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Nature is a great inspiration for all kinds of art . The night sky has inspired many people over the years . As a child raised on a farm in the west of Ireland I remember in Winter walking the cows out after milking and my mother would always direct my gaze to the sky and we’d say together
Star light, Star bright ,
First star I see tonight ,
I wish I may ,I wish I might ,
Have the wish I wish tonight.
I repeated the custom with my own children though milking cows by hand had finished .
A lovely book I read with infants is the story ‘On the night you were born ‘ by Nancy Tillman . The line they particularly love is ‘The moon stayed up til morning and the Polar Bears danced’.
I recall an interview with the wonderful and talented artist Imelda May. She stated that no matter where in the world she was on tour she always stepped outside to look at the moon and in so doing felt close to her mum back in Dublin as it was the same moon she also saw.
‘Vincent ‘ by Don McClean pays tribute to the iconic painting ‘Starry Night ‘by Van Gogh . ‘Swirling clouds of violet haze’ captures the colours and evokes a sense of wonder and awe in the dark sky.
Another painting by Van Gogh called ‘Starry night over the Rhone ’emphasizes the colours of the night sky and of the artificial outdoor lighting that was new to the time. Would modern light pollution change dramatically the landscape now?.
Christy Moore sings Colm Gallagher’s song ‘The Reel in the Flickering Light’ .It is such a vividly described song that children love drawing the creatures dancing in the moon light -‘The daddy longlegs jumped up spritely, and he danced to the reel in the flickering light .
A phrase we often use is ‘Look up and see the stars ‘ when the world feels overwhelming and we need to breathe and reassess the seriousness of the situation.
I enjoyed reading that list Anne .It is very true that from the starry mobile hanging over the crib to simple lullaby’s and songs in childhood we are connected to the night sky. Extending your list could be a very worthwhile discussion over a glass or two of wine !
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity?
Engage -I would ask questions to engage the infants interest .
Is there anything living in our school grounds during the day and during the night. Brainstorm answers. Make a list on the board. We will refer to our prediction list later.
Get the children to draw pictures of what they expect to find when we go on our fact finding walk.
Investigate and explore ;Making groups of 3 the children go on a fact finding mission armed with bug jars, collection boxes ,an i-pad per team , tweezers, gloves (for the squeamish) .
Analyse : On return to class the children will use magnifying glasses and sample picture sheets to identify what they found .All insects found under the caretakers woodpile will be returned unharmed .
We will have a discussion about biodiversity and what they think it is .We will discuss the conditions that best suit our specimens – plants ,birds and insects.
I will read the book ‘Can you see the stars tonight ‘ by Anna Terreros where the Pufflings get lost and can’t find their way because artificial light confuses them. I will explain that too much light at night confuses some animals.
We will make a list of animals that may be affected by artificial light .
Birds singing at night because they think it is day/Bat hunting at the wrong time because they are confused /Bugs attracted to blue light etc.
Get the children to be more aware of light pollution in their environment and demand change even if its turning off lights at home .
Reading your post was just a joy Patrick .The night cameras would be so exciting for the children and would certainly engage their interest. These are the kind of learning opportunities that children will remember for the rest of their lives.
Light Pollution
I am working with young children so it is important to investigate light pollution in a simple and relevant way. It is important to make the children realise that there is a difference between natural and artificial light . Growing up in the west of Ireland my memory of power failure was a regular occurrence. We were used to sitting by the open fire for light and my granny had the candle sticks stocked with candles if you needed to move away from the light source.
To engage the children I would prompt them by asking how they see in their homes at different times of the day -Morning opening curtains and sunlight lighting up their homes , night time flicking a switch to light their home.
We could explore different different light sources that could be used- table lamps, stand alone lamps, TV, candles, torch, head lights in their woolly hats , mobile phones , kindles etc.
We could conduct an investigation of types of lighting in their homes and see how many lights might be on in a home on a winters night . Discuss the importance of turning off lights in rooms not used .
Now to move outside their homes and the need and use of outdoor lighting in their garden or apartment block or estate depending on where they live 0is the lighting used for visibility , decoration, security , safety etc
Making the children aware of lighting and its importance but also its overuse is important .
As a follow up the children could draw a picture of one light source in their community and explain its purpose – street light , flood light at the GAA, shop sign , traffic light etc.
It is so true Patrick that a lot of our children never really see the true night sky. In my previous school in Inner city Dublin we took children away on school tours for an overnight to rural locations and they were terrified of the dark because they had never truly seen the night sky. It’s very sad really .
Hi Katie
What a detailed and clear plan of action .It is perfectly suited to the senior students in the school.
Building a Planetarium
As a SET working with infants I plan on helping the children to build their own planetarium.
I will introduce the topic by singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and questioning the children about the night sky and what they know about stars.
I will tell them the story of Cassiopeia (from ESERO 34 The Stars ) and show them the constellation shape of her sitting on her throne . We will also look at the plough and see if they can think of a different name for it.
Using the Space week resource the children can draw their own constellation .
I will engage the children’s interest by darkening the room and showing them my home made planetarium .Luckily our new school building has blinds which can be closed .I will explain that a planetarium is a place where we can go to see what the night sky looks like .
Grouping the children into pairs I will present different sized boxes with precut pieces of tinfoil to cover the lid of the box to make a night sky. Each partner will get a battery operated teelight to use as the light source .The children will be given the choice to pick different instruments to use to make pin holes in the tinfoil (tooth picks , safety pins, sharpened pencils, pens, papec clips )We will discuss what will happen if we make tiny holes or larger ones. I will take note of predictions on the board.
I will show them a picture sequence of the steps we will take to complete the activity .Partners will discuss how they are going to complete the task.
Light sources will be placed in the box. Partners will proceed to make the pin holes. They can use random ones or the pattern they created for their own named constellation .
To make it more effective we will discuss how to make it darker for their planetarium to resemble the night sky. Take all student suggestions and experiment with the effect- go under tables, into the class tent, under teacher table , use a cover of some sort.
Looking at the pin hole sizes we will check the accuracy of their earlier predictions .
Discuss what worked well in the activity and what might have gone wrong and plan for a better result in the future.
Hi Tom
I love the idea of making planet tubes with your class. Giving them the freedom to research their given planet a week before the lesson gives great scope for differentiated work .The making and doing is so important for children and gives wonderful opportunity for discussion and team work .
Construct a sundial
I think this would be a very beneficial activity and suitable for my infant classes. I am SET based in the infant area. I think the idea of setting up a number of simple sun dials in the yard would be interesting . The children could be asked to predict which dial would have a shadow all day .Each could be made from a simple upturned flower pot and bamboo stick placed inside. Dividing the class into small groups of 3 they would monitor their dial hourly. Children love leaving the classroom to engage in some investigative work. Monitoring the dial hourly would soon indicate which dial was most efficient as shadows from buildings would limit the effectiveness of some dials. This could be an interesting talking topic later .
I love the idea Sean of building space crafts. It’s a very hands on activity and children love the freedom of creating their own designs .It certainly would lead to lots of discussion and planning .Adding the baking soda and vinegar to resemble take off would be real fun for the children.
Rockets
Working with infants I would read the book ‘Aliens in Underpants save the world’ to them first. As the book progresses I would encourage them to predict what might happen next and build visual pictures in their heads of the exploration of space.
Then we would discuss rockets and elicit any previous knowledge they have of rockets .Through this we would build a mindmap of space vocabulary .
We would watch the clips of Marvin and Milo demonstrating the Balloon Rocket and The Rocket mice .I would ask questions about which rocket they thought would launch the highest or travel the furthest? Following the children’s replies I would pose further questions wondering what might happen if …
Dividing the class into smaller group they would proceed to build their rockets and check out their predictions .Rockets would be launched by each group and results compared .
Cross curricular work
Oral language – space vocabulary
Art/Craft -cutting, colouring .decorating their rockets
Maths- comparing, contrasting ,measuring, recording, data,
Aistear -Role play
Hands on activities
Weather — ‘Animals in the cold ‘ ‘Clothes to wear ‘
I would start the lesson by discussing different weather .The children could talk about different things they do in each season and how they dress . I would explain that some places are always cold .I would then show the children pictures of animals who live in the cold like arctic foxes, penguins and polar bears. I would ask them to describe what they see in the pictures -their body covering , size, shape, colouring . Get their opinions on how they keep warm .
Then I would introduce the 3 ideas of extra fat layer, extra deep thick fur or feathers and water proof coating .Use the Vaseline on the child’s hand to demonstrate water proofing .
I would then revise what they have learned about animals adapting to the weather where they live. The follow on lesson would focus on humans and how they adapt to different weather by wearing different clothes for season changes. The dress up box would be a lovely hands on activity to use to demonstrate clothes for different temperatures.
Hi Saoirse
There are a lot of interesting lessons lined up there using the online recourses and tools .The younger children would particularly love Marvin and Milo I think .
