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Connecting with the night sky through art, music, and poetry is an ideal way to integrate learning. It is an important prompt for the children to interest them in the topic of space, the night sky etc. For Art integration I would use “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh. It is an iconic painting of the night sky, filled with swirling stars and emotion. The children could then compare the sky as represented in Edvard Munch’s painting, “The Scream”.
I have used the picture book “Mae Among the Stars” by Mae Jemison when previously teaching a unit on women in History. This would be a lovely addition to a space lesson, it recounts Mae’s determination to realise her dream of seeing Earth from Space.
There are many lovely and engaging options for music which connect us to the night sky.
“Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay. “Starman” by David Bowie. “Counting stars” by One Republic.What a great start to learning about biodiversity already in your school! The children are so fortunate to have the bat boxes already in situ.
2. How you would incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies into school biodiversity plans
To help protect nocturnal animals such as bats, owls, and moths, we would include their needs in our school’s biodiversity plan. These animals need dark skies to move around, to find food and to stay safe. In class, we’d learn about nocturnal animals through fun videos (RTE clip included in this module), books, pictures and class discussions. We’d talk about how too much light at night can confuse or scare these creatures. In our school garden, we could create a quiet, dark area with plants that attract insects at night. We would avoid putting lights in our school garden and maybe even build bat boxes to give bats a safe place to rest. By learning about nocturnal animals and giving them space to live, we’d be helping all kinds of creatures, not just the ones we see during the day.
A lights off evening at home is a great idea to encourage the children to take the learning from school into a real life context. Also great to inform what they are learning at school.
My school is located in a built up area in the suburbs of Dublin. Light pollution is when too much artificial light brightens the night sky. In Dublin, this means it’s hard to see stars at night because of all the lights from houses, shops, and streetlamps. It can affect us but it can also confuse animals like bats and birds, who rely on darkness to hunt, sleep or find their way. Even plants and insects can be affected by too much light at night.
To help children explore this, I would begin with a simple night sky watching activity. Learners could draw or list what stars or planets they can see from home and compare results. We’d talk about why we can see fewer stars in the city than in the countryside. We could watch a video about animals and light, then make posters or write short letters with ideas on how to reduce light pollution, like using blinds or turning off lights when they are not needed.
Hi Siobhan, I really like the idea of highlighting the influence of light pollution in the immediate environment.
To create an observing plan for autumn I would first begin by learning about the planets that we can see in the sky during autumn evenings. I would use videos, posters, and pictures to discover what the planets look like and when to find them. In autumn the evenings are getting darker and some planets are visible without telescopes. Saturn is visible in the southeast after sunset, it looks like a star but doesn’t twinkle. Jupiter rises in the east later in the evening, it is the largest planet. Mars can sometimes be spotted, it appears low in the sky with a reddish glow. The class will choose one planet to research some facts and draw what the planet looks like. We’ll then make a simple “Planet Spotting Guide. We will then plan an evening to go outside at home to look for these planets – Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. The class will use their guides to try and spot them. The following day, we’ll share what we saw in a classroom discussion.
Hi Alan,
Linking with Newgrange is a great idea. Lots of videos and content showing how the sun moves through the chamber and the change of the seasons.
To help students observe and record the sun’s position, we can plan a simple week-long activity. Each day, students will go outside at three different times—morning, noon, and afternoon—to look at where the sun is in the sky. They will use a compass to find directions like east, south, and west, and draw where they see the sun on a chart or school map. They can also use a stick in the ground to watch how its shadow changes during the day. This helps them see how the sun moves across the sky. Each morning and afternoon, students will also write down where the sun rises and sets. After a few days, they can compare their notes to see patterns in the sun’s path. This simple activity will help the class to better understand how the sun moves and changes position during the day and throughout the week.
My school is located in the Dublin suburb. To involve my class in a creative project based around our natural and scientific heritage, I would focus on the River Liffey which flows through our local area. I would begin with a local nature walk, sketching and photographing wildlife – birds, trees, and the river. We would observe the local flora and fauna using the resources from the course such as the Tree Council of Ireland Tree identification and the Mini Beast Safari and Checklist. In class, they would use these observations to create landscape paintings and mixed-media art focusing on the mini beasts observed on the nature walk. We’d explore the history of the water-powered mills, linking to early science and engineering. In groups, pupils would write short creative stories or plays imagining life in the 18th or 19th century. These stories would be performed using simple props and costumes they help design. For music, we’d compose soundscapes using natural sounds recorded on our walk, integrating rhythm and melody.
Hi Geraldine, great idea to set certain criteria of specific weight or bridge span within the challenge further extending the learning and understanding of challenges engineers face in real life projects.
Using the suspension bridge in Birr Castle Demesne as inspiration, I would plan a class-wide “Bridge Builders Challenge.” Pupils would work in small groups to design and construct model bridges using simple materials like lollipop sticks, string, and cardboard. We would begin with a nature walk or virtual tour of the Birr bridge using Google maps to observe its structure and function. In the classroom, we’d discuss different types of bridges and their features. To integrate maths, pupils would measure materials, estimate lengths, compare weights their bridges can hold, and record results in tables. They’d use skills such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication when calculating totals and averages. Pupils would also explore shape and space by identifying 2D and 3D shapes within bridge designs. Finally, they would present their bridges, explaining the design process and reflecting on what worked well, which encourages communication, problem-solving, and collaboration.