Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi I’m Sharon. I will be teaching second class next year and my favourite space fact is I was in Florida and got to see the rocket take off this year in real life and visit the space centre to learn lots of space facts
Great research question- Cork city has really been affected by flooding the last few years and will need to learn to defend itself against flooding in the future
The research question I would discuss and look at with my infant class is methods we can use to reduce our carbon footprint.
To begin the lesson I would ensure the children are aware of what a carbon footprint is and how every little thing we do can reduce the carbon footprint in our planet. I We would have a circle time to discuss the carbon footprints and would tell the children they are climate detectives and to brainstorm ways to reduce it.
We can walk/ cycle/ scoot to school and to the shops.
We can plant trees in school every year on national tree day
We can ensure everyone in school recycles
We can conserve water in school- brush our teeth and not run the water when it is not needed.
We can plant plants in our school grounds that produce oxygen.
We can turn lights and technology things off when we are not using them in school.Then the class will create posters to remind everyone in school to work together for our planet.
Children can ue voice typing technology or canva or photostory to inform others in the school community of their work as climate detectivesUsing EO browsers in the classroom for Earth science and geography lessons. The browser is user friendly and free and allows you to explore satellite images.It provides easy access to high-resolution images and data about land and water.
It allows the children to investigate their local environmental and changes to the Earth. It lets children compare satellite images from different dates, locations. The children can see the results of natural disasters. For example, the fires in la. The children can see the images of the neighbourhood before and after the disaster. The children can also observe the effects of deforestation and monitor urban growth. The children will love to see that their community used to be areas of farm land. They can compare and discuss how things around their school has changed or what has stayed the same.I like to hear that it is easy to download and there is a free trail. I think everyone would love to hear how many satellites are passing over Ireland at the moment.
The film home is an excellent documentary. It shows us lots of beautiful images of our beautiful planet using aerial footage from over 50 countries. The narrator is a reflective tone and allows us an opportunity to think about what we are doing to our planet- deforestion, pollution, over consumption and climate change. The video explores the links between life on Earth and the impact humans are making on the environment. It highlights that we are at a critical time for our planet before the damage becomes irreversible. We should not forget during the covid period when humans were not allowed leave their homes- that wildlife returned to areas where they had not been seen in years and pollution in certain areas reduced greatly.
The video includes the challenges and encourages all humans to respond to save our shared home.
Climate change can be discussed in classes using stories for younger classes and songs about the planet.
I would show videos such as Greta Thunberg speaking.
I would encourage classroom discussions and creating posters.
I would also encourage groups to calculate their carbon footprints and discuss ways to reduce itI agree Sinead allowing children time to reflect on their actions and build awareness is very important. It also allows children to become responsible for the environment in a mindful and appropriate way
The Paxi video is a simple and clear method to teach young children about greenhouse gases and climate change. It is age appropriate for young children as it teaches them the facts without putting fear in children. There is lots of activities that can be used with a class such as temperature prediction- what will happen if the temperature continue to rise, what will happen to animals, what will happen to the ice.
After the class watches the activity- older classes could write reports on climate change or greenhouse gases. With a younger class, I would ask them to draw a picture and create posters on climate change and greenhouse gases. We could also start a walk on Wednesday or cycle campaign. The children can see how little decisions can help the environment
Triona I agree this activity is simple and introduces greenhouse gases to children in a clear and simple way that is easy to understand
I really enjoyed completing the activities in this module. Is it weather or climate and weather detectives. I feel these lessons can be varied for every age group child in primary school. It is important to allow children to learn the differences between climate and weather. Children are introduced to weather at an early age- They learn the vocabulary associated with weather and every infant child’s day starts with a discussion of weather and recording it on the board in school. I would include the lovely super simple songs on weather from this module in my lesson. I also love the simple idea of discussing with the children what the weather was like on their last birthdays. It also allows the children to realise how weather can vary at different times of the year even some seasons can have different weather. We will also discuss climate and how different continents have different climates and weather.
During the weather detective lesson I would get the children to check the temperature every day using thermometers. The children would discuss the different temperatures and can compare the weather- cooler, hotter, warmer, etc.
I really like this action plan for space week. I feel there is so many excellent experiments and opportunities for learning that children can complete in the week. All age groups from 4-12 love rockets and experiments involving space so it is an essential learning opportunity
I love the sounds of this experiment and feel children in school will adore trying to make their rockets fly higher
Space week would be a great opportunity to introduce a wide range of play and activities in the infant classroom.
One group I would complete the simple activities of dancing raisins.I would start the lesson with a discussion- What do you think will happen to raisins when the liquid enters the container. Will the raisins float, sink, move. The children will complete the experiment and record the results through pictures. I would also allow the children to see raisins in another liquid and how the results change.
Then I would complete another experiment Rocket mice. I feel children will love this hands on activity. Children always love rockets and will love creating rocket mouse containers. They can create them using empty bottle containers, tape and rocket mouse templates. I would show the children various bottle cartons and get the children what happens when I squeeze them. The children will need to predict will the mouse move up or down. The children will record the results using a wide variety of containers and record the results of which rocket mouse flew the highest.
