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‘Home’ by Yann Arthus Bertrand is a powerful video for not only children but adults also. It really demonstrates clearly the impact of our actions on planet Earth from an Environmental point of view. The sheer beauty of nature is showcased throughout this well narrated video. The underlying message is urging us to understand the rapidly changing planet we live in. As I teach in Junior School, I think I would show segments of this video to the children rather than the whole video depending on the topic I was teaching at that time. It is a great resource for making the students aware of the pressure humans have placed on the planet and how with small changes we might be able to help contribute to making positive changes in our world.
I also think Greta Thunberg’s video is an excellent resource to facilitate conversations with the children about climate change and action. As Greta is a young adult herself, I think the children would really listen and pay attention to her words. She is one human making a huge difference and this is important for the children to realise. Having these conversations is a way of educating the youth of today about these important issues. I will definitely use this video next year.
Activity 3- To begin with my class, we would brainstorm by using a mid map to seek their prior knowledge on greenhouse gases and climate change. We would also discuss what they might like to learn from the video. Perhaps some children have prior knowledge on this topic while others may have never even heard about this whole area. I would introduce some vocabulary from the video prior to showing it just to help deepen their understanding as they watch it.
I would then show the video. We would have a class discussion around the video- I will facilitate the discussions through thought provoking questions.
Finally we will make it all relevant to our own country, class, community….how can we tackle this problem from a individual level…can we?? what small changes can we make?? I think information is key for the younger generations. If they are not educated on these important topics from a young age, they cant be expected to incorporate changes into their lifestyles and habits.
Upon reviewing the paper Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Liston 2018) , I can identify many aspects of STEM I use in my classroom on a daily basis but also the need for more STEM education cross curricular in my room. This article has made me realise the endless possibilities we as educators have to promote innovative critical thinking among the children. I love the simple idea of the pen. Something so simple but yet with the right questioning , can facilitate a deeper understanding of Science and Mathematical concepts.
I really like all 3 activities mentioned in the resources on Weather v Climate.
As I teach in an Infant school and have Senior Infants next year I wouldn’t get into the climate zones. I would just have them understand the difference between weather and climate. I would show them various weather pictures and then also pictures of the desert and Artic in an effort to get the meaning of climate across to them. As an activity, I would get the children into groups and we would divide photos into warm and cold climates. An extension of this could be to sort animals into warm and cold climates depending on where they live.
I feel the children would love the activity of Weather Detectives. This hands-on approach enables them to become the meteorologists. It is also developing their STEM skills through recording, analysing and collecting data.
I really liked the Weather Detectives too Edwina as I love the idea of the hands-on approach with children getting outdoors .
The activity I chose is ‘Alien Slime’. I think the Infants would have great fun getting involved in this.
Beginning- I would bring all the children around one large table in the class while I made the slime with my hands from Corn flour. I would then let the children feel the texture of the slime. We will question why the cornflour now appears in this shape.
Middle- I will then talk about liquids and show the children how the liquid takes the shape of the container it is in. I will now divide the class into groups and some children will be at the slime station making slime Aliens while the the other group will be at the liquids pouring water between various containers. All the time I will be circulating and asking probing questions ie. Why do some containers appear to have more liquid than others?
Conclusion- We will engage in Balloon animals. Our main focus will be on how gas can be moved and contained. We will compare how liquids and gases fill their containers.
I would choose Hands-on Classroom Themed activities.
I feel these activities would work very well in a Junior School.
Through a hands-on approach , many Science skills such as analysing, observing, predicting and recording are more readily engaged in by the children.
Topic=- Hot and Cold
Class- Senior Infants
Beginning- I would put the children in groups. I would give them a blue and a red large sheet of paper. I would give each group the same set of pictures- various items of clothing. They must sort them into clothes you would wear when it’s warm versus clothes for the Winter. I would circulate the room during the activity and ask some questions- ie. Why would you not wear a scarf in the Summer
Middle- Each group will share their answers. I will ensure to question the children during the share session- Why would we usually wear a t-shirt in the Summer etc. Each child will then get a page and they must draw various clothes depending on the weather icon on their page.
End- Children will share thir work. Finally we will play the feely bag game. I will have a large sack filled with clothes and each child will get the chance to pick out an item of clothing and put it in the ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ pile.
Integration-
Gaeilge- Eadai
Art- Fabric and Fibre. Winter/Summer pictures
Maths- Data- Favourite months of the year
Music- Songs/Rhymes around weather
I would choose ‘Space and Alien’ focusing on ‘Special Life’ (ESERO).
To begin the lesson I would pass around/show a globe to the children. I would question them-
What is this? Where do we live? Do aliens live anywhere on this globe etc.
I would show them some pictures- the beach, the supermarket, the cinema (obvious places Aliens wouldn’t live!!) and then show them photos of space, planets etc. and ask them if they thought Aliens might live in any of these places- why/why not?
Middle of the lesson- I would then get the children to imagine that an Alien was coming to our show and tell on Friday in school. What would they like to bring in to show the Alien. They must draw the object.
Conclusion – They can show their picture to the class and the class must guess what it is and they must explain why they have chosen the object.
Further cross curricular exploration-
Maths – Draw and shape Alien/ Rocket
Drama- Children Act out the Alien using their drawn object.
Extension of the lesson- Children could be put into groups and given a range of objects. They must chose which object the Alien might like to take back to Space with him and why.
Love the idea of basing the activity on a book. I think it’s a great way to get the children’s attention from the beginning, especially the younger ones.
I would choose the topic’ The Planets’ with 3rd class.
I would base this topic over 3/4 weeks.
The objective of these series of lessons is to incorporate this topic cross-curricular.
Through group work and independent work each group will report back on a planet.
Firstly I will divide the class into groups of 4. Each group will have a planet. They must pretend they are astronauts and that they have just visited the planet. They will report back to the class about their findings, how the coped if the planet was too hot/cold etc. It must be based on real facts so that the other students are learning about each planet but it can also have a touch of make- believe as regards to the journey.
Cross Curricular-
Art- They can design their findings on chart paper with pictures, photos. Perhaps they could design their rocket that brought them there. Did their rocket need extra insulation etc.
English- Presenting, documenting, recording, Analysing
Maths- Perhaps the distance they travelled to get to the planet could be recorded. Describe their 3D rocket.
Drama- The children could be in the hot seat and take on the character of the astronaut and the other students could question him/her about their trip
I feel the children would really enjoy this discovery based series of lessons on the planets.
My name is Aoife and I have been teaching in a Deis school for 20 years.
An interesting Space fact is that Mars has a volcano bigger than the entire state of Hawaii!!
Two years ago I had Junior Infants and I remember doing an activity based on the Stars and the children really enjoyed it and the activity at the end,
Topic- The Stars
Beginning of the lesson- Sing the song ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star’ with the children.
Middle of the lesson- Talk about the song …..drawing their attention to the words: How I wonder what you are?’ What are stars? Can we name any
stars? What do stars do? Why do we call some people Superstars?! How
many stars do we think are in the night sky? Why can we see lots of
stars some nights and very few on other nights?Conclusion- Each child will design their own star and we will create our own milky way on a huge sheet of black card.
There are so many great ideas in this module. I look forward to engaging my second class children on the topic of ‘Rockets’.
To begin the lesson I would show the children a video clip of a rocket launching into space. We will discuss the appearance of the rocket, the materials used to make the rocket and also what enabled it to blast into space. This conversation will allow the children the opportunity to get an idea of what is involved in a rocket launch.
I will then tell the children that we are going to have our own rocket launch. The launch will involve mouse rockets that they will make. Before they get involved in the making of the rockets, the children will try and predict how we could make a mouse rocket, what materials we could use and how we could launch it into the air.
When they have given a few ideas I will distribute the materials to each group of four children and they must work together to decide how to launch the mouse into the air. Each group will share their findings and we will discuss what helps the mouse move out of the bottle and also what makes it fall to the ground. As an extension to this lesson, the children could explore other ways to make rockets- paper, foam, balloon. This idea could also be used cross curricular- making and designing rockets in Art, a creative writing activity about the day their rocket landed in space or making lego rockets as part of Aistear.Thanks Karen. These are great ideas showing excellent integration across the curriculum. I will use some of these for Space week in our school.
I would choose the topic ‘Animals in the cold’ and I would extend it to the warm also.
It would be for a first or second class.To begin I would divide the children into groups and give them pictures of various plants and animals. They must divide them into two piles- those you would find in hot climates and those you would find in cold climates. I would ensure all the children knew the meaning of climate before we began. Doing this in groups would evoke conversations among the children about the names of the plants and animals but also why they are in certain piles.
The children will share their ideas with the class. We will discuss why certain animals live in different climates and how their skin can keep them warm or cool. I will also bring to the children’s attention to the fact that the penguins feathers and polar bears fur are covered in a greasy layer and I will deepen their understanding by applying Vaseline to their hand to show them this. We will also discuss what plants live in the desert and why no plants live in freezing climates.
To finish the lesson, the children each child will get their own set of plants and animals to label and sort into the hot and cold climate. They must also write three new facts they learned from the lesson. We will share these at the end.
