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I really like the idea of using the travel survey to get the children actively involved in sustainability. It gives them a chance to see the impact of their everyday choices and think about how small changes could make a difference. Cycle to School days are also a great practical way of encouraging more sustainable travel habits.
I really like the focus on small, everyday changes and how these can make a real difference. I particularly agree that encouraging children to be more aware of their choices can help them develop sustainable habits from a young age. I also like the idea of getting children outdoors and giving them opportunities to share their ideas and opinions. These activities can make sustainability feel more practical, meaningful and enjoyable for pupils.
Assignment 1: Living in Kerry, I think we are lucky to have so much beautiful countryside, beaches and coastline around us. Because of this, I think sustainability is something that can be quite easy to bring into the classroom and relate to the children’s everyday lives. We can see the effects of litter, plastic and pollution around us, so it is something that they can understand and connect with.
In my classroom, I would like to focus on looking after our local environment. We could talk about recycling and waste and look at what happens to rubbish after we put it in the bin. As we are close to the sea, I think looking at litter on beaches and how it can affect sea life would be particularly interesting for the children.
I would like to bring the children outside and perhaps carry out a simple litter survey or look at how much waste we produce in the school. We could then discuss what we could do differently. The children could make posters or come up with ideas for making our school more environmentally friendly.
I think the main thing is to show the children that sustainability doesn’t have to be complicated. Even small changes, such as picking up litter, recycling properly and not wasting things, can make a difference.
Assignment 2: This module made me think about how many small things we do every day that can affect the environment. I think this is something we could easily focus on in the classroom because children can make simple changes themselves.
Water is one area we could look at. We could remind children to turn off the taps properly after washing their hands and not to leave water running when it isn’t needed. We could even keep track of how well our class is doing with saving water.
With electricity, we could get into the habit of switching off lights, computers and the interactive whiteboard when they are not being used. I think giving the children responsibility for checking these things at the end of the day could be a simple way of getting them involved.
Food waste is another area I think would be interesting to look at. We could see how much food is being thrown away in our classroom during a week and talk about ways we could reduce this. It could also be a good Maths activity where the children record and compare the amount of waste.
I think the most important thing is to make sustainability part of our everyday routines. If children get into these habits in school, hopefully they will start doing the same things at home and become more aware of the small choices they make every day.
I really like the idea of including a simple food preparation activity in the classroom. I think this would be a great way to make the topic of healthy eating more practical and enjoyable for the children. They could work together to prepare a simple dish while learning about ingredients, hygiene and making healthy choices. I also like that this could naturally lead into procedural writing, as the children could write the steps they followed afterwards. It would make the learning more meaningful because they are actively involved rather than just learning about nutrition from a book.
I really enjoyed learning more about the nutritional value of seafood in this module. I was aware that seafod was a healthy food choice, but I learned more about the different nutrients it provides, including protein, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids etc.
I think there are lots of ways I could bring this topic into my classroom. It would be a good opportunity to talk to the children about healthy eating and the importance of having a balanced diet. We could look at different types of seafood and investigate what nutrients they contain. The children could also compare seafood with other foods and look at food labels to see what nutrients are included through ICT maybe on online shopping.
I could also link the topic with other subjects. For example, the children could collect information about the types of seafood people eat and create graphs or charts in Maths. They could design a healthy meal containing seafood or create posters about the benefits of eating seafood.
I think using seafood as a real-life example would make learning about nutrition more interesting and meaningful for the children. It is a topic that they can relate to in their everyday lives and it could encourage them to think more carefully about the food choices they make.
I think the idea of having pupils design sustainable fish farms is a really engaging way to bring STEM learning to life. It would allow pupils to apply their knowledge of science and the environment while also developing problem-solving and design skills. I particularly like that it encourages pupils to think about real-world challenges and possible solutions. It would also provide great opportunities for teamwork, creativity and discussion.
The online lessons and resources from the ARC have given me lots of ideas for bringing STEM learning into my own classroom in a practical and engaging way. I particularly like the fact that the lessons encourage children to investigate real-life problems, ask questions, work together and find solutions rather than simply learning facts.
With my class, I could use the aquaculture resources as a starting point for investigations into water, marine life, sustainability and food production. The children could work in groups to research a marine-related problem, design a solution and present their ideas to the class. This would naturally develop skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths while also linking with Geography and the local environment.
The resources also fit well with the STEM Education Policy Statement, particularly the focus on inquiry, creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and applying learning to real-world situations.
At a school-wide level, I think STEM could also become part of the SSE process, with the school identifying STEM as an area for development and agreeing on some common approaches. For example, different classes could complete STEM projects throughout the year and share their work during a STEM or Science Week. This would help create a stronger STEM culture across the school and give pupils more opportunities to develop these skills at every level.
I completely agree that aquaculture has such an important role in supporting coastal communities. I especially liked the comparison between Galway and Kerry and how the industry supports local jobs and businesses. As someone from Kerry, it really highlights how important our coastline and marine industries are to the local community. It has definitely made me think about how I could use our own locality as a teaching tool in the classroom.
Part 1: I would introduce the lesson by asking the children what they know about aquaculture and where they think fish and shellfish farms might be found in Ireland. We would look at a map of Ireland and discuss why certain coastal areas are suitable, considering things like water quality, shelter, tides and access to the sea.
The children would then work in pairs to plot a number of aquaculture farms on a map using coordinates/grid references. They would use the map scale to work out the approximate distance between different locations and use compass directions to describe where the farms are located.
As a follow-up activity, the children could choose a suitable location for their own imaginary aquaculture farm and explain why they chose it.
This lesson would link nicely with Geography through map skills, Maths through coordinates, scale and distance, and Science through habitats and marine environments. It would also give the children an opportunity to see how these subjects connect to a real-life industry in Ireland.
Part 2:I found it interesting to learn more about where aquaculture farms are located around Ireland and the reasons why certain areas are suitable. Factors such as water quality, shelter, tides and access to the sea all play a part. I also hadn’t really considered how important aquaculture can be to coastal communities, providing jobs and supporting local businesses.
I can see lots of ways to bring this topic into my class. The children could use maps of Ireland to locate different aquaculture farms and develop their skills in using grid references, coordinates, scale and directions. They could also investigate why certain locations are suitable for fish or shellfish farming.
As I am teaching in Kerry, I think it would be particularly useful to link the topic to our local coastline and marine environment. This would make the learning more meaningful for the children and show them how Geography, Science and Maths can be connected to a real-life industry happening around them.
I completely agree, especially about how useful the ARC could be for getting children excited about the topic. I think the cross-curricular possibilities are brilliant too, as aquaculture can be linked to so many areas of the curriculum. I also really like the focus on Social Licence and getting children to consider different viewpoints rather than just looking at one side. It definitely seems like a topic that could lead to some great discussions in the classroom.
Part 1:
I found these resources really useful because they give a much better picture of what aquaculture actually involves. Before doing the module, I probably would have just thought of fish farming, but there is obviously a lot more to it. I think this is something children would find interesting as well, particularly when they realise how much of it happens around the Irish coastline.Being from Kerry, I think we are in a great position to use our own coastline as a starting point. There are so many examples around us that could be used to make the topic more relevant to the children. It could also lead to some good discussions about where our food comes from, jobs in coastal communities and how we can use the sea without damaging it.
Part 2: I found the idea of social licence quite interesting as it made me think about how important it is for local communities to be involved in decisions about their coastline. There are often lots of different interests involved, from local businesses and fishermen to tourism and environmental groups.
I think this could actually make a really good classroom discussion. Children could look at an imaginary proposal for a new marine farm and decide whether they would support it, giving reasons for their opinions. It would encourage them to realise that there isn’t always one straightforward answer and that different people can have different priorities.
Part 3: I thought the ARC resources were particularly useful because they bring the topic beyond simply reading information from a book. Seeing the people involved in aquaculture and finding out what their jobs actually involve makes it much easier for children to understand.
I could see myself using one of the videos as a starting point and then asking the class to come up with questions they would like to ask someone working in the industry. It could also be a good way of introducing the idea of careers connected to the sea. We often talk about careers with children but don’t always think about the range of jobs connected to our coastline.
I love the idea of using what is in the local area and recycled materials. It is a great opportunity for teaching about sustainability.
Each year my 4th class colleagues, and I would lead a creative project called “Voices of Tralee’s Nature.” First, we take a look at photos of Tralee Bay, the Slieve Mish Mountains, Blennerville Windmill, the River Lee, beaches, and hedgerows, comparing photos from 100 years ago to today. After this we take a SESE walking trail from our school, out the canal, around the windmill, stopping regularly to discuss what we can see. The children collect “noticings”: colours, sounds, textures, take pictures of wildlife (gulls, swans, bees, wildflowers). When we get back to class, we make a shared word bank of strong, simple words and chat about what we saw. We also link it to other areas of the curriculum,
Art: children paint or collage a scene of Tralee’s nature using blues, greens, and sandy tones. Add textures with foil (water), sponge (clouds), and leaf rubbings.
Music: record classroom soundscapes—soft drum for waves, shakers for wind, xylophone for birds. Arrange a short “Tralee Nature” piece with a clear beginning, middle, end.
Drama: create quick freeze-frames of a storm clearing to sunshine, or a flock of birds landing. Add simple lines: “I am the wind,” “I am the tide.”
Creative writing: write a five-line poem using our word bank and a pattern like “I see… I hear… I feel… I remember… I hope…”
We are also very fortunate to live by the coast and we are part of the Sea Synergy initiative and get to visit a Fenit beach and explore all the things we can see, collect sealife and a variety of textures.Its great when the children can relate to a place, structure or building in their locality, I feel they engage more when they can visualize it having seen it or visited it.
I looked into engineering work in the Tralee area, especially the skills used in local building, design and problem‑solving. As a teacher, I would use the Ashe Memorial Hall Museum as inspiration for a simple design‑and‑make project. The building has strong shapes, arches and stonework, which children can explore.
In class, I would bring photos of the museum and ask the children to look closely at the lines, patterns and materials. Outside, we could sketch the front of the building and talk about how engineers make structures stand safely. Then the children could design their own small model building using cardboard, blocks or recycled materials. They could try to copy the arches or pillars they saw.
Another activity would be creating a mini outdoor “museum space” in the school garden. Children could plan where to place paths, signs or small structures. This links well with engineering ideas like planning, measuring and testing. By connecting the museum to hands‑on tasks, the children learn how real buildings inspire creative STEM projects.