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1. Describe how you could implement a version of “Design Your own Dark Sky place” in your school/classroom.
I really enjoyed watching the video of the children participating in this lesson as part of the module. Having taught 6th class this year I think they would have really enjoyed getting into character and role-playing the views of the various stakeholders involved….local residents, lighting designers/ planners, star gazers, organisers. I would divide the children into groups and they could give their pros/ cons of having a dark sky park, what services would need to be provided, how they would maintain the dark sky in the area, health & safety and effects on biodiversity.
Following on from this the children could work in pairs to create their Dark Sky Park brochures. They could incorporate a map, local information, star-gazing tips, what people need to bring with them, what plants/ animals/creatures to look out for (maybe creating a visual list), a list of other dark sky areas to visit, practical tips for people on how to decrease light pollution in their homes/ communities. The children could present their brochures to their classmates and display them so the rest of the school also benefit.
As a homework assignment they could look at a website for an Irish Dark Sky Park and write up 10 interesting facts that they have learned.
Alison this sounds like a super activity to do with the children. I find students always really enjoy interviewing their grandparents and learning about different traditions and superstitions from the past. This year my 6th class children did projects on their grandparents and it was such a worthwhile activity for the children and their families. I still have my own ‘Granny project’ that I did with Paddy Madden on my teacher training course and it is something my family treasure. She had lots of piseògs, stories, traditions and superstitions to share, some included tales of the stars, fairies, the night sky and banshees.
I love these ideas Donna. You can just imagine the excitement of the children on the committee coming back for an evening walk. They’d be delighted with themselves. The plan for them then to report back their findings, discoveries, outcomes to their peers at a school assembly and from there reporting to the parents and the BOM. This would be beneficial to the whole school community and the committee would gain invaluable experience- knowledge, teamwork, presentation skills, reporting, summarising the main points, prioritising- the list goes on!
1. How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
I loved the video of the bio- blitz and I think this video would be a great stimulus for the start of a lesson on biodiversity. I showed it to my own boys this evening and they loved it and were full of chat about how they are going to do a bio-blitz in our garden tomorrow. In school the follow on investigstion would give the children in my class a chance to identify (using resources mentioned in the module) birds, trees, plants and insects that they see in the area local to the school. I teach in a Dublin suburb but we are lucky to have fields beside our yard, local hedgerows and a river that runs nearby, which has a path alongside it with lots of different plants and trees to explore.
Following on from this we would refer back to the lesson we had previously done on light pollution- what it is and what we can do to reduce it. We could then use some of the videos mentioned in the module to look at the impacts that light pollution has on our local biodiversity in how it alters the natural behaviour of plants and animals….impacting the feeding & breeding habits of nocturnal creatures, disorientating birds and changing migration patterns, interfering with the seasonal cycles of plants and disruption of food chains involving insects attracted to the artifical light.
I learned a lot myself in this module so I think it will be a very interesting area to explore with my students next year.
That’s a super idea Clare to compare and contrast the findings in a rural and urban school. I wouldn’t have thought of doing that. Having read your post I’m just thinking that you could also do this with a school in another country. I’ve done an e-twinning project before where we were twinned with a school in Malta. It would be interesting comparing the findings between Ireland and another country. It adds another element to the investigation.
Task 1: Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I teach in a school in the Dublin suburbs so we would be exposed to a lot of light pollution in our local area. This issue seems to be a growing problem as the city’s night sky is increasingly drowned in artificial light from street lights, buildings, security lighting, flood lights and traffic. This makes it increasingly difficult for our students to see the stars and disrupts local wildlife. This has an effect of the children’s connection to the world around them, to our environment and to nature.
To engage the students in this topic I would use the ‘Black Marble’ Maps of Light resource mentioned in the Space Week pack. We would discuss the differences between urban and rural night skies. I would use photos, local maps and Stellarium to make the learning hands on. We would discuss the effects that this light pollution has on humans, animals and plants. As part of our investigation into how we could reduce light pollution we would look at the direction of light and how we could reduce light going into the sky, while still being able to use it on the ground. We would create light shielding devices, and box planetariums, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the light shields. I think the children would enjoy this hands-on process and it brings in more elements of STEAM learning. Finally we would reflect on what we have learned and how we can connect and apply this learning going forward.
By making this topic relevant to the children’s own lives I hope they would be inspired to learn about light pollution, to care about its effects and to take practical steps in making our local skies a little darker.
I love this idea Tanya. My own boys love nothing more than star-gazing. We live in Dublin so are affected by light pollution but any time we are away from the city we cosy up under the stars and watch for shooting stars. We have used Skyview before but hadn’t heard of Stellarium before now. My son got his first telescope for his birthday this year. I love the idea of giving this as a homework activity during the winter too. The children love doing something different, and I don’t think they would even feel like this was homework.
4. Engaging children by creating a 3d model of a constellation
While watching the video on this I thought it would be an excellent way of engaging the children in my class next year and sparking their interest in astronomy in a creative way. We would begin by looking at some of the well-known constellations and reading the stories/ myths behind them to provide context and to ignite their imagination.
The materials listed in the video were all things that would be easily sourced- black card, star maps, blu tac, wool, ruler, celloptape, pens/ skewers to make the holes. We would print the star map for the constellation chosen by each group, stick these on to the A4 black cardboard, then using the star map of the chosen constellation we would use the skewer to make the necessary holes, so that they are visible on the black card. We would then make the stars using the string and scrunching up tinfoil at the end of each string. Starting on the black side we would then poke the strings through the holes. I thought using the chart with the relevant star distances and corresponding string lengths would be a great exercise for the older classes, and would be an extra challenge for them. It would also add depth, relative position and make the model more realistic. This part of the lesson also adds spatial reasoning and maths skills to the activity. We would discuss how the constellations look different from various perspectives in space, promoting critical thinking.
To finish the lesson I would encourage the children to share what they have learned. I think this hands on activity makes astronomy accessible and fun for the children and fosters their sense of curiosity and deeper learning.
Eimear I love that that you have broken down this activity into a very user friendly lesson plan. Thank you! I think the children would love doing this. The example used in the video with the plant pot and the stick was great too. It could be fun to get one group to do this type of sun dial and then the children could compare the effectiveness of each method of telling the time.
5. One Year on Earth- Understanding the Seasons Resource
I would use this document as a key visual and interactive tool to help the children in my class understand the concept of seasons and how they change throughout the year. This resource effectively illustrates Earth’s orbit around the sun and explains how the tilt of the Earth’s axis causes different seasons. Depending on the class level I would guide the children through each stage of the Earth’s journey, using age appropriate language, and link it to examples in their own environment- this would tie in well with the biodiversity expert that we have coming in to the school to explore the local area during the different seasons. This document would be a good starting point/ stimulus for classroom discussions, practical activities and would lend itself to integration across all areas of STEAM. This document would be helpful in supporting the relevant curriculum objectives and developing the children’s skills in this area. By connecting the abstract concept of the Earth’s orbit with the children’s nature walks with our biodiversity expert, this resource makes learning more meaningful and engaging.
