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I think looking at the food waste could be very interesting. We will be introducing the hot school meals programme this year in my school and potential waste is a concern. It would great to actually collect data on it at a local level.
Question: Are we having below, on, or above average rainfall this month?
For this question the class could choose a particular month of the year and measure the rainfall each day using a gauge they have designed themselves. It would good to have this tried and tested in advance to be confident of its accuracy.
That data could then be compared with the data provided here by Met Éireann: https://www.met.ie/climate/available-data/monthly-data
Comparisons could be drawn between 2025 and 2024… an average could be calculated for the last 3 years and this year comparatively. The children could present this information on a graph.
As part of engaging the children in the project we could document how many days they had to stay in from the yard as a result of rain. We could also look at how it impacts our choice of transport (eg. do more of us drive when it is raining?). The children could come up with ideas to adapt to the wetter climate that do not negatively impact it…eg. better bus shelters.
I think that’s an interesting question to pose to the children… ‘how do we affect the Earth’s beauty?’. It could generate interesting discussion on what we consider ‘beautiful’.
I found the various videos in this module very interesting, with some of them being more suitable for use in school than others.
‘Home’ is effective in giving a broad overview of climate issues with very impactful footage, for example of the Jordan river or the huge cattle farms. Because of its length and the fact that it is through English (I teach in a Gaelscoil) I think I would short select sections to illustrate points that the children are interested in. Some of the language would be challenging for them also.
I think the Greta Thunberg speech would be ideal for sixth class and could be incorporated into an English lesson on persuasive writing and debating. Her use of emotive language as well as the pace of delivery are excellent. Being a teenager in this video the children might relate to and feel inspired by her to challenge the adults in their lives!
I found the Climate Aid video upsetting in places so would approach with caution with a class… however it is very effective in illustrating the harm we are causing the planet and wildlife in particular.
I really like the activity ‘Nose High Up in The Sky’.
I like the link with English proverbs and as I teach in a Gaelscoil I think this could be further extended to proverbs or terminology around the weather in Irish. I think great fun could be had listing out all the different words we use to describe the weather in Ireland.
I think the ‘sensing the weather’ activity could be extended by having the pupils present the weather forecast as if they are on TV, to whatever level is appropriate to their age. For example sixth class which I teach might refer to pressure and fronts.
Finally I really like the tasks requiring the children to measure the weather. I would be tempted to let them create their own anemometers without showing any examples. This would really engage their engineering skills and invest them in a process of trial and error.
Making short videos is a great idea… as is presenting at assembly. This would tie in really well with my school’s ethos… thank you for the ideas!
Activity 3:
I think the Paxi videos are great and already use them in my classroom. Even for older children they are a bit of fun. He covers the content very quickly however so I always find a few viewings are necessary, pausing as you go to discuss what he says.
I think the overall graphics in Teal are effective however the pop up box with graphs is confusing.
Activity as a whole: There is a lot of work in it for the kids. On Teal it seems as if they would have to get each monthly average temperature for each individual year, and then calculate the average by month over that span of time (1981-2010)? Is there a way to get the average for a specific month over several years? In my tinkering around with it I couldn’t figure that out.
I might simplify the activity by sticking to just one month per year or the average over the whole year but I think it would take some trial and error depending on the group. I wouldn’t want them spending any longer than twenty minutes on that section of it.
It would be nice to create a display for viewing by the wider school community demonstrating the increases in various countries, for example posters with illustrations and graphs.
Choosing a country other than Ireland to study is an excellent idea. This could link with SPHE or History if children have family members from different parts of the world.
The following are my thoughts on the ‘Weather and Climate’ activities:
Activity 1: I think it would be very helpful to consolidate learning on the differences between climate and weather and their day-today relevance. It is a shame that for all the languages it’s available in it isn’t also available in Irish. As I teach sixth class in a Gaelscoil I would use the explanatory text as English reading comprehension (I think it is quite challenging in parts) and we would have the oral discussion through Irish.
Activity 2:Temperature – I like the emphasis on how it is measured ( eg. in the shade) as I think this is something most adults don’t even realise when discussing air temperature. This could provide opportunities to critically assess thermometers that might not be as accurate (eg. car), and why.
I also like the amount of Maths involved – graphs, coordinates, averages.
In this particular activity however there isn’t really any engineering, so wouldn’t count as STEM. It could be an idea to have the pupils design a stand that would hold the thermometer and not affect its readings, to incorporate engineering.
Activity 3: Out of interest I took a look at the TEAL tool and I agree with what was said in the slide. It is difficult to understand and would be off-putting for most children.