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What a lovely idea for the school staff to gather stories from their own grandparents. A thing we all could do more of.
Local knowledge and anecdotes are always so interesting and help us to understand our history much better.
There are some great examples of references to the sky in the arts on this forum. I would like to focus on Starry Night by Van Gogh, and the connected song Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) by Don McClean.
The painting is so striking, with such wonderful swirls and loops. Children could examine the painting in small groups and pick out features. They could then use this as inspiration for their own painting of a night sky with a slight difference – perhaps the silhouette of iconic buildings from their own town in the foreground.
Before introducing the song I would explain a little about Van Gogh’s life to the children and how he was considered insane. We could then listen to the song and discuss its lyrics. Do they think Van Gogh have been treated in the same way in Ireland in 2026? Why/why not? What do they think the song writer is trying to say about Van Gogh’s life?Hi Sharon,
That’s such a lovely idea about the children designing a wildlife friendly area for the school. They would feel such ownership of it if they were part of the design. It might also inspire children with a garden area to do the same at home.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity?Even though my school is in an urban area, I think the children would be surprised to discover how much variety there is in the nature around them.
I would start by exploring the school grounds, and then extend this to a walk to the nearest park.
The walk could be part of a scavenger hunt where children tick off certain plants/animals as they see them. This could be a nice experience to repeat a few times a year to help children experience the changes in nature with the changing seasons.
Back in school we could discuss how light pollution from artificial lights might impact the plants and animals we spotted. I think a nice idea to generate discussion could be to plot each plant/animal on a spectrum ranging from little impact to large impact from light pollution. The children could watch short video clips to help them understand this better, if necessary.
Children could then brainstorm any reasonable ways we could help to limit the effects of light pollution in the area. For example, turning off my sensor light in the garden at night time as it may be impacting negatively on the nature in the area.Hi Hilary,
This is a really nice idea. I always thing it’s lovely when something topical inspires the children to engage on a topic, be that a natural event like the aurora borealis as you mentioned, or even sports events.
Linking the activity to home would be a great way to compare their findings from different areas.
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this
I imagine most of my students will be tuned in to the solar eclipse this week. It would be a nice topic to discuss when we return to school in a few weeks.I think this could be a good starting point for a discussion around sunlight and other light sources. What lights do we have today that were not there during the last major solar eclipse in Ireland in 1999? Do they think there will be any changes by the next solar eclipse in 2090? Children could possibly talk to older people in the community and ask them what changes they have seen with light pollution during their lifetime. Students could then compare the amount, and type, of light sources available in 1999 vs 2026, for example, and list the impact for the local area, including the ecological impact. They might include things such as the effect on nocturnal animals, plant life, mental health and well being.
My school is situated in an industrial area with many factories. Lots of our students would have family who work shifts, including nights. I think any discussion around light pollution would have to include some discussion about the role lighting can play in keeping people safe and comfortable. We could talk about the different styles of lighting available which have the minimum impact on nature and human well being.Hi Grace,
I think this is such a lovely idea. It’s always nice when there are follow up activities that can be done at home. I think parents would find this to be a really enjoyable activity to do in the evening.
I think this is very topical as there are regular news reports about rocket launches. Some even involve celebrities (for better or worse!) which always gets the attention of children. I’ve noticed that a lot of children recently are interested in Mark Rober, a NASA engineer with a big youtube presence. In fairness to him, he has made space science very interesting and fashionable for young people.
Engage
The trigger – discuss a recent rocket launch and show pictures/videos. Pictures of rockets on display and pass around toy rockets.
Wondering – Why have rockets been invented? Why do we want to explore space? How do rockets take off/stay up? What might make a rocket come down?
Exploring – Throw paper of different shapes and sizes up in the air. See if the shape/size has an effect on how high they travel.Investigate
Starter question – Does the shape of a rocket impact how far it travels?
Predicting – Draw diagrams of various paper rockets with guesses of how far they will travel.
Conducting the investigation – Work in groups to create a variety of paper rockets. Throw them in the air. Measure the distance travelled and record on a table.
Sharing – Present findings in a chart or graph.Hi Rohana,
This seems like a lovely lesson. I think it’s a nice twist on the traditional paper mache version of the solar system. It would take up a lot less room in the classroom too!
The children would enjoy working in groups like this and feeding back to the class.
Sun dial
I was out for a walk in a local garden earlier when I noticed a sundial. I must have walked past it several times and never spotted it before. I would like to take a photograph of this in order to start a conversation with the class around sundials.
In groups, the children could answer questions about sundials – Why are they used? Does their position matter? What features do they have in common with analog clocks, if any?
Walking around the school grounds we could pick suitable areas to place a sundial, based on the criteria developed by the children. It could be interesting to place sundials in many places around the school and see their effectiveness. The children could then work in groups to create sundials using a different materials including card, paper, colours, clay, ruler, blue tac. I would use the Space Week lesson on creating sundials to structure this. The children would observe their sundials at various stages during the day and make notes about which structures and locations work best, and why.
I think there is a lot of natural integration with other subjects in this lesson eg measurement in math; people in the past in history; construction in visual arts.Hi Patrick,
It’s so interesting that you mention gardening. We have had similar issues this year in our garden. The early hot weather played havoc with a lot of plants and we are considering how viable some of our ‘old reliables’ will be in the future.
In our school we experienced first hand a water shortage this year. We actually had to close the school for a few days and when we returned the water was discoloured. It was a horrible experience for all of us but brought home the reality of rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns.
I think the following actions are easy to implement would show the children that we can all do our bit to support climate action
Reduce energy usage – We have a ‘green team’ in school who check classrooms at lunch for any electronics left running. They also check all internal and external doors are closed to limit heat loss during colder months.
Use public transport – I arrived at this decision by accident last year after I fractured my wrist and couldn’t drive for a few weeks. I am lucky enough to live on a regular bus route but had never used the service until then. It really opened my eyes to how often I had been clogging up the road in my car for short journeys.
Also, for a day trip this year we took 6th class to a local beach on the public bus. It cost 75c per child each way! A huge saving versus hiring a private bus and a great saving on fuel usage.
Buy second hand – Over consumption is everywhere today. Good quality books, games and household items are available in charity shops. They are generally great value and it promotes a circular economy.
With regard to SSE, it is our duty to reflect on our current practices and culture in our schools, and gather evidence if necessary eg, electricity usage from bills. There are many initiatives that can be followed to help schools deal with the climate crisis, the Green Schools programme is a great resource. Schools need to prioritise climate action as part of both explicit teaching and how school staff model the usage of resources in our schools.
The Local Authority Integration Team (LAIT) in Co Louth supports refugees and International Protection applicants in my area. I was unaware of this organisation until I started to research it for this course and it was great to hear about some of the services they offer. They link those in need to local services such as healthcare, child care, social welfare and they provide support for learning English.
My school is located near a direct provision centre and we benefit from having some of the children based there attend our school. As a school, we are always very welcoming and understand that the children are coming from a huge variety of backgrounds and experiences. Many of these children have experienced trauma before they come to our school. Diversity is always celebrated and we encourage all the children in our school to share their own stories and to listen to others with an open mind.
Many staff members also link in with the centre through homework clubs, GAA and Girl Guides.
Orla, what an incredible story. Obviously very upsetting in lots of ways but really inspiring to know what can happen when people get the supports they need and deserve. Well done to all involved.