[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Julie,

Welcome to the course. Explroing biodiversity is a good starting point for the Green Schools Committee and you could consider how their initial exploration could support learning about biodiversity for the whole school.

I like how you are going to create a base map of the biodiversity initially with a plan to improve it with further consideration for nocturnal animals. Within the wildflower area you could also consider plants for night time pollination to further support nocturnal insects. I like how you are also including the learning from the light pollution module in the plan and considering reducing light in the area to support nocturnal animals. While the Green Schools Committee could be involved in the development of the plan, you could consider how this could be shared with other classes to involve more learners in bringing the plan into action and raise more awareness of biodiversity specific to nocturnal animals and insects.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you have enjoyed the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Hilary,

Welcome to the course. I think the Aurora Borealis has raised a lot of awareness on light pollution. While I live in a rural town, I was not lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis whereas my sister who lives in a small rural village had the perfect view. It is a great starting point as there are so many beautiful photos you could use to compare what the learners could see and what others in darker rural areas could see. This allows for real life connection for the learners and lots of critical thinking.

I think it is also a great idea for the learners to take photos of the night sky from their own house for comparison too. Great ideas, thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Grace,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on light pollution in your own local area. You are very fortunate to live in a rural area but as you have mentioned, even our rural areas are growing and there is an increase in light pollution in these areas too.

I like how you plan to explore the night sky with 1st class and engage in discussion around what lights need to be on at night. You could also consider showing photos of a night sky in a very rural area and an urban area for comparison. This will allow for critical thinking and consider the impact on the nocturnal animals for more critical thinking.

I think it is a nice idea to link with home with some observations at home and to introduce light pollution at home. This might encourage the learners to take action at home and in school. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Susanne

Thanks for sharing your approach specific to your own class. I think that this approach could work for many other classes too. I like how you are planning to use the photographs, a weather walk and story book for vocabulary development and as you have mentioned to provide for concrete experiences prior to explore the scientific aspects of the weather.

These activities do allow for hands on and playful learning experiences which are, as you have mentioned, central to the new curriculum specifications and allows for cross curricular learning too.

Thanks for sharing your reflection on these tasks and how you would adapt them for your own class.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Elaine

Thanks for sharing a lovely integrated Arts plan which explores Birr Castle Demesne. You have outlined some lovely tasks and have used digital tools to support them in their learning back at school for writing tasks and even the soundscape to match the images. I also like how you have planned for playful learning experiences which would also support language development as you have mentioned. Great ideas.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Emma,

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your thoughts and reflection on the ideas explored in Liston’s paper. It is great to hear your own approach to planning for STEM allowing for collaboration, creativity and also cross curricular learning.

It is great that you are seeing that the learners are more engaged when they can explore tasks or challenge their own ideas and questions. This allows for an integrated approach to STEM as they are using digital tools, investigations and even design skills to explore their own ideas. While we can always be reliant on a specific approach and set of instructions, I have seen that allowing my own class to explore and challenge their own ideas did allow for more meaningful lessons and connections to their own lives too. Sometimes a thematic approach works well for this as they can use their learning from another area such as History or Geography to support their thinking in STEM.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Michelle

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson idea. I like how you are planning to engage the learners with the prism and exploration of the light splitting through the prism to create the rainbow. This allows for lots of discussion and critical thinking as they consider how we detect things we cannot see.

I like how you have planned for a variety of activities to explore sound and light and for the learners to make connections with their learning as they work through the tasks. I like how you are planning for different ways to present their work. You could also consider some research for some learners to challenge them and give them more responsibility for their own learning. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Sharon,

A pond would be a great biodiversity project for the school. I think during Science Week 2024 live show they created a pond for a school and it might be worth watching the live show for further inspiration for your school.

It is great to have your own experience of creating a pond at home and how you want to bring the same sense of wonder to your own school. I like how you plan to support their investigations of the biodiversity in the pond and you are planning for differentiated recording sheets and identification guides to further engage and support the learners. It sounds like a great plan with different aspect of biodiversity to focus on across the different seasons too. Great ideas, thanks for sharing.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Niamh,

It is lovely to hear your own experience of the night sky in North Kerry. I also lived in a rural area but now I live close to a small town so even when the Northern Lights were visible, I missed out because of the street lights and lights from the town.

I think it is a great idea to have photos of the night sky from your local area to compare with the night sky in Dublin. This makes for a very visual and engaging activity as the learners compare them. It allows for lots of critical thinking and discussion too. It would explore the concept of light pollution using their own local area as an example. I like how you are planning to use Stellarium to compare the different areas too and identify that while the constellations are in the night sky, it is harder to see them in Dublin because of the light pollution.

Following up with light pollution survey would allow the learners to consider the action they could take at school and at home too. Thanks for sharing.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Emma,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your reflection on STEM in your own classroom. Through reflection we can see what has been working well and identify what to work such as engineering that you have mentioned.

I like how you are planning to use the images of astronauts to engage the learners and allow for discussion and explore the concept of the weight across the different planets before you create the tube. The starter question would allow for guided discussion too. This task allow for collaboration and develops prediction skills too as you have mentioned. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Ellie,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your lesson idea on creating the sundial in the school. I like how you are planning to explore their prior knowledge and even linking with history and how people told the time before clocks were invented.

I like how you are planning to let the learners explore different areas of the school grounds to identify where to put the sundial. This allows them to take ownership of their learning and to use the information from the video. It allows for lots of collaboration and discussion too. You have allowed for lots of mathematical investigations too to support the learners and allow them to justify the location of their sundial. Great ideas, thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Emily,

Welcome to the course. It is great to hear your thoughts on the ESA resources in this module along with your reflection on Liston’s paper. It is great to allow student’s to collaborate and problem solve on STEM projects, but I agree that more often time constraints can impact this. However, with the new time for STEM in the curriculum specifications this might help.

Setting up a weather station would allow the learners in the class to take ownership of their learning and I like how you plan to share their work in assemblies or on a display board for the whole school community. Great idea to give them responsibility over their own learning and the opportunity to share it with others. Great ideas, thanks for sharing. I hope you enjoy the other modules across this course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Alison,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the documentary Home. I agree that it is important to promote the positive actions that the learners can take in school, at home and in the wider community which will empower them, as you have said, and not create a level of anxiety around climate change.

I think that it is important to use clips from the documentary that you feel are relevant for your class and as you have said allow for discussion to understand the causes and effects of climate change but in an age appropriate and hopeful way.

Thanks for sharing.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Brona,

Welcome to the course and it is great to hear that you liked the activities and resources in this module.

There are good opportunities for cross curricular integration across both activities such as data in maths and also persuasive writing in literacy as you have mentioned. This gives the learners the opportunity to make connections with real life situations and problems. I also like how you are planning to use the climate reporters with senior classes and also link in with the Green Schools Committee in the school. There are lots of ideas on how the learners can take action too. Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

[Michelle Mannix]

Hi Helen

Welcome to the course. It is lovely to hear about the Grove across from your school. What a lovely amenity to be able to explore with your class and a great piece of local history too.

I like how you plan to explore the Grove with the learners and look at the trees and plants growing there which you can then place on the map back at school. I agree taking photos of the trees and plants or other aspects of the Grove would add to the map making and make it more interesting.

With the younger learners, a birds eye view may be difficult and while you can introduce the vocabulary, some learners may not get the concept as you have mentioned. I like how you plan to use digital tools to further support the learning and allow for comparisons and even critical thinking at this young age.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you enjoy the course.

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