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These are great ideas, I totally forgot about the story how to catch a star and coldplay song. Perfect way to integrate it into learning.
Prepare a school project to collect Piseógs/Traditions/Stories of the Night. For Example: Dúchas Folklore Commission
As a 3rd to 6th class Halloween project last year we looked up a researched haunted places in limerick and also halloween traditions. The children also used dúchas.ie to look up the meaning of their surnames at another stage. For the new class I would check the children’s prior learning about folklore and also play an clip from dúchas.ie and also a video from folklore story teller Eddie Lenihan. I would hope that this would ignite the children’s sense of wonder.
We would then look at the different topics covered in dúchas.ie and see which areas we are most interested in, each child could pick a different area. They could then compile their questions that they would like the answer to and also decide how they are going to record the information (video, writing it down, photographs, audio recording) and prepare accordingly. We would then need to make a list of local people that would be older that the children could interview. They would need to set the time, place etc themselves or we could invite them to the school.
The information would then be presented in whatever format each child likes and presented back to the class and also kept in the school as a record of local history.
We could also ask a speaker to come in from Heritage Ireland to link in with further learning.It fits in very well with the green school flag depending on which flag is being worked on and also allows children to take ownership of the project with very little input needed from the teacher as it is all visual.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.At the start of the year I would focus on doing a biodiversity survey of our school and also the walk around our school asking the children to note every plant, insect, bird or animal that they see. We would make a record of this and then using the Irish Pollinators website we would look at ways that we could improve the number of 1 of each. Using the framework and in 3 separate groups the children would plan and either create or make something that would help. We would factor in light pollution closer to the Halloween holidays and looks at bats and other nocturnal animals that have been recorded in the area. The children would take these animals, trees and insects into consideration for their plans to improve biodiversity in the area and then implement their plan. The actions would be revisited in Feb and then again in June to see if the children’s changes have made a difference. As I teach 3rd to 6th, the class can continue this on a four year rotation and reflect annually.
I like that you are drawing the childrens attention to the types of light around the children, LED, warm etc and that they will notice the impacts of the differences.
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I would start the lesson by asking the students what they already know about light pollution. I would pose the question, “How does light pollution impact us and the environment?”To move forward and engage the pupils with the topic, I would show the Australian astronomer’s video explaining light pollution and its impact on the night sky, as well as on the people and animals within the ecosystem. I would teach the students about circadian rhythms and the need for bodily systems to rest and rejuvenate. Hopefully this would allow the children to wonder and think about other impacts of light pollution.
I would then conduct experiments to show them what can be done to reduce light pollution as outlined on the slides. For example, covering the light with shades and using eco-friendly light bulbs.
To add to the experience, I would also give them a survey to determine light pollution in their area so they can complete it. We would collate together as a class to share and discuss their results.
To conclude, I would prompt the students as to what solutions can be proposed to combating light pollution and also show them previous projects carried out by other pupils in Ireland.I love this idea as it can all be carried out during the school time and is a lovely way to start the day of learning. It incorporates mindfulness and observation promoting wellbeing also.
I teach 3rd to 6th I created a plan using timeanddate.com for September which will show which planets are visible in the evening sky.
Depending on cloud cover, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter will all be visible to the naked eye around the beginning of September. I will show the students the alien in the eso videos and his tour of the planets.
I will explain this approach to my students by giving them an overview of the solar system, with an emphasis on the planets we will be studying. To help the kids understand more about the unique features of each planet, particularly the ones they will be attempting to watch at night, I believe I will use the planet container activity.
The observation will be part of homework, and since it is a little more practical and may involve the entire family, I believe this will be a good way to introduce homework to 3rd class in the senior classroom. After that, we will have a virtual sky tour in class using the Stellarium software. This will provide the students an opportunity to observe what the sky will look like when they are there. The children will conduct research and print out basic star maps that display the planets’ locations for the date of the observation night. I will make a planet-spotting checklist so the students can cross out the planets they see and jot down any thoughts they may have.I like how clearly your ideas are laid out and also the inclusion of the indoor/ outdoor activity for weather related reasons.
Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
In regard to this, I previously observed this with my class but did not keep detailed notes. I did, however, take students out at different times of the day. Students verbally explained sun position and its changes throughout the day. Students recorded approximate sunrise and sunset times in groups, which were checked against a website and only occurred outside of school hours. This captured the students’ imaginations and reinforced the concept of different positions. Students may have to be in another room in the house to see the sun set versus rise. I hadn’t thought of recording the sun’s position by a window in the classroom which is a very straightforward and efficient approach. This could work well in my class as I have quite a big window that I think faces south. A photographic record would be most useful. It would be interdisciplinary because students would have to ensure that the photograph was taken from the same position, and that a tripod or table set to exact height, and that a tripod or table was at the same height.
It seems a photo might have to be done in the back and front yards. Or the phone or iPad could be set to a specific position and take photos on a timer. Then the photos could be displayed in order on the IWB. Then a summary could be made and children could report their findings to the young class weekly or once a season.
This is a great plan for the year and seems easy to integrate into the rest of the curriculum. I like the clear movement from easy to more challenging tasks for the class to progress. Definitely going to try implement something similar.
Research a famous scientist or engineer associated with your local area and describe how you would use that person as inspiration for classroom science investigations.
Our school is in Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick and just last year a local scientist, Olivia Humphreys has won multiple awards for the creation of a scalp cooling system for chemotherapy patients. I feel like this would really connect with the children as they may know her family but also because they have an interest in wellbeing and health. We would then research other devices, tools, treatments that are available to patients and hospitals. Using the resources from SFI on health and wellbeing the children would be given the task of building their own variations to help people who may have mobility issues etc. They would need to wonder, plan, make, and evalaute their creation and ask questions about the process and what they have learned from it.
The children could also research other scientists in the area and present their findings to the class for future projects.
I thought of a similar lesson but I like how you have included the materials and the geometric concepts. I will adapt mine to do the same.
Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne or a bridge in your local area as inspiration, describe how you would plan a class or whole school challenge to design and make a bridge. How would you integrate mathematical thinking and incorporate the maths skills appropriate to your class level.
For thi sactivity I would keep it as a class project as I teach 3rd to 6th class. As suggested in the slides I would use pictures as prompts for the children. I would show pictures of the bridge at Birr Castle and I would also pictures of bridges from the local area (Limerick) and around Ireland. I would ask questions that include the maths curriculum such as what shapes do they see? What do we use bridges for. I would then show the video of the farmer building his bridge to show the need for bridges. I would then give the groups the criteria for their bridge of 2 toy cars to travel on the bridge and a toy boat underneath (weight) and allow the children to plan and make their bridges.
The children would then present and analyse their bridges and those of their peers asking what 3 new things they have learned from the process.