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I like the idea of bringing data into the project. I feel topics such as data benefit from a real world angle.
Research Question: Investigating the human impact on the lives of the Polar Bear
For my research topic, I’d like to look at how human behaviour is impacting the lives of Polar Bears. Having an interested in this topic, I know there are a lot of stimuli I can use to introduce this project to the students. From cute videos of the polar bear, Knut, raised in Berlin Zoo, to the Polar bears that invaded a Russian village. With so much news coverage over the last few years, resources are easy to come by.
Next I would introduce the students to the Climate Detectives Program saying we would be using this to investigate why the bears may be wandering into villages or why Zoo’s feel that can play a part in saving them. Students would work in groups examining different aspects of the impact of our actions on polar bears.
Finally, students would present their findings and see how we as a school can do our part to help.
I love the idea of bringing an agricultural slant into the lessons. It is surely one of the most obvious ways Ireland has changed over time with land being used for housing rather than the once traditional agricultural use. Living and working on the outskirts of a major city, I feel this would resonate with my students.
Having accessed the EO Browser and used the tutorial, I can see that there are numerous ways this resource can enhance the teaching and learning in my class. I feel it can be used in many areas but especially in subjects like geography, environmental science, earth science, and even history. Here are some ways I think a teacher could be convinced to use this resource.
Geography – Mapping and analysis of physical features over a period of time. See how our human actions are changing our landscape.
Science – Examining natural disasters and seeing how these have shaped our landscape by comparing satellite images from before and after they occur. We also study weather patterns with this resource.
History – Use the resources to help track how the landscape has changed over time. This can be looking at how major world events such as WW1 OR 2 have affected the landscape around them. It would also be a fantastic resource to track the development of cities or urban areas.
I agree that it’s important to pause the documentary at certain points to make sure that the students are actively engaging with the content rather than passive viewers. I would suggest using this documentary in parts over a few lessons.
“Home” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand is a visually stunning documentary and I really enjoyed watching it. It touches on so many environmental issues that it’s hard to know where to start when looking at it as a classroom resource. Having researched the documentary, I love that it was uploaded to so many different platforms allowing so many people to access it. Here are some ways I may use it in a classroom setting.
Geography: The documentary could spark a lot of class discussion. Topics can include deforestation, water scarcity, urbanization, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Students could delve deeper into some of these issues discussed and create presentations suggesting ways these problems could be reversed.
Literacy: Students could look at how the documentary uses narrative and visuals to persuade and inform the viewer of these issues.
Science: Students could look at the various ecosystems mentioned in the documentary and choose one to highlight in a presentation.
Visual Arts: Students could be encouraged to to create artwork, poetry, or stories inspired by the themes of the documentary. These projects can be displayed in a school exhibition or shared online.
I agree that students would enjoy predicting the weather as well as linking the topic with Visual Arts by making weather instruments!
From reading the paper Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Liston 2018), I can see there are some elements of STEM in the teaching and learning but many more areas I need to develop. I place a huge emphasis on collaboration and real world problem solving. Critical thinking is also high on my list of skills I seek to embed in my classroom. However, time restraints can sometimes cause me to move on to new topics too soon, often leaving less time than I would hope for reflective thinking on how a project or lesson went.
Activity 1: Is it weather or climate?
Activity 2: Weather DetectivesI found both resources to offer a great range of diverse lesson ideas. The video in activity one is eye catching and can be used as a great lesson opener. Weather Detectives, activity 2, is a fun lesson to get students out and about. As a school, we don’t have a huge amount of weather resources but as shown in Module one, homemade ones can be made. We have a green screen in our school where we have gotten the students to record the weather in both English and Irish.
Lovely ideas here. I also have found that a nice way to introduce any topic based on weather is to ask the students to guess the highest/lowest temperature ever recorded in Ireland. It generates great class discussion.
The Paxi video is fantastic resources and one I feel I could get great use from in the Senior end of the school. Echoing some other contributors to the forum, I feel the video and it’s resources are quite content rich and would aim to develop the theme over a number of lessons.
Prior to showing the video, I would carry out a KWL introduction with the class. This will establish what the students already know and ultimately dispel some myths or misinformation that they may have. I do feel there is a lot of ‘fake news’ out there about climate change and greenhouse gasses.
Next, I would brainstorm words associated with the topic and make the students familiar with their meanings. I feel this will help the students get the most from the video resources.
Finally I would look at what ways that we can do our bit to reverse the damage being caused to the world. The temperature predictor would be a lovely resource for this. Students work best when faced with a real life problem and are scaffolded in their learning and enquiry to work towards a solution.
Great collection there! Had forgotten about One Republics song. Must take a listen again! Lots on your list for classes of all ages.
One painting that comes to mind is Pablo Piassco’s nocturnal painting ‘Night Fishing at Antibes’. Its one of my favourite paintings and can be found here
https://www.wikiart.org/en/pablo-picasso/night-fishing-at-antibes-1939
It centres around some people on the pier but what draws the viewers eye is the fantastic colours he used to portray the sky. The moon is visible just above the pier and the sky is lit up with shades of purple, blue and violet. Lesser known than Van Gogh’s Starry Night, I feel this shouldn’t be overlooked.
There are so many references to the night sky in songs – from nursery rhymes to more modern songs. Particular favourites would be Moon River by Andy Williams and more modern songs such as ‘Let’s see where the night goes’ by Josh Ritter. However, the list is endless really!
I think allowing certain areas to grow wild is a great idea. Often, schools can be too invested in having pristine flower beds and patches of grass.
I feel schools have become better at creating a better environment for insects by building bug hotels or planting with flowers that attract certain insects. However, I don’t feel schools think about biodiversity outside the regular school hours and I feel there is a lot we can do.
It begins by educating the students about the biodiversity in the local area and what we can do to help. In reality, school grounds are ideal as they are areas of quiet at night and can provide a tranquil place for nocturnal animals to thrive.
Regarding bats, bat houses could be installed on the grounds in a quiet area way from busy yard time areas. Likewise, owl nesting boxes could be houses in large old trees on a campus. Late night blooming flowers would help moths, providing them with a source of nectar after hours. Finally, hedgehogs could be welcomed into an area by providing them with space to nest along with a source of food.
Of course, it would be important to educate students on how to treat with these areas with respect during the school day. The use of webcams would be fantastic, allowing students to view what biodiversity exists in the school campus after hours.
