[Helen Kiernan]

I would agree that cross curricular linkage can be used for this topic. Dark skies can ne ironically a visual topic! So visual arts can easily be integrated!

[Helen Kiernan]

To design a dark sky in the classroom I would do the following:
We have a hall which we use next to the school and the lighting is poor. I would set up an area in the hall maybe a corner where we can black out some of the windows. Alternatively I would use the sensory room in the school as we already have blacked out the window.
I would link in with art lessons to create a “night sky” on the ceiling of the hall or sensory room.
Children can be asked to observe the night sky in their area and then represent what they have seen through drawing and art. These drawings can be displayed in the dark sky area of the room.

[Helen Kiernan]

I would especially agree with this post.

I’ve found it strange over the last few years that nocturnal animals are appearing more often during the day. We see foxes all the time now running across the roads in broad daylight and I wonder if this is due in some way to light pollution. It really gets you thinking.

[Helen Kiernan]

i have lived in Dublin, Athlone and now I live back home in West Cork.

Over the years I have noticed that the stars are only completely visible at times where we are in west Cork. They are amazing on a clear night. Of course it is part of the countryside so we don’t have any street lighting.

I would speak to students and discuss how much street lighting is necessary in our area. Our school is in a rural area but there is a church and hall right next door and we often comment that we would like more lighting at night when there are ceremonies and special events.

I think the topic of light pollution is rarely spoken of and many students would not be aware of it’s impact.

By raising awareness children would be reinforced to turn off lights at school and even at home would think twice about leaving lights on at night when not necessary.

[Helen Kiernan]

Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be in 2024- 2025

I would involve the students firstly. As they are senior students they are used to accessing and searching for information on ipads. This is an ICT skill which they enjoy and it empowers the students to find their information themselves or in pairs. They are used to accessing allowed websites.

Firstly it would be important to assess what they already know and explore their ideas of full moons and answer their questions of why the moon can be visible in daylight.

I would lead the students to look at the lunar calendar to give an understanding of the moon and when it is visible from earth.

We can then identify together a date where the moon should be visible in the morning and plan for that date.

September would be a good time to do this and afterwards I would use to discussion and ask the students to provide diagraphs on their observations as well as writing on what they have learned.

 

[Helen Kiernan]

I would agree that the planet picnic is a lovely activity that could be done with all classes.

It has cross curricular links and would easily tie in with maths and art.

In particular the weight and capacity strands of maths.

 

[Helen Kiernan]

earth tubes and other planetary tubes:

objectives: to gain an understanding of how weight differs on different planets

to gain an understanding of weight and mass

 

use different pringles tubes to represent each planet in the solar system.

fill each with different amounts of rice based on the table that indicates weight.

decorate each tube with paint to represent a different colour.

let each child lift the tubes and gain an understaning of the different weight on each planet

compare each planet tube to that of the earth’s planet.

Discussion: how gravity can compare on earth and on different planets.

 

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