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Hi Clodagh, I think this sounds like a great idea! I especially like that you’ve chosen such an iconic woman like Alice Perry!
I would bring my class to Mote Park woods in County Roscommon as it is only a short drive way from the school. This woods is part of the old Crofton Estate and has a variety of biodiversity projects and historical buildings located within.
I would begin my creative project with a visit to the woods and the landmarks left from the estate such as the wash house. We would look at the buildings left on the estate and look at the flora and fauna located within the woods.
Upon returning to the classroom I would show the children some old pictures of the estate, and discuss the history of the estate with the class.
The children would then be given the opportunity to tell the story of the estate/ the woods in whatever way they choose. They will be split into groups to work on the creative project together over a number of weeks before sharing their ideas with the class. Any art or creative writing will end up on the display board outside the classroom to share with the other classes in the school, children will be given the opportunity to perform any drama in front of other classes also.I love the idea of taking them on a trip outside of the classroom to provide a stimulus for the lesson! I also never considered giving the children other roles such as architect and quantity surveyor, this is definitely something I will consider when carrying out this activity later in the year.
Using the bridge in Birr Castle Demense as a stimulus I would plan a class challenge to tie in with engineering week in March! I would begin by showing them images of the bridge at Birr Castle Demense, alongside a variety of other bridges of various sizes and shapes.
Children would be given the opportunity to work in groups to create the bridge which could hold the most weight. Children would be given a range of materials to choose from spaghetti, lego, lollipop sticks, string, paper, cardboard etc. They could begin by creating a sketch of their bridge before working together to physically build their bridge.
To integrate mathematical thinking I would discuss the use of shape when building bridges, this would link in with the curricular area of shape and space.
This challenge would encourage the children to develop thier team work and critical thinking skills in a fun and meaningful manner. Real life stimuli provide opportunities for engaging lessons in the primary school, which in turn provide opportunities to learn through play in the classroom.Clodagh, I think this sounds like a brilliant project! I love how you have highlighted all of the opportunities for cross curricular integration as well. I think there may also be opportunities for linkage with ICT as children could create a presentation on the changes in biodiversity throughout the seasons with the pictures taken.
I have registered my garden with the All Ireland Pollinator Plan website. In my garden I have left a patch of grass down the back uncut and have also planted wildflowers and other pollinator friendly flowers.
Upon returning to school, I would work with the teachers in charge of the green schools committee to create a plan for protecting our pollinators. We have a school garden but we could use it more beneficially to protect pollinators.
I would begin by registering the school with the All Ireland Pollinator plan, then I would organise for some pollinator friendly flowers to be planted. I would also ask the caretaker to leave some areas of the grass uncut, particularly coming into the spring and summer months, to encourage pollinators to visit the garden. I would organise a school competition to design some bug hotels, and we could get the senior classes to make and decorate these for the garden.I love the idea of adding treasure to the classroom to encourage engagement from the children. I also love the idea of starting the lesson with a read aloud, this really helps with engagement right from the start of a lesson. Definitely going to have to add that to my list of books to read this year!
In younger classes, there are a variety of ways that I would plan series of lessons on map making.
To begin, I would read a book such as “Mapping Penny’s World” or “What a Map can do” to the class. Then we would take a look at some simple maps. After this we would go on a walk around the yard, taking note of the things we see. When we go back to the classroom, we would draw a simple map of the yard on the whiteboard. Children would then work in groups to make a map of the classroom using lego and lego baseboards.
Following on from this lesson, the children will be asked to draw other simple maps, i.e from the classroom to the office/bathroom etc. After a few lessons, children would be encouraged to create a simple map of their journey to school in the morning. When the children have drawn their maps, we would use Google Maps and google Earth on the IWB to show the children’s journey to school.Orla, I completely agree that STEM has massive scope for integration in the primary classroom, particularly with the arts, and I love your idea of using themed frameworks to assist in this cross curricular integration. One particular area of written language skills that can be linked to STEM is report writing, where the children could write a report on the STEM activity that they have engaged with!
Having engaged with this module there are a variety of skills and concepts that I have learned that I could apply to my teaching in the primary classroom.
The curious minds framework outlines the skills and concepts needed for engaging STEM education in the classroom. I was particularly interested in the wondering and exploring concepts. As I am a senior infant teacher, I found this quite interesting as in infants we learn through play, and that is exactly what the wondering and exploring concepts can link with in the younger classes.When engaging in STEM lessons with my class this year, I will ensure to provide the children with opportunities to wonder and explore themselves. I feel this is incredibly important as often in the infant classrooms STEM lessons are teacher led, or teacher demonstrated. One such example I could use in my classroom with the children is the rainbow spinners activity, this activity also has the opportunity for integration, particularly with art, as you could focus on the primary/secondary colours, but also through Irish where we could discuss the names of the colours trí Ghaeilge.