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I agree with you Katriona. There is so much integration under this topic. It goes a lot further than just the STEM subjets. Definitely a theme I will be exploring across the course of a couple of months during the following school year as there is so much content within it.
Children of all ages can learn about Irish traditions and folklore by talking to older people in their local community. Parents, grandparents and neighbours can be excellent sources of information because they may remember stories, songs, games, customs and celebrations from the past. As a class, the teacher and children could prepare questions before meeting with interviewees and ask about traditions they experienced at night time when they were young. The information could be collected by writing down the answers, important facts and interesting stories. Children could also record the names of the people they interviewed and when the information was collected. After gathering the information, the children would share their findings with a wider audience. They could use a camera to record short videos of the people telling their stories and explaining the night time traditions. These recordings could be shown to classmates, parents and the wider school community, helping to preserve and celebrate Ireland’s rich cultural heritage for future generations.
I agree Julie. I think that if the children were allowed to take control of the project they would have a lot more awareness of and respect for wildlife.
Biodiversity plans should recognise habitats of nocturnal birds, animals and insects as well as the wildlife itself. Owls need dark areas for hunting and nesting, while Ireland’s bats depend on darkness, hedgerows, trees and habitats full of insects. Artificial light can disrupt feeding, movement and food chain relationships. For a school’s biodiversity plan to be meaningful, children should help with the design. They can do this by mapping lights and habitats, conducting dusk wildlife surveys from locations, recording owl calls or bat activity and monitoring changes across a decided period of time. They could create posters encouraging families to reduce unnecessary lighting, present findings to the school board, and review the plan each year. Their conclusions may include creating “dark zones” by switching off unnecessary outdoor lights, using timers or motion sensors, and choosing wildlife friendly, downward facing lighting where illumination is essential. Planting native hedgerows, wildflower areas and trees can provide insects and shelter for bats and hunting habitat for owls. Bat boxes and owl boxes could be considered and the children would be extremely proud of their project once they begin to notice and become more aware of the wildlife out in the school yard.
I like your idea of desiging a poster. This would be a great way to link in visual arts and wellbeing too. Great ideas for thematic planning!
Light pollution is increasingly affecting Ireland’s countryside as artificial light from roads, estates, farms and businesses spreads into rural areas that would have been traditionally darker. Excessive artificial light at night can disrupt nocturnal wildlife, particularly bats, insects and birds. Light pollution also reduces people’s ability to experience Ireland’s natural night skies, which are an important part of rural landscapes and tourism, particularly around designated dark-sky areas.The natural night skies have been particularly beneficial to humans in recent years as we have had numerous opportunities to view the Northern Lights. In my classroom, II would encourage younger learners to investigate their local area whether they live in the town or in the countryside. This would be a great winter lesson as children could go out into their gardens in the early evening time and observe the sources of life, the types of animals they see etc. and also take some photos. We could then compare and contrast a rural setting versus a suburban area as a class.
Great idea for introducing the strand of constrcution in visual arts Lindsy. This would be so much more intesresting than getting the children to just draw the constellations. I’m going to keep this one in mind!
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>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?</span>
<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>This lesson is perfect for linking the STEAM subject areas for 6th class students.Integrating maths, science and visual arts together first, children can explore 3-D shapes, light and shadows and sketching shadows. Once these topics have been covered, the children will specifically focus on the shadows that can be cast on spheres, the sphere representing the moon and will create a sketch of the various phases of the moon. The class will observe the moon each night over the course of a month and sketch it. They will take note of whether or not they can see the moon each morning during outside assembly. If the children can see the moon in the morning, iPads will be handed out to pairs and they can visit the website ‘Where is the moon?’ to confirm what phase the moon is in. They can use the same website to make moon phase predictions and their dates for the following month and so on.</span>
I agree with you Laura. I think 4th class are the perfect age for this activity as I had 3rd class last year and I felt they were curious about sundials but a little too young to fully grasp the idea. Sounds like a great lesson, really hands on!
Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
I would split children into small groups and take them out onto the tarmac first thing in the morning. Each group would have a clipboard and pencil. The children would be encouraged to take note of where the sun is in the sky. Is it low, medium or high in the sky? Which part of the school is it closest to? One member of the group would be nominated to draw a picture of the position of the sun in the sky and note the time of the day. Next, another member of the group would lie on the ground and the remaining children would trace around their teammate using chalk. Children will repeat this in the afternoon before hometime taking note once again of the position of the sun in the sky, drawing a picture and retracing around their teammate with chalk in the same spot. Teams will then nominate one child to voice their findings.