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Thanks Kate. i enjoyed reading your post on on Climate Action and how important the SSE framework is to embed sustainable development into school life.
Reflect on how gender stereotypes might affect your students already at a young age. Describe a scenario you’ve seen in the classroom where gender stereotypes are present and post a reflection (150 words minimum) in this forum as a reply to this post, on how development education methodologies could help combat these stereotypes.
Please also comment on at least one other participant’s post
Think about School Self-Evaluation (SSE) and how Development Education can feed into SSE.
One day I observed children participating in playtime during aistear in a Senior Infant classroom. They have sponge building blocks and a kitchen set. I noticed how one child said the boys should use the bricks and the girls should cook.
There is a useful lesson from Plan International on gender that could help broaden the horizons of children. The objectives of the lesson the lesson are
*Develop a clear understanding of the term gender.
*Explore what children like based on gender.
*Show an understanding of self questioning by discussing the differences between girls and boys choices.
*Understand that boys and girls can like whatever they want to and it doesn’t matter what gender they are.SSE could be present where the children can reflect on their answers and share them with the class.
SSE can also feed into this lesson by learning about children from different countries and what the like and dislike.Well done Kate, I like the way that you would try to encourage children to be global citizenship and to think critically. You also addressed that Development Education encourages students to question and reflect.
Review the paper: ‘The Role of Global Citizens in Today’s World’ (Ehigie, 2021) and consider why Development Education is important and how you would try to include it in your own teaching and encourage colleagues to plan development education activities throughout your school.
Think about School Self-Evaluation (SSE) and how Development Education can feed into SSE.
The Ehigie paper is important because it makes us more aware of how to address of the causes social injustices both locally and globally. It looks at the wider, societal systems that may facilitate a lot of the social challenges. Lastly the paper challenges ideologies of illiberalism in the overall attempt to enhance society.
The article highlights the fact that we should extend our solidarity to others and do as much as we can to uplift those around us. The article also highlights the fact that in order to become a Global Citizen that we must rectify the presence of oppression within other people.
I would try to include the above in my teaching by instilling in my students on how to become a global citizen and that they can make a difference in the world.
There are many resources and lessons available to help children become independent thinkers and to learn about their rights as a child.
I would refer to the Plan International Handbook that contains many useful resources as follows;
4 modules
• 5 lessons in each
• Gender aimed at 1st and 2nd class
• Inequality aimed at 3rd and 4th class
• Migration and Refugees aimed at 5th and 6th class
• Climate Change aimed at 3rd and 4th classWell done Colm, I like the approach you have to your own teaching and the way you would integrate DE through cross-curricular projects focused on global justice themes. This would help to encourage pupils to investigate topics like climate justice, migration and fair trade.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?
Songs:
Sky full of stars – Coldplay
Twinkle Twinkle little star
Fly me to the moon
Here comes the sunClair de Lune is a classical music piece which could be used to imagine what the night sky looks like.
Planets by Gustav Holst is also another classical piece that could be a good introduction to a lesson on the night sky.Poems:
Bright star I see tonight is a beautiful poem about the night sky.
Art:
Starry Night by Van Gogh is the most famous one.Other good inspiration for art based on the night sky would be to flick white paint with a toothbrush on black paper to represent the stars.
Papier mache could be used on balloons to make a solar system. Black card and painted stars could then be used to represent the night sky.
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and
the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.Introduction:
Firstly I would ask them what experiences they have with biodiversity and wildlife-animals, gardening exploring different plants.
I would then introduce them to the booklet via the Curious Minds website. They booklets are called Gardening for Biodiversity and Biodiversity in your garden.
Ask them to identify where there is plant and animal diversity in their life and where it exists in their locality.Development:
How can we develop it in our locality?
How is biodiversity threatened in our area?
How does light pollution effect biodiversity?We can develop biodiversity by planting wild flowers.
Light can effect nocturnal animals such as bats. It can have an impact on their navigation and the hunting for insects on which they feed from.
Light pollution can also impact on birds. It can also confuse migrating birds and their insects of prey.
Conclusion:
This can be improved by using lights which point downwards and by reducing unnecessary bright street lights. Use shielding lights to reduce upward light spillRefer to the Dark Sky Planning Document by NSW.
Refer to the website planning.nsw.gov.au/darkskyThis is a fabulous lesson Susan. I like the exploration of biodiversity and light pollution. Thank you
Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
Introduction:
How is light polluting our local area?
How does it impact us?
Artificial light is polluting our area. It can cause drivers and pedestrians to have accidents.
Disturb our circadian rhythm.
Cause some cancers.Overuse of artificial light can waste money and cause waste from fossil fuels.Development:
Refer to the Dark Sky Planning Document by NSW.
Refer to the website planning.nsw.gov.au/darksky
Light pollution is the inappropriate use of light.
It is the inappropriate use of light in the wrong place at the wrong time.Conclusion:
Research completed in groups to offer solutions in our local area and refer to the documents and website above.
Switch lights off.
Use lights only when necessary.
Use shielding lights to reduce upward light spill
Direct lights downwards away from reflective surfaces.
Use environmentally friendly lightbulbs with warm light.Create a poster in groups to create an awareness about this in our locality.
Members of the Green Schools Committee to promote their findings to the school.This is a great lesson with good use of the ‘Rising Star’ awards program. Good use of reading material s and project work in groups.
Stellarium is an excellent tool to observe the night sky. This software can be easily downloaded and dosen’t need the internet to be operated. This lesson is based on the stellarium-web.org
Introduction:
Make sure each child has the use of a Chrome Book in the class. Ensure that the Stellarium software is open.Development:
Set the location to Limerick.
The task sheet will ask to look at the current date and fill in how many daylight hours and night time hours do we have today. How does this differ from two months ago?
This is a good tool to see how the length of day and night vary.
How many daylight hours did we have on March 27th. Work in pairs and please fill in the answer on your task sheet
Use the icon to find out which planets are visible in the nighttime sky?
What time is the moon visible rising after midnight?Zoom in to see which planets are visible near the horizon on July 28th.
Use the constellation icon to view the constellations.
Can you name the Greek constellations?Turn on the grid icon. Are you able to see any satellites? Please note the number if you are able to so so.
Zoom in on the planet Jupiter. Please read the information section based on the planet and indicate its size.
Conclusion:
What is your favourite tool in Stellarium. Please describe how you would use it to sky gaze.This is indeed an excellent lesson. They children are actively involved and they have nice tasks to complete.
2.Construct a sundial in your immediate area or plan for your school grounds to see where a sundial could be placed.
I would firstly refer to the ESERO Lesson on Use the sun.
Introduction: Ask the children if they know how we told the time before clocks were invented? Is there a large area in the school where there is sun for most of the day?
Luckily in my school there is a large playing pitch.I would explain that for a sundial to work that it has to have a shadow with a pointer and this must always point north.
I would use a torch and orange in class to explain that the earth turns on its axis so the position of the sun with regards to the earth is always changing.Construction of the sundial:
Use a compass to find the direction of true north.
Place a large protractor down facing north.
Stick a 1.5m stick in the ground facing north.
A diagram of this is indicated in the ESERO lesson.Development:
The children will note where the shadow of the stick falls. They will place a rock at this point each time. They are encouraged to write a number on each rock to indicate the hour time.Conclusion:
The children will be asked to not the time. How much time has passed etc.
