[Emma Mc Carthy]

Lisa

I love your use of using local knowledge for the study of wildflowers. I think keeping things real and local for children is so important. I like your idea for the pupils to make a video about their wildflower. This is so interactive and an idea I think the pupils would be captivated by. I also live closely to the area you refer to and I can agree they are ample wildflowers to explore.

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Module 5

Wehave on our door step the vibrant wind turbine farm in our townland Moin na hInse . This farm provides ample opportunties for creative exploration.

Here are the ideas I would use to involve my pupils in a creative capacity to emapthise with the local natural scientific heritage of this site.

Art:

Inspired the portrayed of Mary Ward (Her Story) I would get the pupils to draw themselves in the corner of the page. Following our trip to the wind farm I would get them to draw what they expereinced through thier eyes. Pictures captured on our visit to the wind farm will be displayed on the white board and this would be uses as a stimulus for children to inspire their drawings. On conclusion pupils will look and respond to

1-      What did you think this pupil saw?

2-      Did you see the same?

3-      What aspects do you like?

4-      Anything else you find interesting in your peers work?

Music

Using different percussion instruments and other items available to pupils I would encourage pupils to compose a 4 part percussion set to immitate the sounds experienced on our trip to the wind farm.  Inspiration for birds sounds and other sounds from the experience would be encouraged for inclusion. A class recording could be made and played to other classes.

Drama

Using hot seating I would encourage pupils to hot set a wind turbine. Taking turns pupils would become a wind turbine Personafying the wind turbine asking questions such as

1-      Do you ever feel alone ?

2-      What excites and bores you ?

3-      Have you enemies ?

4-      Have your friends? ?

5-      How do you feel when classes come and visit?

Creative Writing

Having personafied the wind turbine in drama this could be used as a great stimulus to write a  word diary entry on “A Day as a Wind Turbine” . Pupils would be well equipped for this task havig explored the STEM elements of a wind turbine they would have various information sources to write a diary entry. These could be read to younger classes adding illustratiuons and a name to their wind turbine for added storytelling excitement which could be used during world book day or other literacy intiatives.

 

[Emma Mc Carthy]

David

What a lovely inspiration to use the Mary Mac Aleese bridge and I love your integration idea for Maths and measurement. I also think there is scope for integration for a History lesson on the life of Mary Mac Aleese her years and president and her subsequent years after her presidency. Great lesson stimulus using this bridge.  Well done

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Module 4

We  have on our door step bog lands full of many wind turbines  in an area as Gaeilge known as Moin na hInse. These turbines provide renewable energy sources with energy sold to the national grid. The owners are always very keen to have school group’s visit and pupils can learn about the workings of such turbines.

Lesson plan to design and make a Wind Turbine (inspired by our local wind turbines)

Equipment you will need:

• Coloured card

• Scissors

• Glue

• Push pin

• Cardboard tube

• Sticky tack

Step 1

Get a piece of coloured card and a piece of patterned paper. The coloured card 10cmX10cm and then you can go bigger or smaller once you get used to making them.

Step 2

Fold the square along the diagonal to make an X across the middle. Make a cut from each corner two-thirds of the way towards the middle. If you are using a 10cmX10cm square cut 4cm in from the edge

Step 3

Use a push pin to make a hole in the middle of the square. Use a cork mat or sticky tack to avoid making a mark on furniture. Make a hole close to the edge in the right hand corner of each quarter of the piece of card.

To make each blade, place the pin through the corner hole and then bring it towards the middle. Repeat to make each blade of the windmill. Repeat until all 4 blades are done.

Step 4

Finally, attach the windmill to the cardboard tube using the push pin. Use a bit of glue if it needs strengthening, Depending on the type of cardboard tube that you have, you may need to add some cardboard to the base to help the windmill to stand.

Conclusion

Student Reflection

–          What went well?

–          What would you do differently?

–          Did you enjoy?

What was the most challenging part

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Andrea

I enjoyed reading your post about your bio-rich school environment. I love your idea of informing all class levels at your school of the importance of pollinators providing posters etc. I also enjoyed reading your idea about hosting a bio-diversity week at your school. Great idea

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Module 3

I have registered my garden and shaded in the area around what we have done and hope to increase more pollinator activity at our garden. I noted the following tips some of which we are already doing.

Tips to increase pollinators

1-      Don’t Mow it Let It Grow ( my husband did a No Mow May and delayed cutting lawn until end of April  )

2-      Manage Hedgerows ( we planted more lavenders last year )

3-      Plant pollinator friendly cheers ( we have a plan to plant some more cherry blossoms in ur back bed )

4-      Choose nectar pollen rich plants ( we have planted a kitchen garden on our window sill with rosemary and basil in it )

5-      Reduce pesticide use ( we do not put on any weeds my kids pull them)

6-      Leaving path ways around a meadow. My husband has only cut the grass around the perimeter of the meadow at the back of our house thus leaving the area within to thrive

7-      We have also scattered bee bombs and there are patches of pollinator goodness.

Future Actions

1 –Make a small bug hotel in our meadow area

2 Purchase our apple tress

3 For summer bedding use lavenders instead of our usual pansies

School

Actions for School

1-      Increase awareness ( send links to teachers to the All Ireland Pollinator site)

2-      Add our school to the sites list

3-      Invite guest speakers to talk about importance of pollinators

4-      Encourage a No Mow May by our school care –taker

5-      Set up small bug hotels  in areas around the grassy parts of the yard

6-      Monitor visitors to bug hotel

7-      Runs a FIT ( tally , record on bar chart and interpret data for whole school  to understand, display in school hall )

8-      Above could be done with senior class pupils

9-      Encourage the planting in our summer bedding of pollinator rich plants such as lavender

10-   Run competitions on pollination as the theme encouraging pupils to write poems or short stories on pollination.

[Emma Mc Carthy]

David

I was struck by the idea of comparing the children’s map work to your map work as the teacher. I think this would be a fantastic fun and heartfelt way to evaluate the lesson and reflect on pupils learning and your assessment of their learning. A great simple way to evaluae AOL ( assessment of learning ) and AFL ( assessment for learning) very handy.

Thank You

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Module 2

Explore how you would use some of the online data sets in your teaching of data in maths and to highlight the application of maths in real world contexts.

The online Data sets are an incredible resource that took my breath away when I explored the amount of Data that is ready available. It was amazing to see how easy it was to use and navigate.

It would be a fabulous resource to down load on a class set of I Pads. I was particularly struck by the data set of Deforestation

Lesson Plan

Exploring : Who keeps are forests safe? What resources have they? ( Coillte) Have you ever visited a Forest? Can you estimate the amounts of forests in our country ? .

As we live in a border area it would be an idea to compare Deforestation in Laois, Offaly and Tipperary.

Main Body

Using the data set of Forestation in our 3 local counties I would get the pupils to chart this information on a bar chart. A further chart then will be compiled using the data set of Forests 30 years ago.

Maths Exploration

Pupils would compare and contrast the amount of Forests 30 years ago and now. These charts would be displayed.Calculations on the declining amount of Forests too would be displayed

Literacy Links

Pupils would explore reasons why Forests  were demolished. Extensions ideas including

Class Debate- Imagine you are a local politician campaigning to keep our local forest from deforestation what would you argument be. Imagine you are the government wanting to close our local forest and demolish it for houses

Letter Writing: Write a letter to our local politician appealing to save our forests with the reasons why it should be saved and not cut down for housing.

Guest Speaker : Invite a local Coillte officer  into the class to explain their daily work and the importance of forestation’s.

SESE Links

History: Looking at our Forest size  50 years ago from online archives. Compare and contrast changes and features that remain the same.

There is so much more that could be explored but the Deforestation figures and satellite images  was just a Data set that grabbed my attention.

FABULOUS RESOURCE

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Kate

Lovely lesson integration ideas. I really enjoyed the English/Drama integration of people using telescopes for the first time. Pupils responses and interpretations of this could be very enlightening. Thank you for the idea

 

Emma

[Emma Mc Carthy]

Module 1

Describe how you could apply some of the concepts and skills you have learned in this module to your own teaching practice in line with the the STEM Edcuaction Policy Statement.

Pairs, collaborrative work, extending knowledge and illicitating prior knowledge are all elements in this module I wish to practice this coming school year. The lesson on the mystery finger prints was a fabulous real life lesson and the langugae  not only of the finger prints types but the language of  culprit etc was a brilliant practice. This is a lesson I would love to try and use the language in literacy perhaps a clip from Holes to utilise the langauge.  Also the teacher on the finger print lesson highlighted the importance of the reflccetive process key to monitor the learning and the learning  for the teacher. A practice I think  critical and regarding my teaching of STEM as mentioned just “one change can make a difference”

Many lessons are science lessons that do not incorporate any type of design, real world applications or core ideas of engineering.   The “T” of STEM Education can also be an hurdle to producing a meaningful STEM experiences. This I feel can be an obstacle to my teaching of science perhaps I am using science like a script to caught up on the end product and not allowing enough space for the process of exploration  and not allowing time for proper teaching science like scripture.

–          Exploration

–          Wondering

–          Investigation

These pillares provide a superb  frame work for my practice this coming school year. I love the idea of the prompt to stimulate prior knowledge usually I would have just used a brianstorm or a Think Pair Share.

There can be quite a lot of uncertainty around the design and understanding of STEM activities. The article discussed what STEM is and the characteristics of true authentic STEM activities and lessons.

Elements of change to my practice

–          Prompt ( opening with a great focus question or a piece of resource )

 

–          Wondering ( allowing time in pairs time to question how the experiment may unfold)

 

–          Exploring ( not only with a perscribed script but giving the pupils a paper clip and use the language how can this  be a piece of technology )

 

–          Conducting Investigation  ( allowing enough time for meaningful engagement )

 

–          Interpret  Data ( application of practical maths to problem solve like using the rainbow spinners (circles) and teaching diameter and radius in a real life capacity )

When concluding a lesson I wish to use langauge such as

What like most about design ? What were challenges? What is best to remember for next time?

 

Also to intergrate with literacy new words explored will be displayed on  our WOW wall and give pupils scaffolding opportunities using teacher as a prompter to build on their knowledge of words.

To conclude utilising the following to adjust my practice

1.       Pillars ( for planning rather than perscribing )

2.       Ample time for exploration and investigation

3.       Simple application to maths (using rainbow spiinners and apply to language of circle, radius, diamerter)

4.       Wow Wall for new words

5.       Intergrate words in to a literacy piece ( finger prints language lesson  with a passage from Holes or another crime novel)

 

 

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