[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Robert,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your ideas on mapping activities for your class. Through mapping the school environment children can become familiar with the plants and animals along with the biodiversity in the school grounds. A tip I got from a heritage in schools expert is that he looked at our school on google maps and from there he was able to trace the outline to create a map. The classes then used this map to record habitats within the school. Adding layers to your map as you have suggested is a great idea to explore biodiversity.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Declan,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on biodiversity projects after Module 3. Birdwatching is one way to explore biodiversity. You might be interested in the Irish Garden Bird Survey from Birdwatch Ireland which runs during the winter months. It is a great opportunity to get the pupils involved in a Citizen Science project.

I also like your idea to create nature diaries for the children to record their observations of plant and animal life from season to season.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Freda,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video and resources in this module. The Paxi video is a great stimulus as you have mentioned and would encourage class discussion and elicit the pupils prior knowledge.

I like how you plan to follow up on the video by modelling the green house effect. It is a good idea for the pupils to develop their learning further and to ensure they are active in recording the data and compare the temperatures.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Annie,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Home documentary. I agree that you could show specific sections to the class to allow for more discussion and follow up activities. I like how you plan to include a STEM activity where the pupils can design a water saving device in groups.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Caroline,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module. It is important to elicit the prior knowledge of the pupils and I like the idea of a concept map. In my own class, we create a concept map and at the end of the lesson we revisit it with a different colour pen to add to our learning.

I think that senior classes would enjoy using the Teal tool as you have mentioned and that for middle classes and younger it might be easier to show them the resource on the board.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Niamh,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module. Recording the data from weather instruments can easily become part of the classroom routine as you have mentioned. I had a class where we recorded the weather every day at 12 over the course of the month, the first year we did this in February and the following year we did it in October, then we could compare the results. This was a middle class and as you have said it might be easier to introduce one measurement at a time in your own class. I agree that there are so many resources in this module to make the weather topic more interactive and allow for active discovery. I hope you enjoy the rest of this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Hilary,

Welcome to the course and I am glad that you have enjoyed this module. It sounds like you have a great opportunity to develop a weather station in your school grounds and having it next to the poly tunnel will ensure that children can engage with the weather station on a regular basis.

The pupils will enjoy creating their own weather instruments and it allows them to take ownership of their learning too. My own class made anemometers last year and were really excited to use them particularly on a windy day.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Shane,

Thanks for sharing your own thoughts on the biodiversity in your school. I agree that children often respect initiatives more when they can assume a level of responsibility in them such as creating a bug hotel as you have mentioned and this also allows the pupils to explore their own local area and habitats in the environment and decide on how best to support them for biodiversity.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Hannah,

Thanks for sharing your own experience on the night sky in France and at home. From working on this course I am now very conscious of the lights in my own local area and light pollution. I was also travelling to the airport in the very early hours recently and was comparing the lights from one local area to another and into Cork city. In your own school it would be great for pupils to compare their own experience of the night sky depending on their area and this would open up a great discussion in the class on light pollution around them to increase awareness. There are many resources across this module such as those you have mentioned to further engage and support the learning.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Emma,

Thanks for sharing your plan to explore biodiversity in your local area. I like how you plan to explore the different areas within the village for biodiversity and having the pupils create posters for the local areas on the biodiversity. It is always important to start local when exploring biodiversity and living things. It is also a lovely way to connect with the wider school community and support biodiversity.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for sharing this comprehensive list of poems and art along with picture books that link with the night sky. I really like your idea to buddy up with the younger pupils for reading and learning about the night sky and biodiversity. I have teamed up with younger classes in my school for different events this year also and I found my own class loved the responsibility and it gave them confidence. Younger pupils also engage and can respond more when working with older pupils. It would be a lovely way to introduce the night sky during Space Week and build on collaborative work. Well done and I hope this goes well for you in the new school year.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Nicola,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the railway in your local area. I think pupils are always fascinated when comparing the old and the new and what had worked for many years, masonry, v the new method of steel. I also like how you plan to explore this further through a design and make approach in the classroom to compare materials which allows for critical thinking too.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Helen,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the sun dial activity and how you could approach it with your own class.

It is an ideal opportunity to integrate with other areas such as history as you have mentioned. If the pupils are active in deciding on the location of their own sundial it will allow for critical thinking and the pupils taking ownership of their learning along with teamwork as you have mentioned.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Katie-Jo

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on creating a sun dial with your class. I like how you are using the stimulus of why the sun shines in the classroom in the morning and not in the afternoon as it is relating to the pupils’ own experiences.  The sun dial also allows for opportunities to integrate with history and how people could tell the time before watches. I agree that it is a great learning opportunity for all and that it could be adapted to suit the class level or needs within the class.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Leanne,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the starwheel and approaches to learning about constellations in the class. It is important to explore the pupils’ own prior knowledge on constellations and the night sky. This will give you a starting point and also encourage pupils to share their own knowledge too. Creating the night sky in a box is also an ideal opportunity to link with Art and also with home if the pupils are keeping a record of their own observations. Lots of lovely ideas, thanks for sharing.

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