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Hi Dolores,
Your project idea stood out to me because it focuses on an issue that pupils encounter every day in school. Looking at single-use plastics gives the class a clear and manageable topic to investigate while also encouraging them to think about their own habits and choices.
The project lends itself well to collecting and analysing data. Pupils could design questionnaires, gather responses from the school community, and use digital tools to display and interpret their results. This would create meaningful links across Science, Maths and Digital Technologies.
It would also be interesting to challenge pupils to come up with realistic ways to reduce the school’s reliance on single-use plastics. After introducing these ideas, they could carry out the survey again to see whether attitudes and behaviours have changed.
A further extension could involve exploring the environmental cost of plastic production. Investigating the resources, energy and carbon emissions involved in making plastic packaging would help pupils make stronger connections between everyday actions and their impact on climate change.
Research Question: Does the amount of rainfall in an area affect the growth of our school vegetable garden?
This Climate Detectives project would provide an excellent opportunity for sixth class pupils to collaborate with younger classes. Sixth class pupils would act as mentors, working alongside younger pupils to investigate the research question through hands-on learning.
The project would complement our existing Active School Greens garden initiative. Pupils would compare the growth of vegetables in two contrasting locations: a shaded, drier area and a more exposed, wetter area. They would measure rainfall, observe local weather forecasts, record their findings, and present the data using bar charts and other visual representations.
This investigation offers valuable cross-curricular learning opportunities. In Geography, pupils could explore weather patterns, climate, and the climates of origin of commonly purchased fruits and vegetables. In History, they could examine the Irish Famine and the significance of the potato. In Science, they would investigate plant growth, life cycles, and the conditions needed for healthy plant development. Mathematics would be integrated through measuring rainfall, collecting data, and creating charts to analyse results.
The project would extend beyond the classroom, encouraging whole-school involvement through the school garden. At the end of the growing season, pupils would harvest the produce, prepare it, and share it with the wider school community. This would give them a real sense of achievement as they enjoy food they have grown themselves while developing an understanding of how weather and climate influence food production from seed to harvest.
By using visuals it opens the learning up to more age groups! Often, text heavy subjects tend to go over some of the pupils heads, particularly those who experience literacy difficulties
Module 4 explored in great detail the value of using satellites in space to collect insightful information about our planet. Before completing this module, I primarily associated satellites with capturing images of Earth and outer space. However, I now have a much deeper appreciation of the power of satellite imagery in helping us understand how our world functions and the incredible potential of modern scientific technology to address real-world challenges.
The ESA Higher Up! activity is a resource that I believe would be particularly valuable for use in the senior primary classroom. Through this activity, pupils examine photographs taken from ground level before comparing them with images captured from space. This provides a meaningful opportunity for pupils to explore how different perspectives can enhance our understanding of geographical features and human activity. It also offers an excellent opportunity to integrate ICT into the classroom, developing pupils’ investigative, observational, and problem solving skills. The activity is both engaging and interactive, encouraging pupils to examine the Earth from multiple viewpoints while highlighting the importance of photographic evidence as a valuable learning tool.
From the perspective of a School Self Evaluation (SSE) plan, this approach aligns strongly with the promotion of active learning. Pupils remain active participants in the learning process as they use photographic evidence and technological advancements to investigate, question, and construct their own understanding. By analysing and interpreting satellite images, pupils are encouraged to think critically, make informed observations, and draw their own conclusions. The use of authentic, real world images also provides meaningful context and familiarity, helping to create engaging and relevant learning experiences while fostering inquiry based learning and higher order thinking skills.
Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s documentary HOME provides a powerful insight into the impact of human activity on the environment and highlights the urgent need to address climate change. One of the key messages I took from the film is that every individual has a responsibility to care for the planet. As global citizens, we all share a common duty to protect the Earth and ensure that future generations inherit a healthy and sustainable environment.
The documentary explores a range of environmental issues, including rising sea levels, deforestation, pollution, biodiversity loss, and the overconsumption of natural resources. These issues encourage pupils to reflect on how many aspects of modern life, often taken for granted, can have significant environmental consequences.
To support pupils’ understanding of these concepts, I would incorporate a cross curricular drama activity using the “hot seating” strategy. One pupil would take on the role of a person living 500 years ago, while another would represent a person living in the present day. The class would ask each character questions about their daily lives and the impact their actions have on the environment. This would encourage pupils to compare lifestyles across different time periods and critically evaluate how technological advances and modern conveniences have influenced environmental sustainability.
For example, the pupil representing modern day life could discuss travelling by car, using electrical appliances such as washing machines, purchasing fast fashion, relying on single-use plastics, and the commercial development of land. In contrast, the pupil representing life 500 years ago would describe more sustainable practices, such as walking as the primary mode of transport, washing clothes by hand, reusing materials, and living with far fewer manufactured goods.
This activity would encourage pupils to recognise that many everyday actions contribute to environmental degradation, often without us fully realising it. It would also promote discussion around sustainable alternatives and inspire pupils to consider the positive changes they can make in their own lives. By combining the documentary with an interactive drama strategy, pupils would be actively engaged in developing their understanding of climate change, environmental responsibility, and the importance of making informed choices for a more sustainable future.
Hi Amy,
I really like your idea of integrating the TEAL tool across both Geography and Science. It creates meaningful cross-curricular links and helps pupils see how concepts learned in one subject can be applied in another. Using digital tools in this way makes learning more engaging and authentic, while also encouraging pupils to investigate, explore, and make connections between different areas of the curriculum. I think it’s a great example of how ICT can enhance learning in a purposeful and interactive way.
Activity 3 is an engaging, hands-on activity that promotes active pupil participation and learning. I believe this activity would be particularly suitable for my 4th class, as older primary pupils would benefit most from the level of exploration involved.
In my classroom, I would begin by completing a KWL chart with the class to assess their prior knowledge and identify what they would like to learn. I would then show the Paxi video, allowing time for class discussion and reflection on its content. Following this, I would use our allocated ICT tablet time to enable pupils to work in pairs to explore the Teal simulation tool and investigate its features.
This approach allows pupils to independently explore the resource while also experiencing its application in a meaningful, real world context. Working collaboratively encourages discussion, problem-solving, and peer learning, while also highlighting the value of ICT as a contemporary and purposeful teaching and learning tool within the classroom.
Hi Mollie,
I really enjoyed reading your post, and I completely agree that having a weather station in a school provides fantastic learning opportunities. We have an excellent weather station in my school, and it has been such a valuable resource across a range of subjects.I found it particularly useful when teaching Data, as we tracked the daily temperature throughout the month of January. It was a great way to bring maths to life and show pupils a realworld example of “living maths.” We also have a smart display linked to our solar panels, which has been another excellent teaching tool. It helps make mathematical concepts more meaningful and relevant by connecting them to everyday experiences rather than just textbook examples.
The paper, Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Liston, 2018), highlights the importance of designing STEM lessons that foster collaboration, innovation, inquiry, and communication among pupils. In my classroom, STEM education is grounded in developing these core competencies through hands-on, practical learning experiences, where pupils take an active role in both the thinking and the doing.
Activity 1:
Liston emphasises the value of real-world, contextual learning, enabling pupils to see the relevance of STEM in everyday life. The activity promotes inquiry-based learning, encouraging pupils to investigate, problemsolve, and apply their knowledge across a range of curricular areas.Activity 2:
In my classroom, the Weather Detectives activity similarly places pupils at the centre of the learning process. They use inquiry skills to investigate weather patterns while designing and constructing their own weather instruments. This handson approach encourages collaboration, effective communication, creativity, and innovation as pupils work together to explore scientific concepts and solve authentic problems.Climate Detectives Project: Does Rainfall Affect Our School Garden?
This whole-school project investigates how rainfall impacts plant growth in our Active School Greens Garden. Sixth class pupils will mentor younger classes as they explore two garden areas — one shaded and dry, the other exposed and wetter. Pupils will measure rainfall using rain gauges, monitor weather forecasts, record plant growth, and present their findings using bar charts.
This project offers rich cross-curricular links:
• Geography: local weather, world climates, and plant origins
• Science: plant life cycles and environmental factors
• History: the Irish Famine and food production
• Maths: data collection and graphing
• SPHE & Wellbeing: teamwork, sustainability, and healthy eatingThe project culminates in a harvest, where pupils prepare and taste the food they’ve grown, celebrating their learning. This hands-on, collaborative approach fosters climate awareness, scientific inquiry, and pride in producing local food from seed to plate.
Hi Marie,
You’ve made a great point. Integrating digital tools with SESE and STEM subjects is such an effective way to deepen student engagement. It also offers a valuable opportunity to reinforce their understanding of climate change, building on the key themes we’ve explored in earlier modules. I really appreciate your insight!
The EO Browser is a highly engaging and interactive classroom resource that allows pupils to explore a wide range of satellite imagery. It not only enables them to analyse visual evidence of the world around them, but also introduces the exciting, modern-day role of ICT in supporting scientific understanding and global awareness. In the classroom, I would encourage its use through open, exploratory discussions—prompting pupils to ask questions, draw their own conclusions, and confidently share insights with their peers.By examining live and historical events—such as natural disasters, deforestation, or climate change—pupils develop a deeper, more immediate understanding of the ever-changing world they live in. This resource supports enquiry-based learning, critical thinking, and collaborative exploration. With regular use and strong teacher modelling, pupils would become increasingly confident, independent, and skilled in using this powerful tool. As our school places a strong emphasis on technology, this approach aligns well with both curriculum aims and our wider school development plan.