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I think this idea is a good one for schools. I have to guard the recycling bin in my classroom as children are so careless about what they put in it. They are not concerned about the reality of recycling. It would be a great idea to run a project like yours to really reinforce the importance of doing it right and the idea that if everyone makes an effort we can make a change for the better. It great for children to learn this while they are young as it will build good habits and the will be more vigilant as adults.
Climate question:
Is it possible for us to reduce our carbon footprint?
This question will encourage the children to look at their own lives, habits and routines and see if they can influence their carbon footprint. It should make the bigger challenge of climate change relevant to them.
I would firstly teach the children about weather and climate change using the ESA lessons. I would make use of videos and pictures on the interactive white board to stimulate their interest in a conversation about reducing their carbon footprint. The class would then learn to measure their carbon footprint. We would then come up with ways to reduce this. The children are already very familiar with Green Schools work and so should have a good idea on how to cut down on energy such as walking to school, car pooling, using drink bottle instead of buying plastic bottles, turning off lights and machines at the end of the day etc. The class could then decide on one or two actions to implement over a period of time and measure the carbon footprint again after this period is up. This would allow them to see and measure results and give them data with which to present their efforts to the school.
I agree that this resource is a very useful one. It is well laid out and offers much scope for cross-curricular links and integration. There is great opportunity for building curiosity and interest in science in general and all it has to offer the pupils.
- International Space Station (ISS):The ISS regularly performs high-elevation twilight passes visible to the naked eye as a bright, steady, non-blinking light moving from west to east. The ISS performs scientific research that cannot be performed on earth, earth observation and space exploration. It is permanently crewed.
- Starlink-1482: Part of SpaceX’s active low-Earth orbit internet constellation, passing overhead on regular dusk/dawn orbital tracks. It is an active communication satellite owned and operated by SpaceX as part of its low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband internet constellation. It functions as a single node in a massive global network designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access to users on Earth, particularly in rural or remote areas.
- Starlink-1465: Frequently tracked during evening viewing windows across the Irish skies at moderate-to-high elevations. This also provides internet across the globe.
- Starlink-3884: Noted for bright, tight-window trajectories shifting across northern and eastern bearings. This also provides internet across the globe.
- Starlink-3916: Part of ongoing high-inclination deployments frequently visible over Northern Europe and Ireland shortly after sunset. It also functions as an active hardware node within SpaceX’s low-Earth orbit internet constellation. It works in unison with thousands of other Starlink satellites to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe
I like the idea of just using an appropriate excerpt from the U tube video Home as inspiration for a discussion. The video is too long to view in full in one sitting and the content in some parts is very high level. It is beautifully made and very powerful however.
The Video Home is a very interesting video which could be very stimulating for a debate on Climate Change and the global impact. However, I am not sure if it might just be a bit too advanced for Primary school children especially when describing the origins of life on earth. I do think children would be interested in it but I am not sure that they would comprehend a lot of it.
I think a lot of work would have to be put into prior learning about the greenhouse effect and to really explore this topic of children so they can really understand it and how it affects their lives personally.
The video of Greta Thunberg was very engaging and I believe children would be very inspired by her knowledge, passion and courage to speak out as young person. I would use this to inspire a debate about climate change and ask children to take sides an argue their points about the need for action now to fight climate change.
Of course, the PAXI videos are very child friendly. They are a great addition to any lesson on the topic of the environment and climate change. I would certainly use them to consolidate new information and reinforce prior learning and to engage children who are drawn to screens and tired of teacher-talk!
I like the idea of a gallery walk. In fact I think this lesson could take more of the format of a project as there is a lot in really and a gallery walk at the end would be a great way of each group getting the chance to share their learning with the whole group especially if you have big class numbers.
This lesson would follow on from the Under the Lid, Understanding the Greenhouse Effect Lesson.
I would begin lesson by eliciting prior knowledge about the Greenhouse Effect from the children through talk and discussion and brainstorming on the board.
I would follow this discussion by showing children the PAXI video on the Greenhouse Effect.
We can then have a further discussion about scientists and I would introduce and explain to them the idea of Climate Scenarios.
The children would then work in Groups using the TEAL tool to find climate scenarios for different parts of the world. I would allow them to explore this tool for a period of time before I introduce the worksheet to them. I would explain to them how there are 3 different scenarios – low, medium and high greenhouse gas emissions.
We can then then have a discussion about the scenarios as a class about how different scenarios might affect their lives and elicit some ideas from them as to how tow they might reduce these impacts.
The children can then go back to their group work and begin working as Climate Reporters. They will use the activity sheet and the TEAL tool to make predictions and to come up with ideas.
They will then present their findings to the class. Of course, the groups should be carefully selected and jobs given to each child in the group to allow for differentiation and inclusion.
Yes looking at STEM as a whole rather than individual subject areas is something I could improve on too. Children’s environment and experience is also important as it provides a starting point for inquiry and learning.
Module 1 Assignment
The article Unravelling STEM: Beyond the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. by Dr. Maeve Liston was certainly food for thought. It opened my mind to the idea that we do not really incorporate STEM fully into our lessons. Science and Maths are the obvious choices as we have been used to teaching these subjects however Engineering and Technology almost seem out of reach in a classroom of 30 children a jam-packed curriculum.
I was confident that I was ticked them STEM box as I conduct maths stations weekly and there is always a STEM station. This would involve some type of construction project involving concrete materials such as Kapla, Lego, octogons etc. The children loved it and sometimes I would give them a brief or a theme to base their construction on. I see now that I am completely underchallenging them and giving them a problem to solve would be more appropriate.
We do have a lot of resources in terms of electronics and indeed they are problems to be solved as I am not very techy minded so the children are on their own there and always seem to work collaboratively to figure things out.
The ESA kids resources are very well laid out lesson plans which will be of great use to me in the classroom. I think I would use these lessons over a term perhaps from September to Halloween. The learning, building, recording , analysing data are clearly laid out. The majority of the lesson is formed from pupil feedback as they present their work through talk and discussion, presentation of models and collection of data. This is where the learning really happens – when the children feed it all back to you.
A weather station would be a very welcome addition to the school yard and would provide opportunities for children to pass on their learning to the younger children as they enquire about the models. We have a quiet zone on our yard where there are no balls allowed so I think this would be the ideal space for a weather station as it would be out of harms way.
Wonderful ideas here. Lovely to see all the folk tales which link into the night sky theme. I find children respond hugely to story telling especially if it is told as if it were my own story – I don’t even need pictures. A story is wonderful for grabbing their attention.
Consider how many Songs / Poems /Art can you think of to connect us with the Night Sky?
The mixture of Song, Art and literature is wonderful for conducting an all encompassing lessons which really awakens the curiousity and imagination of a child. They would be wonderful at the engagement part of the lesson and again during reflection at the end of the lesson – to wrap up the lesson with an idea or a concept, song or a picture. Songs and picture appeal to multiple senses making the lesson more engaging overall. They are a welcome addition to lesson planning. Here are some examples relating to the night sky:
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Star light, star bright…Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
David Bowie – Starman
Starlight – Taylor Swift
Coldplay – Light will guide you home
Portis Head – wandering Star
Yeats – He wishes for cloths of Heaven
The Skylight by Seamus Heaney
The Starry Night – Vincent van Gogh
Moonlit Shipwreck at Sea – Thomas Moran
The Stolen Child by W.B. Yeats
John O’Donoghue – The wound at the side of the house.
The opportunity to use the forest is great for exploring biodiversity and it will be wonderful to be able to compare and contrast that forest habitats with that of the school grounds and the village. This should make for very interesting learning and a good opportunity for children to explore and wonder and then look at their findings critically.
Biodiversity and light pollution in schools.
Explore: Establish what plants and animals are in the school grounds by doing a bio blitz using books, keys and websites to help identify plants and animals. Draw up a biodiversity map to show up what habitats are in the school grounds. Use heritage in the schools video to teach this.
Make a plan as to what we want to improve. For example, reducing mowing to encourage wild plants to flower, eliminating pesticides and allowing hedgerows to flower, reduce lighting around the school grounds.
Construct model from materials to show what you want the school to look like. Make bat boxes or bird boxes. Make adjustments to lighting. Make planters for vegetables. Encourage tree growth for bats.
To evaluate you must repeat the biodiversity survey. Ask questions such as: Has our work helped to provide food, water, shelter for a range of species? Was our plan easy to implement? Have we recorded any new species or an increase in numbers of a particular plant or animal? Were we able to do anything to reduce light pollution?