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I also found it amazing to look at all the different satellites in our skies. As I live close to the airport , I have used flightradar 24 for planes but was unaware that satellites could also be tracked.
Hi Rachel,
I like your idea of repeating the same experiment in April or May to see if the rainfall levels reduce or increase in different seasons
The reasearch question I have chosen to work on with my class is:
‘What is the average rainfall in the month of January and how does this compare to previous years?’
Using the climate detectives phases I would work with my class to identify a climate problem, investigate the problem and share our results.
Firstly, I would go through key vocabulary such as climate, weather, weather events, climate change and Global warming. I would allow my class work in pairs or small groups to reaearch these phrases to gain understanding and record their findings. We would then look at the average rainfall in a given month in Dublin over the last 30 – 40 years and make predictions if we think there will be more or less rainfall now.
I would then use the ESA activity ‘nose up high in the sky’ where children can identify the weather elements, watch videos of weather events caused by rainfall such as floods, etc and learn how to take weather measurements. I will then inform students that we are going to work in groups to create our own rain gauges to measure the amount of rainfall in the school grounds for the month of January (or any month). Children will be given a range of materials and/or bring in materials from home to build their own rain gauge.
Over the month children can check the amount of rainfall collected daily and record their findings on a chart/ poster, take photographs, etc to document their work.
Once completed, students can present their findings and results to the class or to other classes at a whole school assembly.
I really enjoyed this module in particular and the videos explaining Satellites and their missions, how they have a lifespan of 5 – 20 years but remain in orbit although not working anymore. I found the satellite tracker by start walk app to be brilliant and will definitely use this with my class in the upcoming school year.
I was able to find many satellites that regularly passed over Ireland and found it interesting to discover what each satellite is used for.
– International Space Stationt: Orbits Earth about every 90 minutes and is often visible from Ireland
– Noaa: A weather satellite that collects weather, climate, and environmental data that help meteorologists produce weather forecasts and monitor storms.
– Terra: A NASA Earth observation satellite that studies Earth’s atmosphere, land, oceans and climate.
– Aqua: It measures water in Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice to improve weather forecasting and climate research.
– Starlink satellites: They work together to provide high-speed broadband internet
I found the HOME documentary to be very interesting as well as upsetting in parts. I regularly show my class clips from David Attenborough’s ‘Our planet’ at break time but I always ensure to leave out some of the upsetting parts. As mentioned in the comments, I think this would be more suited to the older classes. At the same time, it is important that our students are aware of the damage we cause to the environment and how humans contribute to Climate Change through pollution and deforestation, etc.
I also enjoyed the other video clips in this module and how they focused on solutions to some of these problems and by working together and making small changes in our everyday lives we can slow Climate Change and make our planet a better place for all.
When teaching this topic, I would recap over what we learned about weather and climate and show parts of the HOME documentary to my class. I would also encourage pupils to think about simple things they can do like recycling, turning off lights, walking to school and car pooling when possible and looking after wildlife and their habitats. I think it is vital that we don’t overwhelm our students when it comes to Climate Change and that we can take small steps and actions to improve the situation. I would assign a project to the class where they can work independently or in a group on ways to combat climate change. Children could research information on IPads in class and create a poster or a PowerPoint that they can present to the class.Hi Rebecca,
I agree that it is important that we teach our students positive changes that we can make in our everyday lives to help combat climate change so they are aware that we can make a difference by doing simple things such as recycling, recucing waste, saving energy, etc.
Hi Sharon,
I like your idea of discussing simple ways we can prevent greenhouse gases and then using this information to create posters based on reducing our carbon footprint. I did this with my 3rd class last year and it was great to see the creative slogans they came up with for their posters, e.g. ‘Don’t be a fool, walk to school’, etc
I found activity 3: climate detectives to be very engaging and interactive for children. I found the PAXI video describing greenhouse gases to to be very child friendly and I would definitely use this resource before beginning activity 3. It clearly explains what a greenhouse gas is and how they are produced as well as highlighting ways we can improve our carbon footprint by cycling, scooting, skating to school, etc instead of driving. I found this video to be very engaging for students before they can investigate themselves using Teal tool. It definitely is a tool I feel would be beneficial in the classroom to demonstrate greenhouse gases. It also shows children the effects of greenhouse gases on our planet and how we can improve our carbon footprint. It provides students with opportunities to explore how changes in greenhouse gas emissions can influence future global temperatures. This encourages children to think critically about the impact of human actions on climate change and what we can do in school and at home to slow down climate change, e.g, recyling, walk or cycle to school, car pooling, etc
Hi Fionnuala, I really liked your idea of incorporating digital technolgies such as online weather forcasts and comparing data from different regions. I love the idea of children designing their own weather instruments such as a rain gauge and anemometer. I think it would be very interesting to see what they come with.
I found Liston’s article on STEM very interesting and beneficial. Last year, I aimed to do a STEM activity with my class each week. e.g, give them a sheet of paper, prittstick and a scissors and allow them to work in groups to build the longest paper chain. We would then measure the results at the end . I find STEM challenges very rewarding and it is great to see how students work together to find solutions and different ways of solving problems.
I personally enjoyed the ESA weather and climate resource and found it to be very user friendly and providing practical lessons on weather and climate that can be adapted to suit any year group. I will definitely use this with my class in the upcoming school year. In Activity 1, I would firstly teach the children the difference between weather and climate. I would provide opportunities for children to work togrther to share their ideas and views on what is weather v climate. I found activity 2 a bit more difficult for the younger classes but provides a great way for pupils to observe, log and analyse real weather patterns. As mentioned earlier in the module, children could work with a partner or in a small group to design and create their own rain gauge and/or anemometer. Activity 2 provides children with opportunities to go outside and measure the air temperature over a certain period and then record their information on a graph and answer various questions based on their findings.