[Saoirse McTernan]

Research Question: How has Climate Change affected local weather patterns (temperature, precipitation and weather events) over the past 30 years?

Prior to working on this research question I would complete various lessons on the topic of climate, weather and climate change with the class. Students would at this stage have a good knowledge of climate change v weather, fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, global warming etc..

I would introduce the research question by a class discussion/brainstorming on the difference between climate and weather. I would also recap the concept of climate change.
We would them discuss questions such as:
Have they noticed any changes in weather over the years? If so what are they? Have our summers gotten hotter or colder? Have our winters become wetter? Etc…

Students would then be split up into mixed ability groups which would then work on a project and research data around different aspects of local weather patterns.
Group 1: would research levels of precipitation in Ireland over a period of 30 years.
Group 2: would research changes in temperature in Ireland over 30 years.
Group 3: would research weather events in Ireland over 30 years

Students could use the Teal tool, Met Éireann data (MÉRA) and local news reports to compile data on their topic. They could also create surveys to ask their parents, grandparents etc about changes they’ve experience with regards weather.
They would then analyse this and represent this visually (charts etc..).

Following on from students completing their projects I would look to invite local experts in weather/climate change and guest speakers to meet with the students and discuss the research question and their completed projects with them.

[Saoirse McTernan]

This is a really interesting research question. I particularly like how it lends itself relatively easily to class investigations in the local environment. Making it very relative and engaging to the students.

[Saoirse McTernan]

I downloaded the teacher guide as well as the student activites from the ESA resource “From the ground and from the Sky – Analysing and Understanding images of planet earth taken from space” taken from slide 19 of module 4.

I really enjoyed exploring this resource and found the content very interesting and engaging. The activities center around matching pictures of earth with satellite images taken in space. I believe the students in my class would take a lot from these activities. They could develope a new perspective and appreciation of earth and space by working with the images.

I can definitely see myself using this with my class, however, ideally I’d like to give them the opportunity to match images within an Irish/local context e.g match images of Carrantuohil, Croke Park etc.. taken from Earth and space. However, I’m not sure how to obtain the images necessary. This is something I’ll have to look into.

[Saoirse McTernan]

Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s documentary film “Home” is a very striking documentary. It is beautifully shoot using mostly aerial shots of the worlds various urban and rural landscapes. The documentary illustrates how all living things are interconnected and how issues with one specifies/ecosystem affects another. This in turn highlights how none of us can hide from climate change and how we all have a part to play. The documentary is also critical of fossil fuels and many industries who contribute to climate change. I don’t think I would use this documentary in its entirety in my class as I believe it could be a bit too much. I would however use snippets to illustrate the point that all living beings, plants, animals etc.. are interconnected and how some human actions have disrupted other species/ecosystems.

I would use the Greta Thunberg Ted Talk to illustrate to children that they have the ability to make a positive change in the world with regards climate change. I would also use this video to highlight gently that if they feel any anxiety around climate change that taking action and making positive changes can help with this.

Following on from this I would ask my class to work in groups to research and create a green action plan for our school. This would include improvements and ideas that we could implement to be more green day to day. They would then make posters to highlight these changes and they would be put up around the school.

[Saoirse McTernan]

I agree the concept of eco anxiety is something we need to be mindful of when teaching this topic. Some of the children in our classes may find issues discussed around climate change distressing. A way to counteract this is to discuss the positive ways we can affect change and how we have agency to enact change.

[Saoirse McTernan]

Activity 3: Climate Reporters is an interesting activity that I believe would be very engaging for senior classes. The activity uses an active learning approach which I favour. Depending on the class I believe it may be necessary to preteach some of the vocabulary involved later on in this lesson e.g precipitation, anthropogenic, climate variables, average, annual, solar radiation, emission etc..

I would start the lesson by using Paxi’s video about the green house effect. I found the video to be engaging and appropriate for senior primary classes. I particularly liked how the end of the video showed the positive ways we can contribute to a healthier environment.

Following this I would use a KWL chart to assess what the class know already and to plan for the rest of the lesson.

I really like the Teal tool, I hadn’t come across it before. I can see my class finding it extremely engaging and exciting to use. They enjoy any opportunity to use the iPad within a lesson. I think the class could use this to look at the changes in precipitation and temperature in Ireland from their year of birth until present day. To integrate with Maths (Data) they could then chart this. I would group my students in mixed ability groupings to ensure all students are comfortable and engaged with the topic.

[Saoirse McTernan]

I agree that the lessons and activities are not stand alone and could be carried out over a number of weeks. Another positive is the opportunity of taking a whole school approach to the topic of weather and climate.

[Saoirse McTernan]

I have found the resources, Nose Up high in the Sky and Weather vs Climate Understanding the difference between weather and climate from module 1 of this course to be useful and informative. I particularly like how both resources give adequate background information which can help and enpower me as a teacher to teach the topic competently.

Both resources promote a practical, active learning approach to teaching the topic of climate and weather to children in primary school. I am particularly drawn to Nose up in the Sky activity 3 and could see myself using this very successfully in my class.

I have never considered the idea of setting up a weather station in my class/school. However, I think this is an excellent idea. In my school I think it would work well to set this up outside my classroom. I would include a variety of weather devices which my class could make along with a display with information gathered and created by my students detailing the different weather devices. This would include step by step instructions on how to use them. This could be integrated with literacy and procedural writing. These devices could be shared and promoted to other classes in the school to use.

The weather station can also be integrated with Maths by using the display to detail and communicate weather data collected throughout the a number of weeks or even the year. It could also display climate data from Ireland and abroad over the course of a number of years and allow students to investigate climate zones. Students can compare and contrast changes in climate throughout the world.

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