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As I work with infants I would be looking at a simple enough research area that we could discuss and look at. For me a good research question would be ‘What are some simple things that we can do to reduce our Carbon Footprint?’. To begin with we would look at what is meant by the term Carbon Footprint and how this can affect the environment. I would put the children into small groups to think of different things we can do to reduce our Carbon Footprint. We would then come back together and discuss the different ideas that the children have come up with. I would further question then and encourage them to consider other ways if needed. The children would then go back into their groups and work together to make posters to put up in the school of ways we could encourage people to be more Climate aware and to reduce our Carbon Footprint as a school. Following on from this I would tell the children that they are Climate Detectives and they need to ensure that we as a school are working to reduce our carbon footprint so it’s up to them to remind other pupils and teachers around the school of ways to conserve energy and to reduce our carbon footprint.
Irene, these are great ideas and I also agree that the topic of trees would be a great research area for younger children.
This sounds like a great way of including all the children and I like that you linked it to their everyday lives making it more ‘real’.
I looked at the ESA Nose Up High resource and think that it could be a great activity to do with the class. Despite having Senior Infants in September I think it would be possible to adapt this lesson to make it useable and engaging for my class. This resource entails looking at different viewpoints from which you can observe different objects and the differences between pictures taken on earth and from satellites, what rivers, lakes, mountains etc look like from space. I would use it with younger children to look at some objects or places/landmarks that they are familiar with from their local area and see how these pictures might look different especially when we look at different satellite images. We would look at pictures of lakes, rivers and mountains that we are used to seeing and then compare the similarities and differences when we see these pictures when they are taken from space.
Niamh, I also liked the use of the proverbs in the Nose Up High resources. This is a great way of introducing the children to some of these proverbs that have been around for many years.
I found both the Home film and Greta Thunberg’s Cop 25 speech really thought provoking. I think both of these could be used as excellent resources in a senior classroom. Both the videography and the narration of the film I thought were incredible and the film really showed what we as humans are doing to the Earth’s ecosystem. It showed us that it is imperative that we take action now before Global warming becomes completely irreversible. This film could lead to some excellent discussions within the class on what we could do both at home and in school to help reduce the impact that we are having on the environment. Greta Thunberg’s speech was also really motivating and showed us the urgency with which things need to change. Although she speaks about how change needs to come from Governments, its also crucial that we too do our bit as much as possible. I found the WWF Footprint quiz a real eye opener. It showed me what impact I am having personally and showed me that I need to become a lot more mindful when it comes to my everyday life.
Diarmaid, having the children reflect on their own actions is a great way of having them to develop an awareness of what they can do to help with Climate change and also have them realise what changes they could make.
Siobhan, I agree that the Home video gave a really compelling depiction on the impact we as humans are having on the Earth’s ecosystem and the consequences therefore on climate change.
Activity 3: Climate Reporters.
Prior to starting this lesson I think I would first look at assessing the children’s prior knowledge on the topic of both climate, the greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases. The Paxi video on the Greenhouse effect is a super way of introducing this topic to the children and I find videos such as these are a great way of peaking the children’s interest in the topic. We will then discuss the climate and what changes they think might happen in the future. We will look at the different ways in which scientists use different observations to monitor and understand how the climate is changing. The children will then be put into groups and told that they will be acting as scientists looking at different scenarios where they will need to calculate monthly average temperatures. They will be told they need to work together to create a presentation on how future temperatures can effect their lives and also come up with ways to lessen the impacts of climate change within their area.Louise I also think that the Paxi video is a great resource and would be a great way of explaining the concept of climate change and the greenhouse effect in a child friendly way.
I really liked the activity sets included in this module on both Is it weather or Climate? and also the Weather Detectives activities. Although I will be teaching Senior Infants I think we can adapt these lessons to suit the age of the children. I think introducing them to the difference between weather and climate is something that can be done. We could do this in as easy a way as discussing the differences in weather when they go on holidays and how the climate can differ in different countries compared to in Ireland. I think by keeping things simple we can give the children a good introduction to the idea of climate.
With weather as a topic I really liked the ‘Super Simple Song’ on weather that was included in the module and think this is a great way of getting the children thinking about the different types of weather we can have. I also liked the idea of having the children think about what the weather was like on their last birthdays as this can also show the children how the weather changes at different times of the year and could also tie in with a lesson on the different seasons. With the weather detectives lesson I think the children would love the idea of setting up the thermometer and checking the temperature each day. As I have small numbers in the class I think I would look at the thermometer at 3 different set times of the day. The children could be in groups with the responsibility of checking at a certain time. This would lead to discussion on how the temperature might change throughout the day. We would record our findings throughout the week and see how it has changed and I also think it would be good to do this activity again at another time of the year when the weather would be different such as the summer so that the children could see how the temperatures vary between winter and summer for example.Sinead, I also really like using the Simple songs resources to help introduce and also consolidate the children’s learning on these topics.
Great idea Siobhan, I think the children would really engage with having a weather station set up in the school.
I think that my class next year would really enjoy the Rocket Mice experiment. They love doing space based experiments and creating their own rockets and launching their mice would be something they’ll really enjoy. To begin we would do a song such as We’re Going on a Rocket Ship. We will then discuss what we know about rockets and how they work. For the experiment itself, I would put the children in pairs. Within their pairs they could create their own individual mice but work together on the experiment itself. I would provide different sized bottles for the children to choose from and also let them experiment with different sized bottles asking them to predict what will happen with the different bottles and then check whether their predictions came true. Weather permitting, we would also experiment with launching their rocket mice outdoors and see if their predictions and results changed by being outdoors.
