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Hi Linda
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your feedback on using a sundial with the class. I agree that it gives the learners ownership of their learning and allows for rich and memorable teaching moments.
However, you could consider revisiting this post to ensure it addresses the assignment tasks. You are asked to outline how you would engage your students in creating a sundial task.
Hi Andy
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on 3D constellations. I have completed the 3D model of the Plough with classes before and it has been a great opportunity for skills development as they create the 3D model. I agree that Stellarium is a great resource to allow pupils to explore the different constellations prior to the creative activity.
I also like the constellation in a box that is shared in this video and it is something I will make with my own class during Space Week in October. I like how you have given the pupils the choice on which constellation to make and to encourage others to guess the constellation when the activity is completed. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Grainne
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your plans to increase the learners awareness of light pollution. I think it is a good opportunity to get parents/guardians involved in the observations as it will raise awareness of light pollution at home and this could also support the learners as they identify changes they could make to reduce light pollution at home also such as the Light Wise posters you have mentioned.
Comparing photos from the night sky that the teacher or the learners have taken to those from Dark Sky Reserves will also explore the concept of light pollution and increase critical thinking as the learners consider the effect the light pollution may have on nocturnal animals in an age-appropriate way as you have said.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Grainne
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your plans to increase the learners awareness of light pollution. I think it is a good opportunity to get parents/guardians involved in the observations as it will raise awareness of light pollution at home and this could also support the learners as they identify changes they could make to reduce light pollution at home also such as the Light Wise posters you have mentioned.
Comparing photos from the night sky that the teacher or the learners have taken to those from Dark Sky Reserves will also explore the concept of light pollution and increase critical thinking as the learners consider the effect the light pollution may have on nocturnal animals in an age-appropriate way as you have said.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Michelle.
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your observation plan. As you have mentioned for the older classes it is important to have resources such as the compass. You could consider making children familiar with landmarks in the school and the direction they are in initially as this may help when observing the sun’s position in the sky. This could also allow for child-led inquiry based learning as they predict where the sun will be and then go and observe outside. I like how you plan for a sunset observation with support from parents or guardians at home. Photographs are also a great opportunity for the children to share their observations and learning and also collaborate with their peers as they compare photos.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Cliona
Welcome to the course, I agree that the moon is a fantastic opportunity to get learners excited about space and as you have said it could be that it can be seen without additional equipment.
I like how you plan to explore the first quarter phase and to observe shadows along the craters. This will add more observation and meaning and is ideal for an older class to keep them engaged. I also like how you plan to compare the learners’ observations with Stellarium and NASA resources to make connections between their learning and real life science. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Odhrán.
Welcome to the course and it is great to hear your enthusiasm on teaching about the moon. I agree that it can be a brilliant topic for the younger classes. I like how you are planning to let the learners in your class explore the phases of the moon themselves following the video. You could also get them to make a model of particular phases in groups so you can represent all the phases of the moon.
I also really like how you will explore their learning about the moon in other curricular areas such as English writing and Art. I hope you enjoy the other modules of this course.
Dia duit Dónal.
Fáilte go dtí an Cúrsa.
It is great to hear of your own efforts for the All Ireland pollinator plan and how you could consider developing this within your own school also. I think that a bee keeper coming into talk to the learners would be a fantastic opportunity and would also develop their understanding and connections between pollinators, bees and real-life scenarios.
Mapping the school grounds specific to pollinator friendly areas would also draw the learners attention to the concept of pollination and how they can support it and encourage the learners to take action such as the learners researching flowers to plant and where t0 plant them.
There is lots of learning opportunities in the activities you have suggested. Tá siúl agam go mbaineann tú taitneamh as an gcúrsa seo.
Hi Renee.
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the documentary Home. I agree that you should choose clips or excerpts that are suitable and relevant to your class. This would link with lessons or units of work in the class and allow for project work also.
I like how you are planning for activities such as climate reporters that allow for creativity and multiple ways for students to show their learning and also take action as they suggest sustainable actions for the school, at home or even in their local community. As you have said it is important to ensure the students can suggest meaningful ways to tackle climate change.
Hi Claire.
Welcome to the course, what a fantastic achievement for your class to be on the 10th Green Flag. Well done to all the learners in your school. It is great to hear that the Paxi video will be shared among school staff to support their teaching on this topic.
I agree that climate change can cause a lot of anxiety for some pupils. I have experienced this in my own class before too and the Paxi video is great as it focuses on the positive and encourages the learners, giving them hope.
It is a great idea to use a buddy system to explore the TEAL tool with 3rd class students. This will allow them to engage with the results and be suppported by older pupils. Lots of learning for the older pupils too in this task as they support the younger pupils in understanding the data. There are lots of opportunities to allow for extension of learning for some pupils too as you have said. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Paul
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video. It is very engaging and informative and as you have said a great starting point for class discussions and to see what the learners know.
I like how you plan to use the TEAL tool to raise environmental awareness. The learners could explore their own local area on the TEAL tool and then compare it to other areas in the world that they are familiar with. This would also allow for exploration of the data and critical thinking.
I also agree that it is important to encourage the learners to be active participants and making lists of actions they can take at home, in school or in the local community would support this. I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Caoimhe.
Welcome to the course. I like how you have planned for STEM in your class, solving problems and allowing the learners to work together.
Thanks for your feedback on the activities. I agree that while the link to birthdays is a good example you could also consider events such as sports day to make links with their local area.
Setting up a weather stations offers so many learning opportunities for the learners and it is great that you intend to use it as a school weather station. It allows for lots of skills development as you have mentioned and also gives the learners real ownership of their learning as they record the data and share their work.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Miriam.
Welcome to the course. I agree that weather proverbs can allow for great discussion and links with local history as the learners can ask older relatives for more proverbs. It would encourage critical thinking as they make links between the proverbs and their relevance to the weather for some people such as farmers as you have said.
The activities in the resources can be easily adapted for your class level, while recording the temperature might be appropriate you could show them the anemometer and allow the learners to use it. This would also allow for the language development you have mentioned along with the activity on using the senses.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Aoibheann.
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson idea. I agree that the video from Paxi is very engaging and presents the concept in a fun way. I like how you plan to record the location of the sun across the day, you could use landmarks in the school grounds for comparison such as basketball net, trees, even the school building itself. I agree that this approach encourages the learners to make meaningful connections with nature and the world around us and this makes the activities and learning exciting and memorable. I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.
Hi Natalia ,
Welcome to the course. It is great that your school has lots of open space to allow for great learning from the sun dial activity. I agree that these activities allow for productive movement breaks too and opportunity for outdoor learning and exploring the changes on the hour. There are many links for meaningful integration as you have mentioned and I like how you plan to integrate it with the arts also.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy the course.
