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Describe how you could implement a version of “Design Your own Dark Sky place” in your school/classroom?
I think I would only attempt this with senior classes. I would link the project to work on OS maps in Geography before looking at a case study of the dark sky reserves in Kerry and Mayo. From here I would present the project to the class and instigate a number of drama lessons where we would role play the different stakeholders which would include visiting star gazers, animals and maybe some aliens. Once we had a strong idea for the need then I would look at how this could be a business venture which could serve as funding for more dark sky reserves. I’d like to see the pupils treat the realistic side of such a project such as health and safety and budget concerns. Finally we would put a dragons den style plan together and pick the best one. Each plan would need a 3D model and sketches of key areas.
I think the idea of designing your own dark sky friendly lamp would be a great project in my school. We are in the city surrounded by lampposts and unnecessary lights from shops and restaurants. I just need to find 10 led torches and were ready to go!
It’s great to see how much your school has done in this regard. We are way behind but I’m looking forward to bringing some of these ideas to my school next year. I think the surveys will be good ammunition to show different stakeholders our lack of biodiversity.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
I think the first step I would need to do is look at biodiversity in general and the importance of the symbiotic relationships between different species. I think this is important to grab the attention of pupils as there will be more resources and videos from night cameras. I also might play the echolocation bat game which will help pupils appreciate the unique skills of nocturnal animals.
From here I would try to track down clips from rte nature shows which show our nocturnal animals in action. My school is a concrete slap with no grass so I think there’s a lot of scope to install a bird box or bug hotel to try and increase the biodiversity. We could also set up some small boxes with a variety of wildflowers to attract the pollinators. A hedge would be great as we might be able to hear some birds in the dark winter mornings. When installing these I would ask the pupils to consider the effects of the school lights on these ideas. Will animals be encouraged if we put them underneath our automatic light? How will the light affect the birds who sing in the morning? I would set some homework to consider these effects in the pupils own back gardens.
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I would start this module of work by exploring the fundamentals of light, lights in our classroom, sunlight, moonlight, starlight etc. We would discuss the aesthetic quality of these and maybe do some poems in English and Irish that capture the beauty that light brings into our lives and how this can be even better at nighttime.
From here I would take about the street the school is on and how that looks at night. I would take some photos which capture glare and unncecessary light sources to prove the point. I would ask pupils to go home and consider the lights in their area and possibly take some photos and get their parents to put them on Aladdin. FInally I would use the website http://www.lightpollutionmap.info to see how our area is particullarly bad. I would use this as a springboard for action, possibly a letter to the council which contains suggestions and alternatives.
Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be in 2024- 2025?
I never considered the possibility of bringing the moon into the classroom, assuming we would not be able to see the moon during the school day! However, seeing the possibilities at different times of the year is really exciting. The paxi video is a nice way of introducing the lunar phases in a child friendly and engaging way. It raises awareness about the moons on other planets and the fundamentals of our solar system in terms of different orbits. All of these ideas could be represented artistically but there’s also scope to describe the concepts in English and to learn vocabulary and poems as Gaeilge. This is best done during the waning crescent phase: September 5-7, 2024
October 5-7, 2024
November 3-5, 2024
December 3-5, 2024
January 2-4, 2025
February 1-3, 2025
March 2-4, 2025
April 1-3, 2025.I would get the students to research this calendar and find alternatives (waning gibbous) and make a calendar to remind ourselves.
I like the idea of filling in the moon observation log independently. What you’ve said about one child filling it in has gotten me wondering if this could be added to the daily routine of date/season/day etc. These can get repetitive so maybe adding some moon phases would be a nice way to mix it up
Making a sundial.
I would probably come at this from a whole unit of cross curricular work. I might show pictures of a sundial and use is as a primary source of historical evidence and as an artefact. I would facilitated brainstorms on what it is and how it would affect the daily lives of people. From here we might look at how the sun affects our lives, our physical and mental health, the circadian rhythm and seasons. Then we might go out to yhe yard and pick a spot for an experiment and see where shadows line up and track this across a day and seasons. From here I’d like to create an art project where pairs or groups make their own sundials (as seen on sfi)
Building on the previous modules of this course I think my research question for climate detectives would be: Do we have healthy air quality in our area? If we do, why do you think that is? If not, what can we do about it?
To engage the students with this topic I would have them use school tablets to analyse the air quality using the EO apps and websites. They could also identify possible sources of pollution by doing a nature walk or looking at satellite imagery. Over the course of a week we could observe the statistics and make charts which display the data. While the data is being collected we could do different experiements which demonstrate how poor air quality affects organic matter . Once the results are in we could compare this to historical data and potenially demostrate a worsening trend. I think it’s important though to let the pupils follow their nose with the investigation, especially in the higher classes.
I think this is a great question for primary school. It’s where I first became interested in climate chnage as a child and its’s still as releveant today,
The EO Browser is a tool that lets you see pictures of the Earth taken by satellites from space. These pictures show things like forests, cities, rivers, and even how the land changes over time.
In a primary school classroom, the EO Browser could be used in several fun and educational ways:
Explore the World: Children can look at different parts of the world from space. They can see their own country, other countries, oceans, and famous places like the Amazon Rainforest.
Learn About Seasons: Teachers can show how the Earth’s surface changes with the seasons. For example, they can look at how snow covers some areas in winter and melts in the summer.
Understand Environmental Changes: The class can observe how forests grow or shrink, how rivers change their course, or how natural disasters like wildfires or floods affect the land.
Study Local Areas: Pupils can see satellite images of their own town or school. This helps them connect what they learn in geography to the real world.
Creative Projects: Children can use the images to create their own maps or do projects on topics like “How does our environment change?” or “What can we see from space?”
I found the home video to be an excellent resource to base a module of work of across the curriculum. As mentioned above, I think it would be good to break it up into chunks and manage children’s expectations so as not to foster to much eco-anxiety. For me, I think using Greta Thunberg’s life story is an excellent ‘springboard for engagement. I think she is is very inspiring and many students will look up to her as she is a powerful speaker. I think this would create a desire for pupils to learn more facts, which can be dense and complicated unless phrased in child appropriate language. I would create an activity where pupils have a list of real facts and fake facts and they need to watch the video in small groups to find out which is which. I believe this is important aas there is so much fake news surrounding climate change.
Activity three seems very relatable and particuarly suited to an older group of learners. I would begin by discussing pupils’ prior knowledge on the topics using key words from the video such as greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, rainfall and temperature. I think this would help pupils be in the right frame of mind for watching the video together. Afterwards I like the idea of using technology such as kahoot to assess pupils misconceptions (which can be rife in this domain). I think I would integrate this activity into a weekly or fortnightly theme. It’s a great starting point to incorporate the maths curriculum (maybe even the new curriculum) and I think the central topic is morally quite attractive for primary school pupils. We could put our work together and display it around the school for the whole community to benefit from.
“Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics” (2018) is a an excellent eye opener for me as an NQT into the world of STEM. The paper provides useful ideas for both teachers and students, including how to create meaningful STEM experiences that involve problem-solving and real-world applications. Inspired by this, I plan to work with my 2nd class to build a weather station. This project will give students a chance to explore STEM concepts in a practical, hands-on way, such as understanding weather patterns, data collection, and data analysis using our school’s tablets. Students can work together in groups or pairs and share their findings which will enhance their communication skills.
I am immediately drawn to picturing weather from a day in your past such as on your birthday. The activity is both engaging and practical, allowing students to record and analyse data which is relatable to their own lives.