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Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky? For example: Look up President Michael D Higgins’ “Stardust”
This is a fun activity to engage children and jogged my memory of some songs, poems and pieces of art and music I hadn’t thought of in a while.
Songs: Vincent by Don Mc Lean, Pocahontas by Neil Young, A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay, Twinkle Twinkle, Kelly Watch the Stars by Air, Skyfall by Adele, Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra, Mr. Blue Skies by Electric Light Orchestra, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds by The Beatles.
Classical Music: Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy, Nuages by Claude Debussy, The Planets. by Gustav Holst
Poems: Night Sky by Don Bogen, The Plough and the Stars (play), The Nighttime Sky by Walt Whitman
Art: The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, The Great Comet of 1680 over Rotterdam by Lieve Verschuier, Starry Night by Edvard Munch.
I like how you included paintings and photographs as part of this activity. I wasn’t aware of the “Aurora Borealis at Lilliput” photograph. It reminded me of a Neill Young song called Pochahontas that starts with “Aurora Borealis, the icy sky at night…”
Three things I would do to incorporate the needs of nocturnal species, especially those that rely on dark skies are:
1. Plant trees and native
hedgerows for birds and bats
2. Make bat boxes, bird boxes or
solitary bee mounds if possible
3. Make changes to lightingFirstly, I would work with the children to design a biodiversity garden map of our school. We would then identify areas that we could plant native trees and hedgerows to create shelter and habitats for birds and bats. We would identify suitable locations for bat boxes, bird boxes and solitary bee mounds and then I would divide the children into groups and give them a choice of what they’d like to construct. Finally we’d do a lighting audit of the school grounds to see if we could reduce light pollution for nocturnal animals e.g. change the tone of outdoor lights from bright to dim/warmer tones, make sure there are overhead coverings on outdoor lights etc.
An outdoor lighting inspection is a great idea. Also turning off non-essential exterior lights at night will save electricity and fitting security lights with hoods or shields to prevent upward glow will reduce the impact on nocturnal animals and their habitats. Changing bulbs to a warm white or amber colour rather than the sharp blue light would also help to reduce light pollution.
1. Light Pollution in my Local Area
I just moved to a new estate in an urban area and have been reflecting on the different types of light pollution in the town. From this module, I can now break them down into the 4 categories mentioned; glare, sky glow, light trespass and clutter. A new pedestrian bridge has just been built beside a non-pedestrian humpback bridge. Bright lights shine from the pedestrian bridge at night to light the path over the bridge but when motorists are driving over the humpback bridge beside it, the glare from the bright bulbs reduces visibility for drivers. A few residents have complained about the glare to the County Council and proposed that the bulbs be changed to a warmer tone, rather than the blue glare that’s currently in place. It made me consider a light solution for one structure (pedestrian bridge) becomes a problem for another (humpback bridge). Hopefully a compromise can be made so that pedestrians and motorists can travel safely in that area of the town.
You’ve used a range of methodologies in this lesson, starting with and retuning to the KWL chart, as well as including digital skills like using the globe at night database. I like how you can extend the learning to include mathematical skills like creating graphs based on the data gathered through the globe at night database.
Q3 Plan to observe the Moon – which phase of the Moon is best for observing in the morning from school? What dates will that be?
The waning crescent moon is the best phase to observe the moon in the morning. NASA’s Daily Moon Guide could be used as a resource to support the children’s learning.
Observations can take place the week before each new moon.
Possible observation dates from September 2026 are:
6th -10th September, 5th -9th October, 2nd- 8th November and 2nd – 8th December.
1st-2nd February, 2nd-4th March, 1st-3rd April and 1st-3rd May 2027
– Look at the moon between 9.30 and 11 am.
– Draw the shape of the moon in the sky
– Record the time and date of the observation
Children could also make moon recordings at night time, as part of their homework and compare their drawings and observation times with their classmates at school the next day.
Hi Niall,
I love the idea of identifying which planets are expected to be visible in the evening sky depending on the time of year and creating an observation guide to be used at home. Finding opportunities to encourage children to go outside and record the planets they see according to the class guide is a great way to extend their learning.
Hi Claire,
The climate from space app is a great resource to support the children’s learning in this lesson. Combined with the children’s Sun-Earth model, it gives the children a multi-faceted approach to exploring how the Earth’s tilted axis causes seasonal changes according to each hemisphere.
I agree that it would lend itself to further discussions about how plants, animals and weather patterns adapt throughout the year.
Sundial Activity
In preparation for this activity, the children would discuss how people told the time before clocks were invented. We would discuss the direction of the sun as it rises and sets in relation to our school and make predictions about where the shadow would fall on a sundial.
In groups, the children would construct a large sundial. We would then move to the outdoor classroom and make predictions about where the shadow would fall on our sundials, at different intervals throughout the day.
Over the course of a week, we would measure the angle of the shadow on the dials at different times throughout the day and record our findings. We would compare the results over several days and discuss why the shadow changes in length and direction as the Earth rotates.