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I agree Mona,
Children would really enjoy creating the sundial and it would be a good way of covering multiple curriculum strands at one time.
I response to question 5 – One year on Earth- Understanding the seasons
Trigger- Pictures of the seasons displayed on the board- Discuss.
Wondering- When it is summer in Ireland is it summer everywhere else in the world? Christmas in Ireland- weather, colours, clothes vs Christmas Australia- weather, colours, clothes. Why is it different? Why do you think summer in North/ winter in South and vice versa?
Exploring- Using video of day night and seasons to show children how the seasons work. Question children to assess understanding. Introduce vocabulary such as equator, axis, meridians, Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Ensure children understand that everyday Earth rotates on its own axis= 1 Day and that one year = one full rotation around sun. (Use modals to illustrate this) Carry out experiment with children, putting them into groups. Each group will Use model of Earth (polystyrene ball) and sun (torch). They will pick a point on Earth and mark it with cocktail stick, then complete rotations around sun, while Earth is tilted on access.
Discuss findings as a group. Use video Paxi- Day, night and the seasons to consolidate information.
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.
I decided to download the ‘Nose up in the Sky’ App. I found the App really enjoyable and enjoyed exploring hte many different activities in the app.
I would use this app in conjunction with a KWL chart in the classroom. I would gather any prior knowledge the children have and then we would explore the first activity which is exploring old weather proverbs. I would ask the children to s this with each other and then go home and discuss with their parents or grandparents if the had any ideas they could share. We could then discuss as a class together and go from there. It is really interesting to observe the proverbs against using actual scientific technology. We would explore the technologies available in todays world. We could then compare findings.I thought the film Home was beautifully shot and really hammers home how humans (the alleged wise ones) have caused so many problems. I was really shocked when I read that it was released 13 years ago and again really asks questions about what our leaders have been doing. No wonder Greta Thurnberg speaks the way she does. I found her TEDTalk excellent. This video is definitely something I would show to my class in its entirety.
I was reading other participants posts and saw suggestions of showing excerpts of Home to their class or emailing the link to parents. I don’t know how many parents would watch it? And it might be an interesting experiment to show the whole film in it’s entirety and see what sort of reaction it receives. Obviously you don’t want to upset anyone or give the children even more climate change anxiety, but I found the Climate Aid 2020 video, which is obviously far shorter, far more upsetting.
I think it would be a fantastic introduction to the topic of climate change, but if I found it so upsetting, I would worry about how a group of 30 12-year-olds would take it. In saying that, it is their future and as a mother of two young daughters, I think that the youth of today need to be informed, so that they will make our governments listen to them. I also listened to a couple of the hot mess podcasts recommended by Catherine. The Fossil Fools one really interested me and how the war in Ukraine could actually help Europe reach it’s carbon emissions reduction targets by getting away from Russian oil and gas…of course that is only if decisions are made to go renewable. Here’s hoping
I thought the Paxi video was very informative and done in a very child friendly way, but to me, teaching sixth class this coming year, it’s not suitable. However, I did like how it gives the children ways in which they can help (scooting, walking etc. to school, not leaving the tap running while brushing their teeth), because realistically, how can they help achieve aims set out by the Paris Climate Agreement? They need to be given ideas where they can make a difference, however small. The C3S education video was really good, but again possibly more suitable for secondary school students. I will still show my class the video and liked how it showed the two different scenarios and used Germany as an example. It clearly shows how we can still make a difference if we choose a low emissions route.
Lesson 1: Weather or Climate?
I really like this resource and will definitely use it for teaching the topic of weather. I think its suitable for all age ranges aqnd can be adapted accordingly to suit whatever class I’m teaching. enabling the children to explore and DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEATHER AND CLIMATE IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN TRYING TO TEACH THEM ABOUT OUR PLANET AND CONSERING THE EARTH. Many children, and indeed adults, may not fully grasp the idea of Climate meaning a period of 30 years or more, anf the importance of looking at what we can do longterm to help climate over the next 3o years or so. I like both sorting activities, firstly sorting the phrases into weather or Climate, and also placing the countries in their different climate zones. There is so much scope for oral language here and lots of opportunity for thought and discussion.
Activity 2: Weather Detectives
Children love hands on experiments and discovering things for themselves. I really like the idea of the weather diary to record the temperature over a week or fortnight. It’s exciting for the kids to be so involved and to find the temperature pattern. Their skills for reading a thermometer correctly and fairly are also being honed, and they will be thoughtful about where a thermometer should be placed in order to give accurate results and how to carry out a fair reading at the same time each day. I also like the cross-over with Maths for recording their findings on a graph and seeing the trend/pattern in such an effective visual representation.
I think this is a great idea “To encourage students in Ireland to support climate action, I would integrate project-based learning focusing on local environmental issues”
Unfortunately in todays society structural inequality is prevalent across many areas such as education, housing, healthcare.
Personally I can see first-hand in school how housing inequality can have an affect both at global and local level.
Traditionally we may have associated homelessness with third world countries however unfortunately it has become a crisis in our country and this can be seen in our schools. Many children are living in direct provision centres, B&B’s, hotels, inadequate social housing and this has a profound impact on their quality of life. Many children have no adequate playing areas, cooking facilities, proper beds and naturally this would affect them. This then affects them in school as they many come into school tired, frustrated, hungry and this impacts on their learning. As well as this children may feel shame and embarrassment about their social situation. I would encourage my class and my school to engage in exploring and understanding these situations more to help better empathise and assist these children and their families.
