[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Denis

The EO Browser is great to use satellite images of your own local area to use in the classroom. You can observe changes from different years and would allow for lots of inquiry based learning too.

The Paxi video is also a great resource and as you have mentioned there are excellent animations to engage pupils and hold their attention.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Karl,

I like your idea to form a Weather & Climate Team, while they can record the weather and use these findings to the school community. I think the weather blog would also be great to share the difference between weather and climate.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Niamh,

Thanks for sharing this idea, the blueprint is a great starting point as the pupils can plan their work, at times they can be anxious to get started straight away and miss this step. There are lots of opportunities to used maths skills in a practical way which you have mentioned.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Elaine,

Thanks for sharing the lovely ways to connect both data and the wildlife in the local area. With the New Maths Curriculum upon us I think this is a fantastic opportunity to explore data in real life scenarios while also exploring the wildlife around their school to support categorising as you have mentioned.

 

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Brenda

I am glad that you like the classroom resource Nose High Up in the Sky, it provides for lots of learning opportunities to make connections with real life such as building their own weather station. Personally, I have loved exploring weather proverbs and weather lore with my class to link with older generations of their families and make links to local history too or explore proverbs from different areas of the country too.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Edel,

I agree that with the younger classes it is important to approach the topic of climate change without causing fear. It is important to acknowledge all the small changes the pupils can make in their own local area and to encourage family members and the wider communities to do the same. As you have mentioned the video from Greta Thunberg, there is a lovely book in the Green Schools Book Club called Greta and the Giants. It is ideal for the younger classes to explore Climate Change and how they can work together to make changes.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Eve,

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

From my own class experience, they have loved creating their own weather instruments and recording the weather on a daily basis. They could then gather their own data and as you have mentioned the link to making graphs in maths also. I like how you plan to compare the data with official data, I have often used Met Eireann data when learning about trend graphs in class. There are lots of opportunities for meaningful integration.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for sharing lots of lovely ways to introduce the infant classes to the concept of light pollution. This can be a difficult concept for these younger pupils but it is important to make them aware of the changes they can make at home from a young age also.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sharon,

I know that I have become quite the star gazer having completed the course myself, the night sky and the solar system are always fascinating to children and it doesn’t matter what class they are in. I love the idea of Star Gazing Journal something I might explore with my own class during Space Week this October. Thanks for sharing.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Aoife

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your lesson on observing the planets. There are many online resources and apps as you have mentioned in your post, but you could also consider Stellarium which can show you the night sky in your own local area and point out the planets to make it easier for the pupils to make their own observations at home. Would you consider the planet logbook more central to your lessons rather than an optional activity in the class?

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Aimee,

Lots of lovely ideas here, I like how you plan to link the moon observations with a picture book and Oliver Jeffers has fabulous books to link in with the night sky. Thanks for noting the phase of the moon on the cover in order to discuss with the pupils and also build the specific vocabulary on the phases of the moon.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Michelle

Welcome to the course

I like how you plan to introduce the concept of shadows through a picture book initially, this will be very engaging for the pupils. I love to use picture books for all different subjects, even in the senior classes. Younger children also love exploring with chalk outdoors and allowing the children to trace around their shadows at different times in the day will allow them to discover how their shadow has moved and make connections between the shadow moving and the sun moving themselves. Thanks for sharing I hope you enjoy the course.

 

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Niamh

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on Liston’s paper. I think that as teachers we can all be a little guilty of covering STEM specific to the curricular area and this paper encourages us to broaden our approaches and to view STEM as a holistic approach to these curricular areas.

I really like how you used the real life scenario of the storm to explore it in more detail. I know you mentioned that it was not part of the weekly plan but sometimes we have to take these learning opportunities to ensure it is meaningful and relatable for the pupils, as you have said you can relate it to what is going on in the world around us to further engage pupils.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Liz,

Welcome to the course and I am glad that the activities in this module were enjoyable and can be adapted to suit many classes. I think it is important to address the differences between climate and weather, as you have mentioned it is not until you sit and think about them that it becomes obvious. So in our own classes I think it is necessary to explicitly teach the difference between weather and climate to ensure pupils are familiar with each concept.

I like how you plan to set up a committee in the class to take responsibilities for recording the temperature and displaying the results in the class for everyone. It ensures pupils take ownership of their learning and assume a level of responsibility in recording the data.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Conor,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module. The Weather Detectives allows for many learning opportunities and skills development and as you have mentioned this could be used across the school year. In my own class I explore the weather in Term 1 the first year and Term 2 or Term 3 the second year. This allows my class to compare the data from year to year or month to month. I really like how you plan to share their results/data through social media or on the school website. It is a fantastic opportunity to share learning among the school community.

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