[Barbara Browne]

Hi Breege, I think this would be a really interesting research question to investigate and very relevant to our changing climate. It’s also giving the children ownership of things they can do to protect and improve the environment in the area where they live.

[Barbara Browne]

 

I found the Climate Detective Framework an excellent resource as it allows the children to work as scientists investigating real life problems. It is important that the research question connects with children’s everyday lives and makes climate change more real.
First, I would brainstorm with the class their concerns in general around climate change. Then we would narrow it down to our local community and our concerns locally. Is there anything we could investigate in relation to climate change that concerns our local area?
Many of our students live near the River Shannon and they have witnessed flooding over the last few years. They know people who have been personally effected by flooding so I think a really relevant research to investigate would be:
Is the flooding of the river Shannon in recent years a result of Climate Change?

As a trigger and to engage the children in the activity, we would look at video clips and paper cuttings from the time. Getting the children to interview people that they know who were affected by the flooding would be a nice activity to engage in. Investigating data available to us to see how much the river has risen over the last few years and discussing possible reasons why. Through group work and research the children would come up with possible solutions and ways that we as a community can slow the effects of climate change down.
Presenting our findings to the wider school community would be a great opportunity to spread our message and get the whole community working together.

[Barbara Browne]

Hi Shannon, I really like your idea of keeping a science journal that they can use to reflect back on their own learning. It is a great resource for us teachers also as it gives us an insight into their understanding and it can be a form of pupil self assessment.

[Barbara Browne]

I am really looking forward to using the resource Nose High up in the Sky with the pupils in my class. I found the lessons to be engaging and interactive. The activities encouraged observation, curiosity, and discussion about the environment while helping children develop an awareness of the natural world around them. The resource uses simple language, colourful illustrations, and practical tasks that make learning enjoyable and accessible for young learners.
Most children are fascinated by astronauts and Space .I really like the photo resources and allow opportunities for talk and discussion. They are an excellent resource to learn about different viewpoints from which you can observe an object. This activity can also lead to a discussion on how images from Space can give us a better understanding of our planet. The children would be fascinated by the photos taken by different astronauts on board the ISS. I think the photos used in this activity will give the children a new perspective on our planet and how small our country is in our planet

[Barbara Browne]

Hi Aisling I really like the idea of using short clips of the video “Home” as a stimulus or trigger to promote talk and discussion around climate change. I also think its a great idea to focus on the positive actions they can do to help their local environment.

[Barbara Browne]

I really enjoyed this module and there are lots of video resources to use in the classroom to promote talk and discussion about climate change and our carbon footprint.
Greta Thunberg is a name that is most familiar to children when they think of climate change and I would definitely use the Ted Talk to promote discussion in the classroom about climate change. Hearing it from a young person would have a bigger impact on the children. It would open up the discussion around what can we do to help our world, looking at small changes we can make in our home lives and in our school lives to create positive changes to improve our environment.
I really found “Home” very  insightful and it really got me thinking about the effects of industry on our environment. It was really effective in delivering the message about climate change. In the classroom I would use various clips of this film to promote talk and discussion

[Barbara Browne]

Hi Laura, as a teacher in the Junior classes, I too agree that it is so important to make the content as simple as possible and to break it down into small manageable tasks that they can do daily at home and at school to look after the environment.

[Barbara Browne]

As a Junior teacher, I loved the Paxi video and I felt it explained Climate Change so well. I feel that there is great anxiety with children around the terms Global Warming, Climate change. They are hearing these terms all the time on the news, social media and the video provides an opportunity for talk and discussion and assess their understanding on the topic.
There are great opportunities for integration in this lesson, development of oral language, maths and I would use it in SESE under the theme of “Weather” and get the children “working like a scientist”. Scientists make observations and predictions. We could work as Climate Reporters. How do you think scientists predict the world climate? What can we do to lessen the impact of climate change? There are endless opportunities for the development of science skills such as observing, investigating, predicting and problem solving.
I found the Teal Tool really interesting but would be suitable for an older class. I would do it as a whole class activity. It would provide lots of opportunities for talk and discussion

[Barbara Browne]

Hi David, as a teacher of Junior Infants I really like the idea of using weather symbols and photographs as they are developing their early literacy skills and I also agree that using picture books, rhymes and songs is a great way to make it more engaging for the junior classes.

 

[Barbara Browne]

Liston’s article highlights the importance of an integrated approach to STEM and it also highlights as a teacher to facilitate inquiry based and problem solving activities in our lessons that promote creativity, collaboration and critical thinking.
I found the ESA activities excellent and they provide great opportunities for integration with other subject areas and allow for the development of key science skills, observing, predicting and investigating. These activities lend themselves to development of language and children are given opportunities to develop this language in context by engaging in the activities. Other areas for integration include drama-role play as a weather reporter, maths-data gathering, oral language. There are also lots of opportunities to engage in active methodologies such as group work, problem solving and investigating. The resources and videos allow for this development of language and give opportunities for the children to express themselves and use weather and climate language appropriately. The distinction between weather and climate is one that children in my experience are not aware of and this activity is a great one to distinguish between the two. The worksheet can be used to consolidate the children’s learning

[Barbara Browne]

I really like the idea of a whole school exhibition. It is a great way for the children to celebrate their work and share their learning.

[Barbara Browne]

Describe how you would involve your pupils in an art, music drama or creative writing project based around your local natural or scientific heritage

About 20 minutes from my school, we are very lucky to have a nature reserve that we can visit regularly. It is home to many wildlife species and there is a boardwalk with information points along the way. Depending on what time of the year you visit, you will see different birds and wildlife. Children have the opportunity to watch newts, dragonflies, butterflies and caterpillars. It is an opportunity to use all their senses and listen to the sounds all around them.

We have recently went on a sound walk on the trail. The children have a recording sheet and tick the box of the sounds that they heard. It also lends itself to opportunities to integrate art into our walk also. The children bring a clip board, pencil and paper and sketch something that is of interest to them in the park..a flower, tree or insect and they find out and research all about it and present their findings to the class later in school.

[Barbara Browne]

Hi Anna, I like how you used the story of “The little Rd Hen” as a trigger to explore the wind turbines and also integrating the lesson into a design and make activity.

[Barbara Browne]

Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne or a bridge in your local area as inspiration, describe how you would plan a class or whole school challenge to design and make a bridge. How would you integrate mathematical thinking and incorporate the maths skills appropriate to your class level

As an infants teacher, I would use a story “The three Billy Goats Gruff” as a trigger and images of different types of bridges. I would then ask questions to assess their knowledge of bridges: What is a bridge? Is there a bridge near our school? What is it used for? What shape is the bridge? Can you show me what a bridge looks like with your partner?
I would then tell the children that we are going to make a bridge today. I will give the children a scenario about animals needing to cross the bridge and that we are going to build a bridge that will hold 3 animals.
I will then let them explore the materials that we are going to use to make our bridge..lollipop sticks, toilet roll holders, tape, string. They decorate their resources any way they want to.
With their partner, they plan their bridge by drawing a picture of what it will look like. They then make their bridge and test if their bridge can hold 3 animals. They then reflect on their design. Do they need more sticks? How will you use the toilet rolls?
This is a great activity for promoting problem solving, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. There are lot of opportunities for integration, oral language, maths(counting, shape and space) and art.

[Barbara Browne]

As an infants teacher, I really like the idea of getting the children out once a month with their magnifying glasses and record what they see. Its a great way to observe seasonal changes. I also really think its a good idea to incorporate some cpd in the area of biodiversity as a whole staff.

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