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I like the idea of the guest speakers John. I think it’s great sometimes to get a fresh face into the classroom. They often have different perspectives and the children are engaged in what they are sharing as a result.
My Research Question: How is the greater global change in climate impacting our local weather in our community?
I will probably start this lesson using the ‘Weather versus Climate’ resource, which was made known to us on this course. I think it’s a great starting point for the children.
We can look at some of the temperature rises globally and then use our new school weather station to start recording our local weather including the temperature ranges that we see on a daily/weekly basis. Again, this will be a good stimulus for discussion.
We will examine our immediate environment and how the temperature impacts plant growth around the school and in the local parks.
I think videos are very engaging and impactful for children so I will certainly use something from David Attenborough to emphasise the impact of the rise in global temperatures.
Finally, we can provide feedback to the school community on why our immediate environment might be experiencing certain growth patterns and share our findings in terms of local weather having recorded it over a sustained period.
Hi Sean, I was scrolling to see who else used the satellite tracking. It was interesting to see how much is orbiting and how much of it that’s considered debris too.
I downloaded the Satellite Tracker app as I thought it would be interesting to see what was flying high above our skies. The international space station was certainly one of the satellites that was listed. I’ve often assumed that I was looking at it when seeing brighter lights in the sky, but the app now allowed me to confirm when it was passing over.
Other satellites that passed over included:
ISS (passed over around 9.56pm)
Cosmos 1867: a Soviet satellite used for monitoring ocean vessels. It was launched in 1987. (passed over around 9.33pm)
Ariane 40 R/B was launched from French Guiana in 1990 but is now considered space debris. (passed over around 9.35pm)
CZ-4B R/B is a Chinese satellite that is also now considered space debris, (passed over around 9.38pm)
SAOCOM 1-B was launched in August 2020. It was launched to monitor lots of things on Earth and help to prevent major natural disasters as a result. (passed over around 9.44pm)Hi Carmel,
I think the point of eco-anxiety is a really important one. My daughter was looking over my shoulder as I watched some of the videos on this course and she started to question a lot about the planet. It’s certainly something to me mindful of.
Simon.
“Home” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand really showcases the Earth’s beauty. It also illustrates the diversity that is to be found on our planet. One of the main things that I took from the film is how so many aspects of our environment are interconnected. Everything that humans do has an impact on some aspect of the environment and it’s important that we realise this as we continue to try to halt the demise of the planet. From overpopulation to pollution, deforestation, and fossil fuel dependence, the film urges us to recognize their impact on our fragile world. I like the fact that the images are so vivid and captivating, which would be very useful in the classroom. We could use snippets from it as a stimulus for discussion.
I like the idea of including some of the Greta Thunberg videos in the class too as most people have heard of her and are aware of what she stands for. It might be something for the children to realise the impact that they could have, even in their own local communities.
Planting and caring for small plants might be a good way to start in the classroom and we could progress to more significant efforts/pledges thereafter.
Hi Seamus,
I like some of the ideas that you have in your post. I think critical thinking is particularly important now, especially with the new maths curriculum too. Giving students the opportunities to reflect and think critically will serve them well in the future.
Simon.
Activity 3 is another nice activity that could be used in the classroom. I like the fact that there is groupwork involved in the task. I feel that the climate and weather topic can be quite vast and daunting but having specific activities that break it down into more manageable chunks is great. Like many others have said here the Paxi video is a nice support to help understanding. I would certainly do a form of KWL with the children too.
Once I had checked what they knew and then introduced and shown the Paxi video I would take certain aspects of the TEAL website to further support their learning. There are some nice fact sheets that I could crop and create supporting cards that could be used in their groups. We are lucky enough to have Chromebooks and students have their own Google accounts so we could present findings on Google slides. I would love to arrange some kind of Zoom call with someone from Met Eireann to further emphasise the impact of climate change and rises in temperature.
Dr Maeve Liston’s paper on STEM lessons is certainly food for thought. I think as educators we would like to think that we are incorporating some element of STEM teaching nowadays. However, the critical thinking and technology aspects sometimes escape us. In our school we have created some STEM boxes where the children have to work together to solve problems like building structures/bridges using straws for example. We also have some activities where towers have to be built using strings, paper clips, loom bands and plastic cups. This requires teamwork and strategy but I now question if it involves technology.
I like the resources in the ESA document and like Grainne I love the idea of recording the weather. We have created rain gauges before but I have just recently purchased a digital, wifi-connected weather station, which I am looking forward to using with 6th class next year. I think the graph template is useful but a table for recording temperature might also help.