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Hi Ailbhe,
I think the work of tidy towns is excellent and how it appeals to all ages. It is really nice how the 6th class in your school are involved in decorating the community garden at various times of the year. This is something I would like to do with my class next year!
Sustainability is practiced in our local area by the tidy towns. There is a mix of all ages who attend and the younger members are encouraged to plant flowers and deepen their understanding of the biodiversity in the area.
Laois walking festival is another way in which people of the community come together and walk a variety of routes across the county.
People are encouraged to use the new bus service in the town, limiting the amount of cars in the town.
There are many wild gardens and wildflower beds to encourage pollination.
The green clubs programme which is linked to the GAA is another way in which sustainability is promoted in the community ensuring initiatives like waste reduction and energy saving.I found the nutrition of seafood very interesting and I feel as though the children would be naturally interested in this.
I love the idea of food tastings or getting in someone to do a cookery demonstration with fish, which would be really exciting. The nutrition of seafood has great potential for cross curricular links. In SPHE and healthy eating the children could learn the benefits of fish. In art, they could look up various fish/sea food and make paintings. In Irish, they could find out the Irish names for various fish/sea food.I think the videos on the BIM website are an excellent resource to use here too!
I really love the idea of food tasting too. We are quick to offer children rewards such as ice-cream party / popcorn party. I think getting the children to taste fish is an excellent idea as some children don’t get the opportunity.
The online lessons and resources would help to teach STEM in an engaging manner. The BIM website and the ARC have an excellent selection of lessons that I look forward to using with my 6th class in September.
The content of these lessons are child centered and would naturally develop an inquiry based approach to learning, whether it be the lifecycle of the salmon, nutrition and aquaculture, sustainable Irish seafood or aquaculture and the community, these lessons are rooted in STEM and assess and engage the children with excellent quizzes at the end of the videos. I think these lessons really get the children questioning and wondering.Hi Maire,
I look forward to also applying the stem concepts through inquiry based learning. I think child-led inquiry based learning is most enjoyable for the children where their curiosity is at the heart of their learning.
Ireland’s aquaculture farms are primarily located across Galway, Mayo, Clare, Mayo, Donegal, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Wexford.
From a socio-economic perspective Irelands aquaculture provides these areas with huge potential. It gives local people employment in the area. This employment has a ripple effect and salmon/oyster farms can employ multiple people.It also develops a sense of community and identity in these areas where people are very proud of their accomplishments.
Hi Marie,
I also agree that aquaculture entices the younger generation to remain/return home when we have a massive number of young people emigrating from this country. It is great that there is such economic growth in these areas.
Learning about aquaculture can impact school students by making them realise about the wide rage of biodiversity that exists along our coast. It makes science come alive for them and with learning facilities such as the ARC it ignites an interest and desire to learn about the bigger picture. Making children aware of biodiversity, global warming, conservation and sustainability. Social Licence can impact school students as they begin to question and discover ethics and how we as a society are impacted by decision makers.
Hi Marie,
I too agree that exploring aquaculture and social licence deepens children’s understanding of sustainability. It opens their minds to the wider world and how decision made at a larger scale can effect everyone else.
Activity: The Moon.
I would use this activity in my classroom over the period of a fortnight with two lessons on the topic.
I would begin by triggering an interest in the topic by playing a video on the moon, thus encouraging conversation and eliciting children’s prior knowledge. Their is the potential to teach the children about astronauts and NASA here too should they demonstrate the interest.
Viewing the moon at different times in the school day and encouraging the children to look at the moon at night time would develop interest and conversation. Children could take an image of the moon using the iPads and store their various images on their personal Seesaw account.
I would then use the activity ASTROEDU activity and link it with visual arts. The children will create their visual representation of the moon.
I really like this activity and I agree that getting kids outdoors is really important. It is child led learning and puts the child at the center of the learning. Fostering and encouraging this interest in young kids would be fantastic and something I wouldn’t have thought of before this course.
Furthermore, I think this would be an excellent activity to incorporate into Mindful Mondays which our school uses to encourage mindfulness and positive wellbeing.
Inquiry based activity in the classroom.
I would use inquiry based learning for the activity of ‘Design a bridge’ under the strand unit properties and characteristics of materials.
I would begin the lesson with a picture of a variety of well known bridges. This would encourage children to wonder why do we need bridges. How do bridges work? How can lorries cross bridges and what makes them structurally sound? How can we make/construct bridges? Children will then explore the objects provided to make/construct a bridge in which a toy can must go over. Children will discuss what matierals they think are better than other materials and why.
During the investigation children will engage with the starter question – What makes a ‘strong’ bridge? The toy car will also be referred to here again.
Children will make and record predictions. Children will work in pairs and conduct the investigation using materials of their choice. We will then test the bridges and record results.
Children will then be encouraged to apply their learning to real life scenarios.
Inquiry based activity in the classroom.
I would use inquiry based learning for the activity of ‘Design a bridge’ under the strand unit properties and characteristics of materials.
I would begin the lesson with a picture of a variety of well known bridges. This would encourage children to wonder why do we need bridges. How do bridges work? How can lorries cross bridges and what makes them structurally sound? How can we make/construct bridges? Children will then explore the objects provided to make/construct a bridge in which a toy can must go over. Children will discuss what matierals they think are better than other materials and why.
During the investigation children will engage with the starter question – What makes a ‘strong’ bridge? The toy car will also be referred to here again.
Children will make and record predictions. Children will work in pairs and conduct the investigation using materials of their choice. We will then test the bridges and record results.
Children will then be encouraged to apply their learning to real life scenarios.