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Before completing this module, I knew that seafood was healthy, but I did not realise just how many nutritional benefits it provides. Learning about the different types of seafood and their nutritional value helped me understand why it is such an important part of a balanced diet. Seafood is a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy omega-3 fats, which support brain development, heart health and overall wellbeing. I also learned that eating a variety of seafood can help children develop healthy eating habits from a young age.
In the classroom, I could apply this knowledge in many ways. During a healthy eating topic, children could explore different types of seafood, discuss their nutritional benefits and compare them with other food groups. We could carry out simple investigations, create healthy meal plates, read food labels and even taste different seafood where appropriate. This would link well with Science, SPHE and Maths through activities such as surveys, graphs and discussions about healthy lifestyles.
This module also reminded me that it is important to teach children where their food comes from and to encourage them to make informed food choices. By using practical, hands-on activities, I can help pupils develop a better understanding of nutrition while also promoting healthy habits that they can bring home and use in everyday life.Hi claire, I really like your ideas, it’s a great starting point to get pupils comparing agriculture and aquaculture, then moving on to the ARC classroom videos and I love the idea of wrapping up the lesson with pupil designed quizzes or a kahoot or something similar.
I thought this module was excellent and i really loved the ARC videos on the BMI website. I think these are excellent resources as a basis to explore different areas in greater detail. The videos are engaging and very visual. I loved the sequence of videos from explaining the different types of fish farming (mussels, oysters and salmon), then moving on to the nutritional value of fish, the people and community and the job opportunities in this sector and them finally sustainability.
The STEM Education Policy Statement encourages schools to give children more opportunities to learn through hands-on experiences, and I think these resources are a great way to do that.I agree Diarmuid you have some lovely ideas for linking the curriculum. Some of these ideas would be ideal for schools near the coast but could also provide a great basis for project work with any pupils.
When I started looking at aquaculture in Ireland, I didn’t realise how important it is for many coastal communities. Most aquaculture farms are found along the west and south-west coast, in counties like Donegal, Galway, Mayo and Cork. These areas have clean water and sheltered bays, which make them ideal for farming salmon, mussels and oysters.
I think aquaculture is really important because it provides jobs in places where there may not be many other employment opportunities. It doesn’t just create jobs on the farms, but also in processing, transport and local businesses. This helps families stay living in their local communities instead of having to move away to find work.
At the same time, I think it’s important that aquaculture is managed properly. If farms aren’t looked after, they could have a negative impact on the environment. Protecting water quality and marine life is just as important as creating jobs.
Overall, I think aquaculture is a positive industry for Ireland. It supports local economies, provides fresh seafood and helps keep many coastal communities alive. Learning about it has made me realise how closely the environment and the economy are connected, and why sustainable farming is so important for the future.Hannah you are very lucky to have the opportunity to work near the sea, it definitely gives you a chance to give the children real hands on experience of an oyster farm, when children see things first hand it really benefits their learning and makes the whole learning experience come to life.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>This module was really interesting and had so much information about aquaculture. I am based in the midlands but found this module brilliant. I loved the ARC classroom, I had never heard of this before and was fascinated by it. I think any school lucky enough to have this resource visit there school it would bring Aquaculture to life and especially for children that have limited access to the coast. I know there is a long waiting list but it is something so worthwhile for children.</p>
I thought the young chefs programme was also really interesting and a fantastic opportunity for candidates. This module really brought to life the wonderful coastal enterprises located on our island and like I said even though I teach in the midlands I will definitely use these fantastic resources going forward.Wow this is a lovely idea, I’m sure it’s something the children would love to create and design. A living wall is a fab idea and pupils would learn so much about native plants and which ones would be most suitable for the project.
Taking inspiration from all the modules in this course I would use my local town of Birr. Even though I have visited Birr Castle Demense on numerous occasions, this course has given me so much knowledge and inspiration to use this fantastic amenity on my schools doorstep. I would bring my class to the castle to look at biodiversity, we could take part in the wild connections nature trail. We could do design and make lessons on both the suspension bridge and the great telescope or even explore the castle itself as a design and make exercise.
We could also use activities from the mapping module, and pick a walk in the castle to recreate using local natural materials (without disturbing nature and replacing anything used so the habitat isn’t disturbed).
We could look at maps of the area and use the time travel idea as outlined by one of the heritage videos in module 5. We could use this for any part of Birr town and look at the changes over the years.
Carlow sports partnership have so many lovely downloads too which could be used in birr castle or on the schools grounds. I really look forward to exploring so many aspects of this course next year with my class.
History lessons could be linked to the many famous scientists mentioned in this course also.
Some great ideas here, we do a section in our school for ‘no mow may’ and it is lovely to see the wildflowers and grasses flourish and to see all the butterflies and bees buzzing around.
This is a fantastic idea and sounds like such a good lesson! The children would love exploring this and would learn so much from the hands on aspect of the lesson. It would be an ideal lesson for integration across so many curricular areas.
It’s lovely to read in this forum other places we could all use for inspiration for a make and design lesson. Thanks for sharing!
Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne, I would firstly bring the children to see the bridge (I am teaching local to Birr Castle). The children would see first hand what the bridge looks like and could then use this visit as a basis for designing their own bridge. We would discuss what materials might be most suitable for creating our own bridges, the pupils could us recycled materials, lego, sticks etc to try create their own bridges. We would sketch or draw our designs before attempting to build them. In relation to maths we could measure the bridges, do some graphs on the materials needed to make the bridge, compare and contrast the shape and size of different groups bridges. There are endless opportunities with this activity and the pupils could work in groups or individually to create and design their own bridges. I think it would be so interesting to see how creative the children could be with this activity. Pupils could test their bridges for strength also. They could revisit their designs and see if they would do things differently the next time to improve or strengthen their design.
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There are so many resources in this module that you could use to conduct a seasonal biodiversity project through the school year. I really loved the checklists provided by Carlow sports partnership, depending on the class level being thought these could be downloaded and used as they are or adapted to suit. I really like the idea of taking photos of flora and fauna in your locality and using this as a checklist for children. I loved the suggestion in one of the videos of making it a little competitive and giving points for items found and maybe putting in something that isn’t in the area also to encourage children not to just tick every box.I also loved the idea of giving each group a copy of wildflowers of ireland book and getting them to identify a flower and teach the other groups about them. I think these could all be used throughout the year. Taking the same nature walk during the different seasons also draws the children’s attention to the changes happening to trees etc
This is a fantastic idea and not something I would’ve thought of, I love the idea of using the digital map to explore the school environment and for looking at ways the green school committee can look at ways/areas suitable to target in promoting biodiversity.
I loved this module and the idea of mapping. I think in the younger classes the idea of going for a walk and then using eco friendly materials to create a map of the walk was such a lovely idea. Using the heritage video either before or after the walk to provide the children with inspiration is a great idea. I love how the different materials used represented so clearly the different aspects of the walk being mapped. I really thought it was lovely then to see the walk mapped out in the lego model which included the houses where the walk started, the river, bridges, trees and flowers. It would be lovely to compare and contrast the two maps and different materials might appeal to different children so the opportunity to explore materials is a lovely idea.
I think it would be lovely to plan a lesson for younger children even mapping part of the school grounds or a nearby walk way. I would then use the video in this module to help children understand the process and offer a variety of materials to use to map the area. It would be a lovely conclusion to look at each other’s maps and discuss them.