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Thank you for this excellent list of relevant songs, poem and artworks Shane. The descriptors are most helpful too. I will definitely be bookmarking many of these suggestions.
Describe how you could implement a version of “Design Your own Dark Sky place” in your school/classroom?
To start this topic, I would first plan a couple of lessons on light pollution. We would look at nocturnal species in the local area and how light pollution affects them. We would also consider light pollution from a human wellbeing standpoint, and how many people in built-up areas never see the true night sky.
Following this, I would show the children some example of Dark Sky Parks around the world, particularly the Dark Sky Park in Mayo. We would discuss why these places are special, what benefits they have for the environment, and what one would be able to see at night in such a park.
We would then study maps and aerial photographs of nearby countryside to determine a suitable area for a Dark Sky Park. I would then facilitate group discussions based on the following questions:
– How can we provide artificial lighting to keep light pollution to an absolute minimum, while also allowing for safety to maintained within the park?
– What kind of information would be useful for visitors?
– Other than keeping light to a minimum, is there anything else you could include in the park to support wildlife?
-What facilities should be provided e.g. viewing platforms, visitor information on astronomy, parking, toilets, and where would they be?
In groups, I would then instruct children to map their ideas for their Dark Sky Park, and create a persuasive brochure that both informs potential visitors to the benefits of these parks, and encourages them to visit. They could then present their finished projects to the rest of the class, or potentially the rest of the school.
I love how practical these ideas are. I firmly believe that when learning about societal problems such as pollution, the biggest focus should be on ways in which children can help. I imagine they would get a great sense of responsibility and satisfaction from making real-life, school-wide changes to support wildlife.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
As a school, we celebrate World Biodiversity Day each year by taking the short walk to a local resident’s ‘biodiversity garden.’ The owner of this garden is hugely passionate about local wildlife. He gives us information on local species and shows us the various strategies he implements to support biodiversity. Some of the ways he enhances biodiversity in his garden include:
– Bug hotels
– Ponds
– Wildflower patches
– Bird boxes
– Planting trees
– Dens for small animals to shelter from predators made from twigs and branches
– Hedgehog hotels
– Compost heapsThis resident kindly supports the school to implement these measures in the school grounds, and children are also encouraged to introduce some of the strategies in their own gardens at home. I would encourage any school to reach out to the local community and identify individuals with an interest in wildlife who may be willing to share their knowledge, ideas and practical solutions, helping children to understand how they can actively support and protect wildlife.
This year, I will definitely expand on this learning by introducing children to the idea of light pollution. We will discuss various species around our school who may be affected by light pollution, identify ways in which the school may be contributing to light pollution, and brainstorm ways in which it could be reduced.
This is a great plan for exploring the topic of light pollution in the classroom. I really like the practical idea of having children record what artificial light they can see – I’m sure they would be surprised by how much they could record! I also like the idea of comparing to a Dark Sky Park. Again, I’m sure children would be shocked at the differences.
A reflective piece on how light pollution is affecting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I live in Drogheda, a very large town where light pollution could definitely be considered an issue. With a mixture of residential and commercial lighting, the town is never truly dark. I, for one, have never seen a starry night in Drogheda!
I think the issue of light pollution would be a very interesting topic to cover in Drogheda specifically. Each year, around November time, the town celebrates its heritage through the Lú Festival of Light, when some of the town’s most important buildings and monuments are illuminated with artistic projections. This is a much-loved festival in the town, though it could be a springboard for a very important question in the classroom – ‘when does light enhance a place, and when does it become pollution.’
This could inspire deep discussions about the need for light for safety, culture, aesthetics, while also forcing us to consider the effects of excessive light on wildlife, human wellbeing, and energy consumption.
This is a very comprehensive and considered plan to use Stellarium effectively. The questions to introduce the topic would no doubt reveal good prior knowledge within the class, allowing children to collaboratively learn from each other. I also like the idea of letting children draw what they discover. This could also nicely lend itself to an art lesson.
Responding to: 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?
I would begin this topic by eliciting prior knowledge about the moon with the class. This can be done with a KWL. I would imagine that there may be some misconceptions with younger class about the moon only being visible during the night. This discussion would also hopefully lead to the question: ‘Why does the moon look different every day?’
Following this, we would explore the six phases of the moon by looking at photographs: New Moon, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous and Last Quarter. For a practical exploration, the teacher could demonstrate the moon phases with an experiment whereby 3 children act as the sun (using a torch), the moon (using a ball) and the Earth (standing still), and have the moon circle the Earth in an anticlockwise direction.
As the moon is generally visible in the morning during the Third Quarter and Waning Crescent phases, the 4th September or 1st December would be good dates to plan for viewing the moon at school.
To explore the other phases of the moon, children could complete a moon diary for homework where they record the appearance of the moon and label the different phases.
I really like how this activity has been adapted for younger classes. The use of torches, shadows and chalk make it practical and fun without going too heavy on the technicalities! I think infant classes would really enjoy this.
- One Year on Earth – Understanding the Seasons Resource (ESA)
In the past I have explored the ‘reason for seasons’ with a 5th class group. We explored the topic around Christmas time, and my hook was a picture I took the previous Christmas of myself celebrating Christmas on a beach in Australia. This immediately started the discussion around ‘why is it winter here, but summer on the other side of the world?’ We followed up with some practical demonstrations with a torch and globe, and played a fun ‘human axis’ game whereby children slowly rotated while maintaining a tilt as their partner shone a torch on them. We talked about if their head was the North Pole and their feet where the South Pole which side was getting more light as they rotated.
Having read the ‘One Year On Earth’ activity, I would be keen to implement the activity whereby children build a sun-earth model from polystyrene balls, and track one year on Earth across poster paper. This is a really practical, hands-on activity which I think would consolidate understanding even more. I also liked the suggestion of looking at satellite images across the globe to determine seasons. I look forward to trying these activities in the future.