[Miriam Hunt]

I really like the idea of linking the question to the local environment especially the coast that they would be used to seeing every day

[Miriam Hunt]

Research Question “How is our school helping the planet and what could we improve on? “

This question is simple and relatable and will (hopefully) encourage children to enjoy investigating their own environment in the following areas – energy use, recycling, school garden, litter, food waste, transport etc.

I would present the children a short video of children making small changes eg turning off lights/planting trees/reusing materials etc and ask the children if they can list what we do already in the school environment and if they can make any other suggestions.

From this we would set up small investigation groups based on what they suggest – Litter Detectives (Check Bins/grounds for rubbish), Energy Detectives (Look for lights/appliances left on), Travel Detectives (Survey how they get to school)

Collect Data – Use both Ground Data gathering, satellite data if suitable and engage in surveys/tallies/graph drawing etc as required.

Each group will analyse the Data and report back on changes they could recommend. They can present their findings in fun formats – posters/songs/news report etc.

Be centring the children’s investigations in the school environment it will become more meaningful for them and hopefully they will see a real impact from their efforts.

[Miriam Hunt]

I found this a fantastic app and agree that the children would enjoy it. I was very surprised by the number of Starlinks satellites that are currently orbiting the earth.

[Miriam Hunt]

Module 4 – Assignment

Using the Satellite Tracker App and Heavens Above website, these are a list of five satellites that have recently passed over Ireland.

1 – Starlink Satellites – these are part of Space X’s satellite programme and can be seen in a line, moving across the sky.

2 – The ISS( International Space Station)  – This orbits the earth daily and will pass over Ireland again in approximately 15 hours time.

3. The Hubble Space Telescope – this telescope looks further into space and studies ours and farther away galaxies.

4- OKEAN O -Travelling close to Ireland currently but will not travel directly over the country. This was a joint Russian/Ukranian satellite launched in 1999 to study Earth science.

5- SL-8 R/B – Travelling close to Ireland currently but will not travel directly over the country.  This satellite was launched from The USSR in 1971

I found it very interesting to watch the orbit of the satellites and to see them travel close to (or over) Ireland on the map

 

[Miriam Hunt]

I agree, I found parts of Home very hard to watch and a positive approach rather than fear based would empower children in their climate endeavours

[Miriam Hunt]

HOME

The film HOME by Yann Arthus Bertrand is a depiction of Earth from the planet’s beginning to now. It shows how we are all interconnected and how humans are the driving force behind all the destruction and changes to our world.

There are some fascinating statistics listed in this film on energy consumption which I think children would be surprised by, however I think this is mainly a resource aimed at the older classes. It would also depend on the class as this film would not be suitable for all.

Ireland’s Climate Plan video would be a good discussion point for children, to look at the aims for the country and to discuss how we, as a class are meeting these and what we could do as a school community to improve awareness.

Climate World 2020 video would be used as a starter prompt for a climate action project, children would choose a topic to research based on what stood out to them on viewing this video.

[Miriam Hunt]

 

Posters/projects would work very well with the younger classes and could also be extended as a Green Schools activity.

[Miriam Hunt]

Climate Vs Weather Activity 3/Paxi Video

Based on the Curious minds framework the Paxi video could act as a stimulus to get the children thinking about the Greenhouse Effect. It is a lovely video which is suitable for all ages. It could also link to any Green Schools activities on energy. It would provide a good basis to begin discussion on how they can help and how little things they do will make a big difference. This video could also be a good starter activity for The Greenhouse Effect experiment.

 

I enjoyed experimenting with Activity 3 and the Teal tool. This is a very visual approach which I feel children would find engaging. They can  clearly see how climate temperatures and other conditions have changed over a long period of time as a result of The Greenhouse Effect. This activity could be challenging for the middle classes and would be more suited to the senior end of the school but could work well with senior and middle class working together.

[Miriam Hunt]

Hi Audrey,

I really like the idea of starting with 5th and 6th and having them help and explain the Weather Station to the younger classes.

[Miriam Hunt]

Using the ‘Nose High Up in the Sky’ Resource

I like the idea of using the weather proverbs as a discussion topic to start. Children are usually quite familiar with the ‘Red Sky at Night’ saying so maybe setting them a task to ask at home/grandparents and we will list any new ones they can come up with. Also the proverb website resource given could be used do discuss and debate the relevance of these predictions in relation to weather. They would also serve as a starting point as to why people might need to predict the weather ie farmers saving the hay, planning a picnic etc.

For lesson two being outside and using their senses would be a fantastic way to bring their weather lesson to life. Using specific weather vocabulary they will describe what they can see/hear/smell/touch and how these senses can help to predict the weather ie ‘I can see rain on the bench so it has rained today but there are no clouds in the sky so I don’t think it will rain again.’

Lesson 3 making a weather station would really appeal to children and can be linked to Art/Geography/English writing etc. Designing and making a rain gauge and anemometer would be enjoyable as would taking the weather measurements on a daily basis.

 

While I like the Climate Vs Weather Resource I think some of the lesson topics and content might be slightly too difficult for my multiclass 2nd/3rd.

[Author]

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