[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.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Valerie,

Thank you for sharing a comprehensive list and lesson opportunities. I like the poem you have chosen also to incorporate both the night sky and dreams for the future, children could imagine being an astronaut or living in the ISS.

Starry Night from Van Gogh is also a very nice activity to link with the theme of the night sky.

Thematic planning and teaching provides for so many meaningful learning connections for children.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for sharing your list, there are lots of lovely learning opportunities in it. I particularly like the Moonlight Sonata as you could use this as a stimulus for an art lesson, children could respond to the music through art.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Niamh,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module.

Within early years and play based learning, there can be many connections to real world that we may not recognise at first, whether it is building towns in Construction or Small World there can often be real life links to themes and topics in play that are unplanned.

I like your idea of the weather station to encourage whole school involvement such as the notice board and providing for hands on learning through using weather instruments or even older classes making the weather instruments.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Eimear,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module.

A weather station will allow for many learning opportunities in a school, skills development as you have mentioned and integration with other curricular areas along with developing ICT skills.

I like how you have planned to develop this approach across the school through the sharing of resources and organising group projects, this could also encourage and provide for peer learning opportunities.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Pat,

Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this module. Having experienced the smog in Dublin and sharing this with your class would engage them and provide for lots of discussion. Making links with videos of smog in China would also engage them. A friend of mine was teaching in Shanghai and there were days when they couldn’t let children out at break time due to the poor air quality. I shared this with my class and it led to lots of discussion and connections with their own knowledge of greenhouse gases. Discussions like these can also provide children with the opportunity to reflect on what they know and make connections with their own lives.

I hope you enjoy the course. There are many great resources across this course.

 

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