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Climate Detectives is a fantastic initiative which allows children to be proactive in dealing with a climate issue in their locality.
Before beginning the project, I would recap on previous lessons which we have completed on climate; what is climate (climate vs. weather), what is climate change, what are greenhouse gases, how are humans having an impact on climate change – both positively and negatively.
Following on from this I would pose the question ‘what effect is climate change having on the biodiversity of our locality?’ (I would have previously revised biodiversity to ensure understanding before posing the question)
As a whole class, we would discuss evidence of climate change in the wider world. Following on from there, I would ask the class to work in groups to discuss the topic and identify evidence of climate change in our locality, with a particular focus on biodiversity. We would carry out a biodiversity walk in the school grounds and local area with the children being asked to identify climate change as we walk. On returning to the classroom, children would return to their groups and decide on an activity they would carry out in their group to research, record and present evidence of climate change and its affect on biodiversity and formulate a plan to reduce the impact of climate change on their chosen area.
Download the Teacher Guide & Pupil Activities for the ESA Resource ‘ Nose High Up in The Sky, carry out the pupil activities yourself and post your thoughts on the resource and if you would use it in class.
This was a very interesting module and I think that children will really enjoy taking part in activities in which they are given the opportunity to explore observing earth and space from a variety of perspectives.
The ESA Resource ‘High Up in the Sky’ would be a fun and engaging lesson which could be adapted to suit all class levels.
The lesson gives children lots of opportunities for exploration and self-discovery, as well as allowing them to foster scientific skills and being involved in inquiry based learning.
I would use this resource to teach children about the different ways in which the earth can be observed from space. They would be given the opportunity to compare and contrast satellite images of the earth taken from space with those taken from the earth itself. We would discuss the pros and cons of using satellite images.
I think that there would be plenty of opportunity to integrate the lesson with geography and developing geographical skills such as mapping as well as developing a better sense of place and space.
I agree that it is better to focus on the positive impact we can have, especially with younger classes.
The Home video is clearly very striking and engaging for the viewer with some fantastic cinematography. As it is very long, I don’t think it would be practical to show in its entirety to a class. As well as this, I feel aspects of it are too abstract or unsuitable for children. Therefore, I would pick out some elements of the video which I believe would be age appropriate for a class and use them as a prompt or starting point for a lesson or discussion on climate change. I think the video shows clearly the impact of humans on climate change. Rather than focusing on the negative, I would hope to use the video clips as a way to make the children aware of the ways in which humans have a negative impact on the world around us but then ask them to research all of the ways in which humans are having a positive impact nowadays and what they are doing to make improvements. Following on from this, I would ask them to look closer to home and identify ways in which we could make a positive impact within our locality and school community.
The Paxi video is a very useful resource for teaching children about greenhouse gases. I think it can be used at all class levels as it is engaging and informative. It would be a good starting point for a lesson on greenhouse gases as it sparks an interest in, and awareness of, the topic.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>In my opinion, activity 3, climate reporters would be most suited to older classes, as I think the climate prediction activity would be too advanced for younger pupils. When using this activity with older classes, I would firstly revise the concept of climate with the class and recap on the previous lesson ‘weather vs. climate’. Following on from this, I would ask the children to work in groups independently to research and record temperatures. This could be integrated into other lessons such as maths – recording and representing data, Geography – weather, climate and atmosphere, history – past and present, English – report writing, Gaeilge – an aimsir, as well as themed arts lessons on weather/climate.</p>The extension activity for 6th class would be very beneficial in teaching children about weather and climate.
Liston’s paper ‘Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics’ highlights the importance of meaningful STEM Education. This paper reminds us of the need to create lessons in which children are involved in enquiry based learning in which they explore real world, practical problem-solving. The paper highlights the need to ensure that the subjects of STEM are integrated and taught as a whole, which is emphasised in the new primary curriculum framework. I would hope that in my classroom, children would be involved in self-discovery, engaged in problem-solving and being provided with opportunities to investigate and explore.
Activity 1 and 2 are easy to use, practical lessons which can be adapted for use at most class levels in some way. I would use these lessons to create an understanding and awareness of weather and climate and the vocabulary and language associated with both. Following on from this I would allow the children to investigate the weather and climate of our locality.
It’s lovely to see all of the traditional folk tales which link to the night sky as these could be used when teaching children about the topic.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky? <i>For example: Look up President Michael D Higgins’ “Stardust”</i>
There are a vast number of songs, stories, poems and artwork in which artists and musicians have been inspired by the night sky. It also allows us as teachers to integrate the arts into thematic lessons relating to stars and the night sky and STEM education.
Songs which come to mind when I think of the night sky are nursery rhymes like ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, ‘Star Star’ by the Frames, ‘Sky Full of Stars’ by Coldplay, ‘Dream a Little Dream’ by The Mamas and Papas, ‘City of Stars’ from the Lalaland soundtrack, ‘Rocketman’ by Elton John, ‘Starman’ by David Bowie among many others.
Oliver Jeffers has written many children’s books about the night sky, including ‘How to Catch a Star’ and ‘The Way Back Home’. ‘The Iron Giant’ is another fantastic book and movie linking to the night sky.
There are so many artworks inspired by the night sky, the most famous probably being ‘Starry Night’ by Vincent van Gogh.
I think it is a lovely idea to incorporate home activities which would not be possible to do in school, such as counting stars.
• How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
Biodiversity is a fantastic topic for all class levels and is one which could be taught from a whole school perspective. It links well with STEM subjects, as well as the arts, English, Gaeilge, Geography and History.
There are many resources available which could be used to teach children about biodiversity, such as the tree council of Ireland website or the engage with nature website among others. To engage pupils in learning about diversity, I would use these resources before giving the students an opportunity to explore biodiversity in our locality. This would involve activities such as nature walks, tree identification walks, recording species on the citizens science portal, surveying birds and recording them on the birdwatch Ireland website, designing and making bird feeders and bug hotels, planting wildflower gardens, planning initiatives like ‘No Mow May’, art activities and inviting guest speakers.
In relation to light pollution in the area, we would learn about nocturnal animals and the impact which light pollution can have on them. Students could survey light sources in our school grounds and investigate how these light sources could be improved to reduce light pollution in the area.