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This is a fantastic idea. Sport in Ireland suffers a lot due to the weather and it would be so interesting to hear the children’s perspective on this.
My question is :
How is climate change affecting the weather and wildlife in Ireland
I would start this topic by showing the children old and new photographs of wildlife in Ireland. I woudl get them to compare the old and new photographs. this would raise their curiosity around the topic.
I would then ask the children to share their own stories and experiences around major weather events in Ireland.
I would then use some of the resources in this course such as the Paxi Video or HOME to highlight how our earth is getting warmer. We would discuss the differences bewtween climate and weather for example.
We would then look at how these weather events affected local wildlife and that would lead us to our question.
I think this would be a very interesting topic for the children to work on. It allows them to discuss the worldwide issue of climate change while relating it to their own experiences.
1. Starlink satellites
They are part of SpaceX’s large constellation in low Earth orbit aimed at delivering high-speed, low-latency internet service globally2. International Space Station (ISS)
The ISS functions as a multinational orbiting laboratory, conducting experiments in microgravity across fields like space medicine, materials science3. EIRSAT-1 (Educational Irish Research Satellite-1)
Educational development of Irish higher-education and industry (training, skills, and collaboration);
Scientific and technology demonstration, via three onboard payloads4. Astra 1P (SES-24)
It provides direct-to-home TV broadcast services across Europe—covering German, French, Spanish, and other markets
5. NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19 (Weather Satellites)
These are Earth-observing weather satellites operated by NOAA (the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).I found the documentary ‘Home’ to be a stunning and fascinating piece of work. The way it commects all all of the dangers facing our earth, such as de forestation and climate change is amazing. It creates a fantastic sense of shared responsibility. Shared responsibility is something that we teach the children in all aspects of school life but highlighting its role in protecting our planet is fantastic. To do so in a video with such brilliant images really hits home.
As regards introducing these facts to the children, I would do so in a balanced way. I don’t think it would wise to bombard the children staright away with all of these depressing facts as that would be too much for anyone to take in. I would do so slowly at various stages throughout the year. This would allow the children to digest a smaller number of facts at a time and also keep the climate change discussion ongoing throughout the full school year.
The Paxi Video is a very interesting video to watch. It brought the entire topic down to such a relatable level and this would work very well in the classroom. I definitely thing the children would enjoy it and get a lot from it. Since I was in school, I have been hearing about ozone layers, greenhouse gases and now climate change. It can be easy to get lost in all of this but the Paxi video made the topic very accesible for children and adults.
I thought that the TEAL tool was very good and would work very well alongside a school’s ICT plan. Children working individually, in groups or in pairs could use this and due to the hands-on and tech nature of it, it would appeal to children of all abilities.
I think that the Paxi video and the TEAL tool would work really well with a 3rd/4th class level and they could then progress with it in 5th/6th class.
I love the weather station idea. We do that in my school and it has its own noticeboard at the entrance to the school. the children look after it and it works really well.
Activity 1: Is it Weather or Climate? This was a very practical activity to use in the classroom. It provided students with real life and relatable scenarios. The objective of this lesson seems to be quite a basic and simple one but it is amazing how many adults, let alone children, struggle to understand the difference between weather and climate. Many people are ignorant to this. This lesson is very interesting by it’s nature and would therefore keep students engaged from start to finish.
Activity 2: I feel that the weather detectives lesson provides far more opportunities for children to enhance their own scientific and mathematical skills. The fantastic about this lesson is that there doesn’t necessarily have to be a timeframe on it. I would use this continually throughout the school year and it also allows for children to publish their results. I would look at incorporating ICT and posting updates on school website or social media etc. I feel that this would create continuous engagement with the subject and would definitely help to improve the lesson.