Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I really like that you have included songs, poetry and artwork providing many opportunities to explore the night sky through different perspectives. In this way you move beyond the scientific study of space and encourage children to consider the emotional, cultural and artistic connection people have with the Moon and stars. The combination of music such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, A Sky Full of Stars and Walking on the Moon, alongside poetry and artwork such as Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, creates an excellent multisensory starting point for discussion and exploration. The inclusion of Whitman’s When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer is especially interesting because it highlights the value of personal experience, observation and wonder, complementing the scientific approach to learning.
The theme of the Night Sky makes a lovely sensory circle-time for children with severe to profound learning needs. I keep the songs repetitive, the poems very short, and use a “my turn / your turn” structure so every child has an opportunity to participate.
Songs for the Night Sky include some of our favourites
• “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” – use a light-up star and pass it around.
• “Mr Moon” – use a tactile Moon or soft ball.
• “Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, We’re Going to the Moon” – excellent for movement.
• “Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer” – great for counting and turn-taking.
• “The Moon Is Round” – use a circular tactile object and explore its shape.
• “Star Light, Star Bright” – gentle sensory song for calming.
• “You Are My Sunshine” – useful as a contrast between day and night.
Rhymes- The Little Star and Hello Moon used as choices with switches / picture cards
Use the predictable sequence → Song → Sensory object → Star song →
For each turn, offer the child a simple choice: Hold the star, hold the moon, turn on the light. The adult can model: “My turn… star!”, “your turn… star!” This gives children opportunities to practise anticipation, attention, communication, choice-making, shared enjoyment and social interaction while exploring the wonderful theme of the night sky.
We would continue this theme by completing any of the following art projects
• Van Gogh’s The Starry Night –swirling movements with blue/black paint and fabrics.
• Starry-night sensory tray – black fabric, glow stars/moons, soft cotton “clouds”.
• Night-sky painting – sponge painting with dark colours and star stamps.
• Moon printing – use circular sponges or playdough to make craters.
• Constellation pictures – children connect large tactile stars with string.
• Glow-in-the-dark star bottle – shake, watch and pass around.
• Night-sky collage – foil stars, fabric, textured paper and cotton wool.This is a practical approach to including nocturnal species within a school biodiversity plan. I particularly like the emphasis on creating a dark habitat area, protecting natural features and reducing unnecessary artificial lighting, as these actions can benefit a wide range of wildlife. The focus on native plants, insects and bats also demonstrates a understanding of how interconnected the food chain is. The suggestion to involve children in monitoring and investigating nocturnal wildlife is particularly beneficial. Activities such as using bat detectors, observing moths or recording signs of wildlife allow pupils to develop curiosity and scientific skills without disturbing the animals. The question “What happens in our school grounds after dark?” would provide an excellent starting point for an inquiry-based STEM project. I think the inclusion of seasonal considerations and pupil learning makes the plan really strong. These ideas would help create a school environment that not only supports biodiversity but also gives children meaningful opportunities to become young environmental scientists and active protectors of their local wildlife.
Considerations for creating a School Biodiversity Plan – Protecting the Night
1. Create a “Dark Corner” of the school garden where a designated area without artificial lighting, allowing children to create a safe habitat for nocturnal wildlife. Native shrubs, hedging, wildflowers, grasses and log piles could provide shelter and food.
2. Reduce unnecessary lighting where the children could carry out a simple school light audit, identifying which lights are essential and which could be switched off. Where lighting is necessary, the school could consider timers, motion sensors, appropriate brightness and downward-directed, dark-sky-friendly lighting.
3. Support bats and night-flying insects
We could plant native flowering plants to provide food for moths and other insects, while maintaining dark corridors around hedges, trees and planting areas.
4. Make the garden a learning resource where children could use photographs, simple observation sheets to investigate “Who visits our garden at night?” They could compare a brightly lit area with a darker area and record what they discover.
5. Develop a pupil-led Dark Skies action plan where children could create posters with simple messages such as: “Lights off when not needed”, “Keep our garden dark”, “Protect our bats / moths” and “Let the stars shine!”This is an engaging approach to exploring light pollution because it connects the children’s learning directly to their own local environment. I particularly like the comparison between the more brightly lit areas of the town and the darker coastal areas, as this gives pupils a clear and meaningful way to observe how light pollution varies from place to place. The surveys and use of photographs of the school after dark provide excellent opportunities to develop observation, investigation, data collection and communication skills. The follow-up task of identifying practical ways to reduce unnecessary lighting makes the learning purposeful and encourages children to think about their role in protecting the night sky and local wildlife. I also think contacting the local council is a fantastic extension activity, as it gives the pupils an authentic opportunity to share their findings and have their voices heard. This is a lovely example of local, inquiry-based STEM learning that combines science, geography, environmental awareness and citizenship in a very practical way.
Looking at light pollution – Our School Environment
We could investigate how much unnecessary light is used around our school. During an “Our School at Night” investigation, children could look at photographs of the school, identify outdoor lights and decide whether each light is needed / not needed, downwards or upwards, or bright / less bright.
Students could investigate: Outdoor lights left on when they are not needed. Security lights shining into windows or towards the sky. Lights illuminating playgrounds or buildings unnecessarily. How much of the night sky we can see from different parts of the school.
We could create a simple Dark-Sky School Action Plan. Possible actions include using timers or motion sensors, ensuring lights point downwards, switching off unnecessary lights and making better use of natural daylight. These approaches can also reduce energy use working towards our Green Flag initiative.
Looking at light pollution – Our Local Town
Children could explore the town through photographs and identify streetlights, shop lighting, car-park lighting and illuminated signs. We could ask: “Can we see many stars?”, “Where is the sky brightest?”, “Which lights point upwards?” We could create a “Help Our Town See the Stars” poster.Simple plan for children with special needs to observe which planets are visible in the sky in autumn
Autumn planet watching plan – Theme: Look Up! Which Planets Can We See?
Using a practical approach visual, sensory and observation-based which can be adapted for children with moderate to profound learning needs. Goal – Children will have opportunities to look at the evening sky using Stellarium, notice bright objects, identify possible planets. The emphasis should be on enjoying observation and recognising patterns, rather than expecting children to identify planets independently. Get ready → Look up → Find a bright object → Choose a symbol → Record
Introduce photographs of the planets likely to be visible during the autumn period. Children can work in small groups with an adult. Ask simple questions: “What can you see?”, “Is it bright?”, “Where is it?”, “Is it high or low?”Children can record using photographs, symbols, stickers, drawings, AAC, eye gaze or pointing. For children with more significant learning needs, use a sensory planet kit containing textured planets, glow stars, a torch and a tactile Moon. Children could match a photograph of the observed object to the appropriate planet symbol. This simple approach develops curiosity, observation, communication, comparison, pattern recognition and early scientific recording skills, while giving children a genuine opportunity to experience astronomy for themselves.
I really like the idea of using a lamp and foam sphere for the child themselves to model the phases of the Moon. This provides a simple, visual and concrete way for children to understand that the Moon does not produce its own light, but reflects light from the Sun. Having children observe the Moon at approximately the same time each month encourages them to develop important scientific skills including observation, comparison and recognising patterns. The introduction to the different phases of the Moon is a strong element. Children can gradually become familiar with terms such as new Moon, crescent, quarter, gibbous and full Moon, supported by photographs, models, symbols and practical activities. This approach transforms learning about the Moon from something abstract into an exciting real-world STEM experience, encouraging children to look up, wonder, investigate and discover for themselves.
I chose activities to observe the sun for children with special needs.
These activities need to practical, visual, sensory and repetitive, allowing every student to participate at their own level. We would begin by exploring photographs and symbols for sun, morning, lunchtime and evening. I would use a simple visual timetable showing, morning → midday → evening.
At times during the day, students would go outside with an adult and safely observe the position of the Sun. We would never look directly at the Sun. Instead, students could notice where the sunlight falls, the direction of shadows, and whether the Sun appears high or low in the sky. A globe, torch and photographs could be used afterwards to reinforce the idea of the Sun appearing to move across the sky. Students could place a sun symbol on a classroom chart for morning, lunchtime and afternoon. Students could also choose between high/low, light/shade or long/short shadow. The activity would develop observation, communication, sequencing, comparison, pattern recognition and early measurement skills, while giving students a meaningful opportunity to experience Science outdoors. Success could be demonstrated through attention, anticipation, choice-making, communication or participation.This is a lovely engaging way to introduce the seasons. I particularly like your decision to use images of familiar places and the local environment. This gives meaningful context and helps children connect the concept of seasonal change to experiences they recognise. The progression through Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring is clear and provides opportunities for children to develop their observation and comparison skills. Asking pupils to identify what is the same and what is different encourages them to notice changes in colour, temperature, trees, leaves, light and weather. The question, asking children to predict what they will be learning encourages curiosity and scientific thinking. This activity provides curricular links with Maths through sorting, matching and sequencing. It is a wonderful example of using observation, questioning, prediction and familiar experiences to develop children’s understanding of the changing seasons in an enjoyable and accessible way.
Hi Caoimhe, yes looking forward to it, there are so many resources shared on this course. Thanks for that recommendation. Best wishes, Bríd
This is an engaging Rockets activity. I particularly like how you have used the Curious Minds Framework to structure the lesson. The use of a real rocket launch video is an excellent way to capture the children’s attention. The Mouse Rocket investigation is particularly effective because it gives children an opportunity to become active scientists. Asking them to predict which bottle will launch the rocket furthest, test their predictions and observe the results naturally develops scientific skills such as questioning, predicting, observing, investigating, comparing and communicating. The “Take the Next Step” element encourages children to think like engineers and designers by creating, testing, evaluating and modifying their ideas. It alsopromotes curiosity and creativity.
I would use Wondering and Exploring for a highly practical and exciting Space Week investigation. The rocket activities provide an excellent opportunity for children to develop scientific inquiry, prediction, observation, problem-solving and communication while also integrating Mathematics, Art, Technology and Engineering. “Let’s Explore Rockets!”
I would begin by creating a Space Exploration Station in the classroom with pictures and models of different rockets. Children would be encouraged to look at, touch and explore the rockets. I would ask simple open questions “What do you notice? “Which rocket is biggest?” “Which one do you like?”
Throughout the week, children would investigate different rockets such as Paper Rockets, Balloon Rockets and Rocket Mouse. We would Think – Predict and Compare before each launch. We could then compare the prediction with what actually happened. At the end of the week, we would create a Space Week Rocket Display showing photographs, children’s rockets and simple observations.This is a fantastic and highly engaging idea for Space Week. The concept of “A Day of Space Travel” gives the children a real sense of purpose and excitement. I particularly like the idea of the Space Passport, as it provides a simple and motivating way for children to record their journey. Receiving a stamp at each “planet” gives a clear sense of achievement and encourages children to participate in the activities. The Rocket Mouse experiment is an excellent way to introduce cause and effect to younger pupils also.
Most importantly, the proposed day creates a shared whole-school experience. Every child becomes a space traveller and every activity provides an opportunity to explore, question, investigate and communicate. The idea of children returning to their home classroom with a completed Space Passport is a lovely ending and gives the day a strong sense of achievement. I think “A Day of Space Travel” could become a memorable Space Week event, encouraging children’s curiosity, imagination, teamwork, scientific thinking and enjoyment of learning while demonstrating that Science can be exciting, practical and accessible to everyone.