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A local natural heritage site which is close to my school is Cabragh Wetlands outside Thurles in Co. Tipperary. To get my fifth class pupils involved in a creative project based around Cabragh Wetlands, I’d start by bringing the wetlands to life for them – either through a class trip or by using videos, photos and sound clips in the classroom. We’d talk about the animals, plants and atmosphere of the place, and let them explore it through sketching, note-taking or even recording sounds. Back at school, they could use what they discovered to create artwork using paint, collage or natural materials. In music, we’d experiment with instruments to recreate the sounds of the wetlands maybe even write a fun class song or rhythm piece inspired by birds, frogs or the wind. For drama, they could work in groups to write short scenes or monologues from the point of view of a wetland creature, bringing in themes like teamwork, survival or looking after nature. In creative writing, we’d explore poems, diary entries or short stories inspired by their visit or the creatures they imagined. To wrap it all up, we’d put together a class showcase where they can share their artwork, perform their drama and music, and read their writing celebrating both their creativity and everything they’ve learned about the wetlands.
Hi Michelle,
I love your idea of bringing the children to look at the local bridge in your area. What a lovely way of bringing the lesson to life for them.
To do a fun and hands on activity using the bridge at Birr Castle as inspiration to make bridges with the class I would do the following. We’d start by looking at photos or videos of the real bridge, chatting about what makes suspension bridges special—like their long span, strong cables, and the way they distribute weight. Students would work in small groups to sketch out a blueprint of their bridge, deciding on the materials they’ll use (like string for cables and lolly sticks or straws for the deck and towers). They’d have to measure everything carefully, working to a scale and using maths skills like length, area, and symmetry in their designs. Once built, we’d test how much weight each bridge can hold, record the results, and talk about which ones were the most efficient or strongest. Throughout the challenge, we’d naturally weave in maths by estimating, measuring, collecting data, and even creating simple graphs or charts to compare outcomes. It’s a great way to get students thinking like engineers while applying real-world maths in a creative and engaging way.
Hi Colm,
I like the idea of using the seek or picture this app for plant identification. This is something I will definitely use this year.
Outline how you would use some of the course resources to conduct a seasonal biodiversity project to run throughout the school year. What resources and recording sheets would you need? How often would you bring learning outdoors? How would you integrate other subject areas?
I would use many of the resources outlined in this module, especially the worksheets from carlowsports.ie e.g. the mini-beast hunt etc. I would make the project seasonal based. From Autumn the students could observe the change of colour in the leaves on the trees. They could collect and press leaves and keep a species log book. In Winter they could observe the changes once again to the trees- sketch pictures of the trees in the log books and make not of the changes since the last time they were observed in Autumn. Look for animal tracks in mud/snow etc. Track weather etc. In Spring they could once again observe the changes in the trees compared to the last two observations. Keeping note of changes in their log books. Look for minibeast pollinators etc. To link in with home you could ask the children to go on biodiversity walks in their back garden if they have one or local park with the supervision of an adult and ask them to take pictures of biodiversity and share them with the class biodiversity padlet. Each class could go out for an official biodiversity walk each term to tie in the seasonal approach. I think art would be an excellent subject to integrate with this along with literacy.
Hi David,
I really like the idea of a treasure hunt to engage the children in maps. This is something I might try this year.
Task 1: Hands on Mapping activity
I would start the lesson by showing the class examples of a variety of maps on the IWB. I would look for some prior knowledge by asking simple questions such as ‘What do we use maps for?’. I would then model how to draw a map on the Interactive Whiteboard. I would draw a map of the school playground. I would explain the idea of Scale to the class.
I would then ask the class to draw a map of their bedroom/favourite room in their house. I would ask the students to share their maps with the class using the ladybug projector and explain their map to their classmates.
Google maps is a tool I use a lot in my SESE lessons. I would ask the class to look up a map of somewhere that interests them on their ipads e.g. they could look up their house, the school etc.
Hi Andrea,
This sounds like a great lesson for Senior Infants. I especially like the cups and strings for telephones activity encouraging learning through play, which is so important.
From reading Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths by Liston (2018), I’ve been encouraged to think about what STEM education actually looks like in my classroom—and more importantly, how I can improve it.
In the past I approached STEM as a set of individual subjects to be covered within their own curriculum areas: science lessons were science lessons, technology was often limited to using iPads or coding apps, and maths was completely separate. But Liston’s work has encouraged me to think differently—about integration and purpose.
Recently I’ve tried to move from delivering content to designing experiences. STEM in my classroom now often begins with a question or a problem not necessarily from the curriculum, but from the world around us. For instance, after a storm or weather warning , students investigated how storms form and what types there are, design a storm proof structure etc. That unit wasn’t what I had planned for that week but it was appropriate for what was going on in the world around us at the time which makes the lesson more real for the students. The children could connect to it and it was engaging something Liston argues is at the heart of meaningful STEM education.
