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I thought the Nose Up High in the Sky resource was very engaging and practical. It is a great introduction to weather. The use of active learning encourage observation and discussion and also inquiry based learning. I particularly like how the lessons progress from their existing knowledge to making their own observations and then collecting the real data.
I teach Senior Infants. I think the resource could be adapted to suit infants or a younger class. Activity 1 could be used to introduce weather vocabulary through songs, stories and pictures/symbols for weather.
Activity 2 is great for a younger class as they can explore the weather using their own senses. I would probably develop a short weather walk around the school and encourage the children to listen, see and feel eg. does it feel cold/ hot? They could record their observations using weather symbols or drawings.
Activity 3 is probably more suited to an older class. I would adapt it by having a simple daily weather chart where children record the weather using pictures instead of numbers.
Linking the lessons overall to different songs and stories would be very beneficial.Hi Michael, I agree that these activities build on each other really well. I like the idea of linking the weather proverbs to your rural setting. This is great as children can make connections to their own experiences and why weather is important in their everyday life. I also like the suggestion of comparing their observations with the weather forecast as it encourages their critical thinking.
I enjoyed watching the video HOME and the other climate action videos. I thought the aerial footage in HOME was so effective. It highlights the beauty of our planet. But it is also a great stimulus for various activities that we can do in the classroom. I think children would really enjoy making their own pictures showing aerial views – eg. an aerial view of a garden that helps the environment/climate and an aerial view of a garden that does not. I even think the title of the video itself would be very useful for provoking discussion with a class as we could talk about how the planet is our shared home and about our responsibility to care for it.
As I am teaching Senior Infants, I would adapt the key points from the video and make it more age appropriate. I probably would use a story like “The Snail and the Whale” because it could lead to discussions about how we can look after our oceans. I would keep it very simple and focus on questions like how can we help the planet? Hands on activities like exploring what goes in our recycling bin in the classroom would be useful as it would help the infants to understand that even small actions make a positive difference.Hi Sarah,
I totally agree that the use of film is both beautiful but also thought-provoking. Your idea of preparing the children beforehand is very important. The documentary raises awareness but this could be a bit much for some children who experience anxiety about climate change so preparing them in advance is great. The focus on the positive actions they can take reinforces the idea that even small changes can make a difference.
I think the Paxi video would be very useful for a Senior Infants class. The cartoon is engaging and the language used is simple and understandable for children. It would be a great stimulus for a lesson and a great ‘hook’ to get the children engaged in what we are learning. I would probably use it as a way to start a discussion with the children on how we could care for our planet. As the video is so child-friendly and colourful I can’t help but think of extending this activity by encouraging the class to make a picture book log. We could do a lot of hands on activities like sorting pictures into things that help the environment and things that do not. I think the climate prediction tool may be too advanced for infants but I think we could start to develop an understanding of how to care for the environment. We could do the different activities each day eg. planting flowers, turning off lights, etc. and add them to our picture book log where we draw the things we did to help the environment. Part of the picture log then could also be included with our daily chat about the weather. I think for infants it is important to keep the topic simple and I felt overall the video promotes curiosity, discussion and environmental awareness.
Hi Michael,
I really like the idea of using History and then working towards making predictions. This could be really useful to help children understand trends and in turn it would make climate change more meaningful to them.
I think the active learning and making the graphs is very good. I think children would really enjoy learning about what they can do to help reverse the trend. Children really like to feel like they are a part of helping to make improvements to our world.
One thing that really stuck with me was how STEM is far more effective if taught in an integrated way (Liston, 2018). I think when we integrate it makes a more real-life experience for children and it makes the learning more meaningful. Inquiry based learning and problem solving skills can be explored when we do this also.
I enjoyed Activity 1 “Is it weather, is it climate?” I thought it introduced everything well. The use of talk and discussion on the weather on their birthdays is great as it also allows for links to literacy in making connections to their real-life experiences. I could imagine my Senior Infant class comparing their birthdays and it would encourage them to think about how the weather changes. This could be expanded further by having a morning activity where we discuss the change in weather each day.
I felt Activity 2 Weather Detectives was very interesting. I like that the lessons can be adapted to suit the age of the particular class you are working with. It makes the resource so useful but also meaningful in how the whole school can explore the topic at the one time. I think for infants I would focus more on observation and the routine. We could use pictures and symbols to record the weather instead of the temperature reading. This would also be great for differentiation and I think they would really enjoy it. Most of the learning would probably happen through what we observe and then the follow-up discussions. It would also allow to introduce predicting the weather to the children. I think this would be so interesting because there was one day a few weeks ago in June where we actually had hailstones in school. This provoked so much discussion about the Irish weather and our climate. I think if we went with the daily routine of following the weather it would benefit their learning and also we could have a daily weather helped to ensure they keep their interest in the area each day too.
Hi Sarah, I agree that Liston’s paper highlights the importance of integrating the STEM subjects rather than teaching them in isolation. I liked your point about making maths more meaningful and playful through real-life experiences, as children are often much more engaged when they can see the purpose of their learning.
I also like your idea of extending the Weather Detectives activity across the school year. It would help develop a deeper understanding of the mathematical concepts and scientific inquiry approach.
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.
