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I think the ‘no mow may’ is a great idea and the presentation from the green team is a fabulous way for the wider school community to see the responsibilities that have been taken on by other students to care for the school environment.
What a super way to blend digital learning, mapping skills and biodiversity into one while working towards a greener school environment. I’m sure the children working with real life examples of mapping was very beneficial and they can get a better understanding of how large scale mapping works too.
Map making in the junior classes:
I would firstly introduce the topic of map making by displaying our school on Google Maps on the whiteboard to show how we can see images of an area from above with the satellite view.
I would gauge prior learning with some questions and point out different features and areas on the map while zooming in and out and select a few students to pick out out their building/classroom/playground etc.New/key vocabulary will be introduced.
I will explain that we are going to create our own maps of the school but we need to do a short walk around the school building first to see what we need to include on our map. The children will be broken into groups and given the materials needed before we go for on our walk.
Back in the class a simple class key will be displayed on the board before the groups discuss and plan 3 features they want to include on their map eg school building, playground and car park.
Teacher will walk around and discuss the maps with each group asking questions to gauge understanding before the groups present their maps to the class.I love the idea John has about linking in Ireland’s heritage to lessons about biodiversity and scientific achievements. This is a really effective way to integrate a number of subjects into one or two topics and learning objectives.
STEM by its very nature is multi-faceted and offers so many opportunities for cross-curricular planning stretching beyond just Science, Technology,Engineering and Math. I love how lessons typically allow for critical thinking, problem solving and creativity and individuals can often take their own approach during lessons.I work in an autism class and the hands on approach typically works really well particularly when lessons can be linked to real life experiences for the pupils. There is autonomy within the majority of lessons for children to dictate the direction the lesson goes and often they are collaborative and encourage the children to listen to the other students point of view or rationale which lends itself to peer learning. Because of the array of abilities and interests in my class, I find STEM is the perfect area to incorporate a number of objectives and through themes or topics it allows for accessibility and differentiation.
There are a vast range of skills and competencies within the STEM policy which could be interlinked with my personal teaching strategies.
Problem solving, peer learning, knowledge transfer, collaborative learning and critical thinking are 5 keys areas which could be focused on when looking at the online lessons developed by the ARC.Within the online lessons there is scope for children to explore different areas of aquaculture and relate these to their own lives while having the autonomy to delve further into areas they find more interesting. I teach in an Autism class and often find that some of the children will show great interest in a particular topic or area covered in a lesson and this dictates the direction the lesson goes in and I love the child led aspect to the classroom.
The objectives and content covered within the lessons are cross curricular in nature and this in turn allows teachers to broaden their plans. On a school wide context it can highlight areas of focus within the SSE planning which integrate different subjects and from this SMART objectives can be set.
I also loved the idea of a guest speaker coming in to speak to the children as they are usually the ones who have been in the industry for many years and have so much knowledge to share. I also feel it links into the sentiment of ‘If I can see it, I can be it’ when children meet people or know someone who is involved in something they are interested in.
I absolutely agree with this and building these small habits from such a young age will hopefully stick with pupils as the grow and continue to see how important it is to care for our planet.
My local areas practices sustainability through effective planning and a number of groups working to develop the area but protect the biodiversity and natural habitats.
My class were lucky enough to link in with the local tidy towns committee & men’s shed group this year and one of their initiatives was to incorporate more sustainable practices which were all explained to the class in a child friendly way. They swapped to LED lighting around the town and based off the conversations around this decision the class wanted to have someone take charge of ensuring the lights, sockets and water were switched off when not in use. The tidy towns also worked with the class to plant pollinator plants and fruit trees which was really exciting for the children to see when the wildflowers grew and there were loads of pollinators present.
There are so many opportunities to link the nutrition of seafood to the curriculum and the more engaging the activity the better. Using labels, pictures and interactive content can present children with an opportunity to really look at the variety of seafood and look at different options based on their nutritional value and select which ones they feel would be the most beneficial to be consuming. There are tangible links to SPHE, Well-being and P.E however, with so many of the nutrients attributed to brain development such as omega 3, protein, selenium etc. it can be presented as ‘brain fuel’ in a fun way to the younger classes especially and designing catchy slogans or packaging containing the nutritional information and the benefits of incorporating Irish seafood into our diets could be a lovely art idea. Walking debates or advertisements could be another fun way to highlight the nutritional benefits of including seafood in our diet.
Even just having an awareness of the labels on different packaging can go a long way in educating pupils about sustainability and different factors which might influence our choices when buying produce and when its taught in a fun manner there’s likely to be more gained from the lesson.
I really like the ideas you have for linking it to children’s own experiences and how they have a role to play in aquaculture and sustainability. No doubt there are many children with links to fishing particularly in your area and when it is relatable they seem to have more interest in it.
I found this topic very interesting as I am located along the East Coast in an area where there is significantly less aquaculture particularly with regard to oysters, salmon & muscles. The beach culture seems to be more prevalent in my location however as you move further along the coast and the Geography changes slightly, there is a noticeable shift in how aquaculture ties into the local communities and the different events and initiatives which boost local economies.
Locals always take great pride in the produce within their area and this can be seen in restaurants and cafes where fresh fish and seafood is at the centre of their menu. So many communities utilise aquaculture to bring tourism and local people together to celebrate and showcase the best of Irish seafood. Seafood festivals around the coasts bring thousands of customers and contribute to the economy in many small villages and towns.
There’s such an abundance of opportunities to bring into the classroom with the topic of aquaculture – SESE in particular stands out for me. How aquaculture and the fishing industry has evolved over the years and how there is a big focus on sustainability across the industry today could be a lovely research topic for History. The geography of our coastlines and where the large scale fishing hubs are and how they differ from the small scale fishing villages would also be a nice topic to explore. The infrastructure needed to support the aquaculture industry, safety at sea, healthy eating & the different main types of fish and seafood that is caught would also offer robust learning experiences if children researched these in the class