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Yes Colm, that is a great idea and so simple. It’s definitely something the whole school could buy into
Do you think climate change is having an impact in your local area?
This sparks a discussion around how the weather patterns are changing and shifting in the last 20 years.
I always begin with a class discussion to find out what they already know. This is a great opportunity for the students to help and teach each other. This will lead us into the discussion of what causes the climate to change.
Prediction/Data Collection: Students can predict what weather they expect to see based on the time of the year. They could record this data and compare it to data collected over previous 10 years. They could observe weather on a daily basis and record it in a daily log too. It would be beneficial for the children to take a walk around their local area to see if there is any signs of weather damage.
Guest Speakers: I always look to the parents first to see if there is anyone suitable to come in and speak about certain topics. This is really important for the children to see and another voice always works.
To make it more interesting, I always try to incorporate interactive activities and group work I find that children learn way more when there is structured group work. Building weather instruments such as rain gauges out of recycled plastic is always good. It demonstrates that it is really easy to reuse goods from their houses to things that are really useful.
That’s a really good summary, High in the Sky with ‘Nose’ sounds great. I’ll definitely look at it in future.
The EO browser is a powerful and user friendly web application that provides access to an array of satellite. With this browser, you can visualize, download and view up to date images from around the world. This is an essential tool for any classroom and the pupils can do so much with it. It is a user friendly too. Students have the ability to compare satellite images such as deforestation, natural disasters and urban growth. This resource is essential for the development of children’s understanding of how the world changes. This interactive experience promotes critical thinking and affords the children the opportunity to learn in a fun way gaining a deeper appreciation of the wonderful world in which we live. I have to say, EO browser is one of the best interactive tools I have used and you need to get it.
I also agree, the documentary is really quite moving and I have shown the Ted Talks video to some of my class who really enjoyed it.
‘Home’ is an amazing documentary that really highlights not only the beauty of the world around us but also the impact that that has on it.
I would probable start by having a class discussion around climate change and the causes and affects it has on our world. I would then have the class draw pictures illustrating their idea of what climate change looks like. We would then watch the documentary and stop at important parts throughout to discuss what exactly is happening.
Once the documentary is finished, pupils will have the opportunity in groups to discuss what they took from the documentary and how they interpreted it. Pupils will create a PowerPoint presentation based on the documentary of what the causes and affects are and also what they can do to combat it. I will also encourage all pupils to research any youth activists to take inspiration from.
We will mould the presentations into one and present it at the next assembly which will encourage others to do their part.
Creating a “Design Your Own Dark Sky Place” activity in the classroom can be an engaging way for students to learn about light pollution and its effects on the environment. This is better suited to the senior classes.
Firstly I would introduce the concept of a dark sky space and its importance. As a class we would discuss the impact of light pollution on the wildlife, human health and astronomy. To further highlight I would show examples of dark sky spaces in Ireland and show them what is visible as a result. I think it is important for pupils to have a clear visual.
After this the pupils would be divided into groups and asked to research different aspects of the dark sky space for examples community involvement, any local county council policies, wildlife, tourism and astronomy features. Each group will then have to design their own dark sky space and include the following elements and justify their reasons:
Location: where they will choose and why.
Lighting Plan: How could you reduce lighting?
Community involvement: Why is it important to involve the local community and how can you involve local community?
Wildlife Protection: What will be done to ensure the safety of local wildlife?
Astronomy: What could be done to encourage astronomy enthusiasts to the area?
Pupils will then present their findings to the class and take all feedback on board. After all of the presentations are presented, pupils will be given the opportunity to reflect on their work and see if there was anything they would do differently.
Patrick,
It’s a real asset to have that space on school grounds where pupils can explore nature. With so much green space being taken for building it’s great to have
How you would engage your learners to explore biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.
There are a number of ways I would engage my class to explore biodiversity in my locality. Firstly, I would introduce what biodiversity and light pollution were. I would do this by by getting the groups to discuss what they think it was. I would then show them a video or presentation explaining and see how close they were. I would encourage all pupils to discuss their experiences and observations related to local wildlife and light pollution.
We would then go on a nature walk to identify any wildlife in our local park. Pupils will document any species of plants, insects, birds and any other animals. If possible I would invite any biologists, bird watchers etc to come and talk to the children about the impacts it can have.
If possible, the children could go on a night walk with an adult to the same park and observe the use of artificial light in the area. They could also observe any nocturnal animals in the area. Pupils would be invited to discuss their findings with the class. To make it more graphic for the children, pupils could create art projects of the affects that light pollution can have on local wildlife.
I’m lucky enough to have spent every summer down in south Kerry both as a kid and now. The area is now a dark sky reserve and to come from Dublin where starts are very limited to the sights down in Kerry is phenomenal. The Milky Way is visible on any clear night. Trying to explain this this to my own class is quite difficult. They can’t understand why there are no lights and and don’t like the idea of not being able to see at night. They have told me it’s not normal. Many of these lads haven’t been out of Dublin. It is essential to have the children discuss the level of light pollution they are surrounded by and just how important it is to them and their locality. Discuss with the class the lights needed as opposed to what is needed. A really good idea would be to bring the pupils on a school trip (as many do down to connemara) and have them compare and contrast the differences between both
I believe the Paxi video would be great at the beginning of the lesson. It is a fun and colourful video and be very engaging for the pupils. Group work is key for this lesson as there are many levels and it also works well for differentiation. Each group would be given their own iPads and encouraged to conduct their own research too. Pupils would then predict their own future temperatures before moving onto the teal simulation tool. Pupils could then explore the tool and manipulate any variables and see the impact that they can have on our climate. There are plenty of opportunities for further discussions on the impacts it can have and also what can be done to combat.
I agree, I think the idea of a weather station in the school is a really good idea where the whole school can get involved.
<span style=”color: #163c42; font-family: ‘Hind Madurai’, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;”>Having read and reviewed the paper ‘Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’, Liston clearly demonstrates the importance of a hands on approach and active learning with a focus on critical thinking and collaborative learning. In my own classroom, I focus on real life challenges that and encourage pupils to think of as many ways they can to solve the problem through a number of way such as exploration, experiments, engineering etc. I found both resources to be very interesting and useful and wouldn’t hesitate in using them. The videos were very good. We have a very active garden in our school where we grow a number of fruits and vegetables and it would be the ideal location for a weather station. Each strand could be responsible for a certain weather condition. There would be a number of lessons that would interconnect throughout the curriculum and I believe the students would really benefit. </span>