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The option I chose to write about is “Prepare a school project to collect Piseógs/Traditions/Stories of the Night.”
As a trigger I would show the class different images depicting traditions or piseógs and ask the class that they think they represent. To engage the students further I would ask them to work in groups to see if they can think of any other traditions or stories that are linked to the night. Many of the students may not be familiar with piseógs so I would then share with them some that are linked to night. These would include sunset restrictions (staying indoors until sunrise), the witching hour of May eve (peak time for piseógs to be cast) and stealing the dew (taking it from other successful farms to transfer their prosperity).
Once children know what traditions and piseógs are I would then assign each group with these and stories to research further to create a list as part of the project. As a follow up and considering there are so many different nationalities in the school I would ask children to research stories, tradition and the equivalent of piseógs in other countries to further increase an archive.Thank you Elizabeth for this list. Some great examples there. I really like your idea of making links with religion. There are so many links between light and the night sky with religion and not just Christianity. Comparisons could be made with other cultures too.
In my class, once we have explored light pollution activities as outlined in module three and discussed the effects light has on our environment, I would then move on to explore biodiversity in our local area as well as the impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity. Each year we focus on biodiversity. We are lucky, in our school, to have a large school garden and access to the local park next door which we often use for biodiversity activities and explorations.
To engage the pupils I would first show them a video on nocturnal creatures that could be seen in the area such as the bat video shared in module four or any of the ones on moths or owls. I would ask them questions to establish their prior knowledge around biodiversity, nocturnal animals such as bats and owls and also invertebrates. I would initiate discussion around seeing in the dark and how these creatures navigate the night sky when it’s dark. If possible I would set a homework task for the pupils to explore their own gardens in the evening and report back what they saw including what behaviours they saw especially in lit up areas.
From there we would discuss night vision, explore echolocation and try out the activities and games shared in module four. I think the game of “Bat and Moth” is something all children, regardless of age would enjoy.
While in school during the day, a walk around the school would take plscr to look at how many light sources are around the place, including the park close by and discuss the impact these might have on animals in the local area. Are lights facing down, are they bright white lights, are they shining near trees, are the lights situated every near each other. We would record our findings on a map of the school and make a plan to improve the biodiversity value of the area. Our next steps could be to bring the findings to the school management team in the hopes that some or all the plan could be implemented. Having a voice in the development and changes made in the school is always something that engages pupils.You have used many useful resources in your lessons. Great ideas. Thanks to everyone else too for all the other resources shared. This is proving to be a very informative course.
I really like how you would engage your pupils by showing them examples of how light pollution is possibly being reduced by local organisations such as the GAA. It’s more engaging when pupils see this happening in their own locally as opposed to seeing images or videos of preventions in areas they may not be familiar with or they feel don’t impact them.
The option I have chose to reflect on is detailing how light pollution is impacting our local area and how I would engage my learners to explore this.
Living and working in an urban area, very close to a major city results in so much light pollution and having a street light just outside my bedroom window makes that light pollution extremely invasive as it trespasses on a nightly basis.
I would engage my pupils by showing them different images of the night sky with varying degrees of visibility. I will ask questions about what causes the visibility of the night sky to be different and discuss what light pollution is. The video in module three would be used to explain what light pollution is in more detail. From there I would engage the pupils in the wondering section of the framework by asking them about sources of light, about how artificial light affects the environment and how to reduce or prevent light from becoming light pollution. This would then bring us on to the investigation activity on how to reduce light pollution. Follow-on activites to further engage pupils on how light pollution is affecting our local area would involve the children carrying out surveys on different light sources and possible light pollution in and around the school and around their homes. The information could the be collated, displayed and then analysed for further discussions and engagement in the topic.The activity that I would choose to engage children in my class with would be the lesson on constellations, in particular the lesson “Seeing Stars! -Looking At The Plough In Two Different Ways”. This particular activity appealed to me the most due to the activity as it incorporates all aspects of STEM including Maths (shape & space and measures).
I would begin the lesson by engaging the pupils using a trigger such as images of everyday objects viewed from different angles or perspectives. I would then establish prior knowledge through a series of questions and images to find out what pupils already know about stars and constellations after I introduced to topic. I would then begin exploring different constellations through group work investigations, giving each student time to research a different constellation.
Once the pupils are engaged they would then explore how theses constellations might look from places other than earth or from different perspectives. The class would then move onto the activity outlined in the resources sheets provided in the module. As a follow up pupils could research and create another constellation of their choosing or use the measurements provided in the primaryscience plan.I love how these activities can be used in different ways across the school. The lesson you have shared is aimed at 2nd class while I plan to do a lesson on constellations with a senior class, looking at perspective and following the activity shared in this module on seeing the plough in two different ways. These activities and topics are great as they can be adapted for different year groups.
I too chose the activity on sundials. I like how you have extended this activity to link it to Maths and Geography, in particular the links to longitude and latitude. Great links to Maths too, not just compass work but also the use of protectors too.
The activity I would choose to engage my pupils with would be the construction of a sundial and plan where a sundial could be placed in the school grounds. I’m often out on the yard without a watch, using my phone to check the time. The students don’t often have watches either and I would use this as the hook to introduce the activity. Asking the pupils while out in the yard what time it is will initiate a conversation about ways to find out what time it is without using modern technology like phones or watches. I would start by establishing prior knowledge from pupils around telling time, movement of the sun, shadows etc. From there direct teaching of sundials would take place before construction and discussions on suitable placement within the school grounds. I would use the Curious Minds Framework for Enquiry to plan the engagement, investigations and then next steps.
So sorry to hear about the fairy garden. With recent storms occurring more often it can be devastating to see the damage they cause when so much effort is put into projects like that. The planting of trees and flowers, saving electricity and recycling more are great actions that everyone can undertake to tackle climate change and make the world a better place.
In recent years the increased number of storms, late school openings or school closures due to weather warnings has made the impact of climate change a cause of anxiety to many students my our school. A number of years ago, a significant storm caused major flooding when the river burst its banks resulting in the school needing to close early to ensure pupils got home. Despite this early closure, some students needed to walk through flood waters to get home. What started as a small call for donations from one of the staff, ended with a huge whole school and local effort to raise money to help out those who were affected by the floods. Since then, any storm warnings have increased the worries of some pupils that a similar flood would occur again. Wellbeing is an integral part of our school self evaluation plans which include supporting pupils during these times.
Each year in 6th class, we cover a topic on flooding, focusing on causes, prevention and especially supports when floods do occur. Part of the lesson looks at flood defence and a STEM activity to design and test different materials to protect a model house from flooding.
One action that our school has implemented to make the world a better place and slow down climate change is installing solar panels. The app is displayed on a screen for pupils to see how much electricity is being produced and discussion take place in class about the impact it is having on the environment.
Another action that can be implanted to make the world a better place is to encourage pupils to walk, cycle or scoot to school. So many of our pupils already do this and with recent safe routes to school works carried out around the school with new bikes lanes provided, this will be safer for more pupils to take up also.
Third action that pupils and staff alike can implement to make the world a better place and combat climate change is try to conserve energy. This can be done at a class level with pupils ensuring doors are closed to keep heat in during the winter months or assigning pupils the job of turning off lights and switches at the end of the day or when they’re not needed or in use. At a school level the student council can run campaigns to ensure this is implemented school wide, making posters and visiting classes on a regular basis to remind everyone of their responsibility. This is something that pupils can encourage their families to implement at home too.
There are so many organisations working closely with migrants and refugees in the Cork area. The Cork Migrant Centre located at Nano Nagle Place organised coffee mornings for parents with young children to meet up regularly. They also create gardens close to Direct Provision centres providing opportunities for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to get involved in gardening with local members of the community.
Another organisation in Cork is Nasc, meaning link as gaeilge. The organisation have many ongoing projects including community sponsorship, programmes for women children and families, education pathways as well as employment and integration programmes.
These two organisations are just two of many that are working with refugees in the local community.
There are so many ways our school and students can take action to support refugees or welcome them to the community. Our school has a huge multinational cohort and cultural awareness is already implemented into the curriculum and the yearly school events. Our annual Multicultural Day is something that is looked forward to every year and parents are invited in on the day to share their food and show off some of their traditional clothes or items from home. It’s such a huge event that is getting bigger year on year. We have a large EAL cohort too in the school and dual language books are available in each classroom as it’s important to celebrate children’snative languages as well as helping them to learn the English language too. New pupils in the school are grouped with students to support them and help them feel welcome.
Pairing children up in a buddy system is a great way to support children in their transition and move to another country and school. Sharing books, food, languages is a great thing too. You’re right in what you said about teachers and students playing an important role in helping children who have come from another country, for what ever reason to settle into their new surroundings, making them feel welcome.
The Sustainable Development Goals that I have chosen is “Zero Hunger”. Ireland is often placed very high in the global rankings of wealth yet 8.9% of the population is affected by food poverty according to ESRI and CSO.
The government’s hot school meals programme aims in reducing food poverty in Ireland and this is one of many ways in which the “Zero Hunger” goal is being address locally.When we think of food poverty, starvation or famine we often think of the global south being affected but as the statistics and initiatives mentioned above show, this is something that is seen on both a local and global level.
There is so much scope for this particular area of the sustainable development goals to be addressed in school. Cross curricular learning with SPHE, SESE, Literacy and Maths can all be used to further study this area in the classroom. Case studies on Irish Aid, Concern, Trocaire etc and the work they do in tackling world hunger can be researched in class and comparisons and discussions on the Irish Governments Hot School Meals initiative can be made with these aid agencies.
Through these projects and discussions, children could discuss and come up with ideas on how they can take action to support the SDGs in Ireland too such as organising collections for SVP or other local organisations, organising fundraisers through the Students Council to raise funds for local and global aid agencies and educating others at home and around the school but designing PowerPoint or posters outlining the need for these organisations both locally and globally and the work that these organisations do.