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I have decided to respond to question number 2. I will be teaching 1st class this September, so chose to gear it towards that age group. There are many beautiful songs and poems that can help 1st class pupils connect with the night sky. These are some songs and poems that could support learning about stars, the moon, space and biodiversity. .
Songs:
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star – perfect for calming students, engaging with rhyme and introducing stars.
I See the Moon – a peaceful song that could be great for quiet time and helping children create imagery in their minds.
An Ghealach – a lovely Irish language song about the moon
Poems:
The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson – short and magical
Star Light, Star Bright – a simple rhyme that would allow children to begin thinking about light pollution.
Five Little Stars – a counting rhyme with actions
These could be used for morning meetings, story time, or linked with lessons about space, skies, light, stars and biodiversity.
Hi Alison, what a lovely pan for teaching our students about traditions and folklore stories. They play a big role in Irish culture and heritage. I love all of the suggestions and resources listed.
Hi Grainne, I love the scaffolding you have planned for in this outline. I really like the idea of a research project after you have done a series of lessons about biodiversity.
I teach in an inner-city school, with very little yard and garden space. In our school, I would love to help animals that come out at night. They love the dark and don’t like bright lights, so our school setting could be improved to suppor their needs. Even though we don’t have much yard space, we could still make a difference!
We could look at our school lights and talk about how we can keep some areas darker at night. We might ask if lights can be turned off earlier or changed to gentler ones that don’t shine up into the sky.
We couldl plant night-friendly flowers in pots—like jasmine or evening primrose—that open in the evening and help nighttime insects. We would make simple bug hotels and learn about moths and bats in story time.
By making small changes, we could help keep our sky darker and give our nocturnal animals a safe, quiet place to visit—even in the middle of the city!
Hi Mark, I like your ideas foe r a project for your class. I also like that you integrated light pollution into the project.
I have chosen to teach my students about light pollution in my local area, I live in Dublin. Light pollution in Dublin city is caused by streetlights, buildings, traffic, and floodlights that brighten the night sky and block our view of stars. Many children in Dublin can no longer see the Milky Way due to skyglow.
To explore this,I would begin by explaining what light polution is. We would observe different images of light pollution. The pupils would then take part in a “Night Sky Diary,” using Stellarium to count stars at home. This would be a nice follow on from the lesson I planned for in module 2. In class, they would take part in a “light” walk, noting where light is wasted or too bright. They would learn how light affects wildlife and design posters with tips for better use of lighting. Pupils can present their ideas to other classes in the school. It would also be a nice opportunity to get parents and local community involved. The students could write to local politicians to raise awareness of light polutions and ask for measures to show more visible stars in Dublin.Hi Eoghan, I like that you chose to use Stellarium to focus on the planets with your class. It’s great to see other peoples takes on the resources and activities shared on the course.
I chose to plan a lesson to use stellarium with my class. I would use this resource to teach the students about stars in the sky. I would explain to the students that they will learn to read the stars at night. But before that, we would be learning about them in class. First, we would use the tool called Stellarium. Stellarium would show us what the night sky would look like from where we live.
We would open Stellarium and look for the Big Dipper and Orion, I would explain that these are two special star groups called constellations. We would look at what shapes they make in the sky. Then, we would draw these constellations on black paper using white chalk.
I would ask the kids to ask their families to help them find the stars outside. The kids would bring their drawings home and try to match them to the real sky!
The students will take turns telling the class what they saw at night.Hi Michael, I like your idea for the Earth Tube activity. I like that you have considered a back up idea if the children are struggling to understand.
I have chosen to plan a lesson to teach about topic 3:’Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”. I have chosen to plan this for 1st class as I will be teaching 1st class in September.
To begin teaching the kids about the sun. We will look at where the sun is in the sky in the morning, at lunchtime, and in the afternoon. First, we would go outside in the morning and look at where the sun rises. The students would thenl draw what they see in their Sun Journals. At lunchtime, we wouldl go out again and look at where the sun is—has it moved? We’ll draw that too! Then, before they go home, we would check the sun one more time and draw its new spot in the sky.
We would talk about the sun’s journey and how it seems to move during the day. We would use a compass or landmarks to help notice directions like East (where the sun comes up) and West (where it goes down). Over a week, we could make a mini sun book showing what we’ve seen. We could become sun detectives and discover how the sky changes!Hi Sinead, I love that you chose your local area to focus on for your research plan. This would immediately engage the students and make them more curious about their learning. I also like that you broke it up into different questions.
The question I have developed using the Climate Detectives planning support is: “How Does Climate Change Affect the Crops We Grow?”. I chose this question as I thought it would be a good stimulus to motivate children to learn about a new/challenging topic.
I will be teaching 1st class this September and even though climate change is a big topic, 1st Class children are naturally curious so with the right approach, they can definitely begin exploring this question in their own way.
I’d start by talking about something familiar: plants and food. Many children already know that plants need sun, water, and the right temperature to grow. From there, we can begin to wonder together: “What happens if it gets too hot?” or “What if it doesn’t rain enough?” These simple questions could help them start thinking about how changes in weather can affect the food we grow.
To make it hands-on and fun, we could:
Grow plants in class, maybe experimenting with giving some more or less water or sunlight, and seeing what happens.
Look at pictures or maps of farms from around the world—maybe even use the EO Browser with teacher support to see what crops look like from space!
Read stories or watch short videos about farmers, food, and weather to help them connect emotionally to the topic.Most importantly, exploring this question helps them become little scientists and thinkers—observing, predicting, wondering, and making real-life connections. It also gives them a chance to see that they can be part of taking care of the Earth, even in small ways.
Hi Marie, I agree with you. I like your suggestion for connecting digital literacy with SESE and STEM. It is also a good idea for helping the students get a better understanding of the climate change facts as mentioned in previous modules.
I looked into the EO Browser for this assignment. It is a user-friendly online tool that brings real satellite images right to your fingertips. It pulls together data from multiple Earth observation missions, so you can explore everything from vegetation and wildfires to snow and water levels—all in one spot. I really like that you don’t need any special technical skills. The platform makes complex satellite data easy to understand, letting anyone explore our planet in an interactive, visual way.
I’d use EO Browser to make subjects like geography, STEM and environmental science more exciting and meaningful for students. They can investigate how their locality has changed over time by comparing satellite images from different years, or dive into major global events like floods or wildfires. It’s a fantastic way to help them connect classroom topics to the real world and better understand issues like climate change. It sparks curiosity, encourages critical thinking, and supports hands-on learning—all things that make for great classroom experiences. I think this resource would also be a good way to make links between school, home and the local community. My school has enjoyed taking part in STEM courses in TUD, this could be a good way to learn about new resources too.
Hi Valerie, I agree with you completely. I will be telling my colleagues and friends to watch it too. Climate change facts are so important and at times people are unaware of them. I agree about getting the green schools committee involved. It’s also a nice idea to encourage involvement from the PA and parents.
