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I love this idea Catherine. I think the proactive approach of a ‘No Idlying’ campaign and making posters really gets the children involved and the rap is also a fantastic and fun way to raise awareness about this issue.
I also agree on your point to carry out a follow up survey after a few weeks to compare with previous results.
I agree that this app is fantastic and the kids would love seeing the satellites’ travel path in real-time.
I agree that a great way to teach this topic is by finding out what they know to address any misconceptions and to see how to build on their learning. Figuring out what they’d like to know is also a great way to get the children interested in the topic.
Love the idea of creating posters and having these on display throughout the school as a reminder to all school staff. It’s also a great way to conclude learning and to help children to consolidate what they’ve learned.
Research Question: Has there been an increase in rainfall in Ireland compared to 20 years ago?
I would encourage children to investigate this question by analysing rainfall trends in the past 20 years, using EO browser or Met Éireann. The children could work in groups to find the mean of the national annual rainfall and I would integrate this with maths where they would create a bar graph to illustrate findings. There would facilitate opportunities to discuss the reasons for the increase in rainfall as well as the impacts, such as flooding in urban and agricultural areas. The children would develop skills such as questioning, observing, predicting and investigating. In younger classes, I would encourage the children to be ‘Climate Detectives’ by observing rainfall and puddles and making a rain gauge. I would also encourage children to share their findings with the school and brainstorm ways they can help reduce the effects of global warming in the locality.
I chose Assignment 3 – ‘Nose High Up in the Sky’ and I carried out the activities. I would definitely use these activities in class, particularly in the senior classes. I examined photographs of different landscapes such as rivers, lakes, mountains, cities, etc. taken from the ground and compared these with photographs taken from satellites. I feel that this would be very beneficial to children as it facilitates the development of skills such as observing, questioning, analysing and evaluating and there are many opportunities to engage children in critical thinking. I also believe that this activity would help children to develop their spatial awareness and different ways to view an object. I also feel that these activities highlight to children the importance of satellites to view objects, identify effects of climate change, and to further knowledge of what is happening on earth.
The film ‘Home’ showed an incredible insight into how everything on earth is interlinked and works in perfect balance, for example how the earth’s perfect balance in relation to the sun enables it to conserve water in liquid form. It also illustrates how human activity is threatening this balance on earth, for example through pollution and CO2 emissions.
I would use this film in a senior classroom as I feel that it illustrates the beauty of the earth and evokes emotion. I believe that this film would inspire children on how they could take action in their everyday lives. I feel that this film enables higher-order thinking on the consequences of human activity and how this impacts ecosystems. I would also facilitate discussions on how countries with smaller carbon footprints often face the worst impacts from climate change.
I thought that the Paxi video was an excellent resource to describe The Greenhouse Effect in a fun and clear way. I would definitely use this video when teaching this topic, and I loved the clear explanation of letting in just the right amount of heat in a greenhouse when growing plants and comparing that to the Greenhouse Effect. The visuals in this video also appeals to visual learners. I also found the recap of new learning at the end of the video very useful and would help children to consolidate the key points of learning. I also feel that it is important for children to reflect on the ways they can help and make a difference in their everyday lives, so that they understand there is still hope. To improve this activity, I would use examples of how climate change is impacting different regions in different ways around the world.
The document Nose High Up in the Sky contained excellent and practical ideas to teach weather. I feel that a weather station would work well in my class as the children have an opportunity to engage in hands-on learning when making a rain gauge or anemometer. The children can then analyse and interpret the data. There’s also great opportunity to integrate this learning with maths, for example, finding the average rainfall or wind speed over a certain period of time, or making graphs to portray the data found.
These resources can also be used to explore climate change and its impact on the environment. The children can share these issues and their findings with the school or wider community, for example by writing a letter to a local representative.
Overall these resources are very beneficial and enable children to engage in critical thinking, problem-solve, communicate, measure and predict.