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3. Prepare a school project to collect Piseógs/Traditions/Stories of the Night.
I think this is a lovely way of linking history with the night sky by using Irish folklore as a bridge to the night sky.
I would love to do a project about old piseógs and traditions about the night to get my pupils researching about local history. I would first use an example of a piseóg where “People would not throw water out at night without shouting a warning for the faeries to stand clear.” I would get my pupils to discuss why people in the past might do this and what did it mean. I would then engage the pupils in some think pair share work where they could discuss their prior knowledge of any piseógs and traditions about the night that they are familiar with from talking to their parents/grandparents or from any books or movies that they have engaged with.
Next I would split the class into groups and use dúchas.ie as a resource to search piseogs about the night. There is a dark piseóg about Dolly Murphy the dressmaker which illustrates the nastier side of piseóg which I could draw the attention of some groups to if they were struggling. I would then encourage the class to explore the topic further with their families and neighbours and to bring back some local folklore to the class. This could then be presented to the whole school during assembly.
After the pupils had gathered these stories we could consolidate the theme by discussing Newgrange and the different Stone Age tombs and sites that use the sun and the sky so richly to light up their chambers.
Hi Mairead,
This is an excellent list of songs, stories, poems and artwork about the the night sky. It’s an excellent resource to acknowledge the important part the night sky has played in inspirng the arts.
First of all we would have to explore our school grounds and do a biodiversity survey to see what plants, animals and minibeasts live in our school area. We could also invite a local biodiversity expert into our school to give us more information about the plants and animals around our school, especially the nocturnal species as they would be trickier for us to take note of during the school day without some expert assistance. We could also get the pupils to look at biodiversity maps Ireland to check if there are many nocturnal species around Boyle. After a quick search I have seen that there are bat habitats located near our school. This would give us an opportunity with the help of our heritage expert to investigate maybe where the bats are near our school but most importantly is there any sources of light pollution near these habitats.
We would then move on to making our biodiversity map where we could indicate the plants and animals that we found and the actions we could take to improve biodiversity. Such as;
- No Mow May
- Letting our hedges flower.
- Not using pesticides
- Identifying light pollution/waste and minimising it.
- Allowing different areas of the school to be mowed at different times and heights to allow time for pollinators.
- Make Bat & Bird Boxes.
- Establish a wildflower area for pollinators.
- Label the species of plants and animals in our school grounds.
I feel this would be a very good starting point to improve biodiversity in our school and bring this matter to life for our pupils while also focusing on our nocturnal species and protecting our darker skies.
This is a really good idea to focus on the swallow initially and how light pollution may impact their migration journey. The children would have loads of fun with the binoculars and the merlin bird app. I like your investigation and the results would be very intersting. They are great ideas.
Hi Oonagh,
This is a lovely idea for junior infants, it is very age appropriate and engaging. I like the way you have linked some local organisations like the GAA and the Tidy Towns so the junior infants in your school can have a voice in the community.
- Detail how light pollution is impacting your local area and how you would engage your learners to explore this.
I would begin by discussing the term light pollution and asking the pupils what they think this term means. I would prompt them further by asking why is it important that areas are lit up at night and why would this light then be termed pollution?
I would divide the class into groups and ask them to discuss the positives and negatives of artificial light in the towns and countryside.
I would get the pupils to report back and then I would show them some ESERO content regarding Dark Sky Friendly Nights, wasted light, the financial cost of lighting and also the environmental impact of artificial light on our wildlife. I would let the pupils discuss this information and later in the week revisit their initial discussion on light and see if their perspectives have changed. We could then do an audit on Boyle’s light pollution and if there was anything we could do to improve the glare/glow around the town.
4. Select from one of the activities in the Framework for Inquiry
I like the simple idea of creating your own constellation that was shown in the space week resource and also the ESERO 34 activity regarding Orion and Cassiopeia and the history surrounding them.
I feel these resources allow you to introduce stars, constellations and the night sky to pupils of all class levels and make it exciting fun and creative. Linking the lessons with ancient Greek history and an active art lesson should inspire a greater interest in stargazing in all classes. I really like the idea of drawing your own constellation as this gives every pupil a chance to succeed and enjoy the lesson. I feel these lessons would be a really nice introduction to the night sky and our stars and planets that would hook the pupils and get them wondering about space and the world around us. This would allow more senior rooms to look into the planets and the phases of the moon while keeping the pupils interested with interactive and multi-sensory lessons.
Hi Eileen, this is a very clear and structured plan to observe the autumn night sky. I like the planet diary as a method of tracking the changes.
3. Plan how your students could “observe and record the positions of the sun when rising and setting and at different times of the day”
I would use the curious minds framework to work on this activity with my pupils. I would begin with engaging the class with a prompt. I would discuss the blinds in our classroom and whether or not we always keep them opened or closed and why is this. I would get the children to discuss this prompt in groups of 4-6.
Next I would ask the class why is our room brighter/sunnier and darker during different times of the day. (wonder) This should bring us on to a discussion about orientation. We would then explore in groups about how the sun moves from sunrise to sunset and how this effects our classroom and school environment. Next we would move on to the investigate stage in groups.
Starter question – Where is the sun at 9.30, 11.00, 12.45 and 3.00 around our school? When do we need to close our blinds?
Predicting – Let the pupils record their predictions in their groups.
Conducting the investigation – Follow on lesson throughout the week of mapping and recording the position of the sun. Explicit teaching of North, East, South & West to aid this. As the class teacher I would record sunrise and sunset.
After the investigation I would get each group to present their findings and discuss when and why we need to close/open our blinds. This could be carried on further to discuss where and where not to put up solar panels on the school roof.