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Hi Rachel, that is a fantastic list of books, poems and art ideas. Thanks for sharing it with us. It will definitely come in useful when teaching about the night sky. I like the book list as I hadn’t taught to look for books about the night sky.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky? For example: Look up President Michael D Higgins’ “Stardust”
I made a list of a variety of songs and poems relating to and connected with the night sky that will help junior students understand it in a fun way. Many of these songs have actions and are interactive for the child to remember and engage with. They also are sung to themes that the children are already familiar with.
Twinkle twinkle little star
Hey diddle diddle
Sing a song of sunshine
Four little stars
Climb aboard the spaceship
We’re flying
Stars finger play
The planets go spinning
The arts are a fun and interactive way for the students to learn and understand a topic. The students can use their imaginations to make a display of a night sky in groups. Each sky will be different as the students interpretations will be different.
YouTube is also a great resource to find songs and poems for the students to listen to.
Some nice and engaging activities for the various age groups. The children will enjoy them and exploring the forest areas for minibeasts.
How you would incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies into school biodiversity plans
In order to incorporate the needs of the many nocturnal species into our school biodiversity plan we would have to ensure a holistic approach to it. Nocturnal species such as bats, owls and certain insects rely on dark skies to survive and for their wellbeing. As a whole school the students could make bat boxes where artificial light with be eliminated. This will allow nocturnal creatures to thrive. We could also plant various flowers, plants and trees that will provide food and shelter for all the animals and insects at night. An area of the school grounds could be dedicated to this where students can monitor and observe using wildlife cameras, bat detectors and moth traps. They can record and report data from their findings. A range of subject areas can be incorporated into this plan such as maths, art, construction and geography with a whole school inclusive approach taken.
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
To start this lesson we would look at different things and objects that give us light and where we can find them in our areas and school environment as light pollution is now a growing issue. The use of artificial lighting in cities, towns and villages is playing a part in environmental and health issues and energy waste. Living in a small village light pollution has reduced the visibility of the stars at night. Many people spend a lot of hours a day looking at screens which can be harmful to their eyesight. Many forms of outdoor lighting also causes energy waste when left on during the night. In order to engage my learners we would take a walk/drive in our local community to identify various light sources e.g. street lighting, lighting in shops or cafes and various types of screens (supermarket till, bank ATM machines). We would take pictures of these to explore further when we return to class.
using binoculars is a great idea for getting a closer look at the moon, my students would enjoy using them for this activity.
Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be in 2024- 2025?
With working in a special school and teaching a class of 8 to 10 year olds I would start my lesson with teaching the students about day and night and the differences between the two. I would use visuals, YouTube clips and various websites to support the lesson. The students would sort pictures into day and night. They would then identify the moon in the pictures. I would also engage with parents/guardians about our lesson so they can support the children at home to see the moon at night and early in the morning when they wake. We would incorporate observing the moon daily during circle time and notice changes as the year goes on. We would also look at the different shapes that the moon can be. These can be constructed and displayed in the classroom to further reinforce their learning. This is also bringing in other areas of the curriculum such as maths and art.
Hi Michelle,
I love your idea of drawing around the students shadows outside with chalk, I feel a lot of my students would love doing this and engage really well with the activity. An excellent idea.
how to construct a sun dial.
I work in a special school where we have children from 4 years up to 18 years. I think constructing and finding a place for our sun dial would really interest some of our students. As we are currently moving in to a new extension of our school there are many more areas that are potential places to put the sundial. Many areas of the curriculum can be used to complete the activity. It could be a whole school project, some students can construct it, some students can find a good place for it and some students can monitor it. A core group of students could meet to discuss what materials they might use to make the sundial and how they would do it. This activity would cover areas of maths, history, geography, art and construction and language and communication. Lots of pictures and youtube clips could be shown to the students for them to have a clear understanding of what a sundial looks like, what it does and how it works.