Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Leanne, I love the songs, poems, and artworks that you chose! I also really like the list of books, Owl Babies and Can’t You Sleep Little Bear were two of my favourite story books when I was growing up.
The arts are such a fun way for students to be able to engage with a topic. It would be interesting to pose the question ‘How many songs, poems, or works of art can you think of that mention the sky?’ to them and see how many they are able to come up with.
Some of the songs I was able to think of are:
- Airplanes by B.o.B and Hayley Williams: Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shootin’ stars
- A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay: Cause you’re a sky, ’cause you’re a sky full of stars
- All of the Stars by Ed Sheeran: I’m staring at the moon
I saw a shooting star and thought of you, But I can see the stars from America, All of these stars will guide us home - Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra: Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why
- Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus: The midnight sky is the road I’m takin’
Some paintings I was able to think of were:
- Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
- Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent Van Gogh
- Witches’ Sabbath by Francisco Goya
- Night Snow by Utagawa Hiroshige
- Starlight Night by Georgia O’Keeffe
Having students learn about local biodiversity is a great way of having them connect with the natural aspects of their community. To introduce the topic I would first show students some of the videos linked in this module, I particularly liked the videos about wildflowers and barn owls. We are very lucky to have a nature trail within walking distance of the school, so I would bring students on a nature walk where they could observe and take note of the plants, animals, and insects that are local to our community. After returning to school we would discuss what they saw and create a poster with drawings or pictures of the wildlife that they saw.
Once the students have become familiar with the wildlife we could discuss how light pollution could impact biodiversity. Specific examples we could discuss would be bats, owls, foxes, and badgers. Light pollution can make it difficult for these animals to find their way around and feed as they are nocturnal.Hi Patrick, I love the idea of a wildlife camera! This would be so exciting for students and would provide lots of opportunities for discussion.
Light pollution in my area has become an issue since the construction of the motorway. I wasn’t around before it was built but family members have pictures and videos, the light pollution mainly comes from the street lights and petrol stations down the road. The school I teach in is very rural so there isn’t much light pollution for them and they are able to see the stars quite clearly.
One way to spark a conversation about light pollution with students is by comparing photos of urban areas and dark sky areas. Students could discuss the differences that they see and how this might affect humans and wildlife. We could then have a class discussion about ways to reduce light pollution like using motion sensing lights, reducing the use of unnecessary lights at night, and drawing the blinds at night. I think it’s important to teach students about light pollution because it helps them consider the impact that humans have on the natural environment around them.I would teach a lesson about the lunar phases to students. To engage them with the content I would first show them the National Geographic video ‘Moon 101’ (https://youtu.be/6AviDjR9mmo). After watching the video we would discuss what they learned and what the phases of the moon are.
Afterwards, using Stellarium, students would have the opportunity to explore the different phases of the moon by changing the date and watching the progression through the phases. As they do this they will draw pictures in their copybook and label them with the phase and the date.
Over the next few weeks we would observe the phases of the moon both in school and at home. According to The Sky at Night’s website, the moon is visible in the afternoon around 7 days before a full moon and in the morning after the full moon. Using the Space Week 2023 – 2024 lunar calendar (https://www.spaceweek.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Moon-Calendar-2023-2024.png) this appears to be around the 11th of September onwards.
As a class we would observe the lunar phases when visible in the morning and afternoon and then students would also observe it at home that night. Students will check their drawings in their copybooks and compare them to the phases for each of the datesHi Donnacha, I love that once it’s constructed all classes will be able to benefit from the sundial! Cross subject links are definitely important with this lesson, particularly the links between ancient civilizations and sundials.
To introduce this lesson I would show students a read-aloud video of Anno’s Sundial (https://youtu.be/X_LWViutZ14), this book discusses the history of sundials and the science behind them. After watching the video students would construct and decorate a sundial in art class, using paper plates and straws or pencils. When students are finished constructing their sundials we would take them outside to the playground and find a sunny place to put them. Once they’ve found a spot they can make sure the straw or pencil casts a shadow, mark its position on the plate, and write down the time.
Every hour we would go check on the sundials marking down the new positions of the shadow and times. Students could predict where they think the shadow will be the next time we come outside. Students’ homework that day could be to take the sundial home and continue recording every hour until sunset.Monday: Space
Read aloud: ‘Give Me Some Space’ by Philip Bunting. Students can watch this book being read by an astronaut on the ISS.
Activities: Watch SciShow Kids video ‘Let’s Explore Space’, students will then paint their own galaxies. Students can also dress up as astronauts and aliens and explore other galaxies together.
Tuesday: The Solar System
Video: ‘The Solar System Song‘ teaches students about the planets in our solar system. Students could also learn about the 5 dwarf planets by watching the ‘Dwarf Planet Song‘.
Activities: Students can play the planet game, the planet dance, and spin the planet hula hoop game from the activity set in module 2. They can also pick one of the planets and paint a picture of it.
Wednesday: Aliens
Read aloud: ‘Aliens Love Underpants‘ by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort
Activities: Students will design and create their own aliens using play-doh or air dry clay, if using the clay they can paint their aliens. Students can also create a model of their alien’s home to display their alien.
Thursday: Stars
Read aloud: ‘Zoo in the Sky‘ by Jacqueline Mitton or ‘Stars‘ by Mary Lyn Ray. These books teach students about what stars are, how they’re created, the constellations, and the stories behind the constellations.
Activities: Students will use toilet paper rolls and cling film to create their own telescope. Trace the bottom of the toilet paper roll on a piece of cling film, then draw stars or a constellation in the circle using markers. Cut out the circle and sellotape it onto the toilet paper roll. Then decorate the outside of the toilet paper roll with paint, markers, or stickers.
Friday: Rockets
Read aloud: ‘Roaring Rockets‘ by Tony Mitton
Activities: Students can build their own rockets using recycled materials. By attaching a split pin at the top of their rocket students can then use magnets to pull their rockets along the floor and have a rocket race.
Hi Sharon, the blubber gloves idea is so fun! I wonder could you extend this by having students test them out on a cold day and compare them to a regular pair of gloves.
I chose to look at the animals in the cold activities. I would start by reading the book ‘The Mitten’ (https://youtu.be/uVdHH-hGBQw) to engage students at the beginning of the lesson. We would talk about how the animals in the story used the mitten to stay warm, I would then ask if students knew any examples of how animals keep themselves warm. Then there would be a class discussion about how there are different kinds of weather in different places and that animals need certain features to be able to survive in their climate. I would then show students the pictures of the penguin and polar bear provided in the activity set while they talk about how they stay warm in the cold (fur or feathers, fat, and grease layer on skin). Then I would ask students why they think the polar bear is white? Why might that be a good thing for an animal who lives in a snowy environment? Students could then create paintings of the penguin and polar bear on a snowy background, maybe even try to camouflage the animals in the background of the painting.
Hi Deirdre, ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ is such a fun book to use to introduce the idea of aliens and the different ways that they could look! I also liked the idea of having the children introduce their alien and their habitat.
I chose the activity set ‘Space and Aliens’. I would start the lesson by reading the book ‘Life on Mars’ (https://youtu.be/Y5sL4Q9zSAI) and asking students if they think there are any living things on Mars, we would also discuss the term martian.
Students would look at pictures of the landscape of Mars and discuss what they see. The teacher could ask guiding questions like is there water? Do you see any plants? Then I would ask them what they think a martian would look like, what kind of features would they need to survive on Mars? Discuss the features of animals from different climates like fur, colour, scales, etc.
Students would then be given the opportunity to sketch what their martian will look like in their copybooks. The martians could be made out of clay or recycled materials like cardboard depending on what was available. After the martians have been constructed they could be painted or decorated with googly eyes, feathers, straws, or whatever other materials are in the classroom.
Hi Michelle,
I liked your use a video clip of the moon landing to draw students interest before asking what they know about the moon. I also liked your idea to track the moon phases each day as a class, I imagine students would be very excited to share what they observe each night!The activity set that I would do is ‘The Planets’. First I would ask students about their town, county, country, and continent as described in the activity set. Then we would discuss what planet we live on and whether or not they know any of the other planets. To help build their knowledge of the planets and their names I would show ‘Friends of the Sun’ or ‘The Solar System Song’ (https://youtu.be/F2prtmPEjOc). Students will share one fact that they learned while watching the video e.g. Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. We would then go into the hall to play the three games from the activity set starting with the planet game to reinforce their knowledge of the planet names.
Some connections to the Planets that I have seen used during Aistear time are:
Art – Paint one or more of the planets using the correct colour and features e.g. Saturn’s rings
Sandbox – Pretend you are an astronaut exploring the solar system, what planet do you land on? What do you see?
Role play – You are a space travel agent, use your knowledge of the planets to plan a trip for your customer! For example, if they want to go somewhere cold with lots of storms you could plan a trip to Neptune.
