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I chose to create a resource for junior classes using Globe at Night.
Pupils become “Star Hunters” to explore light pollution and star visibility using the Globe at Night citizen science programme. This resource could be used in infants to 2nd class and will engage the pupils through playful learning, storytelling, and hands-on exploration.This resource fosters some of the key competencies of STEM.
• Being a Scientist: Pupils develop curiosity, observe the night sky, and use basic scientific inquiry.
• Communicating and Collaborating: Children work in pairs to discuss observations and share findings.
• Using Technology and Data: Students interact with digital constellation maps and contribute to a global citizen science database.Playful Learning Experiences
1. The Invitation to play: “The Lost Constellation”
• Active Play: Start in a darkened classroom or sensory room/P.E hall. Activity: Use a flashlight to project a constellation (like Orion or the Big Dipper) onto the ceiling. Tell a playful story about a star whose light is “hidden” by city lights. Pupils must help find the star by becoming official “Star Hunters. Music could also be used here.
2. Indoor Star Spotting
• Making: Students construct simple “telescopes” using cardboard toilet paper rolls and decorated cling film.
• Testing: Scatter glowing star stickers around the room. Turn the main lights on and off to simulate light pollution.Discussion: Ask students, “Is it easier to count the stars when the room is bright or completely dark?”
3. Home school links
• Send home a playful “Star Hunter Mission Pack. On a clear night, families go outside together. Students use their cardboard telescopes to look at the sky. Fill in findings on a simple worksheet and back in the classroom- use blocks or similar to build a bar chart showing how many stars pupils could see from their own home. Compare the location of children’s homes to see if light pollution has a significant impact. They could also use Stellarium for night sky simulations if they do not have safe outdoor access to the night sky.I chose to create a learning resource using Stellarium for a Junior Infant classroom. This could simply be presented to the children as an invitation to play. It uses playful pedagogy in the form of socio-dramatic play to encourage the children to learn about night and day and patterns in the sky.
Examples of learning experiences:Introduce the topic of space, planets, stars and the night sky with a picture book such as The Smeds and the Smoos or Night Monkey, Day Monkey.
You could transform an area of the classroom into a “Space Control Center.” Pupils wear cardboard astronaut helmets and use Stellarium Web as their giant rocket window.
Active Exploration: The teacher could use the time slider to fast-forward from day to night. Children actively move their bodies, “sleeping” when the screen turns dark and “waking up” as the digital sun rises.
You could also ensure some key competencies such as critical and creative thinking are explored, for example you could pause the simulation just before sunset. Ask pupils: “What do you think will happen to our shadows when the sun hides?” or “Where does the sun go?” This prompts them to analyze patterns and form early hypotheses based on visual evidence. You could also reveal a constellation like Ursa Major. Turn off the constellation lines and challenge pupils to use their imagination: “What shapes or animals can you see in these stars?” Tell the children Ursa Major is also known as the Big Bear. Pupils could then draw their own “sky dot-to-dots” on black paper using chalk, creating new stories for the stars they observed.I like the idea of introducing the activity in an art lesson which allows for discussion and individual ideas on how a sundial could be made.
Sorry when I copied and pasted from my notes app the above happened. I cant seem to edit it,could you delete the above so I can re submit? Thank you!
<span style=”font-size: 15px;”>I chose the One Year on Earth – Understanding the Seasons activity.I found it an interesting read and it clearly demonstrates how the Earth’s tilted axis, rather than its distance from the Sun, is responsible for the changing seasons. I think this is an excellent way to challenge common misconceptions that many children have.</span>
<span style=”font-size: 15px;”>To help children connect the model to what they observe in the real world, I would encourage regular observations throughout the school year. Now I do teach Junior Infants at the moment, but older classes could, for example, pupils could record sunrise and sunset times, note changes in daylight hours, measure the length of shadows at the same time each week, (this could be achieved using blocks/cubes/ribbons etc for Junior classes-easily linking with hands on maths activities) and they could also simply observe the Sun’s position in the sky. </span>
<span style=”font-size: 15px;”>As already pointed out, this activity also provides excellent opportunities for cross-curricular learning. In mathematics, pupils can collect, organise and graph data such as daylight hours or temperatures, identify patterns, and compare seasonal changes. In science, they develop their understanding of Earth in space, weather, climate, and how seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and human activities.</span>
<span style=”font-size: 15px;”>Overall, I found this resource engaging, practical, and easy to adapt for different age groups. It encourages inquiry-based learning and promotes discussion, prediction, observation, and evidence-based thinking. I can see myself using it in the classroom to help pupils build a deeper understanding of the seasons while integrating science, mathematics, geography, and STEM skills in a meaningful and enjoyable way.</span>
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