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Hi Alison,
Welcome to the course, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for sharing your ideas on exploring the movement of the sun with an infant class. I really like how you plan to develop their use of digital learning to document their learning and allow the children to make their own comparisons as they make their observations at different times of the day. As you have mentioned there are lots of opportunities for skills development in this activity across multiple areas of the curriculum.
Hi Aoife,
Welcome to the course, I hope you enjoy it.
I really like how you plan to explore the sun dial in ancient civilisations initially for meaningful connections with the history of the sundial.
I think exploring shadows indoors initially will also develop their knowledge of the concept of shadows and then it can be explored with the sundial. Children do love to be out and active as you have mentioned and exploring how the shadows change on the sundial will really support their learning and get them outside. Thanks for sharing your ideas for this activity.
Hi Eleanor,
Welcome to the course, I hope you enjoy it.
It is important for the pupils to consider the environment in order to observe the night sky and identify the planets. This would allow for some critical thinking and problem solving prior to exploring the night sky.
It is a great idea for the children to research the planets and complete project work on them to further support their learning when they are observing the night sky. It is also a fantastic opportunity to develop the home school link and get parents involved in observing the night sky with their children as you have mentioned.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the activities in this module.
Hi Robert,
Welcome to the course, I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module. Activity 3 supports the children to learn about climate projections. Thanks for sharing about the RTE resource from Gerald Fleming, this is definitely something I will look into for my own class for next year. It would be fascinating for the children to use the Teal tool and make comparisons with this work and as you have mentioned it would support the visual element of the learning. It would also develop their knowledge and understanding of climate change in the various activities.
Hi Shaun
Welcome to the course and I am glad that you have found the many resources on Curious Minds and ESERO helpful. There is a fantastic bank of activities and resources in these sites that would support teachers at any level. They are also outlined using a framework for inquiry which supports child led investigations. I have found that I would plan for a specific task or outcome and then with the children’s own thoughts and questions it can go down a totally different track, but the children are more engaged as they are working towards solving their own question. There are endless opportunities for critical thinking and problem solving and more 21st century skills.
I hope you enjoy the other modules and the many resources across this course.
Hi Emma,
Welcome to the course, I hope you enjoy it.
Using the local area is a great starting point for any class and as you have mentioned there are many online tools for the children to explore their local area in more detail such as Google Earth and Geo hive. Children can also track changes in their locality, such as changing in farming or landscape. Children can also look at the types of soil in an area to support farming as you have outlined. This is a great opportunity to connect with Science and Geography.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and how this could also be integrated into other subject areas.
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the framework template from ESRO and how you could use it in the classroom. Inquiry based learning is a fantastic approach to allow the children to take ownership of their learning. They can ask the questions and work together on problem solving and critical thinking and as you have said it makes the lessons more engaging for the pupils and it can be adapted to suit learning across other curricular areas also.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Siobhan
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the satellite tracker app. Space is a fascinating topic for children and having taught infants to senior classes, this fascination works across all levels.
The app is ideal to see the different satellites that have passed over Ireland and children would love knowing what is passing over them and maybe researching about what each satellite is looking for in space. I was tracking the ISS with my class last year and we found a live webcam and we could see the earth below. We had great fun guessing where in the world they were judging by the terrain below and they almost had it right when we checked the map. My senior classes would have spent the afternoon tracking it. I hope your class will enjoy tracking the satellites in September.
Hi Niamh,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the film Home. I agree that you could choose specific sections of the film to support the learning for your class. It is a great resource to support their learning on climate change, but it is important to choose relevant clips that would be suitable for your own class and their needs.
As you have mentioned, children may become concerned when they learn of the statistics and it is important to keep positive and ensure that even the smallest of steps and measures can help and it is important that we all work together to combat climate change. I, myself, have found that there can be a level of anxiety among some children in this area so I am conscious of clips and activities in the classroom to address the topic but also provide support and encouragement for these children. But then every class is different and there are lots of activities to promote the smaller tasks we can make.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Avril,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources and activities in this module. The Paxi video would be an ideal resource for 3rd class next year, it simplifies the concept as you have mentioned. There are lots of opportunities for discussion to support their learning in this area. Green Schools also have a Green Schools Book Club with picture books on different global goals such as Climate Action which might help your class also.
Curious Minds is a fantastic support tool for teachers and the inquiry based learning template is a great support for any class teacher. There are lots of investigations and activities on Curious Minds which are outlined on the template to show you further examples of how to adapt it to your own planning in school to support the children leading their own learning through questioning.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Ann
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module. I have used the resource Nose High Up in the Sky with my own senior classes and it provided lots of opportunities for hands on activities, research and with our green screen we also got to record our own weather forecast in both English and as Gaeilge. As you have mentioned there is great opportunities for vocabulary development.
I really like how you want the older children to work with the younger classes in observing and recording the weather. It would be a lovely collaborative learning opportunity and as you have said a real sense of whole-school learning.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Monica
Welcome to the course and thank you for your feedback regarding the numerous resources in this module. There are lots of resources across the course that you can share with colleagues on the return to school.
I agree that while textbooks can support learning, it is important to allow for active and hands on learning to fully explore the topic of weather and climate. Hands on activities such as creating a weather station are more meaningful than written in a textbook. I also like how you plan to support this learning with weather forecast from News Jnr. This could lead to further drama lessons and the children planning their own weather forecast.
I hope you enjoy the other modules and get lots of ideas and resources for the new school year.
Hi Deirdre.
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions for the resources in this module.
There are numerous resources in this module and this course and as you have mentioned they support the 4 C’s of critical thinking. There are many opportunities to make meaningful connections with other curricular areas too such as vocabulary in English or data in Maths. I like how you suggested whole school collaboration which would support the learning across the school and in the school community. It is important for the children to recognise the small changes we can make ourselves and in the community.
I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.
Hi Mikey,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on this module. The activities in this module are an ideal starting point for teaching about climate change and the Paxi videos are accessible and engaging for the pupils as you have mentioned.
The Teal tool has many learning opportunities also. As you have mentioned, opportunities for the children to ask questions and engage in their own inquiry based learning. I really like your idea of children becoming environmental reporters and sharing tips on reducing emissions. It is a creative way to demonstrate their learning in a meaningful way and could be shared with the wider school community.
I hope you enjoy the other modules.
Hi John
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module.
The Teal tool is very interesting and I like how you could explore the Teal tool with the pupils in your class from all across the world. Pupils can compare their own country with those of other pupils in the class and allow for critical discussion and critical thinking as they compare the results.
The Paxi videos are also attractive to the pupils as you have mentioned, it will engage the pupils and act as an introduction to the topic where the children can then show their own knowledge or allow for discussion on the topics in the video whether as a class or in groups to build on their knowledge.
I hope you enjoy the course
