[Carmel Rohan]

Lesson based art, poetry and music. And connected to the night sky. :
Art: Van Gogh’s The Starry Night

Show the painting (The Starry Night).

Ask: What feelings do you see in the swirling sky? Calm? Energy? Mystery?

Connect: Artists use the night sky to express emotions as much as they do reality.

Poetry: Haiku about the Night Sky

Traditional haiku captures a moment in nature. Example:

Stars scatter softly,
a river across the dark sky,
whispers of the moon.

Activity: Invite learners to write their own haiku about the night sky (5–7–5 syllables).

🎵 Song: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Sing or listen together.

Discuss: Why do we compare stars to diamonds?

Connect: This simple song shows how even children wonder about the night sky.

Closing Reflection

Art (Starry Night) shows the sky as feelings.

Poetry (haiku) shows the sky in words.

Song (Twinkle, Twinkle) shows the sky in sound.
Together, they remind us how the night sky has always inspired awe, across ages and cultures.

[Carmel Rohan]

I think this is a really good lesson plan. I like the compare and contrast aspect to rural areas and also the indoendnet work in creating their own srak sky space.

 

[Carmel Rohan]

How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity

To engage learners about biodiversity in my local area I would firstly explore their prior knowledge. What is biodiversity? What could it mean? I would explain what it is and we would discuss what we think it means. After this we would go on a nature hunt and map/record the different living things we come across. We could right their names on a map or draw if writing the names is to hard. We would share our findings in class. On their map would be sources of light which we would have mapped from our earlier light pollution lesson. We would question what effects light would have on animals. Using torches in the classroom we would imagine what it would be like for animals to come across light and how it might effect them. We would then discuss ways we could limit the effect of light pollution on animals, turning of lights when they are not being used.

[Carmel Rohan]

I think it’s a great idea to link in with the green schools. It’s a great way to share knowledge. Also linking the two lessons it’s a great to build on cause and effect.

 

[Carmel Rohan]

Discuss different sources of light and ask how can we categorise /sort these. Man made and natural. Discuss what the benefits and disadvantages of both.
Give the children two pictures and they compare and contrast:
A star-filled sky in a rural area

A sky with heavy city light glow

Pose questions to the children to guide them to looking at light.
What differences do you notice?
Why might we see fewer stars in cities compared to villages?

Light trail. The class will go for a walk down to the local park approx 1o mins and mark in on maps sources of natural and man made light. I’m class Discuss our findings and pose the question would this be different in a school in the city or more rural city.
What effect do you think man made light has on us?

Introduce the term ligh pollution.

Link to impacts:

Environmental: Disrupts wildlife (e.g., birds, insects).

Human health: Affects sleep cycles (circadian rhythm).

Cultural: Limits stargazing, astronomy, cultural traditions.

To finish the lesson brainstorm ways we could reduceight pollution.

[Carmel Rohan]

This is a lovely lesson. I love the idea of mind mapping and building on their prior knowledge.

[Carmel Rohan]

Create a short teaching resource using Stellarium/ WorldWide Telescope

I installed and explored Stellarium and found it an excellent resource. I think it would be a great resource that parents could use to help explore the night skies. I think in the classroom we would discuss what we see at night in the sky and I would pose the question does this change is it the same from where ever we are in the world?
In class we would explore Stellarium together, we would examine the different features such as set location, time controls and labelling the skies.Together we would set our location and see what we can identify and then reveal the items and see what was right/wrong.
I would then in small groups give the students tablets and they can explore Stellarium for themselves.
After a few minutes I would ask them to set a location and examine it currently and in 6 months and identify the differences. We would then discuss and use Stellarium to show what we have found and we would reason togther why things are different.

[Carmel Rohan]

That’s a great idea for a lesson and a great use of chat ai. The chart is very useful.

[Carmel Rohan]

Construct a sundial in your immediate area or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed

I would begin with reading My Shadow by Robert Louise Stephenson. We would discuss the story /poem and brainstorm where shadows come from and how some shadows are tall and some are small. We then would go outside and in pairs one would draw their partners shadow.
This would lead to discussion again about how are shadows formed and do they change?
We then would draw our shadows at different times of the day with different coloured chalks. The children would record this information on a chart or record it through pictures. We then would discuss our findings and come with suggestions as to why the shadows change and link this to time. We would also discuss whether this was is a good or bad way of reading time and what are the advangtages/disadvantages.

[Carmel Rohan]

This sounds like a very good and practical lesson.

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