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I really enjoyed reading your post. I liked how you included stories from different cultures and linked each one to a science topic. It was a lovely way to combine storytelling with learning and would help to engage a wide range of children. I especially liked the idea of using The Rabbit in the Moon to explore the Moon and its features.
I would love to create a school project based on collecting local piseógs, traditions and stories about the night. As our school building has entries in the Dúchas Folklore Collection, this would be our first port of call. I think the children would really enjoy discovering stories connected with their own school and local area before talking to parents, grandparents and other family members to find out what traditions they remember about the Moon, the stars or the night sky. We could compare the stories we collect, discussing how some are based on folklore while others can be explained through science. This would provide lovely opportunities to link Science with History, Gaeilge and Oral Language. The children could record or illustrate their favourite story and create a class book or display celebrating our local folklore. I think this project would be a meaningful way to involve families in learning while helping children appreciate both our cultural heritage and our growing scientific understanding of the night sky. We have already looked at the Dúchas collection with 6th class when they were looking for information on the history of our town for a Heritage in Schools project. It will be great to go back and look at it from a different angle. If we don’t find anything connected to the night in our school we can widen the search.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I liked how you began by helping the children identify the nocturnal species in their own school environment before exploring ways to protect them. The moth box is a lovely hands-on idea, and I particularly liked the link to creating symmetry art using the photographs. I also think your focus on food chains would help children understand how different species depend on one another and why protecting biodiversity is so important.
I would engage my learners by exploring biodiversity in our local area, linking the lesson to our previous work on Bray Seafront. We could begin by discussing the different plants and animals that live along the coastline and why these habitats are important. I would then introduce the idea of light pollution and ask the children to compare three familiar places – Bray Seafront, Sidmonton Park and our school grounds. Together, we could think about which areas might be brightest at night and how this could affect nocturnal wildlife such as bats, moths and other insects. We could discuss why some animals rely on darkness to feed, navigate and avoid predators, and consider how people can balance the need for lighting with protecting nature. As a SET teacher, I would use photographs, simple sorting activities and plenty of discussion to support understanding. If possible, we could visit our school garden or a local park to observe signs of biodiversity and compare what we find with our earlier learning about Bray Seafront. I think linking the lesson to places the children already know would make the learning more meaningful and encourage them to think about simple ways we can all help protect local wildlife.
Hi Kaytlyn, That’s a good point about the energy saving street lights. Where I live, the lights outside my house have not been updated unlike further down the road. When the Northern Lights were visible a few months ago, some neighbours came to our garden to better see them. I hope progress doesn’t reach our end of the road! This really needs more traction in the media.
I would choose to explore how light pollution affects our local area. Although we are fortunate to have some nice outdoor spaces, there is a lot of artificial light from houses, streets and businesses, making it difficult to see many stars at night. We are located in an urban area near the town centre and also have housing on one side. I would begin by asking the children what they have noticed when looking at the night sky and whether they have ever been able to see lots of stars. We could discuss why some places have darker skies than others and how this affects not only our view of the stars but also wildlife such as birds, bats and insects. As a SET teacher, I would keep the activities practical and discussion-based, using photographs and simple observation tasks to support understanding. We could also use the school garden space to observe the sky during the day and discuss how our environment changes from day to night. I think this would be an enjoyable way to develop curiosity while helping children understand the impact people can have on the environment.
Hi Caroline, Thanks so much for sharing this book. I work in a Gaelscoil and this will be a great addition. We are always looking for new and interesting material as Gaeilge. GRMMA
As a SET teacher, I think Stellarium would be a lovely way to introduce astronomy to a small group of children before taking them outdoors to make their own observations. Using the interactive whiteboard, we could explore the night sky above our school and identify the Moon, some bright stars and any visible planets. I would encourage the children to make predictions about what they might see before checking their ideas using Stellarium. If possible, I would link the lesson with our school garden by taking the children outside to observe the sky during the day and discuss how the sky changes from day to night. The children could keep a simple observation sheet or draw what they noticed and compare this with what they explored using the software. I think this would make astronomy feel much more accessible and engaging, particularly for children who benefit from visual supports and hands-on learning. It would also encourage curiosity, discussion and careful observation in a relaxed and enjoyable way. If I am still involved with our school garden next year, this could provide a lovely outdoor setting for children to observe the sky and discuss how what they see changes over time.
Hi Olivia, the walk is a great way to start the sundial activity, keep it grounded in their own immediate reality. I can see this being useful in our school too in looking at the school garden and what grows best/gets the most hours of sunshine.
I would choose the sundial activity as I think it would be a really fun, hands-on way for children to learn about the movement of the sun. Before making the sundial, I would ask the class to predict where they think the shadow would fall at different times of the day and then test their ideas by observing and recording the results. This would encourage discussion, curiosity and scientific thinking. I could also link the activity to a Montessori birthday walk to reinforce how the Earth moves around the Sun over the course of a year and help children understand their place in space. I enjoy activities that get children outdoors and actively investigating, and this lesson would provide plenty of opportunities for observation, prediction and discussion while making learning meaningful and enjoyable. We could use our focus on shadows in an Art lesson by drawing silhouettes using a bright light and reflecting on how people used these to capture someone’s likeness before cameras became widely available.