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I agree Nose up in the sky is amazing. The pictures are fantastic and I will definitely be using it. I am excited about teaching these lessons.
Hi Seán,
I like your research question. This could be something that any teacher could complete for their area and school. This is something I will consider using too.
Climate Detectives – Research Question (Human Activity & Land Change)
Proposed Research Question: How has human activity changed the landscape of our area over the last 5–10 years, and what evidence can we find using satellite images?
Our school is located in a small rural town surrounded by farms, forestry and green spaces. Over the years these areas have changed over time due to new buildings, farm expansion and forestry operations. The pupils will use Sentinel‑2 satellite images, the Compare Tool and time‑slider. The pupils will look for visible changes such as new houses, reduced green areas, altered field boundaries and forestry activity.
They will talk with locals to acquire local knowledge. They will complete simple fieldwork to identify how human activity influences land use and green spaces around their community.
They will combine the land data with the satellite observations. Understanding these changes helps students see how human actions shape their local environment and how this connects to wider climate and sustainability issues.
Several Earth‑observation satellites cross Ireland every day, collecting data that helps us understand weather, climate and the environment. Sentinel‑2A captures high‑resolution images used to monitor land cover, farming, coasts and flooding. Sentinel‑1B, a radar satellite, can see through clouds and tracks soil moisture, storm damage and coastal erosion. NOAA‑20 provides global weather data, including cloud patterns, temperatures and sea‑surface conditions that feed into Irish forecasts. Landsat‑8 offers long‑term environmental monitoring of forests, water quality and urban growth. MetOp‑C, Europe’s polar‑orbiting weather satellite, measures atmospheric chemistry, humidity and wind profiles.
Together, these satellites help Ireland track storms, understand coastal change, study peatlands and forests, and monitor how climate change affects the landscape. Their data is available through EO Browser and Copernicus Browser, making them ideal tools for classroom exploration.
Seán you are so right,it is a fantastic hook. The saying a picture paints a thousand words in very apt for this film. You cannot deny there is climate change when it is playing on a screen in front of you.
The video HOME is a cinematic masterpiece. The images and the amount of content in breathtaking. While I was watching I was viewing it through the lens of a 5<sup>th</sup> class child and I think there is so much content you would need to pick and choose parts and teach them in depth. I will how the Earth is formed and how the carbon is in the ground.
I will teach thematically so in history I will focus on how the industrial revolution was instrumental in improving humans’ lives but it affected the climate.
I would also look at the Rapa Nui and how these people wiped themselves out by using all of the resources and to make the link that us as humans can destroy ourselves too.
In geography we could delve into deforestation and look at the impact of the Amazin rainforest and how it affects everyone worldwide.
In SPHE we will look at the Paris Agreement and discuss the pros and cons of not setting targets. We can look at newspaper articles in English and have a debate to the reasons why Donald Trump chose to have America leave the Paris Agreement.
We can have a moral debate about how we can all play our own part and every family could count their carbon footprint with the website listed on this course.
Hi Cian,
I thought the Paxi video was very child friendly. I like your idea of asking the pupils to consider how climate change could affect their own local area – biodiversity, farming, or extreme weather events. Children are more likely to understand climate change and become active participants in changing the future, if they believe it will affect their lives.
I will use Activity 3 with my 5th class. I have watched the TEAL tutorials and spent some time exploring the platform, but before introducing it to my pupils, I would need considerably more practice to become confident using all of its features. Once I have mastered the tool, I would use it regularly as a whole-class activity to monitor and discuss air temperature, precipitation, wind speed, solar radiation, and carbon emissions. Before collecting and analysing data, pupils would need explicit teaching on the meaning of each of these terms, why they are measured, and how they relate to weather, climate, and the environment. They would also need opportunities to explore the potential impacts of increases in these measurements, including more extreme weather events, rising temperatures, flooding, and climate change, both in Ireland and globally. This would help pupils develop scientific understanding, data literacy, and greater awareness of environmental sustainability.
Doloras I am also looking forward through STEM being reflected through hands-on, child-centred activities that encourage exploration and teamwork. They will build a rain guage and an anemometer in my classroom in which they will apply mathematical thinking while building and working with others.
I downloaded the ESA Resources and they look really easy and user friendly. I think it is essential to start looking at the weather before embarking on what is climate. To set up a weather station I would need to buy commercial thermometer, rain gauge and anemometer as it is important to show the pupils the real instruments before they make their own homemade versions. Funding is really difficult to attain in my school so I will need to shop around. There is a lot of mathematics involved in gathering and analysing data. They could also teach the younger classes how to make and use the instruments. I am teaching 5th class so I would use Annex 1 to look at the concept of climate zones. The ESA Weather vs Climate instructions and activities are very clear. I like the videos attached on the PDF. I downloaded them to Symbaloo as I can’t seem to open them in my downloaded PDF.