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I’ve always loved “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. For some reason, it has always stuck in my mind! It’s amazing how many poems, stories and pieces of art that revolve around the theme of the night sky!
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night:
Children can connect with the night sky through songs about the stars and the moon; through story and poetry; through art work such as designing constellations etc Here are just a few examples to choose from:
Songs:
Twinkle, Twinkle nursery rhyme
A sky Full of Stars by Coldplay
Counting Stars by One Republic
Rewrite the Stars – from the Greatest Showman
Dancing in the Moonlight by ToploaderPoems:
The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Star by Jane Taylor
Bed in Summer by Robert Louis
Silver by Walter de la Mare
Stars by Sara TeasdaleArt:
Starry Night by Van Gogh
Moonrise by Rockwell Kent
Starry Night Over the Rhône by Van Gogh
The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri RousseauElizabeth, thank you for the link to the Urban Fox survey – what a great resource to have in the classroom – I will definitely be using this!
How you would incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies into school biodiversity plans?
A school biodiversity plan would consider the needs of nocturnal species by reducing unnecessary artificial light and protecting our dark skies. We have a Green-Schools Committee in our school, made up of different children from different classes. This would be a great project for them to organise and to get the whole school as well as the local community involved. The children could explore how light pollution affects our local wildlife and in particular, our nocturnal animals. A survey of the school’s outdoor lighting could be carried out and monitored over time to see if lights are being left on unnecessarily; does the school use lighting that points upwards; is warm-coloured lighting an option? For families, or for homework, children could observe and monitor the night sky and record any wildlife sightings and share their findings in class. They could also monitor their gardens at nighttime and see if they notice any signs of wildlife and to check for any unnecessary lighting being used in and around their homes. A whole-school campaign, with ideas and strategies, could then be organised to help protect our nocturnal animals and our local wildlife.
Hi Elizabeth,
How sad to miss out on such a wonderful opportunity to see The Northern Lights! Hopefully, we can begin to help to raise awareness in our classrooms going forward, and educate the children about light pollution and how to improve the environment. Something that has stood out for me is that Light Pollution is actually quite easy to control and improve so hopefully, by raising awareness, more and more people will get on board!
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this:
I live in Donabate in North County Dublin which, many years ago, was quite a rural area. I’ve been living here for 22 years and I have seen lots of changes, particularly in the amount of housing developments being built. Light pollution is becoming an increasing issue with more street lighting, floodlights at sports grounds and excessive outdoor lighting. This is reducing the visibility of our night sky as well as disrupting local wildlife e.g. birds, bats, insects – all of which rely on natural light cycles for feeding, migration and reproduction.
To spark the children’s curiosity I would show them the NSW video on Light Pollution. The children could then carry out a simple night sky observation at home with their families, recording how many stars they can see and identifying any sources of artificial light in the area. Findings could then be discussed and shared in the classroom and how light pollution is affecting the local wildlife and the people. We would then explore ways to improve and reduce light pollution in the area. These activities encourage observation, environmental awareness and active citizenship.The lanterns are a great idea and could even be integrated into an Art lesson for Chinese New Year! Yes, there are so many opportunities to link in with the Maths curriculum, like Measurement, which can be adapted for different class levels.
*Select from one of the activities in the Framework for Inquiry:
I really like the idea of the children making their own 3-D constellations. I’m thinking of Second Class for this as I will be working with this level in September. I would begin by asking questions like, “Have you ever looked up at the sky at nighttime?” “What did you notice?” “Have you ever noticed any patterns or pictures when looking at the stars?”
I would hope that the word “constellation” would come up in conversation and, if not, I would introduce and explain what it means. I would then show the class some pictures of the different constellations e.g. The Big Dipper and Orion. We would also watch a short video e.g. SciShow Kids – Constellations and Paxi – The Solar System. The children would then choose which constellation they would like to construct; use black card and a light-coloured pencil to draw it; use glue and small pompoms to glue each “star” down; connect the stars with black straws so it becomes 3-D. Upon the children completing the activity they should: understand and explain what a constellation is; identify some popular constellations; be able to construct a simple 3-D model of a constellation.Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day:
There are lots of fun and interactive ways for the children to explore this. I have Second Class in September and this could be a nice activity to do in September. I would show them Paxi – Day, Night and the Seasons to spark their curiosity. We would engage in a discussion then to discuss what the children already know and anything new that they have learned from the video. This will lead onto further conversation about the sun and how the sun changes position throughout the day. We will then investigate the different positions by going outside at different times throughout the day. I will remind the children about the importance of avoiding direct eye contact with the sun. We will do a morning time check first – go outside and face East to see where the sun rises low. The children will pictorially represent this on paper. We will then go back outside just before noon and observe how much the sun has moved – the children will pictorially show this. Towards the end of our school day, we will pop back outside and look towards the West to observe how the sun is starting to go down – once again, the children will draw a picture of their findings. Afterwards, in pairs, the children can discuss their findings and then share them with the class. Hopefully, everyone will have noticed that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West!
Some great ideas here Elizabeth! I did a project on Egypt with my class this year and this would have been a great addition. Another idea to spark the children’s curiosity would be to remove the class clock when asking them about the time! It would really get them thinking e.g. how would we know what time it is without a clock?
There are many examples of sustainability being practiced in my local area. One example, is our local Tidy Towns committee who are extremely active in the community. Apart from tidying up the area they also plant flowers around the community and they clean/paint/decorate any derelict local buildings/small dwellings. Another example of sustainability, is the regular promotion of community beach clean-up events – encouraging locals to come down to the local beach and help to keep it clean and safe for everyone to enjoy. We also have some local bee keepers whose produce can be found in the local farm shop. This is a great way to support sustainability in the area as well as local employment. Our local SuperValu also supports our local farmers and growers and stock a variety of local products such as strawberries, cabbage and potatoes. Our local Rogerstown Estuary is a designated nature reserve while the Broadmeadow Estuary is also protected under European conservation laws. These ecological areas are maintained in partnership with BirdWatch Ireland and Fingal County Parks. There are so many learning opportunities and examples of sustainability for the children within our own community. A visit from a local farmer or bee-keeper would be a great way to get the children thinking and talking about sustainability.
Some classes in our school participated in the Litter Pickers programme this year which could link in really well with the local Tidy Towns committee. Fingal County Council provided the classes with a pack, including litter pickers, gloves, refuse sacks etc It’s such a fantastic way to promote awareness of the local environment and community and the children really enjoy participating in it.
We have a “Green School Committee” in our school where children from different classes – 2nd -6th, meet each month and come up with ways to improve and be more environmentally friendly e.g. “wow” day – Walk On Wednesday which encourages people to leave their cars at home and walk/cycle/scoot to school!
I think introducing the Food Pyramid would be a great way to start a conversation with the class about the Nutrition of Seafood. Straightaway it’s a colourful visual which will instantly capture the attention of the class. Depending on the class level, the children may already be familiar with the food pyramid and could be ready to further explore the benefits of eating seafood, focusing on the essential nutrients like iron, vitamin D and omega 3. The key messages to give the class would be that seafood helps your brain to grow strong – rich in omega-3s that support brain development; it helps build muscles as it’s full of high-quality protein; it helps you stay healthy as it contains important vitamins; it comes from nature – teaches them about oceans, rivers, and sustainable food;
seafood can be tasty and fun – encourages them to try new foods in a positive way.
I think it’s important to raise awareness about the labels attached to seafood products and this could be explored (if feasible) by visiting a local shop/supermarket and analysing a variety of packaging. Nutrition of Seafood could be linked into so many curricular areas such as Science; Maths; Geography; Art and SPHE.