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I love the idea of inclusivity here and encouraging parents of other cultures to share their own stories too.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?
Sky full of Stars by Coldplay
Space Oddity by David Bowie
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
The Skylight by Seamus Heaney
Starry Night by Van GoghThat is just a small sample of media sources that link to the night sky. I feel like these could be use as prompts for a number of different lessons in the classroom, across all class levels. Here are some examples of what could be done:
1) The children could write their own night sky poems, maybe discussing the stars, constellations or nocturnal animals that they might see.2) The children could be encouraged to make their own constellations and make new myths/stories to match them. For example, they could envisage a spice bag constellation that inspires them at the weekend!
3) They could great night soundscapes, based on a homework exercise during the week where they had to spend 5-10 minutes outside, acknowledging all of the background noises.
4) They could use the Starry Night painting as a stimulus and create their own version of the painting.
I like the idea of brining the children on trips to see the beautiful surroundings with their own eyes. This active learning should really spark their interest in caring for the locality.
How you would incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies into school biodiversity plans?
1) I believe that it is very important to look out for nocturnal species. We could aim to do this by:
Including dark sky goals in the policy. This would involve setting objectives to reduce/redirect unnecessary lighting and to therefore protect local areas for nocturnal species. We could aim to create parts of the school grounds where artificial lighting is minimised, especially near trees and other bushy areas. We could also try to add bird and bat boxes in these areas.2) Work with local authorities and organisations. Groups of children in the older classes could be tasked with reaching out to local councillors or local housing estate groups, asking them to address light spill which might be impacting the school grounds at night.
3) Planting. We already plant each year but it might be a good idea to plant some night-blooming flowers which attract night pollinators. Evening primrose and jasmine would be perfect for this.
I really like the idea of the class/school poster campaign. This would tie in very well with Space week.
Light pollution is definitely a concern in my local area, and even worse further afield. I really became aware of this over the past two years where there have been different opportunities to see the Northern Lights. I live in East Meath near the coast so am only a 5 minute drive from the sea, meaning I could easily reach a location with clear-ish skies. However, my partner lives in Dublin city and he could not see the lights from his home whatsoever.
I feel like people don’t realise the negative impact that light is having on our environment. It is so wasteful in terms of personal cost and government costs. I also find it hard to understand why closed stores and other buildings feel the need to leave lights on, even when they are closed!
I think that a nationwide fix could be to update some streetlights, ensure that the light is directed downward and that they omit warm light, to avoid the unnecessary attraction of flies.
I would use a number of photos to interest my learners and I would ask them to choose which type of sky they would rather see at night. I could ask them to work in small groups to think of other innovative ways to decrease local light pollution. They could choose to present their work through art, drama or music means.
3: Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be in 2025- 2026?
Lesson Introduction: Using the stimulus of a small ball representing the moon, and a flashlight, I would try to grasp the children’s attention. I would ask them to tell me what exactly the moon is, before involving them in a demonstration which illustrates the different phases of the moon.
Lesson development: All phases of the moon would explicitly be introduced: New moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter, waning/waxing crescent.
I would encourage the kids to think about when would be best to see the moon in the morning time, before telling them that the best time to see the Moon in the morning is during the last quarter and waning crescent phases as during these phases, the Moon rises late at night and is visible in the early morning. I would also explain that when it’s the full moon, it rises around sunset and sets around sunrise, so we can’t see it in the morning. We could then refer to the calendar and the moon phases for the year, asking the children to identify the next best date to observe the moon in the morning time.
Lesson conclusion: The children could review their learning, before completing an associated worksheet linked to phases of the moon.
(Phases Best Observed in the Morning (from Ireland):
2025:
Last Quarter: Jan 5, Mar 4, May 5, Jul 4, Sept 3, Nov 3
Waning Crescent: Jan 6-12, Mar 5-11, May 6-12, Jul 5-11, Sept 4-10, Nov 4-10
2026:
Last Quarter: Jan 4, Mar 5, May 5, Jul 4, Sept 3, Nov 3
Waning Crescent: Jan 5-11, Mar 6-12, May 7-13, Jul 6-12, Sept 5-11, Nov 4-10)Task 1: Gravity/Weight – Assemble an Earth Tube and one other planet tube – decorate in a suitable manner.
I think that this activity would be great for the younger classes in the school. They would find great joy in this hands-on activity (plus I’m sure they would be more than happy to have to empty a Pringle tube at home for the lesson!).
The children could all choose different planets to represent on their tubes. They could revise the pull of gravity on each of the planets, with the data being displayed on the whiteboard. The teacher could then refer back to the pre-taught planets song – my personal favourite is this one from Drake and Josh:
They could be asked if the planets are in the correct order based on their weight. They could be asked to rearrange them in weight order, devising a new song in small groups to help remember the planets in weight order.
That sounds great Christina. I especially like the inclusion of the Paxi videos – I even found them to be very engaging.
Task 1: Gravity/Weight – Assemble an Earth Tube and one other planet tube – decorate in a suitable manner.
I think that this activity would be great for the younger classes in the school. They would find great joy in this hands-on activity (plus I’m sure they would be more than happy to have to empty a Pringle tube at home for the lesson!).
The children could all choose different planets to represent on their tubes. They could revise the pull of gravity on each of the planets, with the data being displayed on the whiteboard. The teacher could then refer back to the pre-taught planets song – my personal favourite is this one from Drake and Josh:
They could be asked if the planets are in the correct order based on their weight. They could be asked to rearrange them in weight order, devising a new song in small groups to help remember the planets in weight order.