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Hi Claire,
Welcome to the course. It is great to hear that you enjoyed the activities in this module.
Activity 1 explores the concepts of weather and climate in an engaging way and as you have mentioned there is lots of opportunity to make connections between the weather and how it impacts our daily lives.
Activity 2 allows for lots of skills development and playful learning approaches. I like how you are planning to integrate with maths to record the data and share it using simple graphs. You could consider recording the data for two weeks in term 1 and two weeks in term 2 for comparison too.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Aisling
Welcome to the course. I like how you are planning to engage the learners as moon detectives. This might take some planning to ensure the moon is visible in the morning sky and you could check the lunar calendar on timeanddate.com to check for your local area.
Stellarium would be a lovely idea for the learners to plan their observations at home and even discuss the changes in the moon, introducing the phases of the moon. I like how you are planning to continue these observations at home too.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the other modules.
Hi Laura,
Welcome to the course. To ensure the moon is visible in the morning time it is important to check the lunar calendar, I use timeanddate.com to find out the best time usually in the Waning Crescent.
I like how you are planning to observe the moon over a number of days and record the observations using multiple means. Photographs will also allow for comparisons of observations. As you have mentioned, it does allow for skills development along with collaboration and developing curiosity about the moon and space.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Ciaran
Welcome to the course. It is a great idea to begin with the video to explore the concepts of mass, weight and gravity. This will give the learners background information before they begin to great the Earth tube.
Creating different tubes will allow for hands on comparison of the mass of each object on different planets. They could decorate the tube to represent the planet they have chosen too.
I really like you extension activity to ensure playful learning opportunities to further explore the concept of mass and gravity. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Niamh
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your observation plan and lesson ideas.
I like how you are planning to use parts of the video with your infant class. A small clip is ideal for learners at this age to keep them engaged. As you have mentioned it allows for discussion of the content before they go out to do their own observations. Outdoor chalk is a firm favourite of mine and a great idea to record their observations and compare them. You could also take photographs across the day for comparison too. I really like how you are planning for observations at home also and getting families involved.
I hope you enjoy the other modules in the course, thanks for sharing.
Hi Jane,
Welcome to the course. As the rural villages around us are becoming more developed we begin to notice the light pollution. I wonder if there were previous images or maps to show how light pollution has increased in the area and give them to the learners to compare and discuss for ideas why it has happened and also what can be done now.
I like how you are planning to integrate geography into your observations as they map where the lighting is located and consider what changes could be made. This allows the learners the opportunity to reflect on action that could be taken and even to contact the local council with their concerns.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Julie
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson ideas on observing the moon.
It is great to have a plan for observing the moon with clear dates that the moon will be visible in the morning sky. I like how you plan to explore the phases of the moon with the class first as they are observing during the waning crescent. Knowing the phases of the moon, they might be able to identify which phases themselves with their knowledge.
I like how you are planning to extend the learning with the ball, chair and torch activity to allow for more knowledge about where the light from the moon comes from.
It is a great idea to have this prior knowledge before they begin their own observations so they can apply the knowledge to real life observations. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Pat,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on STEM in your school while reflecting on Liston’s paper. It is great to hear this approach and how to encourage the learners to think critically and problem solve rather than allowing the teacher to help and guide them. As you have mentioned this will also develop resilience and I agree that this is a huge learning opportunity and encourages learners to try something new and to think outside the box for themselves. Well done on the great work in your school.
Hi Sinead,
Welcome to the course and thank you for sharing your own insights on STEM in your current educational setting. I can see how exploratory play such as water play will address the concepts of floating and sinking in an appropriate way for the learners in your class.
As you have mentioned when learning is based on the children’s interests, abilities and everyday experiences this allows for meaningful connections and can address all STEM subjects. While this works for your setting, we should all reflect on how we can build on this in our own educational settings too.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Aine,
Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts on light pollution in your own local area. As areas are developed with housing estates and commercial areas this can have a big impact on light pollution.
I like how you are planning to explore the concept of light pollution and looking at the amount of stars in different areas. You could also consider some images of rural and urban areas to compare the night sky and as you have mentioned getting families involved in their own observations too. This will also allow for engagement with citizen science and Globe at Night and I like how you plan to use the resources from Globe at Night to help with the observations too.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Claire,
Welcome to the course, it is great to hear your thoughts and feedback on the 30 Days and Nights in the World resource. As you have mentioned it has great use of images to explore nocturnal animals and recognise the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals. The resource also includes practical activities to explore day and night in the world.
For this assignment task, you should also consider how you could use this resource and adapt it for your own class.
Hi Lauren,
Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your feedback on Stellarium. As you have mentioned it is a great stimulus for learners to engage them in thinking and wondering about the night sky. It can also be helpful in guiding the learners for their own observations of the night sky at home. When specific planets are visible, I have shown my class how to find it on Stellarium, what direction to look in etc. and this has helped them at home. I also sent the link home for parents to engage with the resource too as some of my learners were very interested and engaged in this topic.
I like how you are planning to allow the learners to explore Stellarium and get familiar with finding different planets etc. and how you plan to extend this and explore the constellations too. This allows for integration with literacy and Art. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Siobhan
Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your feedback on the activities in this module.
The weather or climate activity is very good to explore each concept and as you have mentioned to address any misconceptions the learners might have. As you have senior classes there is lots of opportunity for discussion and critical thinking. The weather detectives activity is also great for senior classes to give them responsibility in recording their own observations and gathering data over a period of time and then comparing it as you have mentioned, there are lots of opportunities to integrate with maths and using digital tools to display their findings.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the other modules in this course.
Hi Cian,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your feedback on the Paxi video. It is very engaging and addresses the concept in an age appropriate way. I agree that reviewing vocabulary in a previous oral language lesson would help the learners in engaging with the video and the content and ensure understanding of the concept.
I like how you are planning to look at the learners’ local area first and the impact of changing temperatures and climate change relevant to the learners. While they may be enjoying the heat wave at the moment, what is the impact on farmers and biodiversity.
I agree that the Paxi video and the Teal tool compliment each other very well and allows for meaningful connection of knowledge and real life scenarios. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Jacqui,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Paxi video and how to use this in your senior class. I like how you are planning to get the learners to record their learning, they could also construct a mind map as they watch the video to note interesting points and make connections too.
The Teal tool is a fantastic resource, and would need some teacher demonstration initially prior to the learners engaging with the resource independently. I think looking at the Irish context initially is a great idea, looking at the changes in Irish temperatures and then exploring countries familiar to the learners.
I agree that looking at local examples of climate action would be great and encourage the learners to reflect on action they too can take part in. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
