then create drawings, paintings or simple class books based on the stories they have collected. This would provide opportunities for oral language, SESE, art and Aistear while helping children appreciate Ireland’s cultural heritage and our historical connection with the night sky.
Thanks Elizabeth for putting together such a great, comprehensive list! I’m going to copy these all, and any more from the other participants on this course and save them to my learning log.
I would engage my Junior/Senior infant class in exploring biodiversity by carrying out a simple biodiversity survey of our school grounds and local area. We could identify and record the different plants, birds, insects and other animals we observe, discussing what each species needs to survive. I would then introduce the idea of nocturnal animals and encourage the children to think about what happens to wildlife after dark.
As a class, we could investigate the amount of artificial light around the school and consider whether this might affect local wildlife. The children could observe insects attracted to lights and discuss how bats, birds and other nocturnal animals may be affected. For example, the module highlights that light pollution can reduce bats’ foraging time and affect their navigation, while bright lights can confuse migrating birds and disrupt the feeding of invertebrates.
Finally, I would challenge the children to suggest ways we could make our school grounds more wildlife-friendly, such as creating wildflower areas, planting native trees and hedgerows, and reducing unnecessary lighting.
Hi Elisa,
That must’ve been such a wonderful and educational experience working a the Blind Institute of Milan! As you said, humans, we know, can explicitly teach ways to cope with and overcome the lack or loss of certain senses and adapt quite rapidly to changes in our environment, it’s not so easy for animals.
I love your idea of putting out a wildlife camera at night. Really simple, but the children would love it and would make them realise that even though they might not see those animals during the day, that they are sharing the environment.
Hi Jennifer,
This lesson is perfect for your class, as you said, some of your students may be living in areas with very little artificial light, while others living in towns will be surrounded by it. It would be interesting to see any of the children had already noticed this already, perhaps from sleepovers in family or friends houses.
Living in a built-up area, light pollution is something that I would expect my pupils to experience without necessarily being aware of it. After learning about light pollution, I became more aware of how streetlights, security lights and other artificial lights can make it difficult to see the night sky. The module highlights that over 50% of the Irish population can no longer see the Milky Way from their homes, which made me think about how little opportunity children may have to experience a truly dark sky.
With my Junior/Senior Infants, I would explore this through a simple investigation of our local area. We could discuss natural and artificial sources of light and go on a walk around the school during the day to identify different lights and think about their purpose. For homework, they could then observe the area after dark with their families and record whether they can see stars or the Moon.
Back in the classroom, we could share our observations through drawings and photographs and discuss whether all the lights we identified are necessary. I would encourage the children to think about how we could reduce unnecessary light and protect wildlife and our night-time environment. This would make the topic meaningful by connecting it to somewhere the children know and helping them understand how our everyday actions can affect the environment.
Hi Gráinne,
I also work in a school with multi-grades, so really enjoyed your lesson and how you differentiated from junior infants to second class, while all working on the same topic and encourage peer learning, as well as including their families at home!
I would choose an activity from the Framework for Inquiry based around the question, “Can we see the Moon during the day?” I think this would be a good activity for Junior/Senior Infants as the children may already have ideas about when and where we can see the Moon.
I would begin with a picture or short story about the Moon and ask the children what they already know. I would then introduce the question and allow them to make predictions. Some children might think that the Moon is only visible at night, while others may have seen it during the day. We would discuss their ideas without immediately giving them the answer.
The children could then investigate using a simple model with a ball to represent the Earth, a smaller ball for the Moon and a lamp for the Sun. They could explore how the position of the Moon affects when we can see it. We could then use Stellarium to look at the Moon at different times of the day to take the investigation further.
I would finish by discussing what we discovered and encouraging the children to share their observations. This allows the children to be active participants in their learning through questioning, predicting, exploring and communicating their ideas.
Hi Siobhan,
I also chose the sundial activity, but I like your idea of connecting the activity/learning with an older class by giving them the task of creating the school’s permanent sundial, therefore creating a really lovely opportunity for peer teaching. I think the more classes that can be involved in this lesson the more children will take notice of, and understand the sundial.
After reading Liston’s Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, much like others have mentioned above, I was reminded that STEM is not simply about completing a science experiment. It is about encouraging children to question, explore, solve problems and make connections between different areas of learning. I think this fits very naturally with the way young children learn in Junior Infants.
I would engage my class in constructing a simple sundial in our school grounds. We would begin by going outside on a sunny day and looking at our shadows. I would encourage the children to describe what they notice and ask questions such as, “Why do we have shadows?” and “Do you think our shadows will be in the same place later?”
We could then place a stick upright in a suitable sunny area and mark the position of its shadow at different times throughout the day. The children could make predictions about where the shadow will move and compare the different lengths and positions. We could use chalk, stones or pictures to record our observations.
I would also involve the children in deciding where the sundial should be placed permanently, considering which areas receive the most sunlight. This would give them an opportunity to work collaboratively, problem-solve and test their ideas.
I think this activity demonstrates how STEM can be integrated naturally into Junior Infants through hands-on, playful learning. It combines science, mathematics, engineering and observation while allowing the children to investigate something they can see and experience for themselves.