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Hi Catherine
Thank you for this great list and the link for creating a song! I love this idea, can’t wait to use it to enhance all my lesson plans from this course, thank you for sharing!
In implementing the “Design Your Own Dark Sky Place” project in my classroom, I would start by introducing the concept of dark skies and light pollution. We’d have an engaging discussion about the importance of dark skies for both stargazing and environmental protection. I’d share pictures of Ireland’s dark sky parks and invite students to share their thoughts on the value of preserving the night sky. Then, the children will be split into groups, with each student representing a different stakeholder – local artists, historians, and sports fans. Each group will brainstorm their stakeholder’s unique needs and concerns regarding the creation of a dark sky site on our school pitch.
To promote interdisciplinary learning, each group will then dive into specific activities. The artists will sketch proposed layouts and illustrate what the night sky might look like without light pollution. Our historians will research and present on how ancient civilizations viewed the night sky, creating a timeline of astronomical discoveries, linking it to our history lessons. Meanwhile, the sports enthusiasts will propose safe, low-impact lighting options for night time sports activities, integrating physical education by ensuring safety and minimal disruption to the dark sky. New groups would then be formed with a least 1 student from each stakeholder group, creating mixed groups with each student able to bring insight from their stakeholder group. These new groups will role play scenes to highlight their learning and the importance of our dark sky space.
We’ll conclude the project with the groups working on a presentation where they will share their findings, sketches, and proposals with the class.Hi Orla
These are great ideas, I also thought of the difficulty of conducting some evening events but you have listed great examples to carry these out so thank you! I love the idea of a Bioblitz and a child-run bug hotel, I will definitely use them with my class next year thank you!
To engage students in exploring biodiversity in Wicklow and the impacts of light pollution, I would begin with a trip to the local forest which is walking distance from the school. Before the trip we would have a discussion about the wildlife we might see there and ones we should see but might not anymore, and the reasons for this. We would catalogue various plants, animals, and insects, noting their roles in the ecosystem. Back in the classroom, students would research how artificial light disrupts nocturnal wildlife, such as altering feeding patterns of bats and insects or confusing migratory birds. This could also be linked to SPHE and wellbeing lessons on sleep and reference the effect of blue light from screens on humans at night. The pupils could conduct night-time observations to witness these effects first hand, using sites such as dark skies meter and loss of the night. The students could then develop and present solutions to help light pollution, such as promoting better lighting practices in our school community.
Hi Meadhbh
I like the idea of discussing what the night sky should look like using stellarium as pupils might not have considered this before. I also love your idea of making recordings from each pupil as it can highlight any differences big or small within the local area and could tie into other lessons about rural v urban living.
Light pollution in Wicklow, is increasingly affecting the ability to observe the night sky and disrupting local wildlife. The problem has gotten worse over the years due to continued building and population growth in the area. To engage students in exploring this issue, I would start with an introductory discussion about light pollution eliciting what has changed in the area to increase light pollution and the benefits to reducing light pollution. I would use the apps dark skies meter and loss of the night to record light pollution in the area. We would compare the data to other more rural areas of Ireland and then Europe. The students would then research the impact of light pollution on both astronomy and the local environment. This lesson could lead to letter writing to local building companies to advocate for better lighting practices in our community, such as using shielded fixtures and reducing unnecessary lighting.
Hi Lousie
I really like your idea of creating project work to enable the use of stellarium at home and then using Google Classroom, it nicely creates an ICT portfolio for these topic and is a great school/home link. Thank you! Niamh
Plan to Observe the Moon.
I would start with a KWL about the moon and hope to elicit the different “shapes” the moon can have to lead onto discussing these as the different phases. I would introduce the different vocabulary and features at each moon phase and use PAXI Our Moon Phases and Eclipses video as a resource. I would then have the class work in 4 groups to construct the different moon phases and explain the features. From http://www.timeanddate.com the third quarter would be best to see in the morning of the school day (Sept 10-16 2024). One of these days I would greet the class in the yard as normal but ask is there anything familiar in the sky (hoping to elicit the third quarter phase). I would then have a worksheet for the class to draw and describe the features to enable the observation. I would finish the lesson with a transition movement game to act out the phases of the moon by trying to make the shapes with their bodies.
Hi Marie
I really liked your lesson idea particularly linking history and art to the sundial creations. I love the idea of other classes visiting the sundial and could even have the class do little presentations to other classes.
Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
I would start with a discussion about the sun movements, and what the students know about day/night and the suns movements, as well as the suns relationship to shadows. I would then explain and assign different coloured chalk for different times of the day (e.g., red for 9 am, blue for 12 noon, and green for 2:30 pm). The students would predict what they think will happen, how will the yard look by 2:30pm etc.
The class will then go outside to a spacious, sunny area and mark their standing spots. At 9 am, have students pair up and trace each other’s shadows with red chalk, noting the time next to the tracing. Repeat this process at 12 noon with blue chalk and at 2:30 pm with green chalk. The students could take a photo using their Chrombooks to document each shadow for future display and analysis about the lesson. After the final tracing, the students will discuss and compare their lengths and directions, helping students understand the sun’s movement. The lesson could be integrated into maths with measuring the shadows or literacy with creative shadow stories.
