Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
The parents in our school are very diligent about their children’s lunches and most children will have a protein (usually in a sandwich), a carbohydrate and a dairy portion. Rarely however do children have a seafood in their lunchbox. The healthy food for life PDF was very informative, particularly the portion sizes and the different recommended portions for children and adults. It would be helpful to parents trying to give their children a balanced and varied lunchbox. I learned that of the twenty-nine ammino acids we need nine of them cannot be produced by our body and must be obtained through our diet. These nine amino acids can be found in seafood which is why it’s referred to as complete proteins. Slide 16 clearly shows the incredible amount of minerals, vitamins and amino acids found in seafoods. I also learned that fatty fish such as halibut, salmon and mackerel contain vitamin D. Salmon really seems to be a superfood being high in Omega 3 as well. The BMI seafood handbook was full of information, but I liked that it had a clear image of the fish under its name.
I will have a younger class next year so perhaps a simple body shape on a wall chart with the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins etc needed by different parts of the body or functions eg protein helps the immune system, energy, building muscles etc. We could then look at various foods and discover which foods give us which benefit. For younger children it could be ‘helps me run faster’. The children could discover how healthy seafood is.This is very true. Many healthy bars in lunchboxes are full of sugar when you look at the ingredients.
I think that this course has really shown ways to spark children’s curiosity in aquaculture. The first online course video on the ARC resources would be a great conversation starter on aquaculture. If the volume was muted and you paused the video at certain parts you could initiate imagining, question and exploring skills about aquaculture eg Describe a farm …. Are there any other types of farms, what would a sea farm look like, how would it be similar / different to a land farm, what kind of animals could be farmed, crops grown, how could you catch and keep them, how would you care for them, how would you harvest them, what machinery would you have. Each question would generate more questions and discussion. As a pre learning assessment the children could design their own sea farm in groups. As part of using skills and content knowledge to creatively solve problems the children could brainstorm the questions / solutions to how you would keep the animals or crops. Collaborating and engaging with inquiry and analysis would happen naturally throughout this. For innovating, designing and making the children could design and / or explore designs for aquafarms eg mussel ropes, oyster trays, fish cages and the materials used and attributes needed for suitable materials. Testing and modifying their solutions could come after learning about aquafarming and viewing the video uninterrupted and with sound. They could modify their solutions as part of a post learning activity.
‘STEM is interdisciplinary, enabling learners to build and apply knowledge, deepen their understanding and develop creative and critical thinking skills with authentic contexts. ‘
As part of the STEM curricular integration encouraged by the SSE linked activities could include language lesson on ‘aqua’ prefix and words associated with the sea. Some forum posts had great ideas on designing a menu or packaging for marine produce. This would link with language, creativity, graphics and art. Geography would be central when looking at the location of aquafarms. Graphs could be created based on choice of seafood. Lessons on the foods and diets of other cultures and countries would integrate with History and Geography.Getting the children to research or create fish recipes or meals is a really great idea to extend the lesson and create links with the other jobs supported by aquaculture.
I really like the idea of getting the children to design a label for a fish product. It would be interesting to see what ideas the children would come up with to entice other children to try fish. It would also be a nice way to assess the children’s knowledge of fish farming.
71% of the worlds surface is covered by water most of which is salt water. Only 29% of the earths surface is covered by land. Currently 65% of Irelands land is suitable for agriculture and most of this is already in use however as an island we have a large area of sea suitable for aquaculture.
Not all of Irelands land is suited to different types of agriculture. Mountainous coastal areas in the south west, west and north west do not have land suited to dairy, arable, livestock or mixed farming. Agriculture is possible in these areas but with mountainous regions and bogs as well it is not best suited to it. However their coastal access to the Atlantic makes then ideal for aquaculture. Erosion on the west coast of Ireland has created peninsulas, bays and inlets which are suited to aquaculture. These parts of the country are also traditionally areas of high emigration due to a lack of employment opportunities. Working with the natural landscape and resources not only gives opportunities for industry and employment but also places a value on this landscape and resources. Employment in these areas allows people to remain in these areas keeping schools, local shops and other business viable and helping to regenerate these areas. This also leads to further investment and facilities.That is a really good point about encouraging children to think about aquaculture as a STEM career. We are an island nation and in terms of sustainability and healthy eating aquaculture is an important area.
I hadn’t considered how aquaculture was the same as agriculture in a different environment. Working in a coastal area making this link would be a good way to engage the children in aquaculture.
You could easily make a link between migration in salmon and migration of other birds and animals. The fact sheets on salmon were very interesting. The children could be encouraged to think about how salmon must be adapted to their lifecycle eg their size and weight. I think this would foster a greater appreciation for a product that is so commonly seen in our supermarkets.
The geography syllabus has strands on working and industry in your local environment. I hadn’t considered aquaculture as an industry that supports so many different jobs.
The historical aspect of aquaculture would also interest children. I have often told children about methods of preserving food eg smoking or salting. Fish is probably one of the few foods commonly preserved like this.I did Starry Night with the children last year and they really enjoyed it and create lovely artwork. Didn’t know it was an anniversary this year.
I never thought of searching for a failed rocket launch to explore what is needed for a successful one.
How would astronauts exercise in space could be a starting question for children to create their own games or activities.
Some ideas I would like to try for Space Week this year are.
PE / Music : Space Race Planet Dance Song by Danny Go. Hip Hop Astronaut by Go noodle
Art Appreciation : Ann Kenny makes books a Wexford artist has some lovely imaginative artwork featuring the sky
Ipad time : ESA space themed games.
Oral language and Art: The Space Week site had a lovely idea of the children working in pairs. One child pretending to be a Martian and the other child interviewing them to illicit a description and then drawing the alien. I would use it as a starting point for a lesson on how we live on earth and how an alien would have to adapt to live in space. The children could then create their own aliens and explain their design and where they would live. Twinkle has a design a planet worksheet as well. Some work on the solar system and planets would have been done before hand. There are some nice activities on Stem.org.uk and Explorify.uk
History: I would show the children some images from the lunar landing and as part of a mouse rocket explore how to get it to land in a particular area. There is a fun lesson on Teachstarter.com about designing a safe landing for an eggnaut from ESA. More suited for older classes but would be fun to try some time.
Maths: The are easy co ordinate space themed lessons on Teachstarter.com
