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The topic of meteorological vs Celtic calander comes up in my own home as my children are taught meteorological at school in NI. It does make more sense weather wise, but I cling on to February being the start of Spring.
I think it would be nice to focus on the weather and climate in our school’s local area. It is often a topic of discussion as our school is a mile up quite a steep hill looking across at the mountains and Carlingford Lough. Down in the village you often find the weather is different to up at our school. Yard duty teachers always need to be prepared with their layers! I think getting the children to make the weather equipment for both the school yard and down the village community centre could be fun and engaging way for them to compare the weather is both local areas to see if there is indeed a difference particularly in wind speed and rainfall. They could use simple graphs to compare and contrast their findings and display to the school. We could bring in local historians to talk about their experiences of the weather in the locality.
This topic would easily integrate into other subjects in the curriculum.
I used the website Satellite Tracker 3D to spot the satellites over Ireland. It is incredible to see the amount of satellites orbiting the earth that we wouldn’t be aware of. Some of satellites I spotted are:
Object H 16/20 launched in 2017 China and does not give operational details and some sites stating that it is decayed.
Lemur 2 Rochinate launched by the US in 2024 giving global shipping and weather monitoring.
Sentry launched by the US in 2024 is used to monitor airfields and ports.
Cosmos 2350 was launched by Russia in 1998 but is inactive, it was used as a military command and control centre.
Kyokko launched by Japan in 1978 and is inactive, it was used to study aurora borealis, the ionosphere, and the magnetosphere.Yes I agree. So much of what we do in SESE is perfect for integrating into our Music and Art curriculum.
I thought the Home film was very interesting and visually beautiful, I had never heard about it before. It highlights many areas around the world that I would not know much about in terms of the environment. I find it useful for my own knowledge about about these issues around the world that impact us all. I wouldn’t use it at primary level as I feel it is too in depth and foreboding, however I can see how it would invaluable in second level. I feel it is enough to follow the lessons suggested by the likes of SEAI and ESA and the videos suggested like Paxi. There are also some great suggestions of lessons in the SESE programmes in schools like in the Explorers programme, which also have level appropriate images and videos.
Watching clips of Greta and talking about what her activism is about I think is a wonderful way to connect with children also.
Yes using Google slides for the children to present their learning is a wonderful way to complete a topic, particularly in the older classes.
I think the Paxi video is a lovely way to introduce the topic in an engaging and simple way for my class. The video breaks down the role of greenhouse gases clearly and simply, making a hard topic more understandable for children.
I cannot see myself using the prediction tool site though. I feel it is a bit too technical for their age group and would be fussy for them to use as a class, adding to more unnecessary screen time. I would use it if I was still in 5th/6th class.
I can see myself using our polytunnel at the back of the school for this topic as it gives a real -life example of what they are learning about. Investigating with the upside-down plastic bottles on the windowsill I feel is another lovely way of demonstrating the warming of the earth in easy way for the children to understand.
I can see how these topics are perfect for our Green Flag programme and easy to adapt throughout the school.
Yes I think it is wonderful to share the learning with the rest of the school. I like to put photos and video clips on the school website for everyone to see.
I think these ESA resources are a handy resources for these topics in STEM. I have 2nd/3rd Class in the coming year and I can really see how these would be very useful for this age group. I like how each topic is divided into the three parts which you could do over 3 weeks.
In Nose Up High in the Sky I can see how building the weather station for the class would be fun and engaging for the children. I can see that I would need to make sure I have all the right equipment ready to go the children to start building. There would be a lot of trial and improvement for children which is what we want.
The Weather vs Climate theme is interesting as its not something I have ever covered to compare the two. I like the worksheets that go with the pack and I can see how useful they would be for the children and are pitched at a nice level for my class. All of this ties in really nicely with their maths learning.
I am keeping all these resources on a desktop file so that I can easily use them this year and add to my planning. The use of some of the videos is handy but I can see preparation of having the right equipment on hand will be important.