[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Rachel,

Welcome to the course. Using a poem to introduce the concept of shadows is a great idea to engage the younger learners. I also like how you are planning to explore shadows initially before introducing the concept of the sundial. The learners can make observations on how the shadows move and then when creating a sundial they can make connections with their learning on shadows and the sundial. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Catriona

Welcome to the course. You are very fortunate to have a lovely garden within the school grounds. This would allow for so many learning opportunities and supporting biodiversity. It is great to have the variety of habitats such as the willow tunnel, trees and shrubs. You could consider adding plants to support nocturnal insects to further develop the garden.

I like how you are planning to interview the caretaker also. Getting them involved and allowing the class to plan the questions and identify what can be improved around the school grounds and action the class and the caretaker can do to further support biodiversity.

Thanks for sharing this idea. I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Aine,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson idea on light pollution. It is a great idea to compare two different areas – rural and urban and using images where possible can allow for lots of discussion and critical thinking. The learners in your class could also take photos of the night sky when they are observing it at home or after their youth club for comparison with their peers in the class and to look at the level of light pollution in different areas. You have allowed for lots of inquiry based learning too as they explore the lighting around the school and how it could be improved.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Maria,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on addressing light pollution with the class.

Using images from rural and urban areas allows for lots of discussion and critical thinking as they are comparing and discussing why there is such a difference and the introducing the concept of light pollution and the impact it might have. It is also important to empower the learners with how they can take action as you have mentioned such as closing curtains at home and switching off lights when not needed. It is important to encourage these actions both at home and in school.

I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your lesson ideas. It is important to address the issue of light pollution even with younger learners. I like your idea of sorting the different images which allows for lots of discussion and language development such as natural light. Using images familiar to the learners will help them to learn about the concept of light pollution and also encourage them to take action by turning off lights when not needed and becoming light pollution helpers. Thanks for sharing

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Nicole,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing some lovely lesson ideas. I like how you have introduced the topic with a picture book which allows for lots of discussion on what the learners already know about the night sky.

It is great to set the location for Stellarium to the local area of the school as you can guide the learner’s observations if they are working as Night Sky Detectives at home. This could also be shared with parents to further encourage the observations at home.

I hope you enjoy the other modules in the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Rachel,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your idea for using Stellarium with your class. It is a fantastic resource and I have found my class are always fascinated by the night sky. It can be helpful to set the night sky to the school and then go forward to the evening time and explore what can be seen and where to locate it so that the learners can do their own observations at home in the evening. I have done this with my class when observing planets and when we worked on the phases of the moon also. It is also great to learn about the Earth’s rotation and how the light changes across different months as you have mentioned. I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Siobhan,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your plan for your infant class. I like how you have chosen a picture book as a starting point. This allows for engagement with the book that allows for lots of discussion on the moon also which leads well into using Stellarium to show the pupils the night sky. I also like how you plan to send the link home for parents to use Stellarium. I have shared it with parents too as some of my class were fascinated by the night sky and spotting planets. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the other modules.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sarah,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video. I like how you plan to discuss what the learners know about greenhouse gases prior to watching the video as this could help their focus while watching the video.

The Teal tool allows for group work and independent work. I like how you plan to give them time to explore the teal tool initially before giving them a specific task. I like how you plan to give them different countries and look at the impact changing temperatures has on the lifestyle etc. This allows for lots of critical thinking and also links to real life experiences as we look at the temperatures in Europe at the moment.

Thanks for sharing.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Aine,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the video and resources in this module. The video is ideal for the senior classes and I like how you plan for collaborative learning during the video, for the learners to share their thoughts and ideas on the video to extend their learning.

The resources in the module allow for lots of cross curricular links and this can lead to meaningful connections with their learning and as you have suggested, it gives the learners an opportunity to reflect on action they can take in their local community and empower them to take action too. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Elspeth,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the video resource and the Teal Tool. I think that if you are fortunate to have a poly tunnel, it is a great opportunity to introduce the concept of the greenhouse effect and the changing in temperatures.

I also agree that there is a lot of new vocabulary in the Paxi video and exploring these new words prior to watching the video would engage the learners more as they can make connections with the content of the video as they watch it.

The Teal tool is a great resource but would need some support and guidance initially such as a teacher designed task or worksheet. This would also support critical thinking as they explore the changes in temperature using the tool. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the other modules.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Irene,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video and the Teal Tool.

I agree that the teacher will have to plan different activities around using the Teal tool depending on the level in their class. I plan to use it as a demonstration approach first with the class so this can provide some guidance for independent use. I think a worksheet would help to keep some learners focused on specific areas and keep them on task. It does allow for UDL as learners can access the material and then present the information in different ways. I also agree that the use of the video and Teal Tool makes connections for the learners between their own lives and global issues. It raises awareness among the learners and can encourage them to take action also.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Amy,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in module one.

I really like your idea to compare the local weather data with a city in another country. While the learners are comparing weather data there is the opportunity to explore the climate in that area also and make connections between learning about these concepts with real life examples.

A weather station is a great resource, while I have made weather instruments with my class, we have yet to create a specific weather station that could be used by all pupils. Maybe that can be a project for the next school year.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Edwina,

Welcome to the course and thank you for your feedback on the resources in this module. The resources provide a guide for different activities and can be easily adapted specific to the learners in your class. Creating a weather station allows for the development of skills such as those you have mentioned – investigation, recording etc. and also can be used to record real life data which is always engaging for pupils as they can use this data to create their own graphs and charts. I hope you enjoy the other modules.

 

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Eleanor

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module. Using integration effectively can create more real life links and make learning more meaningful as you have mentioned.

As you have also said, the resources on weather in  this module can be easily adapted for children. Using images and promoting vocabulary development specific to the weather can also be used across both English and Gaeilge to allow for integration. I really like that you are planning to use the weather to introduce the concept of prediction too as it makes clear links to the learner’s real life experiences. Thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoy the course.

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