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Hi Catherine,
I didn’t realise that Chris Hadfield had written other books. I must have a look at Professor Astro’s Cats. Thanks for sharing!
Songs:
Twinkle twinkle
Fly me to the Moon
A Sky Full of Stars
Starman
Space Oddity
Rocket Man
Starry Starry Night (Don McClean linked to the Van Gogh painting)
Counting Stars
Rewrite the stars
When you wish upon a StarPoems/Stories
The Owl and the Pussy-cat
If I was an Astronaut
The Darkest Dark by Christ Hadfield
Mae amongst the Stars
Art:
Starry Night by Van Gogh
Aboriginal Art
I would start by getting the children to explore the biodiversity around our school and local suburban area. We could look at the birds, insects, plants and other wildlife we see and record what we find. As our area is quite built-up, I think it would be interesting to look at how urban sprawl and the loss of natural spaces can affect local biodiversity.
We could explore different areas around the school and compare places that have more green space with areas that are more built up. We could also compare brighter and darker areas and discuss how light pollution may affect wildlife, especially nocturnal animals such as bats, moths and birds.
Using simple observations, photographs and digital tools, the children could collect and record their findings. They could then discuss what they have discovered and suggest small changes we could make in our school or local area to support biodiversity and reduce the impact of light pollution. This would help them see that biodiversity is all around us, even in a suburban environment.
Hi Mairead,
This sounds like a great lesson. I highly recommend The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield as great story to link into your lesson.
The idea of light pollution actually came up with my class when the aurora borealis was visible in Ireland, although it was much more visible to some people than others! Living in the suburbs of Limerick city, we have quite a lot of artificial light from streetlights, houses, roads and buildings, which can make it harder to see stars and other objects in the night sky.
I would use the northern lights as a starting point on this lesson and ask the children why some people were able to see it clearly while others could barely see it at all. We could look at photographs taken from Limerick and compare them with photographs from darker, more rural areas. We could also use a light pollution map to see how light levels change as you move away from the city.
The children could observe the night sky from home and record if they can see any stars or planets. They could maybe photograph the night sky and we could look at and compare each child’s view.
Hi Aoife,
This sounds like a lovely lesson. I love using The Planets by Holst, to link music when learning about Space. Jupiter is usually the one I go for. Its a great way of introducing the topic through a listening and responding lesson.
I would plan to observe the Moon with the children during the school morning during the winter month when the moon is still visible. I would start by asking the children what they already know about the Moon and its different phases. We could look at a Moon phase chart and predict what shape we might see.
I also have some great videos from YouTube downloaded that explain the Moon phases really well, so I could use these to introduce the topic and help the children understand why the Moon appears to change shape. In the past, I have also taken photos of the Moon at night or early in the morning, sometimes with the school or local landmarks in the background, and shown these to the children. I think this makes it more interesting and helps them see that the Moon is something they can observe themselves.
We could then go outside together to see if we can spot the Moon and talk about what we notice. The children could draw what they see in a simple Moon diary and compare their drawings over time. This would be a simple and practical way to help them understand how the Moon changes.
Hi Catherine,
This sounds like a lovely lesson. There’s also a great Disney short animation called Day and Night, that might compliment your lesson or could be used instead of the story to introduce the idea!
I would use the ESA One year on Earth Understanding the Seasons resource as a fun and visual way to help children understand why we have different seasons. I would start by asking the children what they think causes summer, winter, spring and autumn. I would record their ideas and check for any misunderstandings, such as thinking summer happens because the Earth is closer to the Sun.
I usually explain this using a globe to show the tilt of the Earth, but I think this video would be much better!! It would really help the children understand the idea more clearly. I would pause the video at different points to give the children time to discuss what they can see. They could then work in pairs to explain how the Earth moves around the Sun and how sunlight changes throughout the year.
To finish, the children could draw a simple diagram showing why we have different seasons.