[David McGrath]

Hi Robert, I really like your ideas here. I love the way that you are using the idea of farming. I also think your ideas is fantastic on how you are using lots of enquiry based learning. The children would really enjoy this method and as you mentioned it encourages lots of collaborative learning. Good post!

[David McGrath]

Research Question: How can we reduce paper waste in our school?

I think this would be a good research question to introduce to the children. It is simple enough to begin with, while also focusing on an issue that everyone in the school community can relate to. It encourages children to investigate a real-life problem and work collaboratively to develop practical solutions.

I would introduce this research question to the children in the following ways:

1. Introduce the research question and brainstorm ideas.
Divide the children into groups and give each group a large A3 sheet of paper. Ask them to write the research question at the top of the page and brainstorm as many ideas as they can. Introduce the concept of concept maps or mind maps to help organise their thinking. Once each group has completed their brainstorm, allow time for groups to share and discuss their ideas with one another.

2. Plan how to gather data.
Discuss with the children how they could collect information to answer the research question. Teacher guidance may be needed to suggest suitable methods, such as surveys, observations, interviews, or a paper-use audit. Together, decide what data needs to be collected for their investigation.

3. Analyse the findings and present the data visually.
Once the data has been collected, support the children in analysing their findings. Discuss whether the results could be displayed using bar charts, pie charts, tables, or other visual representations. Encourage the children to interpret the data and identify any patterns or trends.

4. Draw conclusions and develop an action plan.
Discuss what the children have learned from their investigation. Were any of the findings surprising? What conclusions can they draw from the evidence? Encourage the groups to develop an action plan and consider how they could share their findings with the wider school community.

5. Put the plan into action.
Work with the children to identify simple and realistic ways to reduce paper waste in the school. They could create posters, present their findings at assembly, or work with the Student Council to develop and promote a school-wide paper reduction initiative. This final stage allows the children to see how research can lead to meaningful change within their own community.

[David McGrath]

It is fantastic also that it is accessible to all learners. It provideas many differentiaton oppurtunities something that is very important.

[David McGrath]

Hi Sinead,

 

I really agree with your response here. The hands on activities are excellent and exactly you could really add on to these and it offers lots of integration oppurtunities across the curriculum.

[David McGrath]

Download the Teacher Guide & Pupil Activities for the ESA Resource ‘ Nose High Up in The Sky, carry out the pupil activities yourself and post your thoughts on the resource and if you would use it in class. (150 words)

I found these resources to be very engaging for both teachers and pupils. They are an excellent teaching tool, and I believe my class would really enjoy these activities next year.

What I liked:

1. Good layout
The resources are easy to use and are very teacher- and child-friendly.

2. Integration with other curriculum areas
The resources encourage a lot of integration with other curriculum areas. For example, the aerial photographs could be used as a stimulus for a Visual Arts lesson. Answering questions based on the passages would also help to develop and enhance children’s comprehension skills. In addition, the activities could support the development of problem-solving skills in Mathematics.

3. Collaborative learning
I like that the resources encourage a lot of collaborative work. They promote group work, allowing children to discuss ideas and give reasons for their answers. I think this is a lovely idea. I also really like the compare-and-contrast activities involving aerial photographs.

4. Good visuals in the teacher resource pack
The teacher resource pack contains excellent visuals that could be printed and laminated. These could then be used in groups to encourage discussion and collaborative learning.

5. Fact boxes
I really like the short fact boxes. They are easy to read, and children are not overwhelmed by long passages of text. The amount of information included is just right.

Improvements to be made:
Going forward, it would be beneficial to include some assessment materials and printable worksheets that could be used by groups.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic resource that I would definitely use next year with my third-class pupils.

[David McGrath]

Yes, I really like your thoughts and ideas here. It is a good idea to focus in on excerpt from Home 2-4 mins and pick one visual. As the video can be intense and maybe overwhelming to certain students. Picking one or two visuals is more than enough and use these as a stimulus and discussion.

[David McGrath]

I found the Film ‘Home’to be really powerful. The aerial photography is visually striking and it really does suck you in. It would be a great stimilus for discussion on climate change.

I would introduce these facts to pupils to pupils in the following ways:

1) Home Discussion- What do you notice about these visuals from the video? What makes Earth special? How could we look after our home more?
2)Compare and Contrast- Discuss healthy forests and deforested land. Discuss what has changed. Children could draw a picture of both before and after.
3) Create a Class campaign- Explore slogans and create one that would highlight the negative effects of climate change.
4) Class pledge/ Class project- Create an class action project. Decide what we as a class could do to reduce the impact on climate change. What could I do in my local environment and home that would not cause this destruction.
5) Integration with Visual Art- There are some striking visuals in this video especially at the start. The children could pick their own and design it.
6) Integration with English (Writing) – A diary entry from the perspective of Earth, Write a letter from a forest to Humans.

These are some of the ideas that I would use to teach the topic of Climate change in my class using the video ‘Home’ as a stimulus.

[David McGrath]

I agree here with Ornaith. She had some really good ideas. The simplified version of Climata Data for younger pupils is important. I like the idea of the practical investigation of planting. An acitivity that the children would really enjoy and it is hands on!

 

[David McGrath]

I found this module to be very interesting and engaging. There are several resources that I would use with my class next year.

First, I would elicit the children’s prior knowledge of the topic and record their responses. I would then show them the PAXA video, which is an engaging and child-friendly visual resource. After watching the video, we would discuss its main ideas and explore the following question and scenario: *“What could you do in your daily life to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?”* I would record the children’s responses and use these as a basis for further discussion and learning.

For Activity 3, I believe that the WEMC TEAL Tool is an excellent resource and would be a valuable asset when teaching this topic. I would divide the children into groups and assign each group a specific role. The groups would explore different continents and regions of the world and would be given a range of scenarios to investigate. They would examine climate and energy variables, identify relevant patterns, and observe and record how these variables change over a period of time.

The children would be given sufficient time to complete the activity. Each child would have access to an iPad and would record their findings on paper. I would then use the jigsaw method of learning, where each group would share its learning and findings with another group. This approach would encourage collaboration while also developing the children’s communication, listening, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.

In conclusion, I would bring the class back together to reflect on our findings. Each group would share one “wow factor” or interesting fact that stood out to them during the lesson. This would provide an opportunity for the children to consolidate their learning, share their discoveries, and reflect on the importance of climate action.

[David McGrath]

Hi Enya,

I agree with your idea on the differentiation options. This is definitely something to consider. The rubric is a nice idea for assessment too. A very important aspect of learning.

[David McGrath]

I found this Module to be very interesting and I found the ESA resources to be very beneficial and something that I will bring back to my school next year in order to provide enjoyable and hands on learning experiences when exploring the topic of Weather and Climate.

I would go about exploring Activity 1 and 2 in the following ways.

Activity 1:
I think this provides lovely ideas. It gives the example of the birthday and getting children to recall the weather on their own birthday. This is a nice and fun way to explore the introduction of weather and climate. I would use brainstorming, think pair/share and KWL chart to also inrdouce the topic. I think the Activity booklet provides the children with clear explanatios which would definitely help consolidate their own learning and predictions.

Activity 2:
This activity is an excellent idea and it would really put the childrens learning into practice. There are fantastic resources on keeping, recording and analaysing data over a preiod of the time. Getting the children to explore weather instruments is also a fantastic resource. Giving time to children to allow them go into groups in order to design and explore these instruments. I think it would be a great idea then to have a section of the school where they could set up these weather instruments. I could select weather monitors and those students could check the weather pattern over a number of days. Activity 2 is a fantastic idea as it also allows lots of integration in the area of Maths, Oral language and Visual Art. I think it is a great idea for the learning to come alive and enhance both problem solving and collaboration skills.

These activities and resources are definitely something that I would take back to my classroom next year. I know my 3rd class would have good fun doing so.

[David McGrath]

Hi Emily, I think that it is a really good idea that your school have made close links with the tidy towns. The children must really enjoy it and it is a great learning experience for them.

[David McGrath]

Sustainability is becoming more of a priority and I believe it is now seen in a lot of local communities. People are really trying to make the effort to become more sustainable. In my home area of the midlands, sustainability is seen in a number of ways. Recycling centres are more common, I believe that people are really making a genuine effort to recycle as many things as possible. The plastic bottle dispenser in local shops has been a real incentive for people. I believe people are trying to be more health conscious lately and as a result are buying more locally sourced products and origin green items. Also, In my community the farmers market is very popular. This happens every Friday in a local hall, people bring organically sourced products and items that are naturally baked. I think this is a great idea as you know that your product is naturally sourced and that you are supporting local farmers. Again, another way sustainability is seen in my community.

In the classrooom, I would engage pupils to explore this in a number of ways. I would show children ways that their community is modeling sustainability e.g. visiting a local farm or area. Getting children to research areas of sustainability in their local area. Getting student council/green school to conduct a waste audit. This would identify areas of waste and how to reduce it. It would promote the idea of sustainability across the school community. The green school could also look into getting a school garden. This would help understand biodiversity. I believe we as teachers can have big role in promoting sustainability. We can model it to our children in order to make the concept tangible and meaningful to their lives.

[David McGrath]

Hi Stephanie,

You really have lovely ideas on cooking demos and visiting local fishers. I really like this and it makes the learning more alive and fun for the children.

[David McGrath]

Seafood is an excellent part of a balanced diet. It contains bundles of nutrients such as healthy fats and Omega 3. I think this lesson is a great resource to highlight the benefits of fish and how it can positively impact on our diet. I think a big advantage to highlight, is the protein amount in fish. This is very beneficial for children and we can state how it can positively impact on recovery and muscle repair. This is important for active children who participate in a lot of sports. A good idea is to show children the nutritional guide on the back of different fish packages and highlight the protein amount.

Also, I think Seafood goes back a long way in our History. We could highlight to our children how fish in Celtic time were a stable part of our ancestors diet and how they hunted fish by hand in our rivers/seas. Looking at Nutritional value of fish offers a lot of integration across other curricular area e.g. SPHE. Children could look at different food pyramids and then create their own. They could plot and different types of fish on their pyramid and they will see how important it is in a balanced diet.

 

Overall, I think fish plays a vital role in nutritional value and it is very important for our children to learn about. Also, it is big part of our Irish Heritage.

[Author]

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