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Hi Denis! I love how hands-on and engaging your approach is! Starting with nature walks is such a great way to spark curiosity and help pupils connect with their local environment. Giving children the chance to take on different roles based on their interests is a fantastic idea. It really supports collaboration and keeps everyone involved. Using digital tools alongside their own observations will definitely deepen their understanding. Sharing the project at assemblies or through displays is a lovely way to celebrate their work and show its real-world value. This sounds like a really meaningful and inspiring project.
I’ve decided to explore the question: What impact might climate change have on tourism in Ireland? After browsing some of the projects on the Climate Detectives website, I was inspired to look into this topic. It’s a question that allows for investigation from a few different perspectives and gives pupils a chance to build and apply a wide range of STEM skills. I used the research question planner to help shape my focus, and I feel it really helped me stay on track.
To start the project, I would lead a class discussion on tourism in Ireland today—what attracts people here? (such as our landscapes, traditions, and historical sites). Then we’d look at a different country, like Spain, and ask why tourists go there (sunshine, beaches, warm weather). Comparing the two would help pupils begin to understand how climate might influence tourism trends, both now and in the future.
To make it more personal and meaningful, children would be encouraged to talk to their parents or grandparents about what tourism in Ireland was like in the past and how it has changed. We’d also draft an email together to send to Tourism Ireland asking for visitor statistics from the last decade. Once we’ve gathered the data, we could analyse it as a class and display the results using graphs or charts to help visualise any trends.Hi Denis. I really like how you’ve described the EO Browser. It sounds like such a powerful yet accessible tool for both teachers and students. Using it to compare images over time is a great way to help pupils understand real-world environmental changes, and I agree that linking it to places they know would make it even more engaging. It’s also great to see how well it fits into different subject areas and supports digital learning. I love the idea of using it for research projects. What a brilliant way to bring STEM learning to life!
Nose Up High in the Sky is a brilliant resource for introducing children to weather observation and recording. I especially like the lesson on weather proverbs. It’s a fun and simple way to show how people used to predict the weather by observing nature. It helps children understand that, even without modern tools, people in the past were very clever and used what they had to figure out what the weather might do. It’s also a lovely opportunity for children to talk to older family members and learn from their experiences, helping to build a connection between generations. I think it’s great that kids can try out making their own weather predictions using traditional sayings. It really makes the learning hands-on and enjoyable. The resource is really easy to use and works well with all age groups, from Junior Infants right up to sixth class.
Hi Andy! I really like your idea of combining Home with Greta Thunberg’s speech. It would definitely make a powerful impact on a senior class. The visual and auditory elements of the documentary are so engaging, and I agree it’s a great way to spark meaningful discussions around climate issues like deforestation and carbon emissions. Getting the children to calculate their carbon footprints is a brilliant way to make the topic more personal and relevant. I also love your creative project ideas using digital tools like Canva and Book Creator gives students a chance to express their learning in really engaging ways.
Home is a visually stunning film with a powerful message. The facts it shares are really eye-opening, especially when combined with such breathtaking footage. Like David Attenborough’s video from the previous module, it starts by looking at how the Earth was formed and spends time focusing on that. I also like that the film is split into clear sections, which makes it easier to choose specific parts to show to children. It’s a great way to introduce the topic of climate change to younger students.
If I were teaching it, I’d begin by using it in a Geography or SPHE lesson to explore the Earth itself, without diving into climate change straight away. That way, children can really take in the wonder of the planet’s beginnings. The way the film moves into modern human development also feels like a celebration of human innovation.Hi Megan! I really like your approach to Activity 3 starting with the Paxi video is a great way to introduce the topic to younger pupils in a fun and accessible way. The drawing activity and class display are lovely ideas to reinforce the learning and highlight individual responsibility.
Your plan for using the temperature prediction tool with older learners is also very effective. It’s great that you’re encouraging real data use, critical thinking, and collaboration. I also agree that a follow-up storybook or video could really help younger children connect emotionally with the topic.
I found Activity 3 to be a really valuable resource that I can definitely see myself using with my class. The video that goes with it is clear and detailed, making it especially useful for visual learners. It also opens up lots of opportunities for class discussion and questioning. TEAL is a great tool for helping students understand how current actions can impact future temperatures. It gives children a chance to explore how climate change might affect their own lives.
In groups, children could investigate and present the effects of rising temperatures at local, national, and international levels. They could then review each other’s work and take part in an action project to explore ways we can reduce the impact of climate change. The activity also allows for differentiation, so it can be adapted to suit different learners. Overall, it’s a very engaging way to get children thinking deeply about the topic.I completely agree that Unravelling STEM made me reflect more deeply on what meaningful STEM education actually involves. I liked how you pointed out the importance of connecting the different STEM areas through hands-on, inquiry-based learning, that really stood out to me too. Your idea of a whole-school inquiry project on weather and climate sounds fantastic! It would be such a brilliant way to get pupils collaborating and applying their learning in real-world contexts. I also think using birthdays in Activity 1 is such a clever way to make the learning personal and engaging.
Dr. Maeve Liston’s paper ‘Unravelling STEM: Beyond the Acronym’ really helped me understand the value of taking an integrated approach to STEM in the classroom. It especially highlighted how the Engineering Design Process brings science, maths, and technology together. Reflecting on my own teaching, I realise I tend to focus more on the science and maths parts of STEM, and I’m less confident when it comes to the technology and engineering elements.
I really like how Activity 1 starts by clearly focusing on the difference between weather and climate – it’s such an important foundation, and getting that sorted early on helps everything else make more sense. I also liked the idea, which others have pointed out too, of using the children’s birthdays to spark interest. It’s a great way to make it personal and engaging, especially for younger pupils. Asking them to describe weather and climate in their own words is also a brilliant idea – it really helps show how much they’ve understood. I think the Climate Zones video is a great tool as well for introducing the topic in a fun, accessible way.
Activity 2 looks like something pupils would really enjoy. It’s hands-on and quite detailed, which is great, although I’d probably need to adapt it slightly to suit the classes I teach. In my experience, students can sometimes struggle with creating graphs, particularly when it comes to scales and accuracy, but because they’re involved in collecting the data themselves, I think that could help them feel more invested in getting it right.
