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- Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this
Firstly, to explain Light Pollution, it is the excessive use of Artificial light.
Light pollution is impacting our local area as it can be costly and effects people, animals and outdoor environments. In cloudly conditions, light pollution can be multiplies several hundred times through reflection. Bluer light scatters more in to the atmosphere than red light.
How to engage my learners to explore this:
We would conduct a survey about light pollution, then we would record our findings via graphs in Maths, then we would analyse and study our finding. I would also get teh children to engage in the ESERO 09 Light and Darkness Activity.
We would also look at different photographs of Loght pollution and teh different types of light pollution e.g. Glare, Sky glow, Light trespaa and Clutter.
To sum up we would put a plan in place on how to reduce Light pollution in our local area of Carlingford.
Question 2: Create a short Teaching resoucr using Stellarium
Firstly, I am so grateful that I have found thiscourse as I have never heard of Stellarium before an it looks fascinating.
Thsi resource needs to be downloaded on the devuces and it is an open source software taht dispalys a highly, realistic 3D map of teh nights Sky.
I would send out info to famiktes how to use this app at home.
Once it is set up you can put in your location or any default location.
With my 1st, 2nd and 3rd classes, we would focus on looking at the stars in the night sky over Carlingford Lough, Co. Louth.
It works by using astronomical info to simulate the exact positions of stars, planets, and constellations from anywhere on Earth, and in our lesson Carlingford.
The children would eb asked to do this on a particular night and then we would self-assess the next day.
Niall,
I think your lesson sounds fantastic.
I especially love the idea where you wrote: As an optional homework activity, I’d encourage students to spend 10–15 minutes outside after sunset with a family member and see if they can spot one of the planets from our class guide.
This is so much fun, and this is not just learning about the planets , it is spendnig quality time outsife with a family mamber and thisis so good for everyones wellbeing as well as learning and getting some lovely fresh air.
Hi Ciara,
Re: Your lesson about Gravity and Weight,
I thought your lesson was very well thought out and it was very clear and sounds so much fun.
Your Learning Objective:
Students will understand that gravity is different on different celestial bodies. They will learn that a person’s weight changes depending on gravity, but their mass remains the same.I believe this is a very impotant lesson to teach children and for life and by doing a hand on and practical and fun lesson, itt will truly be a very valuable learning memory. Well Done.
Question2: Construct a sundial in your immedicate area/ or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed.
I would engage students by this topic by doing a KWL chart about the Sun, it’s function, it’s purpose and both teh positive anad negative aspects of the sun.
After this topic discussion, I would divide the children in to differentiated group and allow them time to discuss how we could do about making a sun dial and it we were to make one outside on teh grounds of the schoool, which location would they think would be suitable?
Afterb each group has recored their points of view I would demonstare how to make a sun dial and talk with the class of it’s function:
Making the sun dial would nbe a hands on learning experience fo rteh children. One can be built by poking a pencil or straw through teh centre of a paper plate. When you place the plate in the sun, the pencil casts a shadow. As the Earth turns, the shadow moves to show the time. Just like Frances and Danielle spoke about in teh video, long agao shadows were used to tell teh time.
After each group have tehir opportunity to make their own sun dial , we will self-assess our work and go out in the sun.
Great question Dearbhail.
I have often found myself asking this question also.
The resource ‘Nose High Up in the Sky’ would be a great resource to researching this question and especially giving the children the opportunity to set up a weather station within the school.
Research question: Does car idling add to the noise pollution around the school gates?
How I would encourage pupils to participate and research this:
A s a group , we would brainstorm all the different types of noise pollution and define car idlying and it’s impact on our school community and the wider world.
We would identify the problem, which is the car idling at the school gates, the car engines running.
A small group of children would be tasked with doing a car idling survey.
WE would then investigate the problem and what we can do as a school and school community to reduce the car idling and hence reduce the noise pollution. We would do a ‘NO Idling’ campaign where the children would do posters to encourage this and they would send this message home by doing a ‘no idling’ rap which would be communicate to the parents via the school website and email.
After a few weeks, the same group group again will undertake a follow up survey on how many cars are idling in the morning , and compare this with the previous results.
Results would be communicate to the entire school community and we would see if we had made a difference.
As a teacher I would also refer to the Curious minds and ESERO framework while undertaking this investigative plan.
Hi Lauren,
I agree fully. ‘Nose High Up in the Sky’ is an invaluable resource. It is easy to read, follow and understand and is very hands-on and practical.
I chose Assignment 3: ‘Nose High Up in the Sky’
I carried out the three assignments myself which were : Talking about Weather, Sensing the Weather and Build your weather station.
I thought that this was a great resource and very practical from a teacher point of view and also very hands-on for the children. A lot of STEM skills would be used for these activities and the activity sheets were visual and not too crowded or overwhelming as is the case at times.
I thought the use of the weather proverbs was very clever and the children would remember these. A topic of conversation daily especially here in Ireland is the weather so this would be a very beneficial and topical topic for the children to learn.
In our school, I would use these lessons as we would work together as a school Community to set up a weather station and integrate this in to our wellbeing and green school programmes.
Hi Lauren, I love the idea of the listen and draw activity and this would also encourage the children to use their senses in this wonderful activity. Thank you for the great ideas.
The video ‘HOME’ by Yann Arthus Bertrand was Amazing and yet frightening at the same time. I thought it was a real wake up call to the state that our world is in and the destruction that us humans have caused. The Narrator was very clear in her first sentence she said “the story is yours….” , and this for me was very real, because yes it is our story and that of us now and our future and the children’s future and beyond. I thought that this video was very long and it would have to be broken up in to parts for the children over different lessons and I would show this to Senior classes. Also the video of the digger chopping down the tree, the pollution of oil spilling from the ship, the bloodied whale I thought that some of these images were too much especially for some children to see.
I would envisage teaching the facts to the children by doing first, see what they know about Climate change what they want to know . Then we would discuss the topic through oral language, small group discussions, watch the video Home, children could research their own project etc. in small groups just to name a few.
Great ideas Carmel to link this in with Climate Awareness Day and this would make it more meaningful and engaging for the entire school community.
I really enjoyed the Paxi video on greenhouse gases. It was a fun video with lots of appealing visuals, and it was explained in a simple and fun way. This would be great for all visual and aural learners in the classroom. At times, this can be a difficult topic to explain and this video did a great job in communicating about the green house gases and the effects on our world. I will be using this great video with my class in the coming year and communicating it with the staff. The TEAL tool is a great resource. I hadn’t heard about it before and I know my class will really enjoy it. The temperature prediction tool is an effective hands-on element that encourages pupils to think critically about human actions and their consequences. This could be used alongside all the work the The Green Schools Committee are doing and the findings could be displayed on eth Green Schools noticeboard. This tool encourages exploration in the children and more hands on discover I plan to integrate in to our classes more this coming year. I would also compile a graph with the children of the temperatures of different counteries and how it compares to us here in Ireland.
Hi Audrey,
Great idea involving the older children to help setting up the weather station. They would be really good at explaining and hence communication to the entire school and this would be a great way of assessing their understanding of the topic. Great idea.
There was a lot of beneficial information and brilliant ideas in the document ‘Nose High Up in the Sky.
It was very explained how to teach the difference between weather and climate. The talking about weather and looking out the window and observing it, and using the our senses to teach weather would be great for the children. The video clips, visual and especially the hands on activities to teach the children about weather and climate is invaluable. This would further build on the STEM skills and encourage them to be creative, problem solve, communicate, measure, predict, use eth internet to look up net.ie and record the weather. Activities involved in the lesson e.g. making a weather vane, rain gauge, using the thermometer to record the temperature daily would be hands on and this would lead to her children questions and seeing a pattern hence this could lead to a small weather station being set up in the school with the help of the Parents and school community. I would also encourage the children to pick a different country with a different climate to us here in Ireland and look at their weather and climate alongside our weather and climate, and hence compare and contract. Hence more STEM learning skills.