[Rachel Harte]

There are SO many songs, poems and art to connect us with the night sky, that the class library could be turned over to just that topic
and the walls lined with pictures for a month.
It would also be a great research question for the pupils. We pair the senior pupils with the junior pupils for reading – this would be a lovely way to introduce the Night Sky and Biodiversity to the younger classes. The older boys could select materials to bring to the younger classes and start the discussion with their reading buddy. It would also give the older boys a certain amount of responsibility too.

BOOKS:
Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?
How High is the Sky
The Light in the Night
Little Red Hen (falling sky)
Why is the Sky Blue
Good Night Moon
Full Moon and the Napping House
Peace at Last
Owl Moon
When the Moon Forgot
The Star that Fell
Indian/Celtic/Dreamtime stories of how the stars, moon and skies were made

POEMS
Twinkle, Twinkle
Star Light, Star Bright
Ah Moon …and Star! E.Dickinson
Catch A Falling Star
Night Dreams
The Wishing Star
Fireflies in the Garden
Christmas Star
When You Wish Upon a Star
Like Catching A Falling Star

ART
Starry Night and Starry Night over the Rhone – Van Gogh
Starry Night – Munch
Moonlight – Homer
Nocturn in Black & Gold – Whistler
Fishermen at Sea – Turner
Moonlit Shipwreck a Sea – Moran
Starlight Night – G.O’Keeffe

[Rachel Harte]

How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.

We have a garden attached to the school that we can access, therefore, that would be a good place to begin exploring biodiversity.
I think that I might bring the pupils out with me to observe the environment around and to note the different life forms in the garden. Then when we come back into the class, we could share our information, pool it together, and then explore the meaning of biodiversity.
The conversation would be opened as to whether our concept of biodiversity has changed or not and whether we need to revisit the garden with a sharper focus and a broader understanding.
We have a large no-mow area, but I question its usefulness – there hasn’t been anything done to encourage or invite mini-beasts. I would challenge the boys to re-invent the no-mow area and/or to re-design the broken down bug hotel that lurks in the garden. What bugs did they see? What bugs are missing? Can they figure out a reason why? What do we need to do to invite into our garden?
For light pollution, the pupils could investigate the lighting around the school. They could consider a night camera (explore which one is most suitable, cost it out etc.) and investigate why a night camera might be beneficial to us.
We have a few raised planters and a sensory garden which are falling into disrepair, perhaps the class might like to take one of these on a their project – again making it a worthy place for biodiversity.
Once the investigations have taken place, we could then present our findings to the principal and request permission to start on our chosen project.
This project would be regularly monitored to assess the impact it was having and to guide our further efforts.

David Attenborough: What is Biodiversity

David Attenborough: Why is Biodiversity important

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Sarah,

That’s a great plan.  I like the choice that is included, it allows for students of different abilities and talents to get stuck in.

It would be lovely to encourage the pupils to bring their findings/ideas to other classes or to the student council and maybe even present it to the principal or request that their ideas/suggestions for a particular project be brought to the  Board.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Tara,

 

I’ve just been looking at the David Attenborough video on What is Biodiversity and then Why it is important.  They’re a great find.   I’ve bookmarked them for use with my 6th class next year.  Thank you.

 

I agree with you – starting from the beginning, and just finding out what biodiversity exists already in you school is a very worthwhile and eye-opening exercise.  It is a great start to the discussion and as the pupils become more familiar with what is around them during the day, it won’t be such a huge step to bring their thoughts to the nocturnal world.

[Rachel Harte]

The globe at night is a great website and resource. There are maps of the constellations, information on light pollution etc., and my favourite – Dark Skies Rangers Programme https://globeatnight.org/dark-skies-rangers/ a light pollution awareness programme with lots of resources and a completion cert as well.

The class can partake in the Globe at Night programme on a monthly basis, 10 days after the full moon, when the moon is not up and more than 1 hour after sunset (so in Ireland, that won’t be too late for the pupils in the winter months especially). The information being looked for is:
1. When
2. Where
3. Current constellation of the month & then the pupils select the chart that matches the visible constellation
4. sky conditions at time of observation – clear/cloudy etc.
5. sky quality (optional)
6. submit (and your data will be visible on a data map along with worldwide data )

This could be run alongside the moon charting in the morning as both are nicely linked.
It could either be run as a class observation activity – which would be interesting to see how their observations develop and refine throughout the activity, or a group each month could be responsible for entering the data. If it was too big an ask to observe every month, I think that an autumn, winter, spring and summer viewing would open up conversation nicely and lots of comparisons could be made.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by Rachel Harte. Reason: spelling error

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Louise,

That’s a great story about driving at night & the Americans.  I reckon that could be said of an awful lot of rural places.

I had relations from mid-UK over a couple of years ago, we were driving home to Dublin late at night on the motorway & main roads and they were shocked at how much lighting there was.  Like yourself, they reckoned that we should be using our car lights and not overhead lights at night.  It wasn’t something that I had thought about until they pointed it out.

[Rachel Harte]

Plan to observe the Moon:

I love the moon – it’s such a peaceful object in the night sky, but I never thought about observing and mapping it during the day/morning.

We’ll be seeing a Super Moon on 18th September this year, that could be a very good jumpstart to the conversation about the moon and a launchpad for observation.  From approx. 24th September, we could begin observing and noting the moon’s phases in the morning.   This could be done as a first-thing activity in the morning when the pupils are lining up to come into the school and then different pupils keeping record when we enter the classroom.  Discussion, observation and inference would increase as the Moon Chart gained more information.

Naming the Super Moon would lead me into questioning the pupils as to the why of the name, and then to looking at the orbit of the moon and seeing if there were other related names/positions.

As observation of the moon continued, we could identify the phases of the moon and again, investigate why the moon ‘changes’ – using torches, spheres and physical demonstrations.

But there is more to the moon – it has such a mystical presence throughout the years, that each new moon has a different name – these names can change depending on the country, religion or era (Harvest Moon, Wolf Moon….).  This would be a nice side-investigation and would bring history and culture to the fore as well.

 

 

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Niamh,

I love the idea of looking at the stars from different cities.  It could be used as a group, pair or even an individual exercise, depending on your class.  I also like that there is peer teaching happening as they tell the class what is going on in the sky in their part of the world.

[Rachel Harte]

In the paper ‘Unravelling STEM’, there were a couple sentences that really spoke to me:
‘Engineering is the glue that integrates science, mathematics and technology and forces them towards workable solutions.’ For me, this is very encouraging, as in the senior classes, construction, design, hands-on, concrete learning can often be left aside in favour of book/rote learning. Challenging the pupils to solve real-world problems gives them a sense of purpose and also allows for many different answers/solutions

‘Technology is anything that is made by human and used to solve a problem.’ A paperclip, a door stop, a biro the wheel – these everyday items become elevated. They had to be thought about, constructed, trialed, etc., but now that we use them everyday, we don’t even give them a thought. This Technology statement, frees the pupils to think small in order to be able to think big. It encourages them to observe, to see needs, to come up with solutions and to keep thinking.

For my assignment, I intend to construct a sundial with my class in the coming year.
I like this activity as it incorporates history, practicality, maths, construction and teamwork.
We have a very small garden that could possibly be used – so after looking at time keeping through the ages and discussing the possibility of an apocalyptic world with no electricity (it’s all over the tv nowadays – earth disasters/zombies etc.) The pupils could group up and look at how and where we could design a sundial in our school.
They would need to ascertain the direction that the garden faces and allow for the trees and walls etc. that will block their shadows (this they will find out through trial and error – I won’t be telling them) or maybe they will decide upon the paper design from the video.
Back in class they will present their ideas to the class who could suggest further ideas or note an issue.
For the next lesson – the pupils will need to work on the nuts and bolts of construction – what do they need? paper? glue? stones? chalk? and what time frame do they need to construct it (allowing for trial and error)
Then they can view each of the other sun dials and as a follow up to their own construction – they could note 2 things that went well for them and 1 thing that they would change the next time.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Valerie,

Yes, I immediately liked the idea of making the planet tubes when I read the assignments.  The integration is quite wide, you’ve got measurements as well as science etc.  I wonder if the groups could decide how to decorate their tubes…  paint, drawing, paper pulp, fabric & fibre or…?

I really like your ideas of adding 2 pieces of  information on each tube and then presenting them at an assembly.  I’ll probably steal those!  Thank you.

 

[Rachel Harte]

That’s a great idea, Sinead!   I have had my 6th class boys dropping parachutes with Easter eggs down to the 1st class boys,  (if the hollow chocolate egg survived, the 6th class boy got an egg of his own as well, however, if the egg broke, the first class boy got the 6th class boy’s egg.  Never have I seen such engagement from the whole class and I’m happy to say that all eggs survived …  to be eaten!)

I never thought of doing inter-class rocket launches before.  Again, it’s a fun, inclusive and engaging activity.

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Eve,

I love that you are integrating Gaeilge and Drama into your lesson!  STEAM really lends itself to cross-curricular teaching.  You have a lovely blend of ideas there: drawing, dress-up, drama, games and of course weather bear.  It’s the type of lesson group that you could touch on for quite a few days and then resurrect again when the seasons change.

[Rachel Harte]

One resource I have found quite handy for a range of ages is: Concept Cartoons.  They can be handy as a springboard for discussion and investigation – or to back up what you have already heard from the class and to challenge them to think again.  I like the way that there are some ‘silly’ suggestions, some possible ones and one left blank for ‘what do you think?’  I also like that the concepts are explained for the teacher – just in case…

[Rachel Harte]

Again, more wonderful and very usable ideas for our classrooms.

I have been the science/SESE co-ordinator for the past few years now and have entered our school in to the Discover Science and Maths Awards.  Some awards are time consuming to complete and require a huge amount of accompanying paperwork.  However, I found that this award is SO suited to schools – we are already the work, sometimes we just don’t realise it.  When a teacher takes her children outside to look at the plants around the school, then plants seeds or bulbs and watches them as they grow, she’s doing a section of the awards.  I just ask that the teachers try to take one or two pictures and send them to me – no blurb necessary.  Measuring in Maths – take a picture.  Design and build a bridge – take a picture.  Searching for things that are magnetic – take a picture.  Skittles colour mixing – take a picture.  Forgot to take a picture?  Have the boys written something up in their copies? Take a picture.

I usually have a template powerpoint all set up according to the sections and then just pop the photos onto the relevant slides with a heading.  The evidence is in the photos – the children are actively engaged and it is obvious what they are doing/investigating.  I was thinking of turning this into an active blog this year, with pages for each section – it would be a lovely record of our year’s work, parents could see what is happening and it is an acceptable form of entry for the award.

Seeing the section on ‘What Clothes to Wear’ reminded me of a science day we organised in the school.  We have a three year cycle: whole school science exhibition – mini-school science day – Intel competition and subsequent exhibition.  This particular year we were doing the Mini-Schools science day.  The four classes rotate around each room and the boys  carry out four investigations.  (Teacher stays in her own room and carries out same investigation with 4 different classes.)  Each mini-school organises their own investigations.  They usually try to select a good variety of themes rather than all four doing investigations into one topic.

One of the infant rooms investigated what teddy could wear to keep him dry.  The boys really enjoyed figuring that out.  They came back all full of chat about what they tried to do and how well it worked out.

 

[Rachel Harte]

Hi Aoife,

I agree with you, the aliens theme is a great one for Aistear.  It is so broad and creative,

I am usually on my own with a class of 27/28 boys, so organising Aistear means thinking of simple ideas that can be carried out solo by 4 or 5 groups and either one or two more complicated/teacher-supervised activities.

Here are some I have used:

Make a passport for your alien (template can be modified from one found somewhere on Twinkl). Add stamps of the planets that he has visited (either drawn on or cut and stick)

Using Lego/Giant Blocks/play-doh: make an alien space-ship/alien home/alien landscape/Mars or another planet  (Can add small world figures to this activity)

Junk Art – make your own alien/alien space-ship/space helmet (I hate junk art!)

Create an alien landscape in Sand (or play-doh)

Lists: (I usually put a related picture to colour on the back of the page and lines on the other) List what your Alien would eat – What would he take on a holiday to earth?

Cutting & Sticking:  Cut out a variety of shapes – colour, design and stick your new alien onto a page.

Role Play: Meeting an alien for the first time / Aliens at dinner (focus on movements and different ways of eating) / the journey to earth in a spaceship

Planets/Alien themed Jigsaws: (not technically meant to be in Aistear, but needs must…)

Wooden Maths Shapes: create aliens/alien animals – some of the boys do these flat on the table others build them up tall.

Painting/Chalks: Draw your alien’s planet using either paint of chalk.

I hope one or two of these are of use to you, or maybe they might remind you of another idea you’d prefer.

[Author]

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