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I think it is so important for students to learn about sustainability so that they can practise it in their own lives. A great link to learning about it could be exploring how it is practised in our local area. A good example of this is exploring the many businesses in Galway which have ‘gone green’. Many of the businesses ensure that environmental sustainability is at the heart of all their strategies and business objectives. Improving environmental performance or ‘going green’ can save businesses money, can increase competitiveness and can increase consumer demand. Galway City Council offers support to help businesses on their sustainable journey. Firstly, businesses can use the expertise and guidance of their Environment Education Officer. This officer can visit your business and assist with waste audits and the preparation of action plans. Secondly, Galway City Council can assist in waste audits of businesses. They can provide you with assistance and guidance in managing your waste effectively. Finally, Galway City Council runs award schemes for green businesses. The Green Hospitality Award is an environmental certification standard for the hospitality sector that is recognised nationally and internationally. The Green Hospitality Awards scheme also offers an Eco-Tourism award. The annual Green Awards recognise and celebrate green best practice in Ireland across 23 different categories.
Hi Michelle,
I think getting the students to complete research projects first is a great idea. Following this up with an excursion to the beach where they would complete an investigation would be really worthwhile.
Hi Gwen, I agree that picture story books are a great way to stimulate the children’s interest and imagination. Thank you for this list of picture story books. I have noted them down for use next year.
Activity Set: Rockets
I would like to use activities related to rockets in the classroom. I think it provides great opportunities to apply maths and science skills in a cross-curricular way around the theme of space and the sub-theme of rockets. There are lots of hands-on class activities which I think the students would really enjoy. I think picture story books related to rockets are a great way to engage the students and make them excited to learn about the topic. I would use http://www.primaryscience.ie or http://www.spaceweek.ie as a guide to engage the students in the design of their own rockets. Once designed, a good link with Maths could be measuring the distance each rocket can travel. After they have conducted the investigation they could make a bar or column graph comparing how far each students’ rocket travelled. This would be a good link to two strands within the Maths curriculum – Length and Data.
Hi Jennifer, I like the idea of using Stellarium in the classroom. Having the students use their own iPads to access the software is a great link to digital technologies. Using the Apple code to share it with the students makes it accessible for younger students to enjoy too.
Science skills and School Self Evaluation
I believe the school self evaluation process needs to be used to examine STEM practice in a school because STEM is an area that has changed greatly in recent years. It is important to find ways to improve science teaching and learning with reference to modern science skills. The first step would be gathering and analysing evidence of good practice relating to science in the school. A school’s participation in Curious Minds Award program and staff participation in whole staff CPD workshops could be two targets for a SSE. Another target could be ensuring all teachers engage in practical investigation when they are engaging in scientific activity of any kind within their classrooms. Teachers could be supported by school leaders to the scientific approach of observing, hypothesising, predicting, investigating and analysing. A uniform school wide approach to this scientific approach would be best. Using ESERO’S Framework for Inquiry would be best to use. A STEM Improvement Plan would be a great idea to create an achievable timeframe for the achievement of targets. The SSE would then allow the school to report to the whole school community about the STEM strengths in the school as well as its priorities for improvement and development.
Hi Matthew, I agree that the Salmon of Knowledge is a great resource to use. It provides a great link to history. Using the salmon as a symbol of wisdom is important as the students will make a link with the rich content of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins it has.
I think it is excellent to teach the students about Nutrition particularly from a young age. It supports what they are learning in S.P.H.E. It also provides a link with Bord Bia’s ‘Food Dudes’ initiative which many schools engage in. Teaching the students about the food pyramid and where seafood is situated in it, promotes a healthy diet and lifestyle. Teaching the students about the nutrients found in seafood enables them to choose a balanced diet. It is important for the students to know that a balanced diet is important to help them learn and live a healthy life. Teaching the students about the six layers of the food pyramid is a key resource. The Healthy Food for Life resources, designed by the HSE, provide a consistent and evidence-based approach for healthy eating advice. They include a leaflet, infographic of the food pyramid, sample daily meal plans, guidelines on portion sizes and fact sheets. One great resource is the Daily Meal Plans by Jakub, age 5 and Niamh, age 10. By showing the students information about children of a similar age to them makes the topic more relatable. A great lesson for the senior classes would be information about the labels, certifications and nutritional information included on food products, particularly seafood packaging.
Hi Azora, I agree that the interview after Lesson Two ‘The Nutrition of Seafood’ is a great idea. It provides a great link between home and school. The students will have extra information and facts to share with the whole class afterwards.
I will definitely use the lessons and resources developed for the ARC in my classroom next year. It would be beneficial to use STEM as a basis for SSE as STEM is a cross-disciplinary approach. Teachers use elements of STEM in each of the primary curriculum subjects. To complete a SSE, firstly the staff could engage in a reflective enquiry and gather evidence of work being done in STEM at that present moment in the school. Gathering information on current practice, students’ achievements and results, and student learning experiences will hopefully identify the areas that are working well as well as an area that could be improved. Improving that area will lead to changes in practices, teacher and pupil experiences, and improved learning for all the students. I would like to promote aquaculture education within my school next year as it provides great opportunities for linkage across the curriculum, not only in STEM but in History, Geography and Visual Arts. It would be great to promote STEM based jobs within the aquaculture industry. To support my teaching of this topic, I would use Lesson Three ‘Aquaculture and the Community‘ from the BIM Online Lessons & Resources. As a school it could be possible to complete classroom projects on marine species farmed in Ireland and look at the possibility of obtaining a Blue Schools Award.
Hi Fiona, I think using pegboards to create their own constellations is a great activity. It would be a good imaginative morning activity for the students to engage in independently.
Activity Set: Space and Aliens
The activity set I have chosen is ‘Space and Aliens’. I like this activity set because it allows for an imaginative theme within the students’ learning. I would use this activity set with first class or second class. I would focus on the ‘Classroom Resource Booklet – Mars’ that was produced for Space Week by Discover Primary Science and Maths. I think the ‘Mars: Junior Activities’ are excellent. They link very well to STEM activities as the students engage in a design challenge when they are designing a martian. A good link to the students’ literacy, in particular the ‘Writing’ stand could be to write a character description about the martian they have designed. They could also write the description for the setting based on a landscape suitable for their martian. To link with the ‘Oral Language’ strand the students could work in pairs to talk about how they could describe Earth to an alien using the ‘Where Do You Live?’ resource from Esero. A link to Digital Technology could be using the iPads to explore Mars with Google Mars from Google Earth. As a link to Visual Art, the students could sketch or draw their martian. If time allowed, they could create their martian using 3D materials or recyclable materials.
Hi Sarah, I like your idea of linking your study of the planets to P.E. I think the students would really enjoy engaging in ‘The Planets’ game. I agree that it would give them a better understanding of orbital revolution.
Activity Set: The Moon
The activity set I have chosen is ‘The Moon’. I like that this activity set is very hands on. I believe focusing on the moon as a theme will help the students’ understanding of a wide range of astronomy and space concepts. I would use this activity with either first class or second class. It may be useful to complete this lesson in September/October. The students can pay attention to the moon’s regular monthly movement and track it throughout the year. This topic could also be linked to Maths, in particular 3D shapes as the moon is spherical. A link can also be made to Science, in particular the strand of ‘Technology’ by studying the advances that have been made with the telescope through the years. I would teach the ‘Moon Rhyme’ to link our topic with Literacy. As a class we could also create a word bank of words about the moon based on ‘What does the moon look like?’ from Esero. A link to History could be study of the lunar missions that took place in the 1960’s and 1970’s. As a link to Visual Art I would complete the ‘The Man in the Moon: Journey to the Moon’ activity from Esero. This activity would help the students to realise that the moon doesn’t always look the same. If time allowed I would also complete the ‘Meet Our Neighbour: The Moon’ activity from Astro Edu. It will allow students to recognise and describe lunar features using the tactile moon.
I believe aquaculture farms and their location contribute hugely socio-economically to coastal communities. There are many areas of Ireland and coastal communities that are dependent on aquaculture, particularly on the west coast of Ireland and the lack of agriculture due to the mountains which dominate the landscape. Land features in these areas make aquaculture the most predominant type of farming. Aquaculture supports the coastal communities directly and indirectly. Firstly, it provides employment opportunities for citizens in areas of fishing. Atlantic salmon, pacific rock oysters and blue mussels are plentiful on the west coast of Ireland. The sector provides year-round, well-paid jobs and supports economic growth in rural, coastal and island areas. According to IFA “Irish aquaculture is worth €180m to the Irish economy, providing almost 2,000 direct jobs and contributing to 8,500 indirect jobs in the seafood sector, sustaining coastal communities.” Education courses and research projects also provide employment. Aquaculture also helps to keep waterways clean and sustainable aquaculture increases food production.
