[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Ciara

Welcome to the course, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the biodiversity plan to support nocturnal species.

I like how you are using information from the other modules as part of the plan such as the use of sensor lights or changing the bulbs used in outdoor lights to reduce the impact of lighting on nocturnal species.

I like how you plan to develop the sensory garden too to allow for plants to attract nocturnal insects and moths. While we often think of pollinators and insects we see every day, we can forget the nocturnal insects. I like how you are planning to incorporate this learning across the school and minimise light pollution where possible. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Bernadette

Welcome to the course. I had not heard that mnemonic before either and it is something I will use next year. You could also consider drawing out the cardinal points on the yard to reference for the location of the sun during the day.

I like how you are planning to record different items, the place of the sun in reference to specific points and key landmarks across the day and also looking at the shadows the children created at each stage of the day. You could also consider photographing the shadows created or the outlines of each shadow for further analysis and comparison back in the classroom. It is a great idea to predict at each observation where the sun might be next.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sam,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the climate reporters task. I agree that there are lots of opportunities for vocabulary development in the video and pre teaching the specific vocabulary will allow the learners to engage with the video more and apply their learning when using the Teal Tool.

I agree that the Teal Tool allows for high ceiling tasks in allowing the learners to explore at their level and allowing for more difficult tasks for some learners and encourage them to present their work in multiple ways. I think that the Teal Tool would be very relevant to learners this year, given the high temperatures we have experienced and the high temperatures across Europe. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Carrie,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your reflection on the activities in light of the paper by Liston.

I agree that there are many opportunities for language and vocabulary development in the lessons but it also gives the learners the opportunity to use this vocabulary in a meaningful way too within the lesson.

I like how you are planning activity 2 in a cross curricular way with opportunities to link with data in maths and making real life links between the concept of averages and mean in maths with the data recorded for the weather. As you have mentioned, it is important to differentiate for the learners in the class and consider multiple ways for the learners to engage and present their learning.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Patrice

Welcome to the course. I really like your investigation for Climate Detectives. I like how you are keeping it specific to the school grounds and allowing the learners ownership in carrying out their own observations and predicting what they can plant to entice more insects and protect the local biodiversity of their school.

I like how you are planning for multiple ways for the learners to present their observations and learning and focusing on different areas in the school such as poly tunnel, flower beds and wild areas and they could look at the observations from each area and allow for discussion on what plants are attracting insects and how to use this information in developing the specific area they are assigned to.

As you have said, this climate detectives research question allows the learners to explore the full process of a scientific investigation. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Laura,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the documentary Home. I agree that the footage used in this documentary is stunning and is a very visual teaching resource.

For the younger classes, it is important to focus on the actions they can take themselves and even incorporating it into the classroom routine such as turning lights off when leaving the room. I like how you are planning to link aspects of the video with practical tasks for the infants such as litter picking and planting their own flowers and vegetables. Hands on tasks like these and linking them to the video will introduce the actions they can take and as you have said it will empower the class to consider actions they can take, this could be at home and even their community.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Barbara

Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your feedback on the activities in this module.

I agree that there are lots of opportunities to develop topic specific vocabulary but also gives the learners the opportunity to use this vocab in discussions and tasks and when sharing their learning. I like the weather or climate resource as it explores both concepts in a relatable manner and explores the differences between the two, there can be many misconceptions about the difference between climate and weather and as you have mentioned the worksheet for this task consolidates their learning and could allow for some assessment also.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Claire.

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video. I agree that some resources and videos online on the topic of global warming can be a bit heavy and can cause some anxiety in children. However, the Paxi video, as you have mentioned, strikes the perfect balance in outlining the concept in a child-friendly manner.

The Teal tool is a great resource to explore and I agree, having senior classes myself, that the learners using it themselves would depend on the class. It might work as a demonstration or teacher exploring the tool initially on the smart board before the learners work independently. I also agree that it is a fantastic opportunity to integrate with maths and using real life data. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Shannon

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the activities from this module. Activity 1 explores the concepts of weather and climate and explains the difference in a very child-centered way and as you have mentioned it is effective in helping pupils understand these concepts.

I like how you plan to explore these activities in an integrated manner with science and geography. I like how you are considering the digital tools that could be used also to enhance the learning and getting the learners to display their learning in a presentation. You could also consider links to Gaeilge and real life data in maths to further build on this project. I hope you enjoy the other modules in the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Louise

Welcome to the course. I agree that online data sets can provide meaningful learning opportunities to apply maths skills in real life contexts. I like how you are considering the data sets to use such as Met Eireann records and make it relevant to the learners to further engage them. As you have mentioned there are lots of opportunities to explore maths topics within data such as averages and comparing trends. Comparing trends allows for lots of critical thinking also as you have mentioned.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Órla,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your comprehensive planet explorers plan. I like how you are planning for both the learners own observations and using digital tools to build on and support their learning.

I really like your idea of a Planet Passport for the learners to record their observations and learning and giving them options as to how they can record their learning. I also really like how you will use Stellarium to guide their observations at home. Such a great idea to make stargazing imaginative and achievable as you have mentioned.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi David,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson idea to explore biodiversity and nocturnal animals with your class. I like how you are planning to explore the local area with the class initially and identify birds, trees etc. You could also consider checklists which include nocturnal animals to see if this sparks curiosity and allows for some critical thinking, The ESERO resource 30, Day and Night has lovely images to sort for day and night time animals which might also work for your lesson.

I think using photos to explore light pollution is a great focus for the infant classes as it helps to engage and create curiosity too. I like how you are planning for the infants to make posters too to turn off lights when not needed to encourage these young learners to take action.

 

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Laura

Welcome to the course. Thanks for your feedback on the activity in this module. I agree that climate change can be a challenging topic and can cause some anxiety among some learners in our classes. However, the Paxi video explores this concept in simple and age-appropriate way as you have mentioned.

I like how you are planning to use this activity in an integrated approach across the areas of SESE, SPHE and Maths. This would make meaningful connections of the knowledge across the different curricular areas and as toy have said to make connections between global environmental issues to their own everyday lives. I always encourage my learners to think about actions they can do themselves whether in school, at home or in their local communities to reduce carbon footprint so I like how you are going to promote sustainable practices in the school through presentations. This is very engaging and could involve the whole school if they share their work with other classes.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Niall

Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your feedback on activity 3 in this module.

The Paxi video is very engaging and has age-appropriate content to support learners and allow for discussion and critical thinking. As you have mentioned it allows for the learners to reflect on actions they can take such as cycling or walking to school.

The Teal tool is a great resource to explore in the classroom and make links between the content of the Paxi video on greenhouse gases and the future global temperatures and as you have said it allows for critical thinking on human actions and more opportunities to reflect on actions they can take.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Caitriona

Welcome to the course, thanks for sharing your feedback on the resources in this module.

I agree that these activities are addressing all the areas of STEM in a practical way with connections to real life. As you have mentioned, activity 2 allows for collection of data such as temperature, wind or cloud cover and this can be respresented in different forms of data in maths and this could also be presented using digital tools also.

It is great to hear that this module has given you ideas for teaching this topic next year. I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.

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