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I would implement a version of Design Your Own Dark Sky Place as a small group project towards the end of a unit on space, light and biodiversity. I particularly like this activity because it brings together a lot of different areas of learning and gives the children a problem that does not necessarily have one correct solution.
I would begin by revisiting what we had learned about light pollution and its effects on both our view of the night sky and nocturnal wildlife. I would then give the children the challenge of designing their own ideal Dark Sky Place. In groups, they would need to consider the different people who might use or be affected by the area, such as local residents, stargazers and conservation groups.
The children could create a map or model of their Dark Sky Place, deciding where lighting should be located, what type of facilities visitors might need and how areas for wildlife could be protected. They could also create a short brochure or digital presentation advertising their finished design.
I think the most valuable part would be having each group present and justify their decisions. This would encourage the children to apply what they had learned throughout the topic while developing creativity, collaboration and problem-solving skills. It would also provide opportunities to integrate science with geography, maths, art and digital learning.
I would engage my class in exploring biodiversity by starting with the school grounds and local area. I think children are much more likely to engage with biodiversity when they are investigating the plants and animals that are actually around them rather than only learning about them through books or videos.
We could begin by carrying out a simple biodiversity survey of the school grounds, recording the different plants, insects, birds and other wildlife we can find. I would then ask the children to consider what animals might be using the same area at night when we are not there. This would provide a good introduction to nocturnal species such as bats and moths and how they depend on darkness.
We could then identify sources of artificial light around the school and local area and discuss how these might affect nocturnal wildlife. Children could investigate issues such as insects being attracted to lights or artificial lighting affecting how bats feed and navigate.
I would like the activity to finish with the children suggesting practical improvements we could make around the school. This could include considering where lighting is actually necessary and how we could better protect darker areas for wildlife. I think this would give children a much better understanding of biodiversity as something that exists in, and is affected by, their own local environment.
I would choose to create a teaching resource around the Globe at Night citizen science programme. One of my main reflections from this module was that light pollution is something I had obviously noticed before, but I had never really considered it as an environmental issue that could be explored meaningfully with children.
I would begin by showing the class images of the night sky from places with different levels of light pollution and ask them why they think the number of visible stars varies so much. We could then discuss our own local area and identify sources of artificial light such as streetlights, houses, shops and sports facilities.
I particularly like the idea of using Globe at Night because the children would be contributing to a real citizen science project. I would demonstrate the process in school before children, where possible, completed an observation at home with an adult. We could bring the results back to class and compare them, perhaps displaying our findings on a simple map or graph.
The activity would allow children to explore a real environmental issue within their own community while developing skills in observation, data collection, discussion and digital learning. I would finish by asking the children to suggest realistic ways that we could reduce unnecessary light pollution in our homes, school and local area.
I would choose to use Stellarium as a teaching resource with my class. I think it would be a very engaging way of introducing children to the night sky, particularly as actually observing stars and planets during the school day is obviously difficult.
I would begin by asking the children what they think we would see in the sky if it suddenly became dark outside our school. We could record their predictions before using Stellarium to explore the sky from our own location. I would allow the children to identify the Moon, visible planets and some of the more recognisable constellations. I particularly like the fact that the time and date can be changed, as we could investigate how the night sky changes rather than looking at it as something static.
I would then give pairs or small groups a simple challenge, such as finding a particular planet or constellation and recording when and where it would be visible. They could present their findings to the rest of the class.
I think the main benefit would be using technology to allow children to investigate something that would otherwise be difficult to experience during school hours, while still encouraging prediction, questioning, observation and discussion rather than simply watching something on a screen.
Reading Liston’s article made me reflect on how I use STEM in my own classroom. I think I already provide plenty of opportunities for investigation, problem-solving and maths/science integration, but I probably sometimes describe activities as STEM when they are really primarily science or maths activities. I found Liston’s emphasis on engineering and the design process particularly useful, as it highlighted the importance of children actually using their learning to design, test and improve something.
I would use the sundial activity with my class and, rather than simply giving the children instructions to make one, I would turn it into a small design challenge. We would begin by investigating shadows outdoors at different times and discussing how the position and length of a shadow changes. The children could then work in groups to decide where in the school grounds would be the best location for a sundial and explain their reasoning.
Groups would design and construct a simple sundial, test it at different times during the school day and record how accurate it is. They could measure and record their results before discussing possible improvements to their designs. I think this would make the activity much more engaging while also incorporating science, maths, design and problem-solving in a meaningful way.