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Fiona I really like the way this idea of making a sundial can tie in with the maths curriculum. It would make time more hands on and interesting for the children with lots of ways to do individual, group and whole class work.
I really like your ideas here Donal. I like your use of group work and also the idea of presenting their designs on a whole class level. I think the children would really enjoy this topic and find it very engaging.
I love the idea of using Songs/poems/ art to connect us to the Night Sky. There Night Sky inspires so much wonder and deep thought but is also so unknown and mysterious. Once you move on from the wonderful Twinkle, twinkle you realise how many people have used The Night Sky for inspiration.
Songs I liked about the Night Sky:-Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
– Vincent by Don McLean – I didn’t realise that this song was inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”
– Space Oddity by David Bowie
– A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay
– Look up at the Stars by Shawn Mendes
– Midnight Sky by Miley CyrusPoems about the Night Sky : (once you go looking you realise that There are so many beautiful poems about the night sky, these are just a few)
– The Starlight Night by Gerard Manley Hopkins
– The Stars are Mansions Built by Nature’s Hands by William Wordsworth
– Silver by Walter De La Mare
– The Star by Henry Vaughan
– Firework Night by Enid BlytonArt Inspired by the Night Sky : (art is an area I really love and the Night Sky has inspired so many wonderful artworks)
– The Starry Nightby Vincent Van Gogh
– Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket” by James Abbott McNeill Whistler
-Starry Night Over the Rhône” by Vincent Van GoghI really love how the Australian Aboriginal people use the Night Sky to tell stories and feel these would also be great artworks to use here.
From a more modern point of view photography is a great source of imagery that can form connections with the Night Sky. Images from the recent Northern Lights sightings in Ireland, satellite photos and images from the ISS would all be great ways to allow the children to form connections and inspire wonder and curiosity in the Night Sky.Hi Sarah. Like you I think this area has so many opportunities for the children to be hands-on and active learners. I really like the idea of a nature walk and allowing the children to observe their local environment and surroundings. I especially like the idea of the light traps to look at the insect population.
Engaging the children in exploring local biodiversity and the impacts of light pollution would be both educational and interactive. I think that there would be lots of opportunities to incorporate hands-on activities, observations, and critical thinking here.
An interactive presentation to introduce Biodiversity and Light Pollution would be a good starting point. Using visuals to show different species and ecosystems in our local area would make it more ‘real’ and engaging for the children and we could also look at the sources and effects of light pollution here on animal and plant life also.
There is lots of scope here for plenty of group discussion and the children will be enabled to share their own experiences or observations of local wildlife and any noticeable light pollution in their area. This helps to reinforce that personal connection to their learning.
Other ideas would be:
A Field Trip or Nature Walk where the children could look at species and habitat identification.
A study into the impact of light pollution as outlined in module 3 would also work well here and also creates a personal interest and connection for the children.
Allowing the children to brainstorm ways to reduce light pollution, to come up with an action plan and even create their own solution ideas would help to bring their ideas and findings together and encourage reflection, analysis and idea sharing.Una, I agree that citizen science is so important and exciting and empowering for our students. I liked the idea of a series of lessons and loved the idea of them linking with your annual trip; which also sounds exciting. The Globe at Night campaign looks like it would be a very useful resource for the classroom and it’s clear steps make it engaging and hands-on for the children.
I think that investigating the impact light pollution is having in our local area would be a very interesting project for my 5th class to look at. Our school is located in a rural area but where the school itself is located is more built up. This would provide a great opportunity for the children to observe light pollution as they can see the impact of a residential area compared to a less populated area without travelling too far. We can study and experiment within the classroom but the children could also study and record images from home also.
My class are very interested in wildlife so studying how light pollution is impacting wildlife behaviour and habits would prove to be very eye-opening and engaging for the class. I think that the video showing the bugs attracted to the bright lights would be a good trigger video here.
Encouraging the children to work together to brainstorm and investigate ways to improve light pollution in our locality would be incredibly empowering for the children and they could share their findings across the school.I agree that the Paxi videos would be very useful resources to introduce and develop the idea of moon tracking and observing. The moon observation log is also very useful, child friendly and easy to use in the classroom.
I love the idea of observing and tracking the moon. I have tried it before but just by using a visual calendar and focusing on eclipses. The video Earthrise in module 1 could be a great trigger here and I also really like the Paxi ‘Our Moon:Phases and Eclipses’ videos here as a resource that the children would respond well to.
It seems like the first quarter of the moon is visible in September and then the New Moon in December would be another good observation time and also show comparison between phases.
I feel the questions and investigating triggered by this topic would lead to some exciting and interesting learning opportunities.Patrick I also think that making a sundial would be a very engaging and fun project for a class. I teach 5th class and really think that they too would love the job of locating a good site for the sundial and then also sharing their project and findings with the other classes in the school. This task also allows for every child to join in and allows for group work, investigation and exploration.
I really think that making a sundial with children would be a fun and also educational project. It would also integrate very well with maths, art and history. Teaching 5th class I think they would really enjoy the task of finding a good location for the sundial and this in itself would lead to a lot of its own investigation and exploration of ideas.
Areas to focus on with the children would be:
* what a sundial is and how it works.
* how the position of the sun changes throughout the day and how this can be used to tell time.
* Using a compass to find true north.
* Marking the hours – how can we do this and why?
* Using the Sundial and comparing it to a clock
* What can we do to improve our success and accuracy?
I think the children could try to make their own smaller sundials in groups or individually as an art lesson and then move onto creating larger outdoor class sundial that could be shared and explained to other classes in the school. I really think this sundial project will not only teach the children about timekeeping and the movement of the sun but will also allow them to engage in hands-on learning and creativity which really encourages the children to embrace the learning involved.Being a teacher in a strong agricultural area the research question I would pose is:
Has climate change had an impact on how farmers work?
I would encourage the children to look at ways that changes in our weather have impacted local farmers and how they work.
Students can collect weather data focusing on rainfall levels and temperature levels. The student scan also look at storm frequency and if this has changed. How could this affect farming?
The school has strong links with the local community so the students could visit a local farm and interview the farmer about any changes they have had to make due to climate change.
The children can discuss crop choices, crop yields, animal welfare such as feed and shelter, animal birthing times.
Finally the children could conduct a weather comparison study on a chosen season. They can look at weather data from a number of past years and then collect their own data for the chosen season and compare their results, draw conclusions and present their results. The children could make their own weather apparatus for this study.Sharon I really like your idea for investigation. I think using animals in the question is a great way of grasping the children’s attention and encouraging investigation. It is a question that allows for integration across many subjects. I love the documentary idea also as it triggers a response and also provides more information and facts for learning.
Being a teacher in a strong agricultural area the research question I would pose is:
Has climate change had an impact on how farmers work?
I would encourage the children to look at ways that changes in our weather have impacted local farmers and how they work.
Students can collect weather data focusing on rainfall levels and temperature levels. The student scan also look at storm frequency and if this has changed. How could this affect farming?
The school has strong links with the local community so the students could visit a local farm and interview the farmer about any changes they have had to make due to climate change.
The children can discuss crop choices, crop yields, animal welfare such as feed and shelter, animal birthing times.
Finally the children could conduct a weather comparison study on a chosen season. They can look at weather data from a number of past years and then collect their own data for the chosen season and compare their results, draw conclusions and present their results. The children could make their own weather apparatus for this study.Valerie, I really liked your ideas for the Nose High Up in the Sky resource. I did not complete this task but will definitely be looking at it for my classroom. I loved the activity you outlined about proverbs. This could be linked with so many things like English and History aswell. My class are great at hands-on activities so the would also really enjoy a task like the anemometer.
