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I really enjoyed reading your post. I agree that hands-on learning has a much greater impact on children’s understanding than simply talking about a topic in the classroom. Activities like gardening, observing wildlife and recording the weather make learning meaningful and help children make real connections with their local environment. I also like your focus on helping pupils feel hopeful and showing them that even small actions can make a positive difference.
Living near the coast, climate change is something I can see affecting my local area. The sand dunes in Tramore are experiencing increasing coastal erosion,as a result of climate change.
I would bring my class on a visit to the sand dunes and invite members of the local environmental group to explain the work they do to protect them. Children could learn about the importance of marram grass, why fences have been put up to protect fragile areas and how the dunes provide a habitat for local wildlife. Back in school, we could build on this learning through art, science, geography and SPHE activities.
There are also lots of simple actions that children can take to help slow down climate change. Our school already takes part in the Green Schools programme where we encourage children to reduce, reuse and recycle, turn off lights and equipment when they are not being used, and help monitor energy use around the school. We also take part in the “Grow It, Cook It, Eat It” programme, which teaches children about growing food, reducing food waste and making sustainable choices.
These activities help children realise that although climate change is a global issue, the small actions we take in our own community really do matter. Development Education fits very well with School Self-Evaluation.
I think it is so important to learn about other cultures. By doing this through Art, stories, songs, projects etc, students enjoy these activities and in doing so learn a well of knowledge and grow an understanding of other pupils in our class. I think it is an amazing initative to also fundraise for supplies for refugee families for school.
It could be an idea for our school to fundraise enough money to subsidise or provide access to free school trips, swimming lessons, bus fares etc. that can accumulate throughout the school year. it would help to remove the barrier to inclusion for these students.
There are Integration Serives and Communities Networks in my area that help refugees and families settle into the local community. While these organisations provide valuable support, I also think schools have a very important role to play in helping children and parents feel welcome.
There are many simple things our school could do. We could use Google Translate to provide letters and important information in parents’ first language, making communication easier. A buddy system could pair a new pupil with another child who speaks the same first language where possible, while also giving them opportunities to spend time with English-speaking classmates to help build friendships and language skills. Visual supports, clear routines and a welcoming classroom environment would also help children settle in.
Our school already invites parents into classrooms each term for events such as coffee mornings, art displays and performances. These occasions give families the chance to meet one another, become familiar with the school and celebrate different cultures together. SPHE lessons, circle time, cooperative games and events such as International Day also provide opportunities to discuss kindness, fairness, inclusion and respect for others.
This links closely with School Self-Evaluation, particularly if the focus is on inclusion, wellbeing or pupil voice.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I like how you focused on practical activities that children can get involved in, especially the swap shop idea and the classroom waste audit. They are simple ideas that can have a real impact and help children see that even small actions make a difference. I also agree that giving pupils ownership of these activities helps to build a sense of responsibility and encourages them to become active members of their school community.
SDG 12
I chose Responsible Consumption and Production as I think it is something children can understand and make a real difference to. Although it is a global issue, it starts with small actions in our own homes and schools.Our school already takes part in lots of activities that support this goal. We have Green Schools initiatives, encourage children to reduce, reuse and recycle, and take part in the “Grow It, Cook It, Eat It” programme. These activities help children understand where food comes from, reduce food waste and appreciate the importance of caring for the environment.
We also hold clothes collections and a school uniform swap at the beginning of the school year. These are simple ideas but they teach children that reusing items instead of throwing them away is better for the environment and can also help other families in our community.
I think these hands-on activities are the best way for children to learn. They can see that even small actions make a difference.
I think it is a very smart idea to involve parents in this process. Clear expectations ensure that children in your class can explore without that fear of gender stereotypes, it also gives parents something to think about too. It may have been a generational thing, how they were brought up and I think is a wonderful way to be upfront from the beginning – perhaps it will help to break the cycle.
I think this is where Development Education can really help. It encourages children to think about fairness, equality and respecting differences. I really enjoyed the resources shared in this module and would definitely use them with my class. There was a great variety of stories, visuals and activities that encourage discussion and reflection in an age-appropriate way. These resources would help children to challenge stereotypes and see that everyone should feel free to enjoy the same toys, activities and opportunities.
This also links well with School Self-Evaluation. If a school is focusing on inclusion, wellbeing or pupil voice, promoting equality and challenging stereotypes can become part of everyday teaching. Small conversations and activities can make a big difference in helping children respect themselves and others.
Having read the article, I feel that we must embed acceptance and inclusion in terms of global citizenship across all of our teaching. We are guiding our students to become kind and responsible citizens, who understand that people have different cultures, beliefs and experiences.
In my own classroom, I would include Development Education through stories, visuals, videos, etc.I would encourage discussion, looking at things from a different viewpoint. I would encourage active learning and allow students to explore resources digitally on iPads. I would carefully select suitable resources e.g. videos, art, images, etc. and create a learning path on scoilnet for my students to explore. It could include quizzes also. These resources would be presented in carious ways in order to remove any barriers to learning e.g. google translate, text to speech software, closed captions on video, etc. I would do a series of lessons to celebrate the different cultures in our class.
In our SSE, if focusing on pupil voice, inclusion, active learning or digital literacy, this allows for so many opportunities to explore global citizenship, development education, other cultures and differences. By sharing ideas and resources, teachers can work together to make these themes part of everyday school life and help children develop respect, empathy and an understanding of others.Our classrooms are an ideal place to begin, almost all classrooms in the country have an array of diversity including children from different cultures, backgrounds and ability. Global citizenship and development education must be become a mindset in our schools, not an extra subject to teach, but awareness, consideration and discussion throughout the day. I love the idea of International Day.
I think these are great ideas. By using the pupils own locality, it would be far more interesting and memorable for them. By studying the Dark Sky Reserve in Kerry, this would indeed help them to choose a suitable location. I can imagine it would spark interest at home aswell and many families would travel to the chosen site to observe the sky by night.
It would be lovely to share their work and finding to other classes or perhaps at assembly also to spark interest in the whole school community.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?
There are many songs/poems and art that can encorporated into lessons about the night sky. Any of these could be used as a stimulus to spark interest in exploring the night sky – constellations, light pollution, studies on the moon, space, nocturnal animals etc.
Song:
twinkle twinkle little star
star light, star bright
I see the moon and the moon sees me
zoom zoom zoom we’re going to the moon
A Sky full of Stars (Colplay)
Fly me to the moon
Walking on the Moon
counting stars
Nocturnes (Chopin)
Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven)
Poems:
The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson
Silver by Walter de la Mare
Art:
Starry Night (van Gogh)
Cafe Terrace at night (van Gogh)
Moonlight night (Kandinsky)
Night landscape (Pierre Bonnard)
These are fabulous ideas. The students would be very excited and engaged by using a camera in night mode. It would make the learning personal to them and their own school. By presenting their projects at assembly, it would raise awareness of the topic with the whole school. Including the Green School Committee is a wonderful idea also.
Using a whole school approach like this will ensure its success and continuity over time. Thank you for these ideas.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.I would begin by doing a series of lessons on biodiversity ensuring that the children have a good understanding of what biodiversity means, explore examples of biodiversity in our local area and identify those under threat. These lessons would be presented in various methods such as nature walks, videos, quizzes, project work etc.
I would pose questions such as How can we improve our school grounds to increase biodiversity. We already have a bug hotel, perhaps the students may suggest growing some wild flowers, etc. Choose from one of the suggestions and as a class project, create a wildflower garden, etc.
I would then do a study on nocturnal species. After an initial introductory lesson, I would ask the students in groups to choose a nocturnal creature in our locality and do a study/research this species. Give the students guide questions and access to iPads with carefully prepared learning paths that would be suitable for their research. I would then explore how light pollution is affecting these species. As a class, can we come up with ways to reduce our light pollution. Walk around the school building identifying sources of light, what changes could be made to reduce our impact on local biodiversity?
Present their findings and share with the school community.
I can completely identify with this also. Many of my students live in urban areas, where it would not be possible to see the Northern lights. I myself had to drive to the countryside to see the lights. i grew up in the countryside and definitely remember what true darkness was like, how we were able to walk in the darkness and our eyes adjusted to guide us along our way. My children do not have this same experience. Light pollution has happened so gradually that it is something that the general popluation may not be aware of just how high the levels are. it would be great if more people were aware of the effects and how each individual making small changes can have a major difference.