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Hi Elaine, I really like how you’ve grounded the topic in real, recent events—like the impact of Storm Éowyn—as this makes the learning immediate and relatable for pupils in your class. I also really like the use of group research to encourage your pupils to work collaboratively and take ownership over their learning.
One Sustainable Development Goal that resonates deeply with children at both local and global levels is SDG 13: Climate Action. Climate change is hugely important and it is something children are experiencing tangibly through more extreme weather, threats to biodiversity, and environmental changes locally here in Ireland. Just this week there are wild fires in Crete in Greece. Globally, they hear about climate action in the news and may have visited these places on holiday or experienced extreme heat in Europe during the summer.
To engage pupils and support ESD to 2030 Priority Action Area 5—Accelerating Local Level Actions—I would begin by link in with our Green School’s Team. As a school through the Green Team, we could explore local environmental issues such as plastic waste, food miles, or energy use in our school and wider within our community. In the past we have organised walk to school on Wednesday, planting in our school garden and trying to reduce our school waste and energy. This helps to empower students to realise their actions can affect positive change within their local community and globally. This whole school approach can easily be linked to our whole school self-evaluation plan.Hi Joan,
I agree, I think it is hugely important as teachers that we empower students to defy limiting expectations and help students realise that gender should not be a barrier to achieving goals. By constantly challenging gender ‘norms’ children will hopefully empower children to have a broader perspective and experience in education.
Gender stereotypes can begin to influence children’s thinking and self-perception from a very young age, often without them realising it. In my own school, I teach in an all-boys school and often see gender stereotypes in role play activities in the classroom. As a school, we strive to encourage all students in non-gender roles, for example we have a dress up area with ‘female’ traditional roles such as nurses, moms etc in Aistear, and encourage boys to take on different roles during playtime.
We strive to make our pupils aware of gender stereo types and try to counteract it by introducing female scientists, male nurses, or leaders from underrepresented backgrounds—we can challenge children’s assumptions about what is “normal” or expected based on gender. I try to structure group work that assigns rotating roles (e.g., leader, reporter etc. This helps to ensures that all students have equal opportunity to develop confidence and take initiative. Furthermore, discussions around fairness, equality, and empathy—core to Development Education—help pupils critically examine stereotypes they encounter in media, school, and society. By making these biases visible and discussing them openly, we can empower our students to think more freely and broaden their understanding of gender.
Hi Alyson & Jackie,
I think that this is global citizenship and developmental education is often woven into the fabric of schools. Classrooms are ever increasingly diverse and so many positive examples of global citizenship happen every day in classrooms.
The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World reminds us that we live in a very interconnected world, therefore it is hugely important that we foster a global outlook within our pupils. I really liked how the paper highlights that Development Education cultivates students’ critical awareness of global inequalities, climate challenges, and human rights issues, while also nurturing attitudes of empathy and resilience.
To teach development education in my class, I would start by weaving global case studies into existing lesson, looking at the global news. In previous years, we would often watch new2day which would highlight topical global issues that we would then discuss in class. I would encourage students to explore real-world problems—This supports SSE by strengthening the quality of learning and teaching—students engage in deeper, more meaningful work and develop higher-order thinking skills. Celebrating different cultures within our school and community would also be very important in development education. It is vital that children appreciate and experience other cultures and traditions.
To actively engage pupils in this research, I would begin by making the topic relevant to their everyday lives. Air quality is something that directly affects their health, especially if they or someone they know suffers from asthma or allergies for example last year I had two to three pupils who suffered from this condition last year. Starting with a classroom discussion about what they already know like traffic congestion, or even how they feel after walking near a busy road—helps build personal connections to the topic.
Next, I would involve them in data collection through hands-on activities such as measuring air quality using portable sensors or tracking traffic patterns near school. We could compare results from different locations and times, and analyse the impact of things like school runs or public transport. We could easily utilise the School’s Green Team to collect and collate data from all classes.
By allowing pupils to present findings and suggest solutions to other classes they would be empowered to become more sustainable.I downloaded the Satellite Tracker by STAR walk and got a week’s free trial. It tracked satellites around the world. It allowed you to see what satellites were currently visible and allowed you to track satellites and get notifications of when they would be visible again. It locates everything by co-ordinates, and it gives you lots of details of satellites. It is really fascinating. I was also had no idea of the number of satellites there were. I think the children would really enjoy looking and tracking satellites in space. I discovered that the following satellites have passed over Ireland recently.
1. EIRSAT-1 (Educational Irish Research Satellite-1)
2. Starlink Satellites (SpaceX)
3. International Space Station (ISS)
4. NOAA-20 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-20)
5. Copernicus Sentinel-1A
I really like Diarmaid how you aim to spark your pupils’ curiosity by beginning with thought-provoking questions—this is such an effective and get pupils brainstorming and thinking critically right from the beginning.
Your use of visuals like maps and videos is also a great way to support different learning styles and bring global issues like deforestation and climate change closer to home and in particular their own locality. The idea of incorporating group discussions and hands-on tasks, such as creating models or simulations, will definitely make the learning experience more interactive and effective.
I really liked your focus on creating a supportive learning environment where every child feels heard. Linking the topic to local initiatives and pupils’ own communities is a powerful way to help them see the relevance of their learning and how deforestation can impact on their own locality in lots of different ways.
Hi Diarmaid,
I also found the ‘Nose High Up in The Sky’ a very useful tool to use in the classroom. I think the lessons are very applicable to all classes. It makes complex atmospheric science accessible and engaging for students. The balloon experiments will certainly capture the student’s imagination and curiosity. I really liked your idea of creating more opportunities for students to design their own experiments. Encouraging this kind of student-led inquiry would definitely deepen engagement and foster creativity, while also connecting classroom learning to real-world scientific practices.
Hi Tara, I agree with you, Home is really visually stunning. I really liked your idea of using inquiry-based learning and group projects is excellent, as it gives students ownership over their learning while encouraging collaboration and critical thinking. I also think I will use project work with my class next year when showing them clips from this movie.
I also liked cross-curricular approach. Connecting Geography, Science, and SPHE provides a holistic understanding of environmental issues, while also allowing for creative expression through posters, drama, or digital tools. These approaches make the learning accessible, memorable, and impactful.
The movie Home clearly illustrates the impact of human activity on Earth’s ecosystems for example deforestation, pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, and more. It helps students understand the urgency of these issues and their relevance to our daily lives. It has many uses in the primary classroom. I think it would be really useful to show short clips of this movie to my fifth-class students next year. I think it is visually really appealing to students and raises issues that affect everyone globally. I really liked that they gave real life examples. It lends itself to lots of ways to integrate across all curriculum areas. I really liked that it helps students develop an understanding of sustainability and the importance of protecting natural resources. It is hugely informative and an excellent resource to use in the senior classes. I look forward to using it in my classroom next year.
The Paxi video is a wonderful educational resource that effectively introduces young students to complex scientific topics in a fun, accessible way. The video immediately captures the attention of children, making the content both relatable and enjoyable. I feel the video is particularly effective for visual and auditory learners.
It simplifies scientific concepts—such as weather, climate, or the greenhouse effect—without diluting their meaning. The clear explanations, paired with visual demonstrations, help children grasp the main ideas and retain information more easily.
It also encourages curiosity and critical thinking among children and provides great opportunity for class discussion. It naturally prompts questions and can easily serve as a conversation starter
It also provides strong opportunities for cross-curricular integration. For example, after watching the video, students could explore related topics in geography (e.g., climate zones), science (e.g., water cycle), or even art and writing (e.g., designing posters to promote environmental awareness). I look forward to using this with my class of fifth class pupils next year.
I completely agree with your insights Diarmuid. The video really is an excellent resource, especially for visual learners, as you mentioned. It breaks down complex ideas into manageable, clear explanations and opens up so many opportunities for rich discussion and questioning.
The use of TEAL as a predictive tool is a brilliant way to help children make meaningful connections between data and real-world consequences. It’s imoortant for them to see how actions today can shape the future of our planet. I love your idea of having groups explore the impacts of rising temperatures on local, national, and international levels—it encourages global thinking while keeping the learning grounded in their own lives.
Your suggestion of peer feedback and a follow-up action project is also excellent. That kind of active engagement not only deepens understanding but also empowers children to feel they can make a difference.
THE ESA activities Nose High in the Sky and Weather versus Climate provide wonderful oppourtuniteis for teaching children about weather. Setting up a local weather station in the school would greatly enhance the children’s learning experience of weather and help build a broader understanding of how scientist use tools to measure and predict the weather. We are so lucky in our school to have a very small garden where you could set up a basic weather station. I think the children would really enjoy collecting the data and it could involve a whole school approach. In our school we also have a green team and student council that could help monitor the weather and report back to all the clases. I think the children would really get on board with this. It could also be used as a opportunity to monitor weather by checking in with the local weather stations to compare data. There is many opportunities for hands on learning in science and maths here.