Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
A biodiversity walk around the school is a lovely idea. It will stimulate interest and discussion with the children. I think that when it is related to their own lives – the learning will be more meaningful to the children.
Module 4
2. How you would incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies into school biodiversity plans
I think it is really important to incorporate the needs of nocturnal creatures into our school biodiversity plan. Children should also play a big part as it further highlights the importance of this for them. The first thing we should consider is the lights in the school area at nighttime. We can ensure that all lights that are non-essential are turned off at a certain time. We can consider our security lights – are there ways in which we can minimise their impact and reduce their light pollution. We can change our security lights to motion centred lights to ensure that these lights are not on at all times. We can also look at the types of bulbs we use to minimise disruption to different insects, animals etc. We can also ensure the lights don’t shine unnecessarily upwards.
We can also look at our sensory garden. We have built bug hotels and habitats. We can research ways to promote nocturnal pollinator patches, such as planting particular flowers to attract moths, bats and nocturnal insects. We can ensure safe habitats by not over cutting grass / hedges etc. We can ensure there are safe habitats for different nocturnal creatures.
We can also incorporate more teaching in STEM across the school – educating about light pollution and the importance of minimising the effects of this. We can reference resources from Dark Sky Ireland to assist with this.Module 3
1. Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.We would start in class by introducing the term light pollution and discovering what we know about it.
Research the term light pollution and see what is affected by it. Our school is in a rural area, and we have students who live in country areas and some who live in towns. We will discuss how their location can determine the level of light pollution and it’s effects. The children can do a simple observation at home and compare and contrast their findings with their peers. We will research the light pollution in our area and what steps / small changes we can make to reduce this pollution. I think this is important as will help to make children aware of the impact light pollution can have on the local environment. We will also use globeatnight to look at areas with higher levels and lower levels of noise pollution and the effects of both of these.Module 2
3. Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be in 2024- 2025?
We will start by introducing the topic of the moon and brainstorming what we know about the Moon. We will create a mindmap of this. We will look at and identify the eight main phases of the Moon and how its appearance changes over a month.
he Third Quarter phase will be the best for morning observation as the moon remains high in the sky during school hours.
We will learn how to use a compass with a simple moon map to locate the Moon from the school playground.
From research we have found that the following dates will be optimal for observations: September 2026: 4th–11th / October 2026: 3rd–11th / November 2026: 2nd–9th / December 2026: 1st–9th, and 31st
We will plan to observe during some of these dates when the Moon is visible during the school morning.
We will create a moon diary to sketch the Moon’s shape and position over a one-week period.
We will use some of the online resources outlined to compare our findings.Module 1
Sundial Activity with 3<sup>rd</sup> Class
I would start my activity based on Sundials through History. We would discuss how sundials were used in History to tell the time. We would discuss this, look at some examples and investigate them.
We will then look at designing and making our own. Through observation we will identify the changes in shadows depending on the position of the sun throughout the day – through shadow puppets / measuring our own shadows using chalk etc.
Using the resource provided in the Module we will construct our own sundials. We will experiment with them using torches and record our findings. We can use them outside in the yard and discuss where would be the best place to construct a sun dial in our playground.
I think this a great idea. There is a huge amount of cross curricular integration and discovery. The Design Your Own Dark Sky Activity is a great way to bring together all that we have covered while completing the topic and reinforcing what we have learned.
- Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky? For example: Look up President Michael D Higgins’ “Stardust”
This is such an interesting prompt. The sky has always been fascinating to me and lots of other people. It has provided a constant source of wonder, investigation and inspiration for many forms of art and poetry. People feel very connected through these mediums of art. I started by looking up “Stardust” by Michael D Higgins – It’s such a lovely piece of writing. I think that it really captures the importance of and the wonder it inspires. Some of my favourite pieces are as follows:
Songs: Starman, A sky full of stars, Moon River, I Can See Clearly Now, Fly me to the Moon, Rocket Man
Poems: Stars, Twinkle Twinkle, Star Light, Star Bright,
Paintings: Starry Night, Starry Night – Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night and the Astronauts – Alma Thomas, Starry Night Over the Rhone – Vincent Van Gogh, Starlight Night – Georgia O’ Keefe
I think that the idea of comparing where they are to another place in Ireland is excellent. They can compare and contrast the two areas.
I love the ideas for this lesson. The idea to use the book Papa, Please Get the Moon by Eric Carle for a stimulus. It’s a great idea to start discussions with the children and to develop their interest. Stellarium is an excellent resource and it’s a great idea to share this resource with the parents.
I think the activity that you described is excellent. I find that the children love the topic of the sun and would be really engage with this. Repeating the activity daily and recording their findings would be something that they would look forward to. The home diary activity is great with the opportunity to discuss and share their findings. The resources from the module are great and they explain clearly how to make a sundial which will further increase their understanding of the topic.
