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There are so many songs, poems and art connected to the night sky. I teach infants so I have focused on songs, poems and art that would appeal to that level and could be used in a lesson or topic. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is a favourite of many years. Children love performing it especially with the actions! “The Starry Night” by Moon Man by Tomi Ungerer, Moon by Britta Teekentrap, Alone by Scott Stuart, Little Moon by Stuart Clarke are books about the moon that are good for prompting discussion. The First Hippo on the Moon, The Darkest Dark, The Sea of Tranquillity are all lovely picture books based on Moon landings/ travel to Moon which children love. The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers is also a lovely book to spark discussion. There are many books about stars for this age. Katie and the Starry Night by James Mayhew, How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers, Star by Klaus Baumgart, Look Up by Nathan Bryan, Draw me a Star by Eric Carle are some of my favourites. Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night is a painting children can look at and observe and then recreate by using toothbrushes on black paper.
I would begin by showing the class the video about the long-eared bat. I would engage the children in a discussion about wildlife in our local area. The children would hopefully be able to name several nocturnal species in our school environment. I would ask the children about threats to these animals. What do they think is a threat? How can we protect these animals. I would then get the children to investigate our school areas and school garden for plants, animals, birds and insect. We will use a simple recording sheet and try to observe activity during the night and day. The class could set up cameras and Ipads to record activity by different species at night. I would ask the children to do the same where they live. The Gardening for Biodiversity looks like a fantastic resource. We could make a plan to build bug hotels, bat and bird boxes and I would like the children to plant a Wildflower garden. The children could look at their recording of plants and flowers in the school garden and plan what types of flowers and plants are needed in our garden to promote biodiversity.We would also look at light pollution in our school and how we could improve biodiversity in our school by reducing lighting and improving the lighting that is essential by shielding, not using blue light and keeps lighting in areas where it is essential only.
I grew up in a city suburb and am now teaching in Inner City Dublin. Even though I have always lived in a city I remember the night being much darker when I was a child. I have memories of football pitches and fields behind where I lived being unlit and not being able to see your hand in front of you there at night. Now everything is lit up and the development of housing, street lighting, offices and shopping centres has meant most parts of the city are lit even when they are not open or in use. I notice a big difference when I spend time in my husband’s family home in rural Waterford. The night is dark and the sky is clear and full of stars. However even in rural areas development of street lighting and housing is impacting on this natural dark sky. The artificial lighting is illuminating our night skies. The impact on the biodiversity of an area cannot be underestimated. I was shocked to hear the statistics of people who can no longer see a dark night sky in the UK and Ireland. I find it incredibly sad to think that children may grow up never having seen a dark sky with stars. The natural habits and habitats of animals and birds are being disturbed and it is important we do everything to stop this pollution and educate our children about light pollution. I would introduce this topic with the class by watching the light pollution video from NSW. We would walk around our school environment and detail lighting. Are there trees and hedges near the lighting. We would investigate if these lights would impact biodiversity? Are they necessary at night? Are they “dark sky friendly”? We would discuss how we could reduce light pollution in our school. We would investigate different light fixtures, shielding, different colour lights and reducing and eliminating unnecessary lights. We have a Green Schools Committee and I would hope that our findings could be presented to the committee and then to school leadership to see if as a community we could reduce light pollution in our school.
I would begin with some lessons about the Moon. I would get the children to examine pictures of the moon, order them, made craters using balls of different sizes and flour and as a class we would spend time looking at all the phases. As detailed in Esero 62 lesson I would use an Earth ball, Moon ball and lamp to teach the children getting the children to take turns to be the Moon, Sun and Earth. I would also show the children the Paxi video about the Moon and it phases. I would get the children to make a picture of the Earth and the Sun and mark out the pathway of the Moon. I would have a Moon cutout and place on the orbit so the children can move the Moon it every few days to the Moon’s current position. I would also get the children to complete a Moon observation log. This will help the children understand when to go out and see the moon. The Moon will be visible in the morning during the first and last quarter phases. In Dublin this will be around the 30th September 2025. Timeanddate.com is a handy website for checking Moon dates and times in Dublin.
I think making a sundial is a great way of teaching children about the rotation of the Earth and the light and shadows this creates. I teach in an infant school and although many of the children would be unable to read the time on a clock they do understand the different stages of the day and night. I would use the steps in the DPSM/ESERO Framework for Inquiry of engage , investigate, exploring and reflecting. I would engage the children in this topic by reading the story Moonbear’s Shadow by Frank Asch. We could then recreate scenes from the picture book, using a Bear figure and a flashlight. Children could investigate how the position of the light affects the position of the bear’s shadow. I would demonstrate the earth moving and rotating around the sun with a lamp and a globe and show the children how this causes the changes in light on earth and how shadows are formed. I would then take the children outside to the yard at three different times during the day. I would get them to create a sundial using a stick and flower pot and some chalk. We would observe and record changes in the length of the shadow cast with a chalk marking at three different times during the day. I would also get the children to trace their own shadows using chalk. We could incorporate Drama and pretend to be Bear from our story. The children could work in pairs and observe changes in their shadows and reflect on why changes have taken place. We could discuss time and ways we tell the time. We would talk about how a sundial help us tell the time. We could observe our sundial in the yard over a few days. Is the shadow always in the same place each morning? I would like the children to then visit/ view a real sundial. If this is not possible we can watch a video on YouTube detailing changes on a real sundial during a day.
I love the idea of the children sharing their ideas with the whole school at assembly. I feel it is important for children to look for solutions and do what they can within their control. The Green School Committee could have a campaign to reduce light pollution in the school.
I really like your lessons ideas. They could be used at many class levels. I could junior infants having as much fun as sixth class pupils drawing their shadows in chalk.
I really love this art activity you mentioned. It would be visually striking on a display wall and would allow children to compare and contrast their own work with others.
There are lovely books too for Infant classes. Eric Carle’s Papa please get the moon for me is a lovely one. Day Monkey Night Monkey is a great book for this topic too.
I think younger children would love looking at Nocturnal animals and the way Light Pollution can change their habitats and lives. I love the idea of a bat walk.