Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Integrating aquaculture and social licence into the classroom offers many cross-curricular learning opportunities. This helps pupils understand seafood production and food origins, while seamlessly introducing critical lessons on ocean sustainability, environmental care, and marine protection. For STEM, using local elements like shells, seaweed, and water quality testing allows children to engage in real-world scientific inquiry. It allows for the lived experience of the local community, making the curriculum highly relevant. Exploring social licence provides a great way to develop critical thinking, debating skills, and oral language within the SPHE curriculum. By framing social licence around the locality pupils learn to navigate complex, real-world perspectives. Using structured debates or role-play activities helps pupils listen to differing viewpoints with empathy and respect.
Ciara I agree that learning about aquaculture and social license is relevant to your SET role, especially given your coastal location. Integrating aquaculture and social licence offers expanded, multisensory opportunities to develop oral language, sensory regulation, and critical thinking.By grounding these concepts in the local environment and objects like shells and seaweed, you can make learning accessible to children with diverse learning needs.
I like how you begin by encouraging children to imagine what the night sky looked like before widespread artificial lighting. This provides an excellent starting point for developing awareness of light pollution and its impact on both people and wildlife. The emphasis on discussion and inquiry allows pupils to share their own experiences and observations, making the learning more meaningful and relevant. The group design task is especially effective because it combines creativity, problem-solving, and environmental awareness. I also like how you encourage learners to consider different perspectives, including those of local residents, stargazers, and nocturnal animals. This helps develop empathy and a deeper understanding of the balance required between human needs and environmental protection.
Songs that come to mind include: Bad Moon Rising – CCR, Starman – Bowie, Harvest Moon – Neil Young, Mr Blue Sky – ELO, Moonshadow – Cat Stevens, Shoot the Moon – Norah Jones. Van Gogh’s Starry Night is a great piece to use for inspiration in Art lessons.
I think the use of the nature trail from your school to a local castle is a great way to make learning meaningful for pupils. Providing pupils with opportunities to observe and record local wildlife firsthand helps them develop important scientific skills while also fostering a personal connection with their environment. I like how you build on previous nature walks by introducing the concept of light pollution. Comparing brightly lit areas with darker spaces gives pupils a practical way to investigate a real-world environmental issue that directly affects local biodiversity. The focus on species such as bats, moths, hedgehogs, and owls helps learners understand that human activities can have unintended consequences for wildlife. The inclusion of posters and presentations is also a great idea.
To engage pupils in exploring biodiversity in the local area, I would use a hands-on approach that encourages observation, data collection and reflection. I would begin with a biodiversity survey of the school grounds. Pupils could work in small groups to identify and record different plants, birds, insect, and animal species. This activity would help them develop observation skills while building an appreciation for the variety of life that exists in their locality. To investigate light pollution, I would encourage pupils to observe local areas at night and compare locations with different levels of artificial lighting. They could research how excessive lighting affects nocturnal animals such as bats, moths, and birds by disrupting feeding, migration, and breeding. Pupils could collect evidence through photographs, and surveys and use this information to evaluate how local artificial lighting may impact ecosystems. Pupils could discuss practical solutions, such as using shielded lighting, reducing unnecessary outdoor lighting, or promoting dark sky initiatives.
I like your lesson plan Áine, I think it’s good to allow the pupils to compare and contrast the sky in their locality with a dark rural sky and a bright city sky, allowing them to see to what extent their locality is affected by light pollution. The activity puts this knowledge into practice.
The urban glow from the city and increasing local street lighting have noticeably affected the evening sky. This light pollution directly threatens the local nocturnal biodiversity, disrupting hedgehogs and moths. To bring this environmental issue to my first-class pupils, I would launch a hands-on project and we would begin by reading a story about the dark. I would then set a weekend homework challenge for the pupils to enjoy and to step outside at bedtime with a parent to count how many stars they can see from their garden, noting if nearby streetlights block their view. In the classroom, we would build a simple “Starry Night” map. Pupils will place bright stickers on areas with heavy artificial light and dark felt on areas with natural darkness. This helps the class visually grasp how excessive light washes out the night sky. We would then create drawings to encourage their families to turn off outdoor lights.
<div class=”otQkpb” role=”heading” aria-level=”3″ data-animation-nesting=”” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” data-processed=”true” data-sae=”” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; margin: 24px 0px 12px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”>Observation Plan of the moon for first class. Allow pupils to research facts about the moon and listen to a story about the moon. Discuss how the moon can be visible/invisible during the day. We will observe the moon in<!–TgQPHd||[]–><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”> the yard at 09:30 AM. and look toward the southern or western sky. Pupils will have <!–TgQPHd||[]–></span><!–TgQPHd||[]–><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”>clipboards and can draw the shape of the half-moon and the surrounding sky. The class will go back</span><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” aria-owns=”action-menu-parent-container” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” aria-owns=”action-menu-parent-container” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”> inside and discuss why the Moon looks white against the blue sky. We will follow this plan of observing the moon for the following dates.</span></span>
<div class=”n6owBd awi2gc” style=”text-align: center;” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-hveid=”CAEICRAA” data-complete=”true” data-processed=”true” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”>The best school-week mornings to look out the window or step outside in the <span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” data-processed=”true” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”>Northern Hemisphere<!–TgQPHd||[]–></span> include<span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”> 2–5 September, 2–5 October, 31 October–3 November, 30 November–3 December, </span><span class=”T286Pc” data-sfc-cp=”” data-sfc-root=”ep” data-sfc-cb=”” data-complete=”true” data-copy-service-computed-style=”font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 0px rgb(10, 10, 10);”>1–4 March, 30 March–2 April, 28–30 April.<!–TgQPHd||[]–></span></div>
</div><p style=”text-align: left;”>I really like your lesson plan David. It is great for pupils to be engaged with a lesson that family can be involved with and engages them with their locality. They can then report back to the rest of the class on their findings and integration with art in the lesson.</p>
I liked your idea of using outdoor observations and translating this to designing postcards to help pupils develop an understanding of the movement of the sun. Your emphasis on encouraging pupils to make this a creative homework project is very nice. These hands-on experiences are essential for STEM learning that pupils can engage with.
To help pupils observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day, I would organise a project across a week. I would engage the pupils by asking them, why does the Sun appear to move across the sky and show photographs of sunrises and sunsets and discuss where the Sun appears in the sky at different times. Pupils investigate by working in groups to observe the Sun’s position from a safe designated observation area, either in the classroom or outside. Observations would take place at morning, midday and afternoon times.
Pupil safety to be ensured by directing never to look directly at the sun. Pupil record: creating a simple observation sheet showing: date, time, direction of the sun, position in the sky, weather condition at the time. Analyse: Pupils compare observations over several days.
They identify patterns, noting that the sun rises in the east, reaches its highest point around midday and sets in the west. Communicate: Groups present their findings using posters, charts or digital presentation and pupils discuss seasonal changes and compare their results with online resources.I like Rachel’s idea for a no waste lunch. This is important across the pupil and staff lunches and is becoming more relevant with schools reporting a lot of waste from the school meals programme.
Sustainability is practiced in my locality in numerous ways. Recycling is encouraged in the community with bottle banks and clothes banks. When forests are felled for timber, they are then replanted to ensure that the resource does not become depleted and will be available again in future years after regrowth. There are local farmers markets encouraging buying local produce. There are swap shops for clothes, including the bring five and take five method. There are local book swap libraries, where there was previously a phone box and books can be donated and swapped.
The school community looks at sustainability through the Green Schools initiative. Along with separating waste and encouraging recycling, the school promotes sustainability in clothes; parents of outgoing pupils are encouraged to donate the uniform to the school and after Christmas, the school encourages donations of Christmas jumpers which are then sold before the following Christmas to raise funds for the school or a local initiative.
