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Hi Farnan,
I really love your Idea that the children should be encouraged to speak to grandparents and neighbours to gather stories, superstitions and beliefs based on the night sky. It is great for both the young and the older people to chat to each other and really can provide a moment and memories for the children with their grandparents that they won’t forget.
To do a “Design Your Own Dark Sky Place” activity, I would begin by showing the children photos of Ireland’s Dark Sky Parks, such as Kerry or Mayo, and explain that these are special places where the night sky is protected from too much artificial light. We would discuss County Wexford, where we live and how we compare to Dublin City and the West of Ireland. As a class, we would brainstorm what makes a good Dark Sky Place – for example: very little light pollution, safe viewing spots, wildlife-friendly areas, and places for people to enjoy stargazing.
In small groups, pupils would then design their own Dark Sky Place for our school or local area. They could draw maps, label features (e.g., stargazing field, wildlife zone, “no bright lights” area), and add creative touches such as “star trails” walkways. Each group would present their ideas to the class, and we would combine their ideas into a large classroom display. This project links science, creativity, and environmental care.
Hi Damien,
I really like your idea of using the KWL chart to start your lesson. I have often used KWL charts with my class and I have always found them very beneficial and find the children really enjoy doing them. It also gives you a clear path for the learning during the topic.
To engage my 3rd Class learners in exploring biodiversity, I would begin with a “nature walk” around the school grounds or local park. The children would bring clipboards and record or sketch the plants, insects, birds, and other wildlife they spot. Back in class, we would create a “Biodiversity Wall” with drawings, photos, and lists of the living things found nearby.
To introduce light pollution, I would show two contrasting pictures – one of a dark starry sky and one of a bright city night. We would discuss how too much artificial light can confuse animals, such as bats finding it harder to hunt insects, or birds singing at night instead of in the morning. Children could role-play as animals trying to live in different light conditions. Finally, we would brainstorm small actions to help, like turning off unnecessary lights, to protect local wildlife and enjoy the night sky.
Hi Anna,
I really liked how you focused mainly on animals and wildlife that is affected by light pollution. I think this is a really good way to approach light pollution with children as many have a keen interest in animals and it would really grab their attention!
Globe at Night – Exploring Light Pollution
The Globe at Night programme is a simple and engaging way to help my 3rd class pupils connect with astronomy while contributing to real scientific research. The activity begins in the classroom when we have a class discussion about the night sky and why stars are sometimes hard to see. Using images, pupils compare a dark sky full of stars with a city sky affected by light pollution.
At home, families are invited to take part by going outside on a clear evening, locating a constellation (such as Orion), and comparing what they see with the star maps provided on the Globe at Night website. With help from parents, children record how many stars they can see and upload their results to the project.
Back in class, pupils can share their findings, plot results on a map of Ireland, and discuss how light pollution affects nature, stargazing, and our environment.Hi Deirdre,
I really like how you managed to integrate Geography into your lesson my including North, South, East and West. Timeanddate.com is a very useful resource for this kind of experiment and it is one which the children would really get great enjoyment out of.
Exploring the Sky with Stellarium
For this lesson, students will use Stellarium (which is a free planetarium app) to explore the night sky in an interactive way. Begin by projecting the program on the whiteboard and showing the class how to locate Ireland on the map. Set the time to the current day and ask the children to spot familiar objects like the Moon, the North Star, or major constellations (e.g., Orion). Students can compare how the sky changes if you fast-forward time to midnight or rewind to sunrise.
Working in pairs, children can then use tablets or laptops to explore the program themselves, recording one constellation, one planet, and one star they find. They can sketch what they see in their copybooks. To finish, the class comes together to share discoveries and discuss how the sky changes with time and location.Hi Ann,
I really like the fact that your children have already seen a sundial – I feel like they will be able to make much more sense of it once they have seen it in person. Unfortunately, we are not based close to one but it has given me the idea that I should show them a video of one before we start the lesson.
This is what I would do with my 3rd class I will have in September.
To begin, I would introduce the activity by telling the class, “We are going to become Sun Detectives!” I’d show them a big map of our school grounds and a picture of the Sun at different times of the day. We’d talk about how the Sun “travels” across the sky, rising in the east and setting in the west.
We would choose a special “Sun Spot” in the yard where it’s safe and clear. Every day for two weeks, at set times (morning, after big break, and before home time), we’d head out as a team with clipboards, compasses, and our “Sun Detective Record Sheets.” Students would mark the Sun’s position using nearby landmarks (tree, goal posts, chimney of school) and note the time.
To make it more fun, we’d use a giant chalk compass on the yard so children can stand in the correct direction and point to the Sun. At the end of the project, we’d create a big “Sun Journey Wall” with our drawings, charts, and photos to show how the Sun’s position changes. It should be very interesting to see.Lauren, I loved your ideas for the senior classes. I like how you integrated growing food in space with the growing cress under different conditions experiment.
Activity Set: Alien Chemistry.
This activity is aimed at 1st/ 2nd classes.
Introduction:
Watch video on YouTube ‘How do Rockets Work?’ by Kiwi Co as a stimulus. This video very clearly explains how rockets work in a child friendly way. They include all the proper vocabulary such as thrust and pressure. I really liked how they explained the vocabulary such as how they used the ballon to explain thrust to the children. The children can also see what a rocket looks like and how it takes off on the video.
Activity:
Now that the children are familiar with rockets and how they work, they are going to make their own. We are going to make a fizzy rocket by following the instructions in the Alien Chemistry Activity Set. I would go through the instructions with the children first and ask to see if the children have any questions. Then, I would let the children off to design their rockets. When the children have designed their rockets, then we would bring them outside or into a hall where we have more space and blast them off using the tablets. I think the children would really enjoy this.
Conclusion:
After we have launched the rockets, we would discuss in the classroom things like how would we make this better if we did it again? How could we make them bigger? Etc.Lauren, I really liked the video you have linked about hot and cold and I think it explains everything very clearly to the children. Great choice!
Activity Set: Where do you Live and Weather.
This is aimed at the infant classes.
Introduction:
Discuss today’s weather. Discuss the clothes we are going to wear out to the yard at break time – are we going to wear our rain coats? Our warm, fluffy coats? Our sunglasses? Our sunhats? How do the clothes we wear tell us about the weather? Discuss as a class.
Activity A:
Children sit in a circle. Box of clothes in the middle of the circle. Pick out ½ children at a time and ask them to dress for hot/ cold/ wet/ dry weather. Other children speak about what they put on them and discuss what you might add to the outfit or change about the outfit. Next, get Child A to tell Child B what weather to dress for. Child B must dress themselves for this weather. The other children must guess what kind of weather Child A told to Child B. There is lots of fun ways to expand this activity.
Activity B:
Activity sheet. Colour the clothes you would wear on a hot, dry day red. Colour the clothes you would wear on a cold, wet day blue. Circle the clothes you could wear on both days.
