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As a member of my school’s Green School Committee, I recall learning about sustainability vividly as a child and it has stayed with me throughout my life. Nowadays, sustainability is even more emphasised. For example, daily household practices such as engaging with the return scheme of bottles and cans open up a conversation about sustainability and children find great novelty in their recycling. In my locality, the Tidy Towns committee takes great pride in the upkeep of the community and there is a community garden with vegetable patches that locals can help with and eat from. The local school is also involved in this garden. I would engage pupils to explore sustainability further in school by advocating WOW days (Walk on Wednesday) and carpooling. I would also teach the pupils how to recycle properly by discussing what items go into which bins. I would further this by learning about sustainable food packaging and challenging the pupils to make a lunch with sustainability in mind. We could use some vegetables from the community garden in lunches to witness sustainability in-action.
When I was at school we were encouraged to walk or carpool to school and it has stayed with me ever since. For example, if going to the local shop nine times out of ten I will walk. I think this shows the important role that teachers have in being influential on their pupils in terms of sustainability.
This module was of huge interest to me as I have just begun a fitness programme in which I have to track the amount of protein I eat daily. I now rely heavily on fish as a protein source in my diet. I have recently learned about the amazing nutritional benefits of seafood. For example, the iron in shellfish is heme iron which your body absorbs more easily than the non-heme found in plants. It also boosts the immune system, and cognitive function and supports healthy skin, hair, and nails. Further, salmon is an excellent source of vitamin D. This is important to know as in Ireland 80% of the population lacks vitamin D. Omega 3 supports heart health and is found in all fish but is especially high in salmon. In the classroom, this knowledge can be applied by creating a 3-D food pyramid by bringing in empty packaging or making paper mâché foods. This hands-on active lesson could span across several lessons including science, art, and SPHE. To study the nutritional information, the pupils may also bring in food packaging from home. They may be assigned a task to pack their own healthy lunch including a seafood source and present it to the class.
I love the idea of showing the children what is in your lunch box. This may help them take ownership in packing their own healthy lunch or opening up a discussion between them and their parents about what to pack in a lunch.
The ARC online lessons and resources are an excellent tool to support children to gain an understanding of aquaculture. They are pupil-friendly, informative, and broad. I will be using and sharing these resources in the upcoming academic year. I especially enjoyed Lesson 2: The Nutrition of Seafood. In my classroom, I would use this lesson to ignite the pupil’s interest in aquaculture, nutrition, and healthy eating. The pupils would be split into groups and encouraged to choose the fish they are least likely to eat to research. They would create a project on how it is farmed and its nutritional benefits. We might even try some of the seafood they research. This would encourage the pupils to try new fish and understand the health benefits they provide. From an SSE viewpoint, the pupils could present their projects to different class groups within the school, and the teachers could assess the knowledge their pupils obtain concerning aquaculture. This knowledge could then be extended upon as a school community.
I really liked the idea of using the ‘Salmon of Knowledge’ too and it is something that the children may already be familiar with.
Along the west coast of Ireland in counties such as Mayo, Cork, and Kerry, aquaculture is the predominant type of farming. The landscape, including poor land and highlands, makes it less suited to agriculture. Living in Leinster, I am more familiar with agriculture but this module has sparked an interest in aquaculture. On the West Coast, aquaculture occurs in bays, inlets, and shorelines where there is shelter from the full force of the Atlantic Ocean. Local coastal communities are socio-economically supported both directly and indirectly by aquaculture. It creates employment in these communities in various roles such as aquaculture engineers, scientists, and technologists. It therefore aids community development by creating this range of jobs. It also provides premium seafood to an area to sustain healthy living. While in these coastal regions, many people including myself purchase fresh fish to consume either from a local restaurant or fishmongers. This also economically benefits these areas.
The introduction to this course has really interested me. I chose this course as I used to love fishing with my father on holidays as a child, however coming from a landlocked county, I have little to no knowledge of aquaculture and how it is conducted in Ireland. I believe educating our young people on aquaculture is so important as we are an Island and the Aquaculture Remote Classroom provides an interesting, motivating, and engaging way to do this. I would be excited to engage with this tool myself. The health, nutrition and sustainability component of this tool is vital for pupils to have knowledge about in today’s society. It may even open their eyes to aquaculture as a future career. I know the pupils in my school would love the inside of this facility and it may encourage them to eat more fish as part of a balanced diet.
Module 3:
For this assignment, I choose the star’s activity. I would begin by getting the children to sing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and design a star during an art activity. We would discuss when stars can be seen. I would use the ‘Seeing Stars’ video from SFI as a resource for teaching the pupils about constellations. I would also use the ‘Draw your own constellation’. Focusing on lines and the eight stars of the plough, the pupils would design a constellation while integrating a mathematical element. The pupils could then name and present their designs. In groups, the pupils can recreate their constellations using their bodies.
I like the idea of space bingo as this would get the pupils to use new vocabulary learned. In my experience, all children love bingo so this is a nice way of getting them all engaged in the topic.
Module 5 Assignment
Rocket Mice:
As a stimulus to this activity, I would play an audio of a rocket launch countdown. I would ask the pupils to close their eyes and guess what they were listening to. I would then use the CBC Kids News website to show the pupils a rocket launch video. In groups, the pupils would discuss how they think they would make a rocket launch and share their ideas. They would be informed that they would be making rocket mice in groups. The group that makes the mouse launch the furthest wins. The pupils must gather different-sized milk containers at home and bring them to school. As an art activity, the children would design their rockets.
Launch day:
The pupils will make predictions on what rocket will launch the mouse the furthest and why. Outside the pupils will launch their rockets and record how far their mouse was launched using steps (1 step, 2 steps, etc.). This can be compared with other groups and their milk carton sizes. The pupils will also discuss what made the mouse launch and why it landed back on the ground.
During Aistear time the pupils can build a rocket from Lego and bricks. They can pretend to go to the moon, sun, or planets in their rocket.
During creative writing, the pupils can write an account of their experience of taking their rocket to a planet of their choice. They may also draw pictures.
Activity Set:
Animals in the cold.
I would begin a set of lessons related to this activity with pictures of penguins in polar regions. A discussion about the weather conditions and how children keep warm would occur. Together with the pupils, I would brainstorm how they think these animals stay warm. A video of penguins huddling would be displayed and the pupils would be brought outside to experiment if huddling makes them feel warmer. I would read the story ‘Pierre the Penguin’ to the children, about how a penguin lost its feathers and struggled to keep warm. For an art activity, the pupils would be asked to glue and stick feathers onto a penguin to keep it warm. During Aistear, the story of Pierre the Penguin would be dramatised. These lessons could then be extended into hibernation and what clothes to wear.
