Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
2. 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”
I like the idea of this because I think as a school we could work collaboratively and all explore connecting to the night sky at the same time and each class could show their artwork/perform their song at a whole school assembly.
Infants could explore twinkle twinkle little star and the book “The Owl Babies”. They could create projects/complete report writing on owls as their nocturnal animal as part of an overall theme and also create artwork inspired by the song and story.
1st/2nd Class could learn the song “fireflies” by Owl City. They could then create glow in the dark artwork and make a glow in the dark space picture. The could observe Crisco art painting as their stimulus. The could explore picture books like “How to catch a star” by Oliver Jefferes.
3rd/4th Class could explore “Fly me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra. The could also explore picture books and look at “I took the moon for a walk” and create poems inspired by this. The could create paintings inspired by nocturnal animals in the moonlight eg. bird in the moonlight.
5th/6th class could perform Skyfull of Stars but maybe the Irish Version as a way of them also integrating Irish language into the topic. I think I would get the children to explore Van Gogh “Starry Night” and create pieces of art inspired by this.
Hi Rachel, I love the idea of including the dark skies into the Aistear topic. I could see the children being fascinated by it. The calm corner is a lovely idea for all the class but also for a child with additional needs if they needed a sensory break.
How you would incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies into school biodiversity plans
This would be a great topic as it can be explored at every class level. It could be linked with sese but also sphe and explored as environmental awareness.
I would introduce this topic by using a KWL chart with the class to illicit previous related knowledge. The children could identify nocturnal animals they’re aware of and ones that are local to our area. We could then explore any other relevant nocturnal animals that depend on dark skies eg. Bats, owls, hedgehogs. Every class level could be given a specific nocturnal animal/insect to explore each year and create projects on and then they could share what they’ve learned with other classes. Through talk and discussion we could identify what is important for nocturnal animals to help them survive.
We could explore how these animals rely on dark skies under the following headings:1. Hunting and foraging
2. Avoiding predators
3. Impacts on the ecosystem
children could sort which area is most important for each particular animal/insect.
Finally we could talk about how we as a community can support this for animals. We could create posters and an information video for our school website that parents could watch and would challenge the children to teach their own family/community about reducing light pollution.
Hi Sarah,
the nature walk is such a good idea, this would be so effective with loads of different class levels and ages. Connecting learning to the real world is so important and the children would be so interested
1. Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I think that this would be a very interesting topic to explore with my class. In my school we have a mix of children who live in a rural area but also who live in an urban area so I feel there is a great opportunity for comparing and contrasting through talk and discussion about this.
I would introduce the lesson through talk and discussion of light pollution. We could do a kwl to establish what we know and what we would like to learn about it.
Next I would do a group activity with the class where they could compare and contrast areas with light pollution and rural areas where it is not as prevalent.
I think I would also integrate the topic with SPHE here and ask the children to identify the impacts of light pollution on human health like how it could affect sleep at night.
I think from an environmental point of view also it would be important to explore how light at night can affect animals but also the benefits of us trying to save using electricity. The children could explore times when it is more important to have lights outside but also ways we could conserve using it.I think finally I would do an art activity with the children where we could show a scene in a rural area vs an urban area to illustrate the difference light pollution has overlooking a scene. For example the rural area we could add night life to the scene and explore the natural light like the moon and stars, whereas the urban area with light pollution wouldn’t have the animals and would be lit up with street lights etc.
1. Create an observing plan for autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky.
This would be such an interesting lesson for my class. I could see them being fascinated by it.
I would probably introduce the lesson through talk and discussion and exploring planets that could be visible from Ireland. I think it would be important to brainstorm how this could be best achieved eg. A clear night, dark sky (no town lights) My school is in Wexford so we could talk about what parts of Wexford might be best for this. They could also do some project work on the planets.
I think I would show the children the different tools that could be used, like a telescope or binoculars but remind them they are not crucial. We would identify things like the importance of safety and doing it with an adult. It would be a fun way of creating a link with home and involving parents in children’s learning.
The children could be encouraged to keep a log of the planets seen which they could later add to the projects they’re doing on their specific planet.
Construct a sundial in your immediate area or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed.
3rd Class
I think this lesson provides a great opportunity for active learning and I could really see the children being engaged in the lesson. It definitely would be fun and interesting as it is so hands on.
I think I would begin by getting the children’s previous related knowledge about sun dials. It allows a great opportunity to talk about different ancient civilisations, I would probably explore the ancient Egyptians here as part of the 3rd class curriculum. I would also talk about the concept of time here and how years ago people didn’t have phones, watches or clocks to help them tell time.I think the use of ict so maybe a video/ PowerPoint presentation would be a very effective tool here to help explain sun dials and how they relate to time. The visual use of this would mean children could look at pictures of actual sun dials and ones from different cultures, etc.
I would get the children to think-pair-share where we could construct a sun dial in the school. I’m sure there would be great excitement here as the would love the opportunity to get to do something outside! I would guide the children to select an area that has plenty of sunshine and we would also explore finding the north using a compass. I think using paper plates and pencils would be a great idea cos each child could make their own. They would be able to mark their own clocks with numbers and discuss the importance of ensuring 12 is facing north. I will explain that the shadow from the pencil will tell the time. I think this would be a nice activity as the children would be able to bring it home also and see it work in the evening after school.
Hi Nicole,
I think it’s a great idea to allow the children to make connections to their own local area. It makes it very real for them. It would be interesting to see if there would be much difference in the class, my school has a mixture of children living in rural and urban areas so this could be an interesting comparison for them. I also like the idea of allowing children to come up with their own ideas for helping light pollution, I could see them getting very into this!
Hi Gràinne, this is a great lesson idea particularly for the senior end. I love the idea of allowing them to create a model of the solar system they would really enjoy this as it’s so active and creative. I think the active learning here is a great tool for helping children remember the different planets also. I could definitely see the children being fully engaged with their collaborative group work here also. I have taught 4th class previously and could totally see this working for them.
Hi Rachel,
I love this idea for infants. Story is such an effective tool for teaching. The five senses nature walk through the school is such a good idea and so active that the children will be so engaged. I like how the children are adding things to the season display, I could definitely see this working in the classroom and can imagine the children bringing in things to add to it each season. The opportunity for integration here is great especially when you think of the time constraints we have in the infant classroom!
Hi Dareca,
I love the idea of the gardening club, it can have so many benefits to children, not only not just through learning about gardening and being sustainable but I think getting children gardening with nature is great for their well being also! It’s certainly something they’ll always remember about their time in primary school. So active and hands on!
This was another interesting module. There are many ways sustainability is practiced in my local area. Whether it’s recycling centres, tidy towns, farmer markets, etc They really support protecting the environment. When I saw about the Atlantic puffin I immediately thought about the puffins on the Saltee islands in Wexford. I have taught classes about puffins before where children have completed projects and art work on puffins. One such initiative for tour groups when visiting the Saltee islands is to leave no trace of yourself there. I think this is a really important value to teach children when we think about sustainability as we in turn are teaching them about keeping the animal’s home safe for them. The Saltee islands are a special area of conservation and signs are there to remind us people not to get to close / disturb the puffins for the sake of photos. This too is also a good teaching point for children because sometimes our own interest can affect wildlife and their habitats. I think this could be further explored by looking into ways we can improves habitats for various animals in our own areas. This could even be something like designing and making an insect hotel in the school grounds or leading inquiry based learning where children could research what plants would attract certain mini beasts to the school garden. And then further on from this in looking at the school garden you could encourage children to grow their own vegetables at home as a means of being sustainable but also growing on what we learned about being healthy and nutrients in the nutrition module.
I think the Green Flag Initiatives in schools is another way we can teach about sustainability. Children are encourage to recycle and there are various recycling bins in most local areas. Even the return your bottle scheme is something children enjoy and they love to gather the cans/bottles giving them a great awareness of what’s going on around them.
In teaching sustainability I think it is always very important and effective to let children brainstorm themselves how they can become more sustainable. Sometimes this can be as simple as using a reusable drink bottle each day. Children have a great sense of looking after the environment and are often the most eager of us all to be environmentally friendly and explore ways they can be more sustainable. I think they understand that one small thing can make a huge difference.
I really like the idea of teaching children about how to spot labels on food items that are sustainable. I myself remember learning about fair trade in primary school so it truly can be something that sticks with children and teaches them the ways we can contribute to society. All of this inspires children to use their critical thinking skills and a great approach to exploring STEM in the classroom.An oyster farm class trip would definitely be a great opportunity and something the children would remember. Children would definitely find this interesting. It would be a great opportunity for your school and SSE. I do agree there seems to be more emphasis on agriculture in text books
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Hi Killian, I agree with you about the Wild Atlantic Way being a great tourist attraction and how exploring aquaculture here could also attract further tourism experiences. I think children would enjoy learning about this too. The use of food festivals to promote local Irish produce are great. It’s also nice for children to learn about different employment opportunities aquafarms provide as it might inspire some to go into these areas when they are older.</p>
