[Catherine Knight]

The night sky is a great theme because you can approach it through music, visual art, poetry, storytelling, and science. Here are some ideas:

Music:

• “Here Comes the Moon” – George Harrison — describing the moon through music.
• “Space Oddity” – David Bowie — storytelling and imagining an astronaut’s experience.
• “Starman” – David Bowie — imaginative writing about visitors from space.

Art:

1. Paint their own night-sky landscape.
2. Create a Van Gogh-inspired starry sky.
3. Design their own constellation and give it a story.
4. Make moon phases using paint, chalk, or collage.
5. Create a picture showing what they imagine is happening on the Moon.

 

Poetry:

• an acrostic poem using STARS or MOON
• a five-senses poem about nighttime
• a poem from the Moon’s perspective
• a poem about seeing their first shooting star
• a poem describing a constellation without naming it
• a shape poem in the form of a moon or star
• a poem beginning, “When everyone else is asleep…”

[Catherine Knight]

I love these Elizabeth – so simple but so practical and easy to do within the classroom.  Thanks for sharing them.  I am going to add them to my list of things to do once the academic year begins again.

[Catherine Knight]

To include nocturnal species in my school’s biodiversity plan I would like to:

• Create a dark habitat area: Designate part of the school grounds as a low-light/no-light zone, particularly around trees, hedgerows, wildflower areas or a pond.
• Plant for nocturnal insects: Include native plants that produce nectar in the evening or remain accessible to night-flying insects. This supports moths and other insects, which in turn provide food for bats and birds.
• Support bats: Protect mature trees and potential roosting sites. You could also install appropriately positioned bat boxes, ideally with advice from a local bat/ecology organisation.
• Reduce light pollution: Ensure outdoor lights are only used when necessary, are switched off when the school is closed, and are directed downwards rather than into trees or vegetation. Avoid illuminating potential bat habitats.
• Provide shelter: Retain hedges, dense shrubs, leaf litter, log piles and other natural areas. These can provide daytime shelter for animals that become active at night.
• Protect food chains: Avoid pesticides and herbicides where possible. A healthy population of insects is particularly important for nocturnal predators such as bats.
• Include nocturnal species in monitoring: Children could look for evidence of nocturnal wildlife without disturbing it—for example, using bat detectors, looking for moths around suitable plants, or recording tracks and signs during the daytime.
• Teach children about night-time biodiversity: Make nocturnal wildlife part of science and environmental lessons. Pupils could investigate questions such as “What happens in our school grounds after dark?”
• Consider seasonal disturbance: Avoid unnecessary night-time disturbance during important breeding, nesting or hibernation periods.

 

[Catherine Knight]

I also am delighted to hear about this – I wasn’t aware of the dolphin one but after seeing pods in Kerry during the summer, I will definitely look into it. Thanks for sharing.

[Catherine Knight]

Really good use of the solar eclipse – nice idea and lovely questions posed.  Super stimulus for this topic.

[Catherine Knight]

I teach in an urban area but there are rural areas around so I think I would engage learners in an approach to measure light pollution by: Observe the night sky: Compare what they can see from different locations, such as a residential street, a park and a more rural area.

Measure light levels: Use a light-meter app or simple sensors to record brightness at different locations and times. Learners could map their results and identify areas with the greatest light pollution.

Investigate causes: Photograph or record different sources of artificial light and consider whether each light is necessary, appropriately directed and switched on at appropriate times.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Catherine Knight. Reason: formatting

[Catherine Knight]

I really like the approach you took here with this lesson – I created a lesson in module 1 on the sun but found your approach to the moon so interesting and something I could definitely do with my class. I’m actually in south Kerry at the minute in a dark skies area and the moon is immense.

[Catherine Knight]

Creating original constellations is an engaging way to help students understand how constellations are human-made patterns rather than physical groups of stars and is definitely a lesson or project I would like to do with my class next year.  Here’s how I would go about it:

Materials

• Black construction paper or printed star-field templates
• White paint pens, chalk, or star stickers
• Ruler (optional)
• Colored pencils or markers
• Constellation planning sheet

Step 1: Explore Real Constellations

Begin by showing a few well-known constellations such as:

• Orion
• Ursa Major
• The Plough ( I’m actually in south Kerry at the minute and the Plough was visible the other night over Derrynane lifeguard tower)

Discuss how different cultures have interpreted the same stars in different ways.

Step 2: Create a Star Field

Give each student a sheet with 20–40 randomly placed stars (or let them make one by splattering white paint or adding stickers or using a cue tip and white paint).

Step 3: Find a Pattern

Students look for a shape within the stars and connect only the stars they need. Encourage them not to connect every star—just enough to create a recognizable pattern.

Step 4: Name the Constellation

Students should decide:

• What does it represent?
• Why did they choose that name?
• What does the shape symbolize?

Step 5: Write a Myth

Together we will write a short story (100–200 words) explaining:

• How the constellation got into the sky.
• Why it appears during a certain season.
• What lesson or message it teaches.

This introduces the idea that many ancient constellations came with stories that explained natural events or cultural values.

Step 6: Present to the Class

Students can share:

• Their constellation drawing.
• Their own story behind it.
• Which stars they used and why.

The class can even create a “night sky” bulletin board by combining everyone’s constellations.

Extension Ideas

• Compare the class’s constellations with those from different cultures and discuss how interpretations vary.
• Create a class star atlas with a page for each student’s constellation and myth.
• Use glow-in-the-dark stickers or a darkened room with flashlights for a planetarium-style gallery walk.
• Vote on categories such as “Most Creative Story,” “Easiest to Spot,” or “Most Convincing Ancient Legend.”

I’m really looking forward to doing this activity as it integrates science with literacy, art, and cultural studies while reinforcing that the stars themselves stay in the same relative positions over human timescales, but the patterns and stories we associate with them are created by people.

[Catherine Knight]

I really like this approach and would absolutely do it with my class next year. Thanks for sharing. A perfect STEM idea.

 

[Catherine Knight]

The activity I have chosen to get my pupils to do is tracking the sunrise and the sunset.

Stimulus Question:
How do the times and positions of sunrise and sunset change over several weeks or months?

Materials

• Notebook or observation sheet
• Pencil
• Compass (or compass app)
• Clock or phone
• Camera (optional)
• Safe observation location with a clear view of the horizon

Procedure

1. Choose a consistent observation spot.
2. Observe either sunrise, sunset, or both at regular intervals (daily if possible, or 2–3 times each week).
3. Record:
   • Date
   • Sunrise or sunset time
   • Weather conditions
   • Compass direction where the Sun appears or disappears
   • A sketch or photograph
4. Repeat for 4–12 weeks.

Questions for Students

• Is the Sun rising earlier or later?
• Is it setting earlier or later?
• Does the sunrise position move along the horizon?
• How does the length of daylight change?
• What patterns do you notice over time?

Extension Activities

• Graph sunrise and sunset times.
• Calculate the total daylight each day.
• Compare observations with published sunrise/sunset data.
• Relate the changes to Earth’s tilt and seasons.
• Compare results with students in another city or country.

This investigation works well over one month to show noticeable changes, while three months or longer reveals the seasonal shift much more clearly…. though not always practical in Ireland during school time. It also naturally introduces concepts such as Earth’s axial tilt, seasonal daylight changes, and the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky.

 

[Catherine Knight]

A fabulous lesson on old stories and traditions  – lovely ideas that can be easily implemented in the classroom.

[Catherine Knight]

Describe how you could implement a version of “Design Your own Dark Sky place” in your school/classroom?

1. I would start with a lesson on what light pollution is and why dark skies matter. I would use before-and-after photos of light-polluted and also protected skies.
2. I would then conduct an assessment on the lighting in your school and surrounding area considering whether the lights are shield?; too bright?; pointing upwards?; on when they don’t need to be?
3. Together we would then choose a place they want to turn into a dark sky-friendly area, such as a part of the schoolyard or park nearby
4. In groups, pupils will then create proposals to reduce light pollution at the chosen area:
5. Install shielded lights.
   Use warm-coloured bulbs.
   Add timers or motion sensors.
   Plant trees to block unwanted light.
   Include educational signage about dark skies.
   We would then consider contacting local stakeholders to organise a meeting to share our project ideas.
6. Depending on resources we could look at installing improved lighting (perhaps start with one fixture at school). We could organise a “Dark Sky Night” event where lights are turned off for stargazing.
7. Being from Mayo myself I would potentially organise an over-night trip to Ballycroy National Park to see the western Dark Skies in real life.

[Catherine Knight]

I love the idea of the bat boxes – I love that the pupils could design them using shoe boxes.  I’d love to get a camera set up for night time to see what animals may be around our school at night time.  We often see rabbits during the day and I know the pupils would love to see if any animals are around at night time.

[Catherine Knight]

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

 

I would start with a short video (e.g., from National Geographic or WWF Kids) to introduce biodiversity. I would give each small group a white board and asking them to record their answers to the following questions:

1.  What animals or plants do you see every day?
2. What would happen if they disappeared?

 

I would then bring the pupils outside and engage them in a Biodiversity Scavenger Hunt by giving them a list of things to find:

• Insects
• Birds
• Different leaves
• Animal tracks
• Flowering plants

We are actually in the middle of creating a sensory garden at the minute so I would ask the pupils to plan the garden to encorporate biodiversity into it.  They could also build their own ecosystems using a shoebox for a diorama ensuring they include animals, plants, weather, threats (e.g., pollution).  Each group must then perform their plan to the class.

[Catherine Knight]

Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.

Artificial light emissions are 7 times higher in Dublin compared to the rest of Ireland.  This isn’t just a visual issue—satellite imagery shows that light from Dublin extends over 45 km into areas like the Wicklow Mountains, affecting even designated heritage sites. Public lighting in Ireland consumes around 205 GWh annually, costing about €29 million and emitting 110,000 t CO₂. In Dublin, an estimated 20–30% of this energy is wasted due to inefficient design and over-illumination—equivalent to 2.2 GWh each year, roughly €300,000 in wasted electricity. The city’s bright skyglow severely hampers star visibility, even from suburban observatories like Dunsink Observatory, which is one of the only relatively dark spots in Dublin. This affects amateur and professional astronomy, cultural heritage, and our collective ability to view the night sky. Urban light disrupts nocturnal animals, altering feeding, breeding, and migration. Migratory birds suffer from disorientation and collision risks, and aquatic ecosystems far from direct light sources experience skyglow effects.

 

There is a very good David Attenborough documentary about sea turtles and when they are born, they emerge from the sand where their nest was and they are supposed to be drawn to the sea by the light of the moon but they are drawn to the street lights instead where prey are waiting and kill them.  I would use this video as a stimulus to bring the pupils attention to one impact light pollution has on our lives.  I would then go through the different categories of light pollution as mentioned above and then assign smaller groups a category to carry out a project on.

 

 

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