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Catriona, I love your suggestion of Aboriginal Sky Star Art. Some of the 3rd classes had a big chunk of time given to Australia this year and it would be a fantastic opportunity to link with the subjects.
Songs that come to mind which connect us with the Night sky are: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, Star Star by the Frames. We had the pleasure of singing in the national childrens choir and one of my most favourite pieces was Starman by Bowie. More popular songs the children might know are: Counting Stars by One Republic, A Sky Full of Stars by Coldpay and Written in the stars by Tinie Tempah.
Van Goghs Starry Night is powerful art and always a popular one to explore and complete with a class. The poem Star light, Star bright is a nice short one for younger classes and my most favourite song from my childhood movies is “when you wish upon a star” from the Pinocchio film and of course “rewrite the stars” by the Greatest Showman would be an unbelievable, powerful and relevant song for kids in primary school. This has been one of my favourite assignments as I love music and endless amounts of gorgeous songs are linked to the night sky.
As mentioned previously, our school in situated in a rural area, I would begin by taking the class on a nature walk around the school grounds. This initial activity could allow for group work and pupils could have a simple checklist to tick off what they find. I would then show them a video I took the other night outside the house (which is close to the school) of a bat flying around our front lawn. A think, pair and share could be done with the class asking questions such as: What did you notice about the bat? When do you think bats come out? Why do you think they come out at night instead of during the day?
The pupils could then be shown 2 photographs of a brightly light garden and a dark garden and which they think the bat might prefer and why. Areas of the school might be marked on a map to show good areas that nocturnal animals might live such as bats, hedges and moths. Lots of cross curricular links could be done in art such as making posters to help people become more aware of artificial lights and its effects on our wildlife. A drama activity where some pupils are street lights and others are bats could be done. When a student (street lights) raises its hand the bat much change direction.
Thanks Una for the above recommendations of websites. Obsidentify is something i havent used before. I love the Melin ID app which identifies birds from recordings and pupils would use it in school on our ipads.
I love your ideas for the younger classes linking poems and stories related to the lesson and also the star glass. Its very creative and allows for lots of cross curricular links
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I would first begin with a class discussion with my 2nd class pupils about what they can see in the night sky and whether they think it looks the same everywhere. Using the Stellarium app suggestion from the last module we could compare a “real sky” view above our school with a dark sky location to see the difference and begin to explore the meaning of light pollution.
After this, shared discussion where pupils identify sources of light pollution they already know, such as streetlights or house lights. We could then brainstorm ideas for how we might reduce it around school, such as turning off unnecessary lights or using downward-facing lights. Pupils could also complete a home light survey, noting bright lights around their house at night and drawing a simple map.
Using the darksky.ie website pupils could pick an area in the world where they are most interested in and compare the 2 areas and plot the results on a graph incorporating maths into the lesson also.
I love the idea of using Aladdin to uplaod the photos taken from at home and pupils can compare different photos depending on the time of day they were taken.
To plan an observation of the Moon in school, I would use the Stellarium app alongside a simple hands-on model using a ball and a lamp to help children understand the Moon’s phases shown in the slides provided. I love that this resource can be shown to pupils and explored in school as well as at home.
Using Stellarium, I would show the class the Moon on the smartboard and set it to the morning time so they can see where it will appear in the sky. Because I teach pupils at 2nd class level we could go outside in the morning and look at the real Moon, depending on its visibility that day. They would then come back into class and draw what they saw, focusing on the shape of the Moon, its position in the sky, and any clouds around it. They could use pencils, chalk or paint to create what they have observed.
I am very fortunate to teach in a school that has a lot of natural amenities on its doorstep. There is a forest just at the back of the building and various activities are completed with all class levels using the resources. Creating a sundial could be an excellent undertaking to benefit the pupils learning in a number of areas including maths, art and science outdoor.
I would choose an open grassy area near the school where it gets direct sunlight for most of the day and is not shaded by trees or buildings. Using a stick firmly in the ground or a flower pot we would create the gnomon and then begin recording the tip of the shadow every hour. Children could work in groups of 3-4 to mark their findings. Maybe as an art lesson beforehand we could design and paint stones to use to mark the shadows and compare findings on a different day to make sure our findings were accurate.
Super idea Aine and especially the fact the pupils could create their own sundial at home and compare it to the schools one. I thought the idea of creating a sundial using rocks could incorporate some art where the pupils could paint and design a number of rocks first with initials and colours they like.
Super idea Aine and especially the fact the pupils could create their own sundial at home and compare it to the schools one. I thought the idea of create a sundial using rocks could incorporate some art where the pupils could paint and design a number of rocks first with initials and colours they like.