[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Mary,

The Folklore collection is a fabulous resource and also asking older members of the school community to come in and share their own weather lore with the children is a lovely idea to bring History to life in the classroom. I agree with David, that by not sharing these stories they could get lost.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for sharing your own experiences of the night sky. Living in rural France must have been great to really experience the night sky. Having grown up in a rural area myself, I began to appreciate the night sky when I moved to urban areas for work.

I like how to want to assess the children’s prior knowledge of pollution and to also introduce the concept of light pollution. I also really like your idea to create a model streetscape where the children can determine for themselves how to reduce light pollution.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Aaron,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your ideas for observing the moon in the classroom.

It is important to explicitly teach about the phases of the moon first and introduce the topic specific language. In this way when children do get to observe the moon they can use this topic specific vocab in a meaningful context and can apply their learning.

I like the idea of a moon journal to record their observations over time. I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Stephanie,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your ideas on a sun dial as a classroom activity. Through linking the sun dial with history and maths as you have mentioned, the pupils be creating meaningful connections between the subject areas.

Through exploring the materials, the pupils can then develop these connections and apply them to real life by constructing a sundial. There are many opportunities for skills development such as measuring skills that you have outlined.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Emma,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module. Thank you for your feedback on the fingerprint video also. This particular lesson does allow for lots of topic specific vocabulary that the pupils can use in meaningful context while trying to find the culprit.

I really like your own reflection on what you can bring back to your classroom in September. A wow wall for new vocabulary can link to any lesson or you could create a thematic word wall that could be explored in many different curricular areas.

I hope you enjoy this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Roisin,

Thank you for sharing your list of songs, poems and stories and including links too.

I also am a big fan of Oliver Jeffers and always try to incorporate one of his books during our Science Week read alouds. This list would also support thematic planning for a night sky or space theme.

I also like your idea to use the songs as a stimulus or trigger for the pupils to respond to in an art lesson.

I hope you enjoyed this course and have lots of resources to bring back to your own class in September

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi David,
Thank you for sharing your ideas and your approach to biodiversity using the Irish Schools Sustainability Network. I agree that it is essential for pupils to encounter the organisms that they had learned about in class. It allows for meaningful connections with their learning.

As the class have explored the creatures in the local area, they could then observe these creatures from a light pollution perspective. Having pupils living near the school would allow for even more observation of the school environment that would be relevant for all pupils.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Carrie,

Welcome to the course, thank you for sharing your ideas on moon observation. Using a KWL chart will allow for the pupils to share their own knowledge before you start. This can be a good opportunity to address the misconception that the moon only comes out at night also.

Having covered the phases of the moon prior to observing the moon will allow for the pupils to use the specific language in a meaningful context, and I am sure they will enjoy eating biscuits or jaffa cakes to explore the phases of the moon also.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the course, there are many great resources for the classroom.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Doireann,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this resource. In middle and older classes it would be great to explore how seasons differ across the world. As you have said, there are options for meaningful discussions and also making connections with pupils who may have family living in other countries.

Thank you for your feedback on the curious minds framework also, it does provide for a very useful structure to guide children and allow them to lead their own learning in STEM based activities.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Nose High Up in the Sky resource. I have used weather proverbs with my own class this year and there was lots of discussion as to what they could mean. I also asked them to check with older relatives about weather lore they knew and this integrated well with History.

I like how you would give the children responsibility over how they will record the weather in their weather diary. This would also allow for differentiation in the class.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Eimear,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Climate reporters activity. I like your idea of children working on this task with varying levels of emissions to allow for discussion and for the pupils to make connections between changes that can be made and what effects this could have. As you have mentioned, this could provide for real life examples of climate change and encourage the pupils to come up with possible solutions.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Patricia,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on Liston’s paper. In developing STEM activities in our classrooms, it is important to bring in lots of meaningful cross curricular links so that the pupils can make connections in their learning across the subject areas. Linking with real life examples such as the weather station will also develop this approach.

Thank you for sharing your feedback on the ESA resources, there are a side variety of resources across the course that I hope you will keep for your own class in September.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Clare,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on Liston’s paper. It does provide guidance and ideas on how best to develop STEM experiences in the classroom to provide for critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Ad you have mentioned this can be further developed in creating a weather station and then the pupils will have access to real life data that they can use to compile charts etc. This will integrate with Data in Maths also.

Thank you for sharing your ideas, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Victoria,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the ESA resources. They are invaluable for the classroom and can be adapted to be used across all the classes.

In like how you are making connections with the weather and the local area and the visit from a local farmer to recognise the impact weather can have for farmers. In creating the weather station the pupils will have ownership of the station and develop responsibility in their learning.

Thank you for sharing your ideas, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Brendan,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the EO Browser. As you have said there are many meaningful learning opportunities from using this tool.

Through integration the children can make connections with their learning and real life scenarios to further engage them. I like your idea to look at changes in the landscape using the EO Browser in History.

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