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This is a great idea, especially using Twinkle Twinkle little star for the older classes and exploring the other verses. It is not something I would have thought of doing.
Starry Night is a great piece of Art and one I always remember from being painted on a wall in my school. Great idea contrasting it with The Boulevard Montmartre.
Prepare a school project to collect Piseógs/Traditions/Stories of the Night.
This year, I will be teaching 5th Class, and I plan to continue a much-loved tradition we had when I taught 2nd Class: Grandparents’ Day, held during Catholic Schools Week. This event brings together pupils, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, neighbours, and extended family for a special day of tea, refreshments, and the sharing of stories and traditions.
This year, I will use it as an opportunity for a local folklore and traditions project. Pupils will be invited to collect piseógs (folk beliefs), stories of the night, and seasonal traditions—especially those linked to Halloween and other cultural festivals. Given our school’s multicultural community, we will also explore traditions and stories from countries such as Ukraine, Syria, India, and Spain, comparing and contrasting them with Irish folklore.
Living near the sea and close to historical sites associated with St. Patrick and St. Kevin, pupils may also uncover local legends or traditions tied to these saints.
On Grandparents’ Day, pupils will present their findings—ideally alongside a family member—sharing stories in the spirit of the Rambling House tradition. These moments may spark further storytelling and intergenerational conversation. With consent, these could be recorded as part of a school archive celebrating oral heritage.
To extend the learning, pupils will also explore the Dúchas Folklore Commission website, where they can search for similar stories, compare their findings, and discover songs, customs, and folktales from across Ireland.
Lucan would be a great area to examine biodiversity and the effects of light pollution as there is the best of both worlds in that it is an urban area and also has dark natural areas aswell.
Supporting Nocturnal Wildlife in Our School Biodiversity Plan
First, as a class we would discuss the meaning of biodiversity and its importance to both insects, animals and humans.
We would then move on to examine incorporating the needs of nocturnal species—such as bats, owls, hedgehogs, moths, and other insects—into our school’s biodiversity plan is a meaningful way to support local ecosystems and help children understand the full scope of biodiversity.
Our school grounds, surrounded by housing estates and street lighting in an ever-expanding village, offer a relatively dark refuge, ideal for nocturnal animals that rely on darkness to hunt, navigate, and rest.
We will discuss with pupils how low light levels in our school garden can benefit these species, and explore how we can make the space more inviting for them. As part of our biodiversity plan, we could install bat boxes, owl nest boxes, and create wild areas with log piles and hedgerows to provide shelter and food sources.
In addition, planting insect-friendly, native Irish hedging in the school garden will help attract more insects, which in turn could encourage visits from bats and other nocturnal animals. These simple, nature-based additions offer hands-on ways for pupils to engage with biodiversity and learn how we can protect it, both day and night.
Hi Dearbhla, This is nice idea. Getting parents and family members involved is a great idea but one that is becoming more challenging in many areas. I agree that its a great project.
5th Class Light Pollution Project
With 5th class, we will begin by exploring the concept of light pollution.
Our WALT (We Are Learning To):
Identify what light pollution is
Understand how it affects our local area
Our WILF (What I’m Looking For):A clear definition of light pollution
Examples of how it impacts our community
We’ll start by researching and defining light pollution together. Then, we’ll brainstorm potential local sources, considering our context: a growing commuter village near several expanding towns within the greater Dublin commuter belt.Next, we’ll explore the impact of light pollution under three key areas:
Humans
Ecosystems/Wildlife
The Night Sky
The class will be split into three groups, each with a large poster and marker:Group 1: How light pollution affects humans (e.g. sleep disruption, health issues)
Group 2: How it affects natural ecosystems (e.g. disrupted rhythms, confusion, ecosystem imbalance, impact on bats)
Group 3: How it affects the night sky (e.g. skyglow, reduced visibility, loss of dark skies)
Each group will present their poster to the class. The posters will be displayed in the classroom to support further learning.As a follow-up, we’ll research local wildlife, focusing on how light pollution might affect common garden birds. This will tie into an art and science lesson already planned, where students will have been introduced to local species.
I like this activity. It is simple but effective and shows how beneficial Stellarium Web is and can be in the classroom.
Create an observing plan for autumn that shows which planets are visible in the evening sky:
Autumn Planet Observing Plan (Class Activity)
I’d love to try this with my class as a way to explore astronomy and use digital tools to enhance learning. It would involve home–school communication and could be a great opportunity for students to engage in real-world observation.Using tools like timeanddate.com and Stellarium, I found that early September offers great chances to see Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus with the naked eye, and possibly Uranus and Neptune with a telescope. Stellarium and the Stargazing Ireland site are fantastic resources, with lists of autumn highlights like Ursa Major, Orion, the Pleiades, Andromeda, meteor showers, and the Harvest Moon.
Rather than giving a set schedule, I’d let students choose what to look for—planets, stars, or constellations—and how to present their findings. We could first cover key ideas like stars vs planets and constellations, and perhaps make Starwheels. I’d introduce Stellarium and timeanddate in class using iPads and share links with families at home. Students could create their own observing plans, take photos, label or draw them, and share their work in school.
While some may need tech support at home, it’s doable. It’s a great mix of science, creativity, and fun.
Hi Carmel,
I think this is a fun and interactive way of introducing and learning about sundials. Will definitely try this myself
3. Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
An easy lesson to observe the positions of the sum rising and setting at different times of the day would all depend of the position of your classroom or a particular window in your school. For example, i a lucky that the classroom I am currently in faces south which allows us to witness the sun rising in the east and (in winter) almost setting in the west. For this lesson, pick three different times of the day, 9am, 12, and 2:30.
From the same position in the room record the position of the sun by marking it position of the window using a whiteboard marker. This will allow the pupils to see that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and is around the same position in the sky and at set times.
An interesting way of developing this would be to do this over a week during each season of the year and observe the suns position in the sky during the four seasons of autumn, winter, spring and summer. By doing this the kids will have a visual on the classroom window of the position of the sun at different times of day and at different times of the year