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Hi Darerca
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson ideas based on the One Year On Earth resource. The video provides a child friendly explanation and as you have mentioned allows for discussion guided by prompt questions.
I like how you are linking with time in maths for the collaborative work and using different images, this would allow for critical thinking and discussion among the learners. And as you have also said, there is the opportunity to link with literacy also. I really like how you are planning to engage the learners with the activity to create a game including music. It sounds like good fun.
I hope you enjoy the other resources across the modules in this course.
Hi Kaytlyn
Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your feedback on the Leaf Identification App. It is easy to use and the visuals are also great and a good idea to use it ourselves now so that when we use it in the classroom we are very familiar with it and encourage the learners to use it and keep their own records.
I like your idea to plan for a scavenger hunt initially and record the flora and fauna in their local area and identify it with the digital tools which can also be recorded with the National Biodiversity Data Centre to become more involved in citizen science. Pupils can also come up with their own projects as you have mentioned, based on their observations from the scavenger hunt or threats to the local area that they might have noticed. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Laura
Welcome to the course and thanks for your thoughts on Liston’s paper. As you have mentioned a mini garden project is an excellent example of addressing all areas of STEM in one task.
There are many digital tools that we can use to address the Technology aspect of STEM as you have mentioned. We can often focus on coding or other uses of technology rather than digital tools which support our learning.
Addressing all areas of STEM will also address other curricular areas and allow for meaningful tasks and activities. I like how you plan to give roles to the learners in your class which would ensure everyone contributes and shares their ideas as you have mentioned. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Rory,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson idea on biodiversity and how it can be impacted by light pollution. I like how you begin with images and asking the learners how this habitat can survive and thrive. This allows for lots of discussion and critical thinking and making links between different habitats. I also like how you are making the connection between light and the human world which the learners can relate to and then making connections with the nocturnal wildlife. Images are well used in your lesson idea to support critical thinking on the impact of light pollution also. It is important to explore the difference between natural light and the concept of artificial light which as you have mentioned is a keyword for this task. Thanks for sharing.
I hope you enjoy the other modules.
Hi Dolores,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas for lessons with senior infants and first. I think the star wheel and Stellarium to explore stars and the planets would be engaging for the learners. You could think of introducing the topic through picture books for this age group also. This would also support their questioning and wondering and also help to keep them engaged as they look for stars or planets using Stellarium. With this younger age group, you could also consider multiple ways for them to share their learning through drawings, short sentences or using ICT. Lots of opportunities to explore with the class.
I hope you enjoy the other modules.
Hi Joyce,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your own thoughts on light pollution in your areas. It is interesting to hear that while you are in a rural area, neighbours have bright lights which can impact the night sky for you.
Starting with observations is a great idea, you could also consider using images of the night sky in different areas such as where you are living and urban areas of the local town. This would allow for lots of discussion and critical thinking. I like how you are planning to explore spectroscopes also and see if there are different types of light that could be used instead. It is a great idea to encourage the learners to take action such as the posters you have mentioned. While we can encourage changes in school, this could also be transferred to homes and the local community. I hope you have enjoyed the course.
Hi Louise,
Welcome to the course and thanks for your feedback on the resources in this module. The Paxi video is very child friendly and engaging even for the younger classes. I like how you plan to follow on from the video with drawings of how the pupils can take action. Even at a young age it is important to promote their own small actions. I also like linking in with the picture book. Have you heard of the Green Schools Global Goals book club. It has lots of lovely suggestions for picture books across the goals which address different topics.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Lauren
Welcome to the course and thanks for your feedback on the resources for this module. There are many cross curricular resources in the Nose in the Sky lesson and I also like the link to weather proverbs and weather lore. It can also link to local history and the learners finding out about different weather lore specific to their area.
I also like how you are planning to collaborate with the older classes as the older classes can mentor them in gathering and recording data and presenting it using a variety of ways. It would also encourage the older learners to communicate and share their own learning with their younger peers.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi David,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Liston’s paper and the resources in this module. Liston reminds us of the importance of addressing all areas of STEM together rather as stand alone and it sounds like while you have been focusing on skills such as observation, communication and early scientific thinking you have been addressing the areas of STEM in play based approaches.
For the younger classes, as you have suggested, these lessons can be supported with the use of picture books and visual supports. Even opportunities to dress the teddy for the weather as it would make connections between the weather chart and real life. In saying that, while it may be a focus in junior classes to focus on the weather every day. I must remember to focus on weather more with the senior classes to develop prediction and communication skills. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Elaine,
Welcome to the course. Thanks for your feedback on the Paxi video. It does clearly outline the concept of greenhouse gases. You can then choose to pause the video at different moments to allow for class discussion and even get the learners to create a mind map while watching the video to record and share their learning.
The Teal tool would allow for lots of learning opportunities, from getting information on temperatures in the past, present and future. Learners could also gather real life data to create their own trend graphs or bar charts. For other younger learners, a worksheet, as you have suggested, would guide their learning and use of the tool. It is always important for the learners to reflect on action they can take in school, at home and in their wider community to ensure meaningful connections.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Mark,
Welcome to the course. It is great to see you have downloaded the satellite tracker. I hadn’t realised that there was a link between the robot lawn movers and satellites overhead but you can see how the broadband satellites would link in with this also. But as you have mentioned, a learning opportunity all the same.
I have tracked the ISS with my class and watched their live feed but I hope to explore satellites a bit more during space week where some learners will check and record the satellites at the same time each day for sharing with the class.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Lauren,
Welcome to the course and thanks for your feedback on the documentary Home. The documentary is engaging with lots of imagery and clips that could be used in the classroom. I agree that shorter clips would work well for the learners and it also allows for the teacher to choose topics relevant to the class at their level and with their interests in mind.
I really like your idea to run mini investigations and research about different parts of the world from the video. It will give the learners agency and allow them to be autonomous over their learning. It does allow for a variety of skills as you have mentioned also.
I hope you are enjoying the course.
Hi Denis
Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Liston’s paper and the resources in this module. I also really like your approach of no questions allowed time in the lesson to encourage the learners to problem solve with their peers and think critically about their activity. I think I will also give this a try next year with my class.
It is important to teach vocabulary first prior to these lessons, this could be within the oral language lesson in English. Once the learners have acquired and understand the different terms, it helps them to engage more with videos or more technical investigative parts of the lesson.
I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Barbara
Welcome to the course and it is great to hear your feedback on the resources for this module. I think the Weather or Climate is a great lesson, even for senior classes, to address the concept of weather and climate.
Creating a weather station with the senior classes allows them to take total ownership of their learning, from creating the weather instruments to recording the data and share with the wider school. As they get familiar with everything they can share their own predictions also. It is definitely something I must look into with my own class next year. While we have recorded data over shorter intervals, maybe we could look at data over a longer term.
Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.
Hi Niamh,
Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your feedback on the resource in this module. Having used it with my own class, they really enjoyed working with the satellite images and comparing the different images. It allowed for lots of discussion and critical thinking. As you have outlined, this approach allows for active and playful learning opportunities which is part of the new STEM and SEE curriculum. Thanks for sharing your feedback and thoughts on school self evaluation.
