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Hi deirdre
One thing I really like about your approach is the idea of taking pupils on a “safari” around the school grounds. It’s such an engaging and hands-on way to connect them with their immediate natural environment, making learning feel like an adventure. The inclusion of tools like magnifying glasses and insect viewers helps foster curiosity and observation skills in a really tangible way.
To engage my infants in exploring the local biodiversity, I would focus on sensory-rich, age-appropriate activities in natural settings. Nature walks in local parks or gardens, where the children can see colorful plants, hear birdsong, and touch leaves or soil, encourage curiosity and connection with the environment. Simple picture books featuring local animals and plants, like those mentioned in this module, could reinforce these experiences for my class.
Light pollution can significantly impact local biodiversity. It disrupts the natural behaviors of nocturnal animals, such as bats and insects, interfering with feeding, mating, and navigation. Plants can also be affected, with artificial lighting altering growth cycles and pollination. This disruption reduces biodiversity and weakens ecosystems. By helping my infants connect with nature early on, it plants the seeds of environmental stewardship, encouraging awareness and care for the ecosystems around them—including the importance of protecting dark skies for wildlife.
Hi Susie
I really like how your plan combines creativity with real-world issues like light pollution and wildlife protection. The idea of giving students different stakeholder roles sounds fantastic—it encourages teamwork while making the lesson feel interactive and meaningful. I also like how you link the project to local places like Phoenix Park, making the learning personal and relevant.
Songs like A Sky Full of Stars and Talking to the Moon connect us to the night sky. The song A Sky Full of Stars connects us to the night sky by capturing its beauty, mystery, and emotional pull. Its lyrics and uplifting melody reflect the wonder we feel when we look up at the stars. Just like the sky, the song feels vast and full of hope, reminding us that even in darkness, there’s light—and that we’re all connected under the same stars.
Talking to the Moon evokes the night sky through its imagery of solitude, longing, and emotional connection beneath a quiet, moonlit sky.
As mentioned in this module, Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night also connects us to the night sky by capturing its emotional depth and cosmic mystery. The swirling stars and luminous moon evoke a sense of wonder, reminding us of our smallness in the vast universe.Hi nicole
I really like the ideas that you have presented here. I particularly like the brainstorming activity at the end of the lesson. This gives the children time to reflect on how their actions are contributing to light pollution, therefore impacting their local environment.
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Light pollution is increasingly affecting my local area, washing out the natural darkness of the night sky. Once-visible stars have faded, replaced by the constant glare of streetlights, car headlights, and illuminated buildings. This artificial brightness not only disrupts the natural sleep cycles of residents but also confuses wildlife, such as birds and insects, that rely on darkness for navigation and survival. The loss of our night sky means fewer opportunities to connect with nature and experience the quiet wonder of the stars.
To engage infants in exploring this concept, I would focus on sensory-rich experiences. Using soft lighting and contrast play, I’d help them explore the difference between light and dark through shadow play and reflective objects. Gentle songs about the moon and stars, nighttime storybooks, and walks at dusk would begin to build awareness of natural rhythms. These early experiences lay the foundation for a lifelong connection to the natural world.Hi Dennis
I think that this is great example of effective use of chat GPT in lessons. I also like the integration of different subjects within the lesson!
Activity 4: Star constellations
Engage: I would begin the lesson in a dim room with a flashlight showing constellations. I would sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” with my infants and encourage them to look and point.
Explore: I would provide black paper and white/yellow paint. I would guide my infants in finger-dabbing dots (stars).
Investigate: The children would then investigate the different star constellations they could make using wool to join each of their dots (stars) together
Interpreting data/results: The children will share all of the constellations they made with the class- It looks like …. (an animal /person/ thing).
Applying learning: I would create felt boards with pre-made constellation shapes. I would allow my infants to explore by sticking and removing stars, connecting them with wool (in groups, adult-assisted)
Task 3
Infants:
To help my infant class observe and record the sun’s position, over several days, I would bring my class outside at two key times: morning, and midday. I would mark a safe observation spot and use a simple sun dial to show shadow changes.
Following this, I would use some storytelling: “Let’s follow Sunny the Sun on its journey!” I would ask the children to notice where Sunny is in the sky and how shadows change. I would then record positions using drawings on the whiteboard. The children would copy my drawing – a sun low on the left in the morning and high at noon,. They would then colour their drawings.
I would engage them with songs about the sun, and use a wall chart to place stickers for each observation time.
Hi Collette
I really like this plan that you have created. It addresses the theme of Space from many different angles and is very engaging for children.
I have used the Aliens in Underpants story as a stimulant in a lesson before and my class really liked it. It really grabbed their attention from the beginning of the science lesson. We then moved onto looking at the absorption of different materials through the inquiry based approach. The children made washing lines with underpants on the washing line. All of the underpants had to be the same size to make it a fair test. They dipped each of the underpants in water for 2 seconds and observed how long it took for the water to stop dripping from each of the underpants. From this, they then identified which material is best for making underpants. This lesson turned out to be a huge success in my classroom.
I really like the rocket mice activity outlined in this module. Making rockets in infants has always been something I have avoided due to uncertainty about how to do it safely and productively. I think it would be a great addition to my Aistear stations during Science week in future.
Hi Suzy
This sounds like a lovely lesson. I like how you have incorporated different strands from different curricular areas in one lesson, particularly music and art. This integration would enable the lesson to be very engaging for the children that you are teaching.
An activity that I would like to use in my classroom would be the ESERO5 activity- Where do you live? Before engaging the children in my classroom in this activity I think it would be important for me to develop the children’s descriptive language, considering i teach infants. In order to do this I could use a storybook. A storybook that I could use could be ‘If I built a house’ by Chris Van Dusen. Discussion about this book could stimulate the children’s thinking about the different features of their house and therefore develop their descriptive language in discussing their homes. Following dicussion about their homes the children would use playdough to build their home. They would then progress onto making a village and having discussions about what a village is and what makes a village. I believe that the children in my classroom would love this lesson as they love storybooks and playdough.
