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I agree that talking about what aquaculture is, the nutrition of seafood, aquaculture and the community and sustainable seafood can get students talking and engaged in STEM activities . The quizzes at the end of each section allows the teacher to gauge their understanding and to plan ahead for future lessons on aquaculture.
The materials in the ARC resources and lesson plans offer a rich opportunity to integrate real-world, local environmental issues into STEM education. The ARC resources provide a context that is highly relevant to Irish students, allowing them to explore STEM activities on marine ecosystems, sustainability, food production, and climate challenges.
ARC lessons focus on inquiry-based and project-based learning, a key principle of effective STEM education. Students can investigate how fish farms operate, how water quality is monitored, or how technology is used to support sustainability in aquaculture.
Establishing a Marine/Aquaculture Team in the school could be a possibility and looking at obtaining a Blue Schools Award in the school.
Using Ireland’s Taste the Atlantic map, the school could pick a local aquaculture producer to visit and discuss some direct/indirect jobs that stem from the aquaculture producer, along with their importance in the local community.ARC works in alignment with the STEM Education Policy Statement by
1. Offering accessible, engaging content involving real-world environmental challenges.
2. Encouraging collaborative group work (e.g. data collection projects)
3. Providing content that reflects Ireland’s unique marine context, encouraging relevance and local connection.ARC can be used in SSE to:
1. Develop cross-curricular STEM themes
2. Facilitate whole-school CPD sessions using ARC content.
3. Use student voice and samples of student work from ARC-related activities as SSE evidence.Hi Andrea
I agree that the use of videos, maps and interactive lessons and activities can make the topic of aquaculture engaging and interesting for students, especially those living close to fishing villages and industries. It would be beneficial to invite local fishermen and marine experts into the school to share information with students and to give them the opportunity to ask questions relating to aquaculture.
Ireland is an ideal location for the farming of fish, shellfish, and seaweed due to its rugged coastline, temperate climate, and pristine waters. The strategic placement of aquaculture farms along the western coast and other coastal regions is naturally suitable of these environments. The economies of some of the country’s most isolated and vulnerable communities are very much dependent on aquaculture.
Aquaculture farms all over the West coast of Ireland from Donegal to Kerry and Cork, have become a vital part of the rural coastal framework. Their locations are often in areas where traditional industries such as fishing and farming have declined, and where employment opportunities are limited. Therefore it is clear that aquaculture has emerged not just as an industry in these regions, but as a lifeline.
Aquaculture provides year-round employment in areas where seasonal tourism or agriculture often dominate. It offers a wide range of job opportunities, from farm workers to technicians, scientists, and transport operators. For young people in these communities, aquaculture can represent a viable alternative to emigration or long commutes to urban centres.
Furthermore, aquaculture supports a wide range of local services – engineering, boat maintenance, packaging, and logistics – creating indirect employment and circulating income within the community. The presence of aquaculture farms also contributes to sustaining local schools, shops, and services, helping to preserve the social and cultural framework of coastal villages.Hi Susan
I agree with you when you say that the visuals, videos, and hands-on elements in the ARC resources are very easy to understand and could be adapted to different levels. The content on salmon, mussels, and oysters is clear and engaging and gives children a great insight into aquaculture in Ireland.
Learning about aquaculture and social license is so important and can have a positive and lasting impact on primary school children in Ireland, particularly as it supports the development of environmental awareness, responsible citizenship and critical thinking.
Education about Aquaculture helps children to understand where seafood comes from and how it is produced sustainably. It also builds knowledge about marine ecosystems, the importance of clean water, and the role of biodiversity. Children develop a sense of responsibility for protecting the ocean and marine life.
Learning about social license and the idea that industries need ongoing public approval to operate encourages pupils to think about how communities are affected by industries like aquaculture and the balance between economic benefits and environmental impacts.
Through BIM’s Social Licence Project, ARC, pupils get the opportunity to attend active workshops and learn to evaluate different perspectives and to use effective questioning such as: ‘Is this good for the environment? Is it fair to the local community?’
This awareness makes children curious about sustainable food and ask where the fish fingers in their hot meals come from. It might bring a heightened awareness for beach clean-ups, writing letters to public officials, or educating others on marine protection.
It may encourage children to participate positively in STEM activities and careers related to marine biology, aquaculture, or environmental science.
I particularly enjoyed Professor O Mara’s animated video with real-life images and facts on aquaculture in Ireland. This would be suitable for younger children as it is clear and easily explained.I will have to take note of that book to use when teaching space when we return to school. I have read the book ‘Roaring Rockets’ by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker to the children and they loved it as it has rhyming words which the children love to guess before hearing it!
I will also do the Rocket Balloon experiment with the children and the Rocket Mice experiment also.
Module 5 Assignment:
Activity: Rocket Balloon
To introduce the topic of rockets I would ask the children what they know, what they would like to learn and to be thinking of items to use for making a rocket of their own!
They will make predictions on how a rocket might fly and then they will watch a YouTube Kids video called How Does a Rocket Fly?
https://www.youtubekids.com/watch?v=9g0FehS0H1E&hl=en-GB
They will work in groups to discuss what they learned in the video and there will be a class discussion afterwards.
We will then discuss making a rocket and they will share ideas and new words/vocabulary with the rest of the class.
We will make a rocket balloon using a balloon, a straw, string, scissors, sellotape, two anchor points to tie the string to.
The children will take turns experimenting with and conducting the investigations. They will discuss taking their experiment to the next step by discussing
• How far does your balloon rocket travel?
• What happens if you change the string to wool, thread or other material?
• Could you use this balloon power to create something else? Create a string track for several balloons and hold a balloon rocket competition.
• Whose balloon rocket travels the furthest?We will end the lesson by reading Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker.
I agree that Marvin and Milo cartoons would be great for children. I will also make use of the resources on ESA Education, UNAWE and the Astronomy Picture of the Day. The Stellarium tool looks useful too.
Module 4 Assignment:
Activity: Animals in the Cold (ESERO 7)
• I would introduce this topic in Winter as part of our Oral Language programme (The Arctic) and when discussing different types of weather in each season.
• I would show the children pictures of penguins and polar bears? I would ask them questions like Where do they live? Are they alike? How are they different and what characteristics have they in common?
• We would look at the powerpoint presentation ‘How animals keep warm in the winter’ (Twinkl) and discuss the findings.
• The children would then do the Animals in the Cold experiment and discuss and record how their hands felt with the Vaseline and what effect water had on their hands?
• I would get the children to make an Arctic Sensory Bin to include Arctic figurines, ice cubes of various sizes and get them to experiment with the ice cubes with Vaseline applied to their hands.
• I would conclude the learning by reading ‘The Snowman’ by Raymond Briggs.
I love your ideas for the Lots and lots of Stars activity.
I will also be using this lesson as a thematic unit of work. I hope to link it with space in Oral Language and I will include the book ‘Where to hide a Star’ by Oliver Jeffers to the literacy resources I plan on using. I will also show ‘Starry Night’ by Van Gogh as part of my teaching.
I love your idea of singing and reciting Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as part of the thematic work.
Module 3 Assignment:
Activity: Stars
ESERO 13: Lots and lots of Stars: Looking at the Stars
I would introduce the lesson with questions so get the children thinking, how many stars are there? More than 5? More than the number of children in this class? More than the number of marbles in this jar?
I would then show them the discussion sheet and some images of the Milky Way to get them engaged and focused.
I would then explain about the stars and the Milky Way and that the sun is a star, our nearest and brightest star.
We would follow this with the art lesson to create a starry night. I would show them Van Gogh’s famous Starry Night scene to get them thinking.
The children would use space themed play dough mats to create stars. I would add some glitter to the play dough to create a sparkling effect.
I would finish off the learning by reading ‘Where to hide a star’ by Oliver Jeffers to the children.
This is a delightful story about a boy who likes to play hide and seek with his two friends, the star and the penguin. The star was always easy to find as he is so bright but one day he goes missing. The boy radios a Martian for help and soon finds himself on an exciting spaceship rescue mission to the North Pole! But while there, he discovers that he isn’t the only one who dreams of having a star as a friend…
This is a lovely story about friendship that I know the children would enjoy and it would really consolidate their learning.Hi Sean
I love your ideas for teaching planets to your class. I also chose planets and decided on doing a KWL chart to begin with and then showing the children images of solar system and also listening to ‘The Planet Song and ‘We are the Planets’ and letting the children compare the information they learned in both. We consolidated our learning by using balloons and various colours/sizes to make the planets in our solar system.
Module 2 assignment
The activity I would use in my classroom would be the activity set on the planets.
My reasoning for this is based on the following factors
1. I would question them at the beginning of the lesson and find out how much they already know about the planets and what they would like to find out.
2. I teach infants and they learn through song. The Planets Song (ESERO 1) would support their learning as it is engaging and fact-based.
3. They would listen to ‘We are the Planets’ (The Solar System Song) and they would discuss what information they learned in that song.
4. We would compare the two songs at the end of the lesson and discuss new words/information they learned in each song.
5. The children would consolidate their learning by working in groups to make balloon prints of the different planets using different colours, sizes etc.Hi Rebecca
I’m also very interested in Science-based learning and I love how my own children are curious about the world around us and the solar system!
I can also see how enquiry-based learning can benefit children when investigating science matters. It also helps us as teachers to reflect on the learning at the end of a lesson for progression.
