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I would involve my pupils in a creative arts project based on Lough Gur in Co Limerick, using the site’s landscape, history, archaeology and local stories as inspiration. The project will allow pupils to explore the area in an imaginative and hands on way. I would introduce Lough Gur through photographs, maps, stories and short videos. We will discuss what pupils already know about the area and look at important features such as the lake, the Stone Age settlement, the stone circle and the surrounding landscape. I would encourage pupils to ask questions and share their own ideas about what life might have been like there thousands of years ago. I would try get my class out to Lough Gur on a class trip to see all this for themselves. I will ask the pupils to create drawings, paintings or mixed media landscapes inspired by Lough Gur. They could use natural colours and textures to represent the lake, hills and archaeological features. They could also design their own prehistoric symbols or patterns and create a collaborative class mural showing Lough Gur in the past and present.
That is a lovely idea for a project and also make the children aware of the beauty of their own locality.
That is a lovely idea. Children would be so proud to have worked on a project like that and be able to show it off.
I will talk to the children about bridges and their purpose. We will discuss how engineers would go about designing and building a bridge. What are the factors to take into account. I will show the children pictures of Sarsfield’s bridge in Limerick which is local to our school. We could even plan a class trip to see the bridge and the surrounding areas of King John’s Castle etc. The children could sketch a picture of the bridge in their copies. I will then divide the children into groups and give them some building materials e.g. cardboard, blocks, lego pieces, straws, lollipop sticks etc. Each group will construct a bridge modelled on Sarsfields bridge. I will instruct them to make the bridge as secure as possible being able to hold 2 toy cars at a time. When the constructions are complete the different groups can predict what bridge design they think will be the strongest. Each bridge will be tested in turn to see can it hold the weight of the toy cars. The groups will talk through their design indicating why they chose certain materials over others etc. All bridges will be displayed in the classroom.
It is a great idea to get the children to compare the two bridges making them aware of shape, size and structural elements.
I agree that using a building that children see all the time will increase their interest in their project.
Outline how you would use some of the course resources to conduct a seasonal biodiversity project to run throughout the school year. What resources and recording sheets would you need? How often would you bring learning outdoors? How would you integrate other subject areas?
I would like to introduce this to my classes in the coming school year. I would begin by doing a nature walk at the start of the school year and making notes and taking pictures of different trees, any birds, insects or animals that we see. We could record our findings on the classroom notice board. We will do regular walks around noting any changes as the months and seasons progress. In my school there are lots of different trees that we observe every winter as they lose their leaves and the students patiently await the springtime where we see the leaves budding again. As part of our project we could study these trees in more detail using project copies to record facts and pictures of the trees during the different seasons. We could integrate this into many subject areas using the key words to learn in Irish as well as genre writing pieces in English. In Science pupils could learn about the different habitats and they would use their Maths skills by collecting and displaying data. Children could draw a map of the school ground identifying areas of interest that contain trees, insects, wildflowers etc. They could use the wildflower walk resource to identify common wildflowers and find out more about them. This is a brilliant way to help the children to connect with nature and for them to be aware of the different wildlife and trees that are in our school community.
There are some great ideas here. I like the idea of every child having their own copybook to record what they see. A great Assessment tool for sure.
The idea of giving each group a wildflower to familiarise themselves with is a great idea. Children learn best from each other so it is a brilliant way to spread information throughout the class.
To plan and conduct a lesson on map making I would firstly talk to the children about maps and question them on their knowledge of maps. What would we use maps for? What would you see on a map? Is anyone familiar with any map symbols? etc. I would then show the children a map and talk them through the meaning of different map symbols etc. I would show the children a map on google maps and again discuss what is seen on the map. I would get the class to take a walk around the school noting all the important areas they feel should be shown on a school map and also noting where objects are located in relation to one another. In the classroom with the help of the children I would model a simple drawing of the classroom on the board. Together we would decide what objects should be included. I would explain that maps are viewed from above and we use the symbols we spoke about rather than pictures. I would then ask the children to work individually to draw their own map of the school grounds including a title and simple symbols. At the end of the lesson the children would share their maps with the class. Together we would compare different maps, discussing similarities and differences
That’s a great idea to get the students to compare data like rainfall or temperatures. Students really learn from hands on experience and love being given a responsibility like this.
This is a brillaint idea and something that can be incorporated into all our schools. Also an excellent way to involve the children in hands on learning.
I have learned many concepts and skills in this module that I could apply to my own teaching. I have learned about the importance of integration to broaden and strengthen the child’s understanding across the subjects as well as encouraging collaboration and peer learning. I liked the ESERO planning tool and the practical examples of lessons. The engage section allows for integrated learning and the exploring section allows the teacher to reflect on activities to engage the children. I would definitely use the curious minds website. The frameworks are well laid out and helps create a STEM lesson at every class level. STEM builds on children’s prior knowledge and understanding. As the teacher I will gain knowledge of the children’s understanding through discussion, pair work, group work, hands on activity and conferencing. It is important to give the children the opportunity to explore new concepts through inquiry based learning. This will all ensure that pupils have a good understanding of what’s being taught.
I agree that bringing the children outdoors gives them a deeper understanding of the topics being covered. Hands on experience is a great way to learn and discover for themselves.
Climate change is impacting my own local area and areas all across Ireland in various ways. As of late we are more susceptible to adverse weather conditions like heatwaves, storms and flash flooding. The average temperatures have risen and are continuing to rise. To engage my students in this topic we could discuss climate change and brainstorm ways that we can help protect our world against climate change.
Three actions we could do in school to make the world a better place and slow down climate change is continuing to reduce, reuse and recycle. Our school is a green school and we have a green schools committee who ensure that all recycling, waste and compost are in the correct bins. We are very proud of the work we have done to ensure we are a green flag school. Secondly we could try promote walking or cycling to school if possible or even car pooling for people living in close proximity to each other. Lastly we could concentrate on energy conservation is school like only turning on lighting and heating if necessary, turning off lights when we are leaving the room, keeping the windows closed when the heating is on, monitoring our use of water etc. For school self evaluation purposes schools need to consider what they are doing to help slow down climate change, plans need to be put in place and both staff and students need to implement these changes consistently to do our part as global citizens.