[Niamh Kenny]

I will be teaching a younger class this year. I have decided to take a proactive approach in looking at what can we do.
Research Question: What can we do in our classroom every day to reduce waste? Often, I find in the younger classes, there can be additional waste sometimes as more worksheets, colouring sheets etc can be required.
I would start with a story to engage the children-The Story of Rubbish. We would begin with a whole class discussion about what we are getting rid of every day. We would partake in a day/week long analysis of our wase as a class, taking note on a designated board when anything is noticed and making use of the investigation plan.
At the end of the analysis, we would discuss what we can do to assist with reducing waster. When doing something similar with a past class, we realised that there was a lot of waste during art and free time, with pages/scraps of paper being discarded. This led to the implementation of a scrap paper box, where early finishers etc. could use the scraps for artwork rather than using new blank pages.
We would implement our changes and engage in analysis over another day/week period. Once completed, we would compare the findings.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Cillian,

This is such an impactful activity. I have done something similar with one of my classes and I found it to be really beneficial in getting the message across.

[Niamh Kenny]

I went through the Nose up in the Sky resources in this activity. I think that using old weather proverbs is a lovely way to start the activity and is very accessible for all children. In conjunction with the resources, I would probably begin this as a whole class discussion and brainstorm. This will allow me to assist with a few of the sayings if needed. It may also be a nice activity to include family members in, maybe asking the children to find out sayings and bring them in for the following day. I did find that some of the wording on this worksheet may be challenging for my younger class so I would adapt that.

Again I think the sensing the weather is a great idea that is very accessible. A walk might be a nice idea to include with this. News 2 day have a nice simple weather segment that would allow the children to compare their findings with, and is very child centric.

As mentioned in previous posts, I think the building your own weather station is an idea that can be easily integrated into the daily routine. It is very accessible for different age groups and can be an enjoyable activity.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Aine, I agree that exploring old weather proverbs is a lovely way to engage children. I think weather superstitions/sayings are something that children find interesting/can relate to. I know having engaged in these discussions that children will often bring sayings that they have heard to it-e.g. their grandparents telling them that cows lying down means rain etc. It brings a bit of fun to the topic.

[Niamh Kenny]

I think this video has great use in providing facts and engaging imagery. However, I do think that some parts present an opportunity to potential present climate change as something that will scare the children. I think that when looking for video resources it might be better to look for something geared towards children. BBC earth and BBC teach provide excellent videos that deal with these issues.
Additionally, having worked in rural schools with children who are farming mad (farming featured in the video), I think we have to be careful with identifying sources of blame for climate change. It is really important to have a positive ‘we can do it’ attitude for empowering children to engage with and identify how they can have a part in working against climate change.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Aine,

I think that is such an important point, it is vital to recognise that climate change is due to interlinking features and not isolated incidents or activities. I agree that I would probably make use of the video for the facts as some parts might be too impactful for the children.

[Niamh Kenny]

I thought the video was very helpful in explaining the greenhouse effect in a way that would be accessible for a variety of age groups. As I mentioned in my last post, I have found that the younger classes often require a visual/concrete resource for understanding topics that are not in front of them. The tool for predicting future temperatures could also be helpful in this regard.I have also found that some children can find this topic a little scary and I think the video deals with it in an informative and positive way. The consolidation at the end was also a feature I thought was very practical. While I think some parts of this activity would be beyond my First Class this coming year, the resources provide opportunity for meaningful discussion and al base of knowledge for project work on what we can do to aid in the fight against climate change.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Grainne,

 

The idea of introducing digital presentations or videos is a great one. I have found students really respond to this in the past and can have a lot of fun with it too.

[Niamh Kenny]

While reading the paper, it is clear that when engaging in STEM it is vital to provide hands on practical activities for the children. This will encourage active learning and allow the children to take responsibility and make actual discoveries.

What I liked about the nose up in the sky resource is that it is something that could easily be integrated into the daily routine of the classroom. The measuring rain, checking the thermometer etc. could be a weekly job role. Integrated with maths through table records, the children will take responsibility for record keeping and analysis. I will be teaching First Class this year and I feel this is something that could be easily adapted to their age group, maybe focusing on one measurement at a time/ getting assistance from older students initially. There is a great opportunity here to integrate learning, perhaps through stories, art etc.
Weather vs climate offers some excellent resources (vidoeos, worksheet templates etc) and plans for all age groups. While some parts of this may be challenging for my younger class (the concept of climate, weather detectives) I feel that I could make use of Pax’s greenhouse effect video for engaging a discussion about climate change. I also found a lot of the videos in the module would be very beneficial in engaging in more in depth discussions about weather. Sometimes, with the younger classes, these discussions can jus be “it is hot/cold/wet today” etc. and not encourage the children to engage in active discovery.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Edwina,

 

I agree about the videos. Sometimes explaining certain weather concepts can be quite challenging as it deals with things that cannot be seen and are difficult to visualise for younger children. The hands on activities allow the learning to be accessible for all learners.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Fiona,

 

I think the integration of multiple stories is a great idea. It will allow each child to find something to relate to. The art idea of the black sugar paper and chalk is not something that I have come across before and will definitely be using in the future.

[Niamh Kenny]

Module 5: activities for space week that I would plan for my First Class students

Science: Rocket Launch (I would probably use the rocket mouse activity)

English: Reading books such as ‘The Darkest Dark’ by Chris Hadfield and ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers.

Oral Language/Drama: Interviewing an Alien (One of the children in the role as alien and the other in the role of interviewer and recreating the moon landing (What’s in my Head activity)

Drama: Interviewing an astronaut role play

Gaeilge: Learning the vocab for discussing space.

Art: Decorating the rocket mouse launcher

History: The moon landing, learning about it, watching the video, linking in with the Darkest Dark

Maths: Paper rocket challenge (design a paper rocket to see which one will go the furthest-graphing the results using different charts

[Niamh Kenny]

Hi Linda,

Lovely ideas and excellent opportunities for integration. It is a really nice way to link it to Ireland as well and how we react to the colder weather.

[Niamh Kenny]

Hands on Activity: What clothes to wear.

I think this activity would be a great opportunity for integration. In terms of Maths, it would be very help with teaching the seasons and for sorting/analysing (clothes for winter, summer etc. Art would also be a great way to integrate, through designing a coat for Teddy etc. Additionally, it can be linked in with teaching Eadaí vocab in Irish.

I would begin by starting to discuss the weather that day, why you decided to bring/not bring in a coat, hat, gloves, etc. We would then engage in the colouring activity mentioned, getting different groups (the different Seasons) to display and explain their pictures one by one. We would then engage in a whole class discussion about the seasons, what we associate with them and what the weather is like in each.

I really like the sorting dress up box circle activity. I feel this also would have great potential as a station in Aistear, to pack the suitcase/ design Teddy’s outfits for his holidays. Another variation of that is the packing the suitcase drama activity, where I might suggest that we are going on a trip (perhaps using the different school holidays as a basis for different seasons). The children would suggest what will be needed.

I would integrate the weather story as an activity in PE, making it active.

[Niamh Kenny]

That looks great Bridget, I can imagine that the children loved creating those! I really liked the idea of using cutting and sticking for creating the aliens, it is a nice alternative to just drawing them and encourages creativity while working on some fine motor skills.

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