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These are great. I will really enjoy using these over the next year. I hadn’t seen some of those and others I wouldn’t have thought of using.
• How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
We would begin by looking at books about minibeasts and explore minibeasts in our school garden with our insect kits. We would then read the story You’re Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration by Loree Griffin Burns and photos by Ellen Harasimowicz. This is similar to the video about moths in Module 4 http://www.heritageinschools.ie/online-tutorials/discovering-the-hidden-world-of-moths-albert-nolan and the story talks about creating snacks for moths and such as banana and putting them on tree trunks. The book also talks about using a sheet and light at night to look at moths. The pupils could do this as part of their home school links.
We would then look at the lights in the school and with the green school committee talk about how to reduce light pollution and design and create light shields or change the lights to sensor lights only.
We would read the story The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle who uses his tail to light his way and attract other fireflies. We would talk about how important it is for insects like this to have as much darkness as possible.You are so lucky to have such a wonderful area around your school. The idea of planting native flowering plants to attract moths etc is a great idea.
An evening survey is a lovely idea and would be good for home school links.
- Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I would read a book that would be appropriate for my First and Second Class such as The Night Box by Louise Greig – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG4P1uiV_O8. This story is about a boy who opens the night box and day goes in while night comes out. It details nocturnal animals and creatures that rely on the dark.
I would also read It’s too dark Puffling by Erika McCann and Gerry which is similar as the puffling doesn’t like the dark and then comes to appreciate it as he learns about the animals that like it.
The children would engage with the texts and through some talk and discussion we would elicit the importance of the dark and what might happen if there is too much light. As part of homework and home school links we would use a stellarium so that the children might see what they can see from their own gardens at night.
We would then look at where planetariums are located and how important they are. We would look at the map of the Dark Sky Reserves in Ireland our closest one down in Kerry.
We would look at what we can do to combat light pollution and reduce energy usage.
We would do a sensory sorting box with natural dark and toy animals inside then a box with a torch shining in to the animals and what might happen if they think it is daytime.
I really like the idea of using a KWL and the use of the Globe at Night activities. Those are enjoyable and having the children act as citizen scientists would be a great way to introduce personal responsibility around light pollution.
Module 2 Assignment
- 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?
I would begin teaching my First and Second Multiclass by reading the story of the ‘Moon Man’ by Tomi Ungerer.
It is also available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGkpKApCouE
It tells the story of the man in the moon curious about Earth and wanting to dance after seeing a party on Earth. He grabs a passing comet and lands on Earth where he gets arrested and put in jail. Fortunately he waits as the waning phase of the moon approaches half his body disappears so he can slip out through the bars of his cell and then enjoys life on Earth but misses his life of peace on the moon and is still pursued. He then meets a scientist who has invented the rocket ship to the moon who is able to send him back to the moon. The pictures show the phases of the moon and would introduce the pupils to connect with learning about the moon. After the story we would see the dates when we can spot the moon from the classroom and we would place these on a poster on the wall.
We would also integrate with other subjects such as science and draw what we see when we look at the moon and the light and dark side. We could use a flour tray activity to simulate meteorites from a height and how the craters are formed.
The pupils could also use torches and lights to simulate the phases of the moon.
The dates we would look at the moon are on this list. I have used the dates for 2026 to 2027 as these would be useful to have for my planning. These dates are for either morning or afternoon or both sometimes.
2026
Tuesday, 1 September 2026
Wednesday, 2 September 2026
Friday, 4 September 2026
Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Thursday, 1 October 2026
Friday, 2 October 2026
Tuesday, 3 November 2026
Friday, 27 November 2026
Monday, 30 November 2026
Tuesday, 1 December 2026
2027
Tuesday, 26 January 2027
Wednesday, 27 January 2027
Friday, 29 January 2027
Wednesday, 24 February 2027
Thursday, 25 February 2027
Friday, 26 February 2027
Thursday, 25 March 2027
Friday, 26 March 2027
Tuesday, 30 March 2027
Monday, 26 April 2027
Tuesday, 27 April 2027
Wednesday, 28 April 2027
Monday, 24 May 2027
Tuesday, 25 May 2027
Wednesday, 26 May 2027
I really like the use of the story with the younger classes. It helps them engage emotionally with the night sky and makes them think that little bit deeper. I really like linking with parents as well as this will support discussion at home. Using art as well and children creating a picture as well as using star stickers is a really enjoyable activity that supports their learning.
I really like the idea of using your local area and using the obelisk. This would be a great introduction to history and to geography locally. It would be interesting to introduce that these were first built in Egypt to the Sun God Ra and then for important events. This might engage the children to look at something they see every day in a new way.
Construct a sundial in your immediate area or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed.
I will be teaching First and Second Class in September so I would introduce this topic at their level looking at how people told the time before modern clocks. We would look at pictures of famous Irish sundials including the 5000 year old Sundial stone in Boyne Valley to more modern sundials in Ireland and abroad. We would look at the lines on the sundials and how they show time. We would then go to the yard with chalk. The children would draw their shadows with chalk standing at a fixed point. This would be done at different times of the day or on the hour over a few days. The pupils would then see how the shadow moves. We would then find a point in the garden. We would use a wooden pole/brush handle we would place in the ground and mark the sundial with painted and varnished pebbles showing the hour at each point. The pupils could place little pebble in lines towards the bigger rounded pebble/stones. We could look at the sundial at different times of the year and the seasons and see does our sundial still work. We could also integrate this into maths, geography, art and music.