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Hi Colm, I think your point on engaging children in the topic by exploring the concept of urban heat islands and their visible impact on their own school or community would be of significant interest to the students.
How will climate change effect the tourism industry in Ireland?
I looked at some previous projects on the Climate Detectives website and they gave me inspiration for my research question. I think this question can be approached and investigated from different angles. The children will get the opportunity to use a wide range of STEM skills. I used the research question planner to keep me on track when formulating my question and I think it ticks all the boxes.
I would have a whole class brainstorm on tourism in Ireland at the moment- why do tourists travel to Ireland? (culture, greenery, history etc.) I would then ask the children to do a brainstorm on why tourists travel to Spain? (weather, beaches etc.) We would compare and contrast the two brainstorms and this would encourage the children to think about climate change in Ireland and the possible effects it could have on tourism in Ireland.
The children would be encouraged to interview their parents about their childhood in Ireland, and whether or not there were many tourists in Ireland back then in comparison to now. We would formulate an email to send to Tourism Ireland requesting facts and figures on tourism in Ireland over the last 10 years. With these figures and facts we can hopefully analyse the data and present it in the form of a bar or line graph.
ISS
A multinational habitable satellite where astronauts conduct research in astronomy, astrobiology, meteorology, physics and other fields.
Landsat nine
Landsat is a system of satellites for moderate resolution optical remote sensing from monitoring land, coastal areas and shallow waters.
AISSat-1 and AISSat-2
These two satellites are automatic identification system satellites. The International Maritime organisation adopted a requirement for all ships to carry an AIS device, capable of providing real-time information about the ship to other ships and coastal authorities automatically. Basically this is a navigation age and an anti-collision system for vessels at sea.
SwissCube
This satellite conducts research into Nightglow within the earths atmosphere and to develop technology for future spacecraft.
Astra 19.2•E
This satellite used to be commonly known as Astra 1 and is one of the major TV satellite positions serving Europe.
Starlink
This satellite is owned by Elon Musk and provides Internet access coverage to 36 countries, but aims for global coverage.
I tried out heavens above as was recommended and thought the live sky view was pretty cool! When I checked on it first there were 4 Starlink satellites and when I checked again 10, 15 minutes later, there were five, again all starlinks! The satellite database was fascinating also, just from this year amount of satellites that are listed. It’s definitely well worth checking out.
I agree with your statement ” It effectively combines striking imagery with compelling facts, making the issue of climate change urgent and relatable.”
I found the documentary, Home, to be moving and powerful film. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it’s a great film to show 5th and 6th classes, but I would avoid showing it to younger classes, as there are a few images and topics that may be distressing . I would consider showing a younger class a different film such as Happy Feet as a substitute. Happy Feet is a children’s animated movie, following the consequences of overfishing and pollution, while also telling a sweet story of a penguin who just wants to fit in that young children (and even older children) could enjoy and I believe it would be more suitable for a younger audience. The film, Home, handles important topics that I feel may get overlooked, so when showing it to my class I would consider breaking it up over 2 or 3 days so that the children could understand and appreciate the film
I think that the Greta Thunberg Ted Talk is a brilliant video for teaching, especially for older classes as the students can relate to her age wise. She addresses important concerns which the students may share, and even if they don’t she spreads awareness for them. Her speech is filled with passion and I think that it is good for children to see someone so passionate about climate change as it can inspire them to bring about change.
These videos are invaluable to teachers when teaching about climate change, a topic students may find boring or unimportant. The videos are not only educational but inspiring. I will definitely be showing some of these videos to my class upon returning to school
This is a fantastic lesson to introduce children to future modelling scenarios and see how their actions can affect future change. I can see how the PAXI video would engage children in the senior classes in clear and easily understood language. I think the David Attenborough clip mentioned in module 2 would be a great introduction resource to use in the same lesson, and I would most likely use this as a stimulus to the lesson.
There is such great scope here to discuss how the lockdowns due to COVID 19 made a significant impact on the level of CO2 emissions, and how small changes can make such a big impact. I would refer back to the David Attenborough video during the lesson to show that there are significant, achievable changes that can be made in our lifetime to counteract the effects of climate changeActivity 1
UsefulActivity 1
Useful post lesson activity to help children clarify & consolidate the notion of there being a difference between weather and climate.
Section 1. I might give two coloured pencils to each pair & ask them to e.g. colour the weather statements yellow and the climate ones green or write a C or W beside each speech bubble.
Practical layout for teacher assessment listening to pairs’ discussions whilst moving around the room and concise sentences in section 2 will quickly show who has grasped the concept. I would also ask pairs to use “think, pair, share”, especially for section 3 to feedback to the group and stimulate further whole class discussion.
Activity 2
A lovely activity I am going to set up in the school yard with a senior class in September. I would not print out Q1 rather just display it on the white board have the class discussion /brain storm and note on board & in copies
Instrument we will need
Other considerations
We can then stick in Annex 2 and begin to collect data.
I would make sure to work on averages and graphs in Maths in preparation for analysing results and for integration. I might move the class into their Maths ability groupings for the results section as some will need support even drawing the graph & transferring data, whilst other groups would be able to work independently and go on to further calculations & the internet search etc when finished initial tasks more quickly.
post lesson activity to help children clarify & consolidate the notion of there being a difference between weather and climate.
Section 1. I might give two coloured pencils to each pair & ask them to e.g. colour the weather statements yellow and the climate ones green or write a C or W beside each speech bubble.
Practical layout for teacher assessment listening to pairs’ discussions whilst moving around the room and concise sentences in section 2 will quickly show who has grasped the concept. I would also ask pairs to use “think, pair, share”, especially for section 3 to feedback to the group and stimulate further whole class discussion.
Activity 2
A lovely activity I am going to set up in the school yard with a senior class in September. I would not print out Q1 rather just display it on the white board have the class discussion /brain storm and note on board & in copies
Instrument we will need
Other considerations
We can then stick in Annex 2 and begin to collect data.
I would make sure to work on averages and graphs in Maths in preparation for analysing results and for integration. I might move the class into their Maths ability groupings for the results section as some will need support even drawing the graph & transferring data, whilst other groups would be able to work independently and go on to further calculations & the internet search etc when finished initial tasks more quickly.I agree with your that children are the future and it is important that they are involved in change. Encouraging different initiatives to help combat climate change will facilitate children to step up and take action.
I would explore the question with my class how will climate change effect the tourism industry in our local area?
I looked at some previous projects on the Climate Detectives website and they gave me inspiration for my research question. I think this question can be approached and investigated from different angles. The children will get the opportunity to use a wide range of STEM skills. I used the research question planner to keep me on track when formulating my question and I think it ticks all the boxes.
I would have a whole class brainstorm on tourism in Ireland at the moment- why do tourists travel to Ireland? (culture, greenery, history etc.) I would then ask the children to do a brainstorm on why tourists travel to Spain? (weather, beaches etc.) We would compare and contrast the two brainstorms and this would encourage the children to think about climate change in Ireland and the possible effects it could have on tourism in Ireland.
The children would be encouraged to interview their parents about their childhood in Ireland, and whether or not there were many tourists in Ireland back then in comparison to now. We would formulate an email to send to Tourism Ireland requesting facts and figures on tourism in Ireland over the last 10 years. With these figures and facts we can hopefully analyse the data and present it in the form of a bar or line graph.
Before the war in Ukraine – our school and local community had very few fundraisers or initiatives to help refugees. Since then, our school has organised a number of fundraisor to donate to the Irish Red Cross, as has the local GAA club and parish.
As many Ukranian families were acommodated in UCD, we had a few children enroll in our school for the final few months of the school year. Many of the pupils made posters when they heard of a new pupil join their class, as well as helpful phrases they could learn.
Unfortunately, as students will return to this accomodation in September, many families will be moved to new locations, meaning that they may not be in our school come September – the uncertainty for these families is concerning – not knowing where they will be from one month to the next.
I think the government could do more to support schools in how to help refugees – principals are eager to help but with learning support already stretched it can be tough to give these pupils the attention they deserve.
