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What a lovely idea and treat for the children to be brought to the lake a lovely time to spend looking and listening to the sounds of the water/ducks etc., A really well-thought by easy lesson to organise and for children to enjoy and learn at the same time. I really like the thematic plan across the art subjects and what can be done just by using the lake as a stimulus. I also love how you showed the importance of looking after the lake as part of their environment.
To begin the project with the children I will take them for a short nature walk around the local village focusing on the natural trails and historical sites. I will also ask the older children to accompany us as they love to tell the younger children all about their own locality and what they know. Every year a local poet visits our school to focus on poetry so I will ask that they come and teach the children poetry based on their locality. I also love to get the children to gather various leaves on their nature walks to create leaf rubbings as part of an art lesson and create mini clay sculptures as part of the clay stand. Whilst we are on our nature walks at various times of the year I ask the children to use their listening ears to listen for sounds they can hear in their immediate environment. In our aistear area regularly the children can become various animals based on themes each month e.g. the pet shop. These are some ways that we can involve children in the art subjects based on various projects throughout the year involving their own locality.
I really enjoyed Emma’s lesson plan. It is so detailed and easy to follow step-by step which makes it a great resource for other teachers to use in their teaching in the future. I also love how Emma included her resources in this lesson plan. What a great teacher!
Where I teach and live we live walking distance to the main bridge of the town so it is a great opportunity for children to explore this making and building challenge with the children this upcoming year. To elicit prior knowledge from the children I will show them a picture of this bridge and ask various questions about structure, angles, ratios etc., As a class we will take a short walk down to the bridge to observe the making of it allowing the children to see for themselves in real-life how this bridge was made and how we could improve the structure etc., In various groups the children will design and plan how they will create their own bridge. Teacher will give various objects to groups and will facilitate their learning throughout the lesson but allow the children to use their own critical thinking and creativity to come up with their own ideas. They will be reminded of measurements etc., throughout the lesson to incorporate and show how math is needed for constructing. Each bridge will be tested using toys cars and maximum loads (various objects) to see which group have made the best bridges etc., As a class we will discuss why certain bridges are more sturdy etc., what we could’ve done different.
I think it is a great idea for older classes in the school to plant a variety of flowering plants that bloom in different seasons. This will allow children to observe the seasonal changes that happen throughout the year in real-life. It is a great way to release gradual responsibility to the older classes as they will have the opportunity to look after these plants in the school year and come up with various ideas of how to look after these flowers and what we need etc., I think it is a great whole-class project for children which will also lead to green school flags, a great worth while initiative.
As I teach Junior Infants I based my answer on this age group. Children will explore local biodiversity throughout the school year and become ‘young ecologists’. We will explore biodiversity through the varying seasonal changes e.g. in autumn we will explore leaves changing colour, in winter we will explore animals surviving the cold weather, in spring we will focus on new life and in summer the children will focus on farming. These studies will involve the outdoors regularly as we will take part in nature walks, weather observations and local habitat studies etc., Children will have worksheets for each activity that we explore e.g. leaf rubbings/changing colours, counting insects observed etc., This will integrate the subjects of Math (counting), SESE (local studies), visual art (sketching) etc., We will create a noticeboard in our classroom that will be based on the seasonal changes and we will add/take away as we progress throughout the year.
I think this is a great lesson plan for young children. It is very hands on, interactive and engaging. I also love how Nicola incorporated the children’s school locality into her lesson as this ensures she is making connections for their children.
I will introduce the children to what a ‘map’ is by using a map stimulus on the IWB to elicit prior knowledge. I will ask the children why we use ‘maps’. We will go through key features of maps in simple terms for the young children e.g. compass etc., To help the children create the map of their own school we will explore ‘google maps’ and look up the children’s local village and show the children the various aspects of their locality e.g. post office, football pitch, school etc., and how to read maps using various keys. As a whole class activity we will create a map together on the interactive white board of our own school yard as there is a lot we can discuss e.g. astro turf, afterschool, back/front of school etc., we will add various key features to our map also to represent various buildings and areas. We will also discuss how we get to school using directions etc., Next, I will get the children to draw their own version of their map of their school. At the end of the lesson I will get the children to show their maps to the class using authors chair. We will discuss what the children have learned.
I love the way Anita uses a ‘hook’ question at the start of each lesson to elicit prior knowledge from the children. I also love how she states that these lessons integrate the real world and children’s locality which results in ‘making connections’ which is very important for children especially in the lower end of the school. I will also be looking forward to using these lessons in my classroom in the upcoming year.
I think Stem education in primary schools is very important for educators and their children. For example, in my Junior Infant classroom, stem education looks very much like fostering curiosity amongst the children, observing children’s play and hands-on exploration etc., I always get the children to engage in free play and guided play with Aistear topics/themes. I think allowing the children to explore hand-on-activities by constructing, sorting, experimenting etc., is very important to foster their learning. By questioning and using everyday language with the children e.g. what will happen if we.. why do we think this will happen… etc., will allow children to focus and engage in the topic right at hand. Most importantly, in my classroom we thematic plan curricular areas and children love to see that they already know certain aspects of a theme we have covered in various other subjects e.g. Language & Literacy, Visual Art etc., I love using picture books, videos, outdoors etc., with the children on a daily/weekly basis.
Tidy towns is a great initiative for children to see the importance of practicing sustainability in their local area. It is a great starting point for children in primary school to join in and ask questions about what they are their families can do to take part and help. We also as a school take part in biodiversity projects and workshops in the summer in our local forest with a local biologist and the children love it. It is also another great way getting the children to come up with their own various ways of helping the environment which encourages critical thinking and creativity amongst the children.
Sustainability in my local area is practiced through various different ways. For example, there are designated special areas of conservations which protect local bog habitats, many different community initiatives which offer training in upcycling, supports which help with waste segregation and recycling programmes etc., (a handful of local sustainability demonstrated). I would highly encourage the children in my classroom to practice sustainability. For example, this can be done through classroom discussions with real-life current events on climate change, pollution etc., On a day-to-day basis in the classroom we can practice sustainability by labelling bins in the classroom and taking part in learning to use the correct bins. Children in older classes can take part in ECO-art projects to make items for the classroom e.g. bins, seats etc., Children can take part in growing their own fruit and vegetables in the greenhouse in our school and achieve one of the green flags for the school. Local children can also cycle or walk to school and staff can organise a ‘no-waste lunch’ challenge. These are just some of the ways that we can practice sustainability in schools.
I also agree with Clodagh that I really overlooked seafood nutrition in food education when teaching children about the food pyramid and the importance that seafood has on our overall nutrition. I think when people don’t include a certain type of food in their diet they can sometimes oversee that children who are growing and learning may not have the same regard to it e.g. salmon, avocado etc., We need to expose children to these items in the world for them to make their own judgement but educators need to provide this start as well as parents working collaboratively. Thematic planning is a great way to ensure that each style of learner in the classroom is being looked after. Therefore, going forward I will ensure that I am teaching the children about seafood nutrition.
Nutrition of Seafood is very important for any growing child because it can have an impact on their energy levels, mental clarity, emotional stability, and overall health, which in turn impacts their school life i.e. concentration, attentiveness etc., Teaching children about the importance of including seafood nutrition in their diet can be achieved in many different ways even in the younger classes all the way up through to 6th class. For example, it can be achieved through the subjects of SPHE, SESE, Visual Art, Play, PE etc., As I am a Junior Infant teacher I am basing these examples on a younger age group. Children can sort seafood nutrition into groups of seafood vs non-seafood (Maths), taste various types of seafood – make sure of allergies (SPHE), listen to various stories/watch various videos based on food found at sea (Language & Literacy). Posters/art work can also be displayed around the classroom based on the topic and importance of seafood nutrition. These are just some ways that ‘seafood nutrition’ knowledge can be applied in the classroom.
I also agree with Clodagh that collaboration amongst staff is very important to make this worth while initiative work. I think it is a great way to also involve the local community to work closely with the children i.e. farmers/local speakers etc., to really immerse the children in the real-life experiences that is occurring around the daily. I love how easy it can be to integrate various subjects with one another to really encourage critical thinking and creativity amongst the children whether that is through the SESE or art subjects. Hands on activities are vital in the younger classes.
