[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi

My name is Helen O Sullivan and I am a Senior Infant teacher .I love every minute of teaching the seniors >I love their curious minds and their total lack of filter !!!

My amazing space fact :Myself and the 1st  landing on the moon are the same age !!!!

[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi Niamh

Definitely think and agree with you about jobs at the start of the year. Bin monitors/light monitors /Recycling bins monitors has made a huge difference to our school.

If today’s children continue with this level of awareness well the the future is very bright indeed.

[Helen O Sullivan]

Sustainability in all areas is so important. It’s how we will gift our environment onto the next generation. Thankfully I can see it being practised in many ways in my local community and where I teach.

Locally we have a tidy towns group a fabulous and a nature group. We have a guy who gives lectures on the importance of bees and these are so informative when he is around locally. He goes into the local little primary school. By the time my children were in 6th class they had a wealth of knowledge about wildlife, conservation and sustainability Our little village always looks so beautiful. Teenagers and children are always involved in the summer works around the village.

Then where I teach we have the Green School Committee which are very successful in communicating the sustainability message throughout the school. The children on the committee are taken from every class from juniors to 6th class. With the help of the caretaker we have a beautiful sensory garden and vegetable garden.

Recycling is the biggest and most important aspect of the Green school work in the school. Regardless of the Green Schools theme recycling is always the number one interest in the school. Battery recycling is also a priority.

The future, going forward, is bright for the children in our school.

[Helen O Sullivan]

This is a great link to have ,

Thank you for this.

[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi

I very much agree that by using the fabulous video clips a conversation can be started re listing jobs associated with aquaculture.
Even in the very junior classes this would start something that could be built on later on in the more senior classes .

[Helen O Sullivan]

Lesson: The nutrition of mussels

The Arc lessons are fabulous. I particularly loved the Nutrition of Sea food. So much beautiful and very useful information here. So much that lends itself to cross curricular links starting with nutrition. I always alike the food we put in tur bodies to the type of fuel we put into our cars. Bad fuel and that car with splutter, stop and cause engine damage. This is the same as our bodies. Good information about food will help the body to keep going and use its energy in the correct way.

I would love to start with the information about the intertides and how mussels and oysters are found near the top as their hard shells can help them survive when they are out of water during low tides. I found this fascinating especially the fact that they can store seawater in their shells during this time. It would be so interesting for the children to explore this. It would really spark their interest to learn more about this.

Hopefully this would stem their interests (if you pardon the pun) in stem activities .This will lead on to exploration in Geography re locations on the coastlines/calculating high and low tides/effects of gulf stream winds etc.

The science factor of this can be explored through the effects of eating mussels and the body benefitting from this through healthy red blood cells and transport of oxygen through the body

The healthy benefits from eating salmon and omega 3 and vitamins will all tie in .

Hstory :Well the salmon of knowledge story is where it all begins !!

 

So much exploration can take place from this which should lead to exploration of stem in a very practical way.

Rather than STEM activities being an isolated entity I think when discussing the SSE process to include these activities through the subject being explored. This way STEM is seen as being interrelated throughout the primary school curriculum and the children will benefit more from this

 

[Helen O Sullivan]

It must have been really inteersting to have known about mussel farming growing up .

I knew nothing about aquaculture !!!

I didnt taste a mussle til I was well into my 20’s (many moons

ago !!!).

Its good that the younger generation are much more aware of this .

[Helen O Sullivan]

First of all, I really enjoyed this module. The content was so interesting, the video clips were informative and beautiful to watch.

I am all the better for doing it and learnt so much

Location

Aquaculture takes place mainly on the western seaboard, on the Atlantic coastline in bays and inlets as well as on the shoreline.

Like the fishing industry aquaculture supports local coastal communities directly and indirectly.

Muscle, oyster and salmon farming are the main sources of aquaculture in Ireland. This impacts very positively on the socio economic welfare of the coastal community. First and foremost, it provides yearlong employment which will provide regular income and thus encourage the area from dying out.

This is hugely important.

Also these areas will attract people with an interest in the Arts to settle here as it will greatly inspire artistic works in Music/Art and Drama

You now have a rich tapestry of people here providing employment and the Arts thus attracting tourists to the area

So from a socio-economic point of view it will help a community, which might otherwise die away, to thrive.

So directly through employment and indirectly through the Arts etc.  aquaculture helps the community to thrive

[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi Robert

For sure the cinememtic experience is spectatular and will for sure enthrall the children

It is indeed spectatular and speaks for itself !.

[Helen O Sullivan]

I am so delighted with myself for choosing this course. It is so interesting, beyond interesting even, that I am watching the video clips over and over again. I had no idea so much material was available online. I know the children will be enthralled by it all.

The children will benefit so much from the educational and nutritional benefit of the content. The historical aspect will interest them very much. Cross curricular links are so easy to match up such is the variety in the content. Most important I think will be the nutritional aspect. This will have the largest impact. For an island population we don’t teach enough about the benefits of fish.

The Arc is the tool which I want to use. I was total enthralled with this and without doubt the children will love it. The non-classroom aspect of the set up will immediately engage them. I have already signed up for it and so look forward to whenever we are lucky enough to get a visit.

The Taste the Atlantic model a Seafood Journey is a great way to introduce the joys of fish in a gradual way through salmon, mussels and oysters. I’m glad it has just focussed on these four fish types so that it won’t overwhelm the children …or myself!!!

The abalone is a new one for me. As well as the joys of fish they will also be able to trace the Wild Atlantic Way. Being able to emerge themselves in tracing the source of these fish will be so interesting.

I very much look forward to using the material and introducing this to the school next term.

[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi

My goodness there are some fabulous ideas here .I will certainly be using this during Science week .

[Helen O Sullivan]

Activity: Rockets

I love the idea of rockets. I think this is something that all children are fascinated by.

Introduction

Sing: We are Going to the Moon ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEHBrmZxAf8

I would show the children real videos of rockets being launched into space. As young as they are this will really appeal to them and spark interest.

I have often shown children the Chris Hadfield videos and they are intrigued by the everyday ordinary things which he does

Hands on Activity; make our own balloon rocket.

 

 

The Process
Supplies
Balloon ,straw,string,tape,2 chairs
Step 1
Tie one end of string to the one chair which will be about 10 fee from the other chair
Step 2
Thread the string through the straw and place two pieces of tape near the middle of the straw.
Step 3
Tie the loose end of the string to the other chair and make sure the string is tight
Step 4
Blow up below .Hold the end so air can’t escape .Use the two pieces of take to secure the balloon to the straw.
Pause
To reflect and predict what might happen
Step 5
Move the straw and balloon to one end of the string ….then let go of balloon and watch what happens !!
Step 6
The children will love explaining in their own words what has just happened

Consolidation and follow up activity

Using a simple worksheet below the children can record what just happened. We can write and what we needed.

Then we can draw steps of the process and talk to each other what this was all about!

 

Balloon Rocket
What I needed
Name
Draw

First

Then

Then

Then

Last

To finish

We could sing song

We are Going to the Moon

[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi

I really enjoyed reading this post, especially re the circle and having  clothes in the centre which the children use to dress up in for different times of the year.

This would be such a fun activity for them.

[Helen O Sullivan]

I very much enjoyed exploring the stellarium web. The children would really love looking at this.

While it is advanced for them they would certainly enjoy it.

They would be amazed by it. It links to the phasing of the moon and this is something that they can see clearly in the sky themselves. It would teach them so much about natural nature. The night sky and stars are fascinating and this website would nurture that innate interest we all have in the skies.

Follow up activities would be amazing. imagine how wonderful it would be for the children to draw the phases of the moon as they occur on a sheet of paper divided into sections. I think it is something they would remember for life.

Next year’s class will have a child from Australia. It will be really interesting for her to see what the moon will be like there.

This will all link to science. Gravity in previous module can be explored by looking at Australia on the globe and wondering why we don’t fall off!

This was the best module and website I have ever covered. It was so interesting!

 

[Helen O Sullivan]

Hi Sinead

I love these alien activities especially the flying aliens using the balloons!

The Grow your Own Alien is a fabulous activity. It will lead to lots of shrieks and excitement. This is an activity that they will remember forever!

 

[Author]

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