[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Maria,

Welcome to the course.

“Night Sky Guardians” sounds like a lovely and age-appropriate way to frame this learning for your students.

I really like how you are linking the learning between home and school, as this will help pupils see that light pollution is something they can notice and respond to in their own environment. I particularly like the “nighttime detectives” idea, as it gives children a simple and practical action they can take at home by turning off unnecessary lights.

Creating a class digital book using Book Creator is a lovely way to include digital learning, creativity and advocation. Sharing the finished book with families would also help raise awareness across the wider school community, while showing the children how their voices matter. Thanks for sharing.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Caroline,

Welcome to the course. I really like your approach to this activity. Beginning with the Irish reader Réaltbhuíonta gives the activity a strong literacy link while also introducing pupils to the cultural and historical significance of constellations.

Introducing Stellarium on the interactive whiteboard first is a great way to model the process before pupils explore independently on tablets. Asking them to set the location and search for the Moon, planets, Polaris and selected constellations would encourage digital learning, observation skills and curiosity, as well as agency as they become their own dark sky detectives.

The follow-up activity of recreating The Plough using the Curious Minds lesson plan is a lovely hands-on way to consolidate their learning. I also like the homework element, as searching for constellations with a family member would help connect classroom learning with real-life observation. As you noted, this would be weather dependent, but it is a lovely way to involve families in the learning too. Thanks for sharing.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Kaytlyn,

Thanks for sharing such a rich selection of poems, songs and artworks connected to the night sky. I really like the range of examples you have included, especially beginning with such a recognisable Irish figure like Michael D. Higgins. Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Starlight Night” and Jane Taylor’s “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” could open up lovely discussions around how people have responded to the night sky in different ways, from wonder and comfort to imagination and curiosity, and how these works have stood the test of time.

The visual art examples, such as Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and Paul Klee’s “The Great Bear,” would also provide strong opportunities for art integration. Learners could create their own night-sky artworks inspired by constellations, mood, colour and movement. To extend this further, pupils could choose one poem, song or artwork and create a personal response through writing, drawing, music or storytelling.

I hope you enjoyed the course.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Irene,

Welcome to the course. You have identified a very rich local context for exploring nocturnal biodiversity, and are so lucky to have such rich examples of lakes, mountains, farmland and woodland nearby.

I really like your suggestions around reducing unnecessary lighting, using motion sensors, warm-coloured downward-facing lights, and preserving darker corridors near hedgerows and trees. These are practical actions that could be included in a school biodiversity plan and would help pupils see that they can have positive impact on their local neighbourhood.

To develop the plan further, you could include a clear student-led engineering design element, like letting the students lead in the design of the dark corridors or challenge them to come up with bat-friendly light solutions. The evening biodiversity surveys, bat walks, moth recording and wildlife camera projects sound especially engaging and would give pupils a chance to gather evidence and make recommendations for the school. Thanks for sharing.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Martin,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful and honest reflection on this activity. It sounds like a very practical and engaging way for children to observe how the position and length of shadows change throughout the day. Bringing the children outside regularly, asking them to stand in the same marked spot, and recording their observations through tables and diagrams provides a really clear structure for inquiry-based learning.

I particularly like how you have included prediction, discussion and observation throughout the activity, as this helps children to move beyond simply noticing changes and begin thinking about why those changes occur. Creating a display board with the results would also be a lovely way to consolidate the learning and allow the children to share their findings with others.

You have also raised very real challenges, especially around Irish weather, time management and helping children understand more abstract concepts such as the Earth’s rotation. Extending the activity over a longer period, when needed, is a sensible way to work around this. Thanks for sharing such a reflective response, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the course.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Charlotte,

Welcome to the course. This sounds like a lovely, playful way to introduce the children to shadows, light and the idea of a sundial. Beginning with a KWL chart is a great way to find out what the children already know and to encourage them to ask questions before beginning the investigation.

I really like how you are building on their existing interest in drawing in the yard and making hand shadows. Asking the children to draw around a small animal and then return later to see if it still fits within the shadow is a very clear and visual way to show how shadows change over time.

Thanks for sharing.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Aisling,

Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful approach to incorporating the needs of nocturnal species into your school biodiversity plan. It is a great idea to begin by helping students learn about native nocturnal Irish animals and how artificial light can impact their habitats, movement, feeding and breeding patterns.

Involving students in biodiversity monitoring is also a lovely way to promote ownership and inquiry-based learning. Comparing bright and dark areas of the school grounds could help learners clearly see why reducing light pollution matters. A whole-school approach involving staff, students and families would also help raise awareness beyond the classroom.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the course.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Niamh,

Welcome to the course.

Thanks for sharing such thoughtful ideas for exploring light pollution with your class. Your local area sounds like it would provide a very relevant and meaningful starting point, particularly with the football stadium floodlights nearby. This would help children to connect the concept of light pollution to their own lived environment.

The planetarium activity sounds like a very engaging way to visually demonstrate how artificial light can overpower starlight. Exploring lamps and torches before designing new streetlamp prototypes also allows for lovely inquiry-based STEM learning, with strong links to science, engineering and design. Thanks for sharing.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Siobhan,

Welcome to the course and thank you for taking the time to share your response. I really like your ideas of how to make the sundial activity more meaningful for your class. Linking the activity to the Montessori birthday walk is a lovely way to extend the learning and help children understand the relationship between the Earth and the Sun over the course of a year.

I also really like the cross-curricular connections you have made with art and history through silhouettes. As you suggested, this would allow the children to explore shadows creatively while also learning about how likenesses were captured before cameras became widely available.

I hope you enjoy the course.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Cathal,

Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful response to “Home” and the wider climate resources in this module.

You make an excellent point about introducing environmental issues in a way that inspires responsibility rather than anxiety. This is such an important balance when teaching climate change, as pupils need to understand the seriousness of the issue while still feeling hopeful, capable and empowered to take positive action, which you rightly point out the video and follow-on activities can enable them to do.

Your reflection on the aerial footage in “Home” is very strong too. I like how you have connected this to developing pupils’ appreciation for the natural world as a foundation for deeper environmental understanding, as well as the potential for visual arts and other cross-curricular links.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Criona,

Welcome to the course, and thank you for sharing your response to Activity 3. It sounds like this would be a very engaging and meaningful activity for your class, in a rural school context where pupils may already have some awareness of weather changes, farming practices and the local environment.

I really like your idea of turning the activity into a small group project where pupils create short climate reports for sharing with the school. This would give the pupils a real audience and help develop communication skills alongside scientific understanding. Your additional suggestion of adding a simple recording sheet or template is excellent, and would help scaffold the task and support them in organising their observations, findings and conclusions clearly.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the course.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Manus,

Welcome to the course.

I agree that the Paxi video explains the greenhouse effect in a very clear and child-friendly way. Your suggestions for follow-up activities, such as a summary writing task or quiz, would be useful ways to check pupils’ understanding after watching the video. Asking pupils to explain the greenhouse effect in their own words would be especially valuable, as it would help them process the key ideas rather than simply repeat new vocabulary.

Your idea of using the climate projections feature on Teal to create a weather report for a country is a particularly strong cross-curricular activity. This would combine things like climate science, digital literacy, geography and language in a meaningful way, while also helping pupils understand how future climate changes may affect different parts of the world.

I hope you enjoy the other modules.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Katie,

Welcome to the course. Thanks for sharing your reflections on Liston’s paper. I really like how you have connected this to creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, as these are so central to effective STEM practice.

Your approach with 4th class sounds very engaging. Your suggestion of adding an engineering challenge, such as designing and building a rain gauge, is excellent. It would strengthen the Engineering Design Process and give pupils the chance to design, test, improve and reflect on their work, which links very well with Liston’s understanding of authentic STEM learning.

I hope you enjoy the other modules.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Linda,

I really like that you have chosen waste reduction as your focus, as it is something Second Class pupils can easily understand, investigate, and connect to their everyday lives. Recording their findings using simple charts or tally marks is also a lovely way to build in Maths skills while keeping the activity accessible for younger students.

I also like how you would encourage the children to work in small groups to think of solutions. This gives pupils a sense of agency and helps them see that their actions can make a difference.

Well done, and hope you enjoyed the course.

[Shannon Wilson]

Hi Mark,

I really like how you have used the planner criteria to test the question step by step. This shows clearly that the question is climate-related, locally relevant and suitable for investigation, while also not being too prescriptive and allowing space for pupils to shape the investigation through their own interests.

Your idea of using news reports and local examples to spark interest is really great. You could perhaps even invite someone local to talk to the school about how coastal erosion is impacting their business or community.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed the course.

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