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I really like your research question Susanne. It is very relatable to the children and you have made it very inclusive with the visual (smiley face) scoring idea. It would be a very interesting one to complete.
How can our school make more of it’s own clean energy so we don’t need to use as much fossil fuel electricity?
To encourage my pupils to participate, I would begin by asking where our school’s electricity comes from and link this to what we have learned about fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, and renewable energy. To spark curiosity, we would explore how our solar panels help us make clean energy.
Next, pupils would carry out a hands on energy audit. Using the plug in energy monitor from our local library, they could measure the electricity used by items such as the hot meals oven, interactive whiteboards, and the charging cabinet. We could also examine our electricity bills to gather real Earth observation data about our current energy use. Pupils would compare solar panel output on sunny versus cloudy days to see how much clean energy we already generate.
To explore how we might reduce fossil fuel dependence further, pupils could research new technologies such as MyGug. MyGug is a small anaerobic biodigester that turns food waste into biogas for heating water. Investigating how this system could work in our school would help pupils understand how renewable energy can grow and how their project can make a real difference.Learning more about the Starlink was a big hit in my classroom before as some of the pupils had seen what resembled Santa’s sleigh in the sky – it was a super child-lead learning opportunity for the whole class .
I chose to answer question 1 using the website ‘AboveMe’, it’s a satellite tracking site to see what was passing over my house in Co. Cork.. I was surprised by how many satellites are orbiting our planet every single day. At the time I checked, the site showed several satellites overhead or having recently passed. The International Space Station (ISS) is one of the most notable. A bright pass of the ISS is predicted for Wednesday at 12:35. It carries astronauts and supports hundreds of scientific experiments in microgravity. I have taught lessons on the ISS and the astronauts of the ISS previously and it’s always a hit, especially the videos of the astronauts washing their hair or having lunch etc. on board. It’s one that always captures the children’s imaginations. I’ve used it also as a writing prompt – I.e. write a letter to one of the astronauts on board the ISS.
Shortly after the ISS passing overhead, the Tiangong, the Chinese Space Station, will pass at 13:08. It is also manned and hosts research and experiments on board.
The website also lists the SEASAT-1, an early EO (Earth observation) satellite designed to study the Earth’s oceans using radar. The Sentinel-3 also passes. It monitors sea and land temperatures, and NOAA weather satellites, collect atmospheric data used for weather forecasting.
These satellites all serve different but important roles, all of which would be of great interest to my class.
Shortly after the ISS passing overhead, the Tiangong, the Chinese Space Station, will pass at 13:08. It is also manned and hosts research and experiments on board.
The website also lists the SEASAT-1, an early EO (Earth observation) satellite designed to study the Earth’s oceans using radar. The Sentinel-3 also passes. It monitors sea and land temperatures, and NOAA weather satellites, collect atmospheric data used for weather forecasting.
These satellites all serve different but important roles, all of which would be of great interest to my class.Hi Gemma, I proposed a similar approach. I think focusing on bitesized elements of the HOME video would work best in my classroom too. Also to follow up with simple, relatable activities to link the children’s learning to their own lives.
I enjoyed watching HOME myself however in the classroom setting I would select 2- 5 min clips focusing on specific learning outcomes e.g. Melting ice, deforestation, human impacts etc. I would start by gathering information on what my class know (e.g. KWL chart) and use this as my starting point. I would supplement the HOME video with child-friendly stories related to climate change e.g. Dragons or The Lorax. We could follow up with childf-friendly explanations using the Paxi videos to help explain the science behind some of the references made in the HOME video. Like I mentioned in a previous module, I think child-lead, enquiry-based learning works very well in my classroom so I would like to connect the climate change learning to their world and what peaks their curiosity, what facts would they like to understand better e.g. monitoring classroom energy use, Why do we recycle? – school recycling audits. I would like to empower the children to take action as opposed to worrying the children e.g. Poster competition on simple climate-action plans or campaigns for the school. My main aim would be to help my pupils understand climate change and the impacts on our world while balancing it with empowering them to see themselves as being capable of protecting it into the future.
Hi Claire, having read through your review of Activity 3 I’m thinking I may have been over critical now! I agree, there were some lovely visual learning elements to it but I really think there was so much to the activity you would want to either break it up into multiple lessons or ensure groups are all mixed ability groups and allow plenty of time to support each group in their data interpretation.
Having reviewed Activity 3, including watching the Paxi greenhouse gas video and using the C3S tool, I believe the activity is pitched a little too high for Primary School children, even at the senior end of the school. Concepts such as emission scenarios and examination of historical baselines and projected values would need a lot of teacher support. In my experience, STEM activities are best when the child leads the enquiry or answers a question they themselves have asked – I would expect to have to lead this activity in my classroom. The data interpretation aspect of this activity is Maths heavy – groups would have to be assigned with this in mind. There is also the risk of misunderstanding climate projections, where a child could see the prediction as a fact – this is something that always comes up in my classroom when discussing Climate Change, some become worried and fearful rather than motivated to help change habits.
I think there’s an opportunity to extend the learning for older pupils too by reviewing the predicted weather forecasts v’s their recorded weather events. This can open up the discussion more on predictive science encouraging even more inquiry. There could be a nice link here to gathering old/local weather predictions similar to those gathered here – 22 Weather Proverbs That Are Actually True | The Art of Manliness
Having reviewed Unravelling STEM (Liston 2018), I agree with Liston’s approach to looking beyond the simple acronym to viewing the four subjects, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths as a rich set of practices for the real world. We should use these subjects to promote curiosity both inside and outside the classroom and to help children understand and shape the world. As a teacher I need to challenge the narrow definitions of STEM by supporting richer, inquiry-based approaches across the school day.
The Weather V’s Climate activities are great to really clarify the difference between short-term weather and long-term climate. I thought using the child-friendly ‘birthday weather’ hook was excellent to connect the children’s lived experience to the learning. The activities relating to observing and measuring weather in the ‘Nose up high in the sky’ resource is a lovely helpful guide to setting up our own weather station at school, mirroring real meteorological work. I would lead the school in studying weather and climate by firstly assigning jobs to the various classes e.g. Fifth and Sixth class might be responsible for building a school anemometer, Third and Fourth could build a rain gauge, First and Second could use a simple table or spread sheet on MS Word/Excel to track weather daily throughout the school year to notice the change in weather between the seasons, Juniors and Seniors could prepare a poster for tracking daily weather updates with simple pictures for a short period of time. The senior classes could collate and present their data on the school website getting input and feedback on learning from the younger classes.