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I love the idea of interviewing Grandparents about folklore- they are a great resource and often have great stories to tell. Even being able to describe how the night sky has changed since they were children would be very interesting to hear about.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky? For example: Look up President Michael D Higgins’ “Stardust”
The list in endless and there is so much scope for cross integration with Literacy and the Arts when teaching about the topic of Space and the dark skies. Here are some of my ideas based on experience in the classroom from Junior Infants to 6th.
Songs:
Twinkle Twinkle, little Star
Hey Diddle Diddle
Star Light, Star Bright
We’re Going to the Moon
The Planets Song
I am the Sun Song
Here Comes the Sun- The Beatles
Rocket Man- Elton John
Man on the Moon- R.E.M
Fly me to the Moon- Frank Sinatra
Starman- David Bowie
A Sky Full of Stars- Coldplay
Starry Starry Night/ Vincent- Don McCleanPoems:
I’m a Little Rocket
Space is a Big Big Place
Zoom, Zoom to the Moon
Recipe for a Night Sky- Kate Williams
Evening Star- Edgar Allen Poe
The Stars are Mansions built by Nature’s Hand- Wordsworth
But Outer Space- Robert Frost
The Cloths Of Heaven- W.B. Yeats
Art:
Starry Starry Night- Vincent Van Gogh
Starry Night- Munch
After the Deluge- Theodore Gericault
Starlight Night- Georgia O’Keeffe
The Great Comet of 1680- Lieve Verschuir
The Astronomer- Johannes Vermeer
The Flight into Egypt- Adam Elsheimer
Fishermen at Sea- J.M.W. TurnerI agree Grainne that this would be a great project for the Green Schools Committee to oversee. We are often so busy working hard to attain the next flag that we can lose sight of the objectives underpinning the idea of having a Green Schools Committee.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
I think that teaching the topic of biodiversity would be an excellent project at whole school level where different class groups could take ownership of the different areas of exploring, learning and investigation. The Green Schools Committee could collect how the school could help the ecosystems in the environment by making simple changes. Children from Infants up learn about the terminology of nocturnal animals and one of the highlights for them every year is to go on a minibeast hunt with magnifying glasses. I would further develop this activity by basing it more on the ecosystem side of things. This area integrates very well with Science and children would be encouraged to carry out some of the simple experiments during darkness at home in terms of exploring the effects of a red filter on torches and closing their eyes for a few seconds to see if there is an improvement in how their eyes adapt to the dark. Her we would make connections to how nocturnal creatures operate and how detrimental artificial light can be to their survival. Another project that would work very well would be to create simple birdfeeders and insect hotels which the children would really enjoy. Monitoring the eco system of the school would be important to attain a sense of progess.There’s loads of scope here Olive for cross curricular integration and the idea of mind mapping to assess previous knowledge would be very effective.
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I hadn’t realised the negative impact that light pollution could have in terms of observing the night sky or on biodiversity. The impact on creatures and animals is concerning and something that we should be actively be taking responsibility for in so far as we can. Raising awareness at whole school level would be an interesting project to work on as a school and wider community basis. This could be done by teaching the children about light pollution and its effects, observing the sky in the local area at night and making judgements. Comparing our view of the night sky to the clearer skies in places like Kerry/ Mayo/ Davagh Forest Parks. Then collectively implementing strategies to reduce light pollution at home and in the school environment by encouraging use of lighting which emits less glare, sky glow, trespass and clutter. The student council could write with observations made to local community representatives which may influence future choices made around street lighting. Developing awareness among the children would also inform their choices around lighting and light pollution in the future. Everyone working together to raise awareness and make better choices would have a positive impact at local level in order to optimise our view of the night sky and protect animals in our environment.The Stellarium is a fantastic resource which would be enjoyable and engaging at all class levels. I’ve been teaching about space for nearly 30 years and had no knowledge of this app so I will definitely use this in my classroom going forward.
Create an observing plan for autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky
Having taught about the theme of Space in Infants for many years, I know how fascinated the children are about all things space related. I would introduce the topic by using The Planets song on youtube which the children particularly enjoy. i would communicate with parents about our focus on the topic of Space and share information about the Stellarium app with them to encourage use of such at home. This would be after engaging with the app by modelling use on the interactive whiteboard with the children. I would encourage them to stargaze in the evening during some weeks in November when the evenings are darker and reiterate that clear skies are paramount for optimal viewing. I would ask them to describe what they observed and how they could determine if it was a planet such as Saturn that they observed as opposed to a star- to outline what is different about how a planet appears in the sky. It would also be a good opportunity for them to also make note by a simple drawing of the phase of the moon that they observed. I would follow up this observational activity with some groupwork in class where the children create the solar system planets using playdough.The sky diary is a lovely idea and could be done at different times throughout the year to compare what happens during the different seasons. This would work well even at Infant level
Construct a sundial in your immediate area or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed
This would provide for an engaging and activity based follow up learning experience for the children having learned about how time was recorded in ancient times. There is so much scope for integration with other areas of the curriculum. This lesson would work across all class levels and could be tailored according to age and ability level. A section of the outside space would be partitioned off and the children, working in small groups, following modelling first by teacher, would prop up a stick as shown in the video and take turns on the hour throughout the school day to mark the shadow formed by the stick with a stone. Another member of the group could draw the line formed by the stick connecting the stick and the rock. Comparisons could be made between the groups and forming opinions and problem solving over what works well or how the investigation could be improved would generate discussion and critical thinking. Although this activity is heavily weather dependent, I think that it would be very enjoyable for the children and generate fun and discussion.