Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
My school is located very close to The Phoenix Park. I would love to involve my class group in an arts project based on the birds that live in our local park. I would introduce the topic by showing the children images of a variety of birds. We would name the birds and describe them. I would show the children videos of birds with focus on what birds eat and how they build their nests. I would bring the children on a walk to the park- there is a lovely route with a gated lake that allows the children to safely see a variety of birds including ducks and swans. The children would use a recording sheet to name and identify some of the birds they see.
Literacy: There are so many lovely picture books based on birds. Some of my favourites to read to a class group include Owl Babies, A Busy Day for Birds and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.
Music: Flap Your Wings Together from Super Simple Songs is a nice song to explore with a class group. Children can listen and respond through body movement. They can sing as a whole class or in small groups. It can be explored further using percussion instruments.
Visual Art: There are lots of fun and engaging art activities for children to take part in based on birds. Some ideas include drawing sketches of the birds they have seen on the walk in their local park. This could further be explored in fabric and fibre – the children could design and make the nest of the bird using a variety of materials.
I would begin a unit of work on bridges by asking the students questions about bridges and discussing as a whole class group- what is a bridge, what types of materials are bridges made from, what shapes are used in bridge construction? I would show the students photos of The Ha’penny Bridge and explore some interesting facts about the bridge with the students. I would then invite the children to sketch the Ha’penny Bridge as part of an art lesson.
I would refer to the Curious Minds Discover Stem classroom resource on designing bridges as a guide. I would organise the children into groups and give each group the same materials – A4 paper and books to represent the banks of the river. The focus of the design and make activity is to answer the question -does the design of the bridge affect its strength? The children would work collaboratively to design and make their bridge while testing how many 5c coins the bridge can hold before collapsing. The skills developed here include critical thinking, problem solving and working collaboratively. I would invite the children to use the school iPads to photograph their findings.
I really like the idea of carrying out a seasonal biodiversity project to run throughout the school year. My school is located close to the Phoenix Park and it is a perfect place to go for walks and observe the changes in seasons. I would hope to bring a class on four walks throughout the school year during autumn, winter, spring and summer. We would walk the same route and note the changes we see from one season to the next focusing on the plants and animals we see. We have a lovely school garden and this is a perfect way for children to observe and experience the changes in seasons. The minibeast activity included in this module would be fun and engaging for children to complete in the garden.
I would ensure to carry out work before each walk using the many excellent resources in this module and design a simple recording sheet for the children to note their findings. When exploring spring I would use the Garden Scavanger Hunt Challenge Resource as a guide. I would create my own recording sheet for children to make it more suitable for a junior class. Robby the Christmas Robyn is a lovely resource to use when exploring biodiversity in winter.
A project like this could be integrated with many curriculum subjects including art, music, history and geography. I always like to use picture books when exploring seasons with a class group. Creating an art classroom display based on seasons and the plants and animals we see in these seasons is always fun and engaging for children to take part in.
I really like the idea of having a biodiversity calendar displayed in the classroom. Thanks for sharing!
I really like the idea of exploring place names in Irish with a class group and hope to do this with my own class this school year.
For a younger class I would introduce the topic of maps by listening and responding to the story ‘Martha Maps it Out.’ This is a lovely picture book with beautiful illustrations. It allows for a wide discussion around maps, what we use them for and how they are drawn. I would use Google Maps to explore with the children an aerial view of Ireland. I would then zoom in to Dublin, our local area and finally zoom in on aerial view of the school itself.
I would focus on the school building with the class group and explore designing and making a map of our school to show how to get from our classroom to the school yard. We would walk this route and the students would work in pairs to record what they see along their route and the directions they move in. School iPads could be used to photograph and record their findings. We would discuss this as a whole class, record on the interactive whiteboard and begin to plan how we could design and create a map of this route.
I would give the children the opportunity to work collaboratively to draw a simple map using a variety of materials. I would integrate PE into this unit of work by inviting the children to take part in a variety of games that focuses on direction- move forwards, backwards, left, right.
The paper Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths was interesting to read and has really got me thinking about my approach to STEM in the classroom. I am teaching senior infants this school year and I hope to plan STEM activities that give students the opportunity to think critically, solve problems and work collaboratively. The ESERO resources included in this module are excellent and I’m looking forward to using them in the future. Reading this paper has highlighted to me the importance of looking at an activity and deciding whether it is STEM or not- does it include all four disciplines? I hope to engage my students in fun STEM learning activities that involves all four subjects- science, technology, engineering and maths. I plan to have a STEM classroom display that can be changed throughout the year. I find students are very motivated when they see their work displayed in the room.
I’m also teaching infants this school year. This is a lovely way to explore sound with a junior class, thanks for sharing!
This is a great list, I really the idea of exploring the night sky in Gaeilge also. Thanks for sharing!
The Night Sky is a lovely theme of work to explore with all class groups, from Junior Infants to 6th Class. There are lots of songs, poems/stories and art that can be used in the classroom when learning about the night sky.
Songs: Songs based on the night sky include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Zoom Zoom Zoom We’re Going to the Moon, Mr. Moon and When you Wish Upon a Star. These songs are fun, engaging and enjoyable for students to listen to.
Art: Starry Night by Van Gogh is a lovely piece of art work to explore with a class group as discussed in this module. The students could look at the painting and describe what they see referring to the colours, shapes and lines. The children could re-create their own Starry Night painting using a variety of materials- paint, crayon, oil pastels, etc.
Poems/Stories: Star Light star Bright is a lovely poem for classes to listen to and recite. How to Catch a Star is a beautiful story book, its’ very imaginative and a fun way to explore the night sky with a class. The students could also work together to write a night sky poem of their own as part of this theme of work.
I really like the idea of using the school iPads to take photos of the biodiversity in the local area. This would make a lovely whole school or classroom display.
My school is located close to The Phoenix Park. I would therefore use this as my focus and explore the animals that live in the park with the class group. I would bring the children on a walk in the park. In pairs I would encourage them to record the animals and insects they see along the way. We would discuss this as a whole class group and present our findings through art- draw a picture of the animals we found living in the park. I would then begin a discussion with the children about animals we didn’t see, I wonder why we didn’t see a hedgehog, bat, etc. We would focus on the bat and learn different facts about the bat, what it likes to eat, how it finds its food and how light pollution has an impact on it finding its food. The children could work in pairs and groups to explore ways we can help bats and other nocturnal animals by reducing light pollution.
This module has really got me thinking about light pollution and the impact it has on our everyday lives. I found it interesting to learn about blue light and how it attracts insects away from natural food sources. I think students would find it very interesting to learn not only about how light pollution has an impact on us everyday but also on biodiversity.
I live in Dublin 20 in a built up area close to the Phoenix Park. When the Northern Lights were visible in Ireland recently it was amazing to see the many photos of the Northern Lights that were taken from the park. The view however from my own home was completely different, the lights were barely visible as a result of light pollution.
If I were to explore this topic with a class group I would focus on the five principles for responsible outdoor lighting from the International Dark Sky Association: useful, targeted, low light levels, controlled and colour. Students could explore their own school and local area using these principles as a guide. They could work in pairs and groups to identify the light pollution in their area and how it could be improved.