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This is a great list to have. Thanks for sharing Elizabeth. Like other participants have said, it’s amazing how many songs and poems relate to the night sky.
School Biodiversity Plan & nocturnal animals & insects.
The school biodiversity plan should recognise the importance of darkness for nocturnal wildlife and aim to create a safer environment for species that depend on dark skies. One way would be to reduce unnecessary lighting around the school grounds, particularly near trees and hedgerows – habitats used by wildlife. Where lighting is necessary for safety, motion sensors, timers and low-intensity down lights could be used to reduce the impact on the nocturnal animals and insects.
The school could also protect habitats for nocturnal species such as bats, moths, hedgehogs and owls by maintaining native hedgerows, planting flowers and providing suitable shelter and nesting areas. The older classes could take part in simple biodiversity surveys – recording moths or watching out for wildlife. They could share the results with other classes.
Including dark-sky awareness in lessons and school biodiversity policy would encourage the whole school community to consider how everyday lighting choices affect wildlife and promote practical actions to protect local biodiversity.There are lots of good ideas in this lesson Elizabeth which I will also use with my class. I got The Wild Things at School book years ago and had completely forgotten about it, I must dig it out for September.
The urban fox survey is also something I would like to introduce to my class. Thanks for the ideas.
Exploring Light Pollution
Light pollution is becoming increasingly noticeable in my local area. I live in a medium sized town in Mayo, where at night it difficult to see stars clearly. I only noticed this when my children were small and I paid more attention to things around me. I come from a small village near Belmullet, where the night sky is absolutely amazing. It is a pleasure to observe. This has made me think about how something like night light can affect our environment and how light pollution can disturb nocturnal animals & insects.
I would introduce this topic to 2nd class by questioning them and noting their prior knowledge. I would begin by asking them what they can see in the night sky in their area and whether they have ever noticed that some places are brighter than others. This could be a part of their homework one evening. We could look at photographs of a bright city sky and a dark rural sky and discuss the differences. I would show them the Mayo Dark Sky footage from the website for Ballycroy National park and discuss if anyone had been to visit it.
The children could then investigate light pollution around the school by taking part in a walk to identify sources of artificial light.
I think a good follow-up activity would be to design a “dark sky” poster showing ways our community could reduce unnecessary lighting, such as turning off lights when they are not needed or using lights that point downwards.
This lesson would encourage environmental awareness and tie in with our Green schools policy. It would help children understand that even small actions can help protect nature.It’s a great idea Elizabeth, to share their findings and presentation with other classes. This means the other classes will benefit from their learning and the message reaches more children.
Module 2 Assignment
Autumn planet observation.
I would create a worksheet with some tips for spotting the different planets and how to identify them (what to look out for). The children would follow the steps below and discuss their results with the class.
Student Observation Task
I would give each student an Autumn Sky Observation Task Sheet. Under the different headings on a clear evening, students would:
1. Write down the date and time.
2. Record the weather and cloud conditions.
3. Identify which planet/planets they can see.
4. Record the direction they are looking (N, S, E or W).
5. Draw what they see.
6. Write down whether the object appears bright, dim, steady or twinkling.
7. Compare their observations with classmates.
Students could also keep a planet diary throughout the autumn months and observe how the position of the planets appear to change over time.I too will be teaching second class and I think this sounds like a great lesson. As Grace said, I think 2nd class love learning about Space and would really enjoy this. Creating the 3d constellation would be very exciting for them.
This sounds like a great lesson. I think it is something practical and hands-on that could be easily done with 3rd to 6th class. It sounds like a lesson the children would really enjoy.
As I reflect on how STEM is used in my classroom, I think I need to provide more opportunities for pupils to explore real-life problems, test ideas and learn from mistakes. This reflection has encouraged me to make STEM experiences more practical and pupil-led. I also need to stop thinking of it as four separate subjects.
Gravity/Weight lesson aimed at 5th class.
First, I would begin with a simple discussion, asking students what they think would happen to an apple/book/pencil if the let it go. Why? I would introduce the idea that gravity is different on each planet. What would happen to their weight if they travelled to the Moon or a different planet?
Students would then work in small groups to assemble an Earth Tube and a second planet tube. Each group could research their chosen planet and investigate its size, gravity, atmosphere and other interesting features. They could then decorate their tubes using colours, images and information to represent the chosen planet.
To finish, I would give students different objects and ask them to research how heavy they would be on each planet. Students could record and discuss their findings. This would develop scientific thinking, collaboration and creative skills.Activity set – Rockets.
I would begin by asking the children to work in pair and write down what they already know about rockets. One child would act as scribe and the other the reporter. I would then write some of the ideas/words reported back to me on the whiteboard for all to see.
We would then watch the clip of the Mice rockets and the balloon rocket. I would ask them to make predictions about which rocket would go further/higher. We would discuss how it could be measured.
I would divide the class in two groups and make both rockets. We would gather the materials needed and work together to make the rockets. We would then watch the children launch their rockets and see if our predictions were correct.
To conclude, I would read The Way Back home by Oliver Jeffers and watch some clips on YouTube of rockets launching.
Where do you live & weather.
We would begin with a discussion about our own houses. What they look like, size, how many rooms etc? I work in a rural school so I would ask about houses in cities to see if they are aware of living in flats/apartments and why they are common in cities but not in the countryside. We would look at images of different houses from around the world and name them e.g. detached house, terraced, igloo etc.
We have a huge box of Lego (donated by parents) so we would work in groups to make some houses from this. I would tie this in with an Art lesson by making houses from clay. We would line them up to make a village and discuss what is missing/needed to complete the village. We would learn the words for the different types of house as Gaeilge – teach scoite, leathscoite, arasán srl.
I really look forward to using the online tools and websites especially Stellarium.
This is a great way to include children from other countries or those who have spent time abroad & have experience of different types of houses and climates.
Stars activity.
I would begin the lesson with a KWL chart to find out what the children already know and what they would like to learn. What does the sky look like at night? We would speak about the word constellation and it’s meaning. Do they know the name of any constellations? I really like the activity of making the plough. There is so much learning in it and a lovely creation at the end. I am always looking for ways to kill 2 birds with 1 stone so its a great way of doing length at the same time as learning about the stars. & Art!
I would love to display them in the classroom or as someone else mentioned in the hallway, for all students to see. The children could observe the sky and look out for the different constellations as part of the homework. I think designing their own constellation would be a lovely extension activity.
