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I really like this idea Eimear as it is prevalent in our school too. It would be interesting for the pupils to weigh the packaging from each classroom and graph the data. Perhaps have a little challenge between the rooms to reduce weight of litter over a month and re-weigh after 4 weeks.
Question: Does the amount of rainfall affect how wet the ground is around our school?
This would work well because the children can become genuine ‘climate detectives’ without the investigation becoming too complicated. The Climate Detectives project encourages pupils to investigate a local problem, gather evidence and use their findings to draw conclusions. I would begin by asking the children what they notice about the school grounds after periods of heavy rain. Are there places where puddles form? Does the grass become waterlogged? Are some areas much wetter than others? The children could identify three or four locations around the school and monitor them over several weeks.They could make a simple rain gauge, record daily rainfall and give each location a ground wetness score from 1–5. They could photograph the locations and record their results in a table before creating simple graphs. In a rural setting, I would extend the discussion to farms and fields. Pupils could ask parents, grandparents or local farmers how prolonged wet weather affects animals, crops, machinery and farm work. This would connect climate learning directly to their own community and make the project much more meaningful for 3rd class pupils.This is a brilliant resource to now know about. The pupils would be enthralled to discover the satellites and their purpose and share it with each other and those at home. I will definitely be incorporating this resource with my class in the next school year.
I found the Nose Up High in the Sky resource very suitable for a 3rd/4th class level, particularly as it is aimed at children aged 8–10 and integrates Science, Geography and Mathematics. I liked the progression through the three activities, beginning with familiar weather sayings, moving to observing the weather using the senses, and finally using scientific instruments to collect actual weather data. I particularly liked the first activity using weather proverbs such as ‘Red sky at night, sailors delight’. I think 3rd/4th class pupils would enjoy asking parents or grandparents for other traditional Irish weather sayings and then investigating whether there is any science behind them. I would definitely use the weather station activity. Building an anemometer and rain gauge would provide a very practical STEM experience, while recording temperature, wind and rainfall in a weather diary over a week would provide excellent opportunities for data collection and graphing. Overall, I think this is an engaging and very usable resource. I would probably extend it by having groups use their collected data to prepare and present their own class weather forecast at the end of the week.
I like how Ailish suggested that pupils could write their own speeches about climate change. It links nicely with debating and/or reading persuasive texts. It would be a perfect example to show older pupils Greta’s speech and use it to model her delivery which is really clear and poised and loaded with factual and current detail.
I found the film Home very powerful and visually engaging. The aerial footage from around the world shows both the beauty of the Earth and the scale of human impact on the environment. The film explores how issues such as our use of fossil fuels, intensive agriculture, deforestation, resource consumption and climate change are interconnected, rather than presenting climate change as an isolated problem. For a 3rd and 4th class, I would not show the entire film, as I think its length and some of the information would be too complex for nine-year-olds. Instead, I would select short sections and combine these with the shorter, child-friendly video clips from the module. I would pause regularly for discussion and allow the children to identify what they notice, what has changed and what questions the images raise. I would be conscious of presenting climate change in a way that informs rather than frightens children. I would balance facts about rising temperatures, greenhouse gases, melting ice and habitat loss with examples of positive action. The final part of Home is particularly useful in this respect because it moves towards ways in which people can use resources more responsibly. I would finish by asking groups to create an Our Climate Actions poster, identifying realistic actions that could be taken at home, in school and in our local community. This would give the lesson a positive and practical conclusion. I would involve the Green Schools Committee to come and see the groups presenting their poster and ideas and they could choose a Climate Champions award winning team.
I like your extension idea Ciara of presenting the weather in 20 years time and assigning different climates to groups based on future positive or negative actions of the population. It could be further developed to include Drama and pupils in their groups could take on different roles such as weather presenter, climate scientist, farmer, local resident or reporter. Each group could be given a different climate scenario and asked to prepare a short television news segment set 20 years in the future and present it through drama.
I found Activity 3: Climate Reporters particularly useful as it makes the topic of climate change more accessible and meaningful for children. The Paxi video would be a good starting point for my 3rd and 4th class, as it introduces the greenhouse effect before pupils consider the difference between the natural greenhouse effect and the additional effect caused by human activities. I especially liked the use of the online climate tool. Pupils would work in groups to explore low- and high-emission scenarios and calculate projected monthly average temperatures. This would provide a useful link between Science, Maths and digital learning. I would have groups compare the different scenarios and then create a short “Climate Report for Ireland in 2050”, perhaps presenting it as a weather-style report to the class. The activity is designed to help children connect rising temperatures with possible effects on their own lives, which makes the learning more relevant. One improvement I would make would be to simplify some of the terminology for younger pupils and provide a worked example of using the climate prediction tool before they begin independently. I would also add a stronger local element by asking pupils to consider how climate change might affect farming, flooding, wildlife and everyday life in their own community.
I also like the idea of organising a particular STEM project and mixing class groups and ages. It would work particularly well in a smaller school and allow older pupils to take on leadership roles and assign particular jobs to every member of the group. The younger pupils would gain great insights and develop their social skills and confidence in such a set-up.
Having completed the activities and read Liston (2018), I reflected on how STEM education can be more effectively integrated in my 3rd and 4th class. Liston emphasises that authentic STEM should connect different subject areas through real-world problems, while developing creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork which is an important point to remember and not a stand alone lesson. I found “Is it Weather or Climate?” very effective for helping children distinguish between short-term weather and longer-term climate patterns. “Weather Detectives” would work particularly well in our rural school, as pupils could record local temperatures daily, graph their results and calculate averages, creating meaningful links between Science, Geography and Maths. I would extend the activities by setting up a class weather station and including rainfall and wind measurements. Pupils could compare our rural weather data with information from another Irish location. This would make the learning more relevant to their own environment while developing data-handling and investigative skills. I would also use digital weather forecasts and satellite images, allowing pupils to compare their own observations with professional forecasts. This would strengthen the technology element and create a more integrated STEM learning experience.