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Home by Yann Arthus Bertrand is a fantastic documentary that highlights the diversity and beauty of our world while also considering the important environmental issues we are facing. It shows us how humans and their activities are impacting the environment. It presents evidence of climate changes such as rising sea levels, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and melting glaciers. It also focuses on the loss of biodiversity and the unsustainable use of natural resources like water, fossil fuels and minerals. It promotes the use of renewable energy sources and sustainable practices. I also really like the TED talks by Greta Thunberg. She is a visual the children have seen so many times.
I would introduce these climate change facts to the children in a number of different ways. I would show them some short clips from the documentary. I would carry out hands on activities such as conducting experiments to demonstrate climate change effects. I would find some interactive stories about how climate change affects children in different parts of the world. I would ask pupils to create posters and drawings to show effects of climate change and maybe carry out a class project where children have to come up with ideas to reduce their own carbon footprint. I would also find some games and quizzes online that children could play.Hi Amy. The points you made about both resources are very relevant. I agree that the Paxi video is an excellent way to introduce the greenhouse effect, as it explains a challenging topic in a way that is accessible for younger pupils while still offering enough detail to extend learning in older classes. The use of simple language, colourful visuals, and practical suggestions for helping the environment makes the learning meaningful and memorable. I also like your observation that the TEAL tool is more suited to senior classes. It encourages critical thinking by allowing pupils to investigate how different emission levels influence future global temperatures. This inquiry-based approach would support both science and geography learning while promoting discussion, collaboration, and problem-solving. Using the video as an introduction followed by the TEAL tool in pairs or groups would create an engaging lesson that helps pupils understand the real-world consequences of climate change and the importance of sustainable decision-making.
Climate reporters and predicting temperature change is a great activity for pupils. There is a lot to explore in this topic. I really enjoyed this activity and I thought that the Paxi video was great. It was very child friendly and a fun way for children to learn about greenhouse gases. I would play this video for my class and then hold a classroom discussion with emphasis on how us humans are influencing climate change. I would divide pupils into groups and ask them to come up with 3 changes that we could make to tackle climate change. I would use the temperature predictor tool to show them how temperatures vary depending on where we life and the factors that are considered when predicting future temperatures. I would ask the children to use the simulation tool on i-pads in small groups for them to see the impact on climate change throughout the world.
I really enjoyed reading your post and agree with your point that STEM is most effective when it is taught as an integrated process rather than as separate subjects. The Weather Detectives activity is an excellent example of this, as it allows pupils to apply scientific enquiry, mathematical analysis, and digital skills within one meaningful investigation. I also like your observation that the activity encourages pupils to distinguish between weather and climate, helping them to develop critical thinking and data interpretation skills. Your suggestion to include daily rainfall measurements is a great addition, as it would provide another variable for pupils to investigate and compare with temperature trends. I particularly like the idea of pupils constructing their own rain gauges during an Art lesson, as this further strengthens the cross-curricular nature of the activity while promoting creativity, design skills, and ownership of the learning process. Overall, your adaptations would make the investigation even more engaging and authentic.
Maeve Liston’s paper, “Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,” highlights the importance of integrating STEM activities that go beyond teaching these subjects in isolation. Interdisciplinary approaches, problem solving skills development and real-world applications are vital to STEM education. This fosters creativity and critical thinking in the pupils. I really enjoyed this module and Nose Up High in the Sky and Weather Vs Climate resources were excellent. Both resources provide excellent opportunity for teaching and learning with video links and excellent worksheets.
Is it weather or climate? I thought this activity was very well presented. I think that many, even adults, still can be confused by this question. It was explained very clearly and simply in this lesson. The pupils’ activity sheet is great and easy for kids to complete. I liked the idea of remembering weather on their last birthday as it can be difficult to recall but children usually remember how they spent their birthdays. Dividing the sentences at the end was a good way to check understanding and to discuss together.
Nose up high in the sky was also an excellent activity. I particularly liked building their own weather station, it provided great opportunities for children to develop their measurement and geographical skills.
Many STEM skills could be developed from setting up a weather station in the school such as data collection and analysis, data logging, instrument use, design and construction, problem solving and recording to name a few.Hi Claire, I fully agree with you that the children are the future. It is lovely to see them being so proactive in tackling climate change.
Climate change is having a huge impact in Ireland and in our own local area. We are experiencing many extreme weather events such as storms and flooding, higher and lower weather temperatures and huge rainfall. There is also a lot of coverage on climate change in the local media also so pupils are very aware of what is happening.
To engage pupils, we could carry out local environmental studies, we could organise a field trip and visit a local form or a flood affected area. We could also invite a guest speaker in to speak about the impact of climate change in the local area.
Three actions we could consider could be to create a school garden and outdoor classroom where pupils can learn about sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and the importance of green spaces. We could conduct an electricity audit and identify areas where the school could save energy and implement a plan to carry this out. We could run a campaign to reduce single plastic use in the school. We could carry out a survey to count how much plastic is being used in each class and then make a plan for every class to reduce their quantity. A prize could be given to the class that makes the best improvement.Hi Orla, I loved hearing your story of the 6th class pupil. It is so lovely to hear how welcome and included he was made feel and what an ambitious boy he is. Such a success story.
Red Cross work in my area with Ukrainians who have came to Ireland since the war broke out. We have many children in our school who have came from Ukraine. The Red Cross has helped them access accommodation and supported them in integrating into the local communities. Our school and community have taken many actions to help all families feel very welcome and integrate into our school communities. We have English classes in the evenings for parents to come along to. We have translated all of our newsletters and any information into Ukrainian. We have set up a buddy programme where children are buddied up and helped throughout the day. We had a whole school gathering to welcome the new students and their families and we hosted a bake sale to include everybody and to allow parents and children to mix together to build up relationships with each other. We also have many other students from other countries and we ask all pupils to share information about their culture and we held a cultural day where every student could bring in food, dress in their traditional dress and showcase any talents.
Hi Nicole, some great ideas here and very relevant to students’ everyday lives. I like the idea of tracking water usage as I think the children would find this very interesting and might be surprised by the results.
Water saving weeks sounds like a fantastic idea and something I would like to introduce in my own school.
The topic I choose relating to Sustainable Development Goals is Climate Action as I think children can relate and understand this. We, in Ireland, are experiencing more extreme weather events such as frequent storms, flooding and much warmer temperatures during summer. In other countries, this can be much worse. Children are more tuned into the weather especially as sometimes they get a day off school as the weather is so extreme. Climate is an important topic that needs to be integrated into the curriculum. There are many ways to do so. Schools could make their own weather station and record weather in many different ways. They could also carry out projects on weather across the world and how weather events impact on the different countries. To improve sustainability in the school, pupils could create a school garden, reduce waste, encourage recycling and run some competitions to reduce single use plastic in schools. Encouraging students in Ireland to take action to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—especially under ESD for 2030 Priority Action Area 5: Accelerating Policy at the Local Level would require encouraging community connections, local partnerships, and real-world applications of learning.
Hi Claire, this is very interesting regarding music and Taylor Swift. It is very apparent from a young age that children fall into these gender stereotypes very easily. I agree with your point that it is important to gain an understanding as to what children believe ‘gender’ is and their opinions of what are considered ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ things. This can vary among children.
Gender stereotypes can affect students from a very young age, shaping their perceptions of themselves and their peers. These stereotypes can start at home and they can further develop in early years in school. I have seen first hand this happen while doing Aistear. Girls gravitate towards the dolls whereas the boys gravitate towards the cars, lorries, diggers, etc. The boys don’t want to play with the dolls as they see them as being ‘girls’ toys’ and vice versa for the boys. This isn’t the case with all pupils, I have just witnessed it with a few. Introducing development education in Junior Infants would be a brilliant idea and it may have a very positive effect on gender stereotypes. It might change what some children consider the ‘norm’ and give them more choice in their play which in turn would make their own experience more entertaining and more inclusive for everybody.
Hi Patrick, I agree with you that the themes are very important in classrooms today. The issues can seem very complex but children are very in touch with what is happening around the world nowadays. Many schools have students from Ukraine and they are so knowledgeable about their personal circumstances.
Ehigie’s (2021) paper, “The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World,” explores the importance of global citizenship in creating a sustainable global community. It encourages humans to understand and consider global issues and to engage in sustainable practices for the greater good of the world.
Development Education (DE) is so important in today’s everchanging world as it provides pupils with the knowledge and skills to tackle global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. It encourages children to critically think, to become more empathetic and to be aware of all of the different cultures in the world.
I would integrate DE into my lessons by adding discussions on climate change in science lessons, human rights lessons in SPHE, multicultural days where children get the opportunity to educate their peers on their own culture. I would study different countries in Geography and create projects and presentations on various countries.
I would organize a Croke Park hour on DE to encourage collaborative planning and to create some DE resources among my colleagues. I would invite a guest speaker in to give us more information also.