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Hi Mary,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module.
There are many options for bird identification including a variety of apps. Children can explore the Birds of Ireland website to create their own identifier based on the birds in their local area. The Irish Bird Garden Survey could add a citizen science element to your biodiversity project.
Bird feeders are a great opportunity for design and make also support biodiversity in the school. In my own school we have bird feeders at different locations in the school and the children love to watch and record the birds that visit it. As you have said this can be maintained across the year too.
Hi Megan,
Welcome to the course and thank you for your comments on this module. I like how you have used a map of your school environment to teach map reading skills and also learn about the area.
Children like to use aerial photographs, I often found mind exploring Google maps or Google street view to explore areas in Ireland.
3D maps can be a lovely task to explore the local environment and record what they have seen. All these activities will also support and develop their map reading skills.
Hi Colette.
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts and activities from this module.
I also like how you reference the mirror writing of Ambulance and its relevance to pupils. Making meaningful connections to real life examples will also help their own understanding.
I also like how you have integrated the knowledge of mirrors and periscopes with history to allow for more connections.
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the resources in this module.
The images in the One Year on Earth module allow for discussion and as you have mentioned allow for thinking outside of the box. Children could also recreate the photos focusing on a tree in their own school yard to note the differences between seasons. This can work well in an infant class.
There are lots of resources in this module that provide for active learning in exploring the seasons and how the earth rotates around the sun.
Hi James,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your idea for the sundial. I like the idea of using the cone to establish and create your sundial. It also allows for discussion and critical thinking of the location and factors such as shadows etc. There are many opportunities for open ended questioning and problem solving for the pupils in this case.
Creating a sundial is also great for integration with History and for children to make their own meaningful connections between the curricular areas. I hope you enjoy the rest of the course.
Hi Ruadhan,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your ideas on observing the moon.
It is important to explore the stages of the moon using visuals like you have mentioned. From exploring the stages using the visuals the children can then make meaningful connections when they observe the moon for themselves. It is also important to address the misconception that the moon comes out at night and this can be covered in the observation session that you have mentioned on your post. Using the journal is also a nice activity for the children to record their own learning and observations.
Hi John,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on Liston’s paper. I am trying to image what a car engine at the back of the room would look like in any school but an amazing opportunity for children to explore all the same. In my own classroom I have the most basic of equipment and resources to allow for STEM challenges, straws and pipe cleaners and even index cards and tape. While it’s not a car engine, it allows for hands on tasks and critical thinking along with being a regulation tool for some.
There are many resources across this course that I hope you can bring back to your own classroom and school in September.
Hi Gina,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the module.
Using proverbs and weather lore is a great discussion point for children and links well with local history. I asked my class to get weather proverbs from grandparents and older relations and they really enjoyed it and I even learned some new ones myself.
The activities outlined in this module are fantastic resources to explore the concept of the weather and allow for skills development such as prediction as you have mentioned.
Hi Christina,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module.
Light pollution is certainly having an impact on every local area, for children in urban areas they may not see the night sky or realise the impact of light pollution on their area. I really like your idea to link in with family members in other areas and even other parts of the world and look at the night sky from their perspective. This would ideally integrate with Geography too.
The children could also look at the design of the street lights and whether they could be changed to further help light pollution in the local area.
Hi Laura,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module. I really enjoyed the weather lore and proverbs also. I explored other weather lore with my own class this year and they asked older relatives and grandparents for weather lore. They were fascinated. Our favourite one was Rain before seven, fine by eleven. Just in time for our break.
I also agree that children will take ownership of the weather station when they are building and creating their own weather station. I hope you get lots of other ideas among the great resources across this course.
Hi Karen,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module.
It is important to address the difference between weather and climate and I also like this resource as it gives practical examples that the learners can relate to such as weather on their birthday. This concept can also be explored when looking at weather or climate in another country in Geography.
There are many great resources in this module that I myself have used with my own class last year and I hope you will get lots of ideas for your class across this course.
Hi Mark,
Welcome to the course and thank you for your comments on this module. I agree that we can all get swept up in the STEMMania and there are lots of ideas online that are STEM based but not actually covering all aspects of STEM.
In my own class I try and let my class guide the investigations using the Framework for Inquiry. This allows the children to use their knowledge on a topic to create a starter question or challenge their own thinking. This might be of interest to you for your own class.
Hi David,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your ideas from module 2. It is important to address the misconception that the moon only comes out at night with children and as you have outlined the date and time where the moon will be visible.
I really like your ideas to develop children’s vocabulary across the lessons and getting the children to use the vocab in context when they are describing the moon in September. This topic also lends itself naturally to integrate with other curricular areas as you have mentioned.
I hope you enjoy the other modules and will get lots of ideas and resources for your own class in September.
Hi Michael,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on the activity to explore the seasons.
There is a lot of topic specific language to explain the seasons and I think you have a nice idea to explore each concept on its own and then use visual aids and activities to bring their learning together. Hands on activities using the globe and light source as you have mentioned would be an ideal opportunity for children to investigate sunlight and seasonal changes themselves.
There are lots of other great resources across this course that you can use with your own class in September.
Hi Caoimhe,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module.
Teaching the difference between weather and climate can be tricky, but I have found this resource great in the classroom to give practical examples such as the weather on your birthday as you have mentioned. It is important to know the difference as you explore climate in other countries in Geography.
Creating a weather station does allow for lots of skills development as you have mentioned and the children can really take ownership of their own learning. They can also use the real life data in Maths.
