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This sounds great Niamh. The songs Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and A Sky Full of Stars would probably already be known to the children therefore creating a link between their own lives and their learning in the classroom. Exploring Michael D. Higgins’ poem “Stardust” is another great idea to integrate English into this topic. Inviting the children to create their own art, song or poem relating to the night sky is a lovely way to finish this off!
1. Prepare a school project to collect Piseógs/Traditions/Stories of the Night. For Example: Dúchas Folklore Commission
I would introduce the project by explaining the importance of keeping Ireland’s old stories alive and showing pupils examples from the Schools’ Collection on the Dúchas website. I would explain that the original Schools’ Collection was created by schoolchildren who collected folklore, stories and traditions from people in their communities. Pupils could explore examples of piseóga, stories and local beliefs on Dúchas before beginning their own investigation. For example, I found one story in Schools’ Collection that was written by a teacher, Dáithí Ó Ceanntabhail from Limerick. He wrote how one evening he saw a barn owl flying towards the rectory with a rat in its claws. The owl flew very close to him and he couldn’t believe how quiet it was.
For homework, I would get the pupils to interview a parent, grandparent, older family member or another member of the community about Stories of the Night. They could collect piseóga, ghost stories, traditions or memories associated with nighttime. Pupils could video record the interviews and then write their main findings. We could compare the different stories collected and identify similarities, differences and common themes.
I completely agree with you Carmel. Biodiversity awareness and plans are becoming more prominent but there is little consideration for nocturnal wildlife and dark skies. I like your idea of using motion sensors on outdoor lights so they only turn on when needed. Another great point is ensuring light is not shining into vegetation as it isn’t needed there and is harming biodiversity. I think making and installing bat boxes is another great idea and ensuring they are put in a place that is not effected by artificial light at night. These are excellent steps to ensure biodiversity is being supported 24/7
How would you engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity?
I would begin by ensuring that the children understand what biodiversity means. I could break it down into bio meaning life and diversity meaning different. I would further explain that it means the variety of living things in an area, including plants, animals and microorganisms. I would then engage learners through a hands on biodiversity hunt around the school grounds or local area. I would organise the children in groups and give each child a role, for example, recording findings on paper, taking photographs on an iPad, identifying plants and animals or mapping where they were found. This would allow pupils to collect real data about biodiversity in their own locality. I would also explore the possibility of contacting Heritage in Schools to invite an expert to the school to deliver a biodiversity workshop.
To investigate the impact of light pollution, I would focus on nocturnal species like bats and insects. Pupils could investigate how artificial light may affect bats’ navigation, foraging and feeding, as bats rely on nocturnal insects for food. They could also explore how insects are attracted to artificial light and consider the wider effects this may have on food chains and ecosystems.
This sounds like an excellent way to engage Senior Infants with light pollution Natasha! The walk around the school area would make the learning very relevant to pupils as they would be able to make connections between the topic and their local area. I love the idea of the model streetscape using torches and cardboard shields. This would be a highly engaging, practical and enjoyable lesson.
- 1. Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
Light pollution is a very relevant issue in my local area of Meath. In the past, Meath had many rural areas where there were clear views of the night sky due to the dark skies. However, its proximity to Dublin and the growth of commuter towns has led to more housing, roads and artificial lighting being built in this area.
I would engage learners by connecting the issue directly to their local environment. I would begin by asking pupils whether they think they can see the same number of stars from their home or school as they could in a more rural area of Meath. Pupils could make observations of the night sky and compare these with light pollution maps. They could also ask parents/ grandparents/ neighbours who have lived in the area for a long time if they remember the skies being darker in the past. They could then investigate sources of artificial light in their local area and explore its effects on animals and people. Finally, pupils could work in groups to design solutions for reducing unnecessary light pollution in their school or community.
I really like the sound of this Patrick! Your idea to use a graph with an x and y axis to display the level of the sun and at what time of day is a great way to integrate maths into your lesson. I also really like the idea of tracking the sunrise and sunset times over a month. It would be very interesting to compare these as they can change by up to a few minutes each day. It is also something that is very relevant to the children, especially sunset times, as it comes into winter as they may need to train under flood lights or walk their dog before it gets dark etc!
1. Create an observing plan for the autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky
I would engage the children by asking questions such as ‘What can you see in the sky that is in space?’ and ‘When can you see them?’. I would then show them a picture of a clear blue sky with bright objects and would encourage the children to discuss what they think the objects are. I would inform them that planets are often visible in the sky during the daytime. I would use the Stellarium website and set the location to the location of the school. I would show the children the ‘Planets Tonight’ section to see what planets are visible from this location tonight and at what times. I would encourage the children to observe the sky with a parent/ guardian once a week for the autumn months. I would encourage them to pick an evening when the sky is clear and draw a picture of what they observe. I would link in with parents and ask them to identify north, south, east and west for their child and I would give them the link to the Stellarium website. I would also send parents a screenshot from the Stellarium website of what the sky should look like and what planets should be visible once a week. The children would compare their observations at the end of each month and then at the end of autumn.
This sounds like a very engaging lesson Laura! I like how you decided to begin the lesson by posing a question about how people told the time in the past. It is very important to choose a location away from anything that could block the sun during the day. I did a lesson like this with my 5th class last year where they made sun dials from paper plates and a pencil in the middle. They really enjoyed it and loved going outside multiple times during the day.
One Year on Earth – Understanding the Seasons Resource (ESA)
I would engage my students in this activity by showing them images of different places during different seasons. Ideally I would choose images of areas that are familiar to the children or in the locality to further support engagement. For example, I would show an image of a place in the summer time with trees in full bloom and the sun shining. An image from autumn time showing leaves on trees that have changed colour and have started to fall. An image in winter time showing no leaves on trees and snow or frost if possible. Then an image of leaves starting to grow on trees again in spring time. I would allow the children time to discuss what they see in each image and then compare each of the images by discussing what was the same and what was different in each photo. I would then ask them to use this information to try and guess what they will be learning about in this lesson.