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Hi Lauren, I really loved your research question and it actually inspired me to bring in the parental aspect also as I think it would really motivate the children and bring a really fun element to the research!
Research Question:
Were summers really better in Ireland in the 90s?This question was prompted by my own childhood experiences and I think the children will be able to relate to their own parents talking about Summer when they were younger. It was also inspired by another participant’s research question which involved the parents, which I thought was a fantastic idea.
To inspire the children, I would start this as an oral language activity. I would encourage the children to interview their parents/grandparents about summers in the 90s. These questions might include what type of clothing they wore, what activities they undertook, beaches they visited etc. They would also contain more specific questions regarding the weather such as how often it rained, whether they remember any snow in the Summer. The children could record the interview with their parents and we could watch them back in class through seesaw, or they can record them on paper/using a word document etc. We would have a class discussion about the results.
We would then begin to gather our evidence. We would do this by accessing weather data from the 1990s on Met Eireann. We would also use the website https://weatherspark.com/h/y/32637/1990/Historical-Weather-during-1990-in-Cork-Ireland as this is specific to Cork, which would be relevant to us. We would look at the data, talk about finding an average temp/rainfall/wind speed etc. we would then do the same for this year and discuss the differences.
We could follow up our research with a fun interview again with the parent/grandparent where the child presents the results and they decide whether Summers really were better in the 90s.
This is really interesting Laura. I also used a satellite tracking website but you seem to have figured out what each satellite was specifically working to do. This would be very interesting for the children and I’d love to know how you managed to get this info. I could get specifics about the satellite (country of origin etc.) but not the data it was collecting.
I used the website Satellite Tracker 3D.
List of 5 satellites that have passed over Ireland recently:
Starlink – 4162: This satellite’s country of origin is the United States. It was launched in 2022. Its satellite type is a payload. Its orbital period is one hour and 35 minutes. Its orbital path is right through the midline of Ireland.
Starlink – 34307: This satellite’s country of origin is the United States. It was launched in 2022. Its satellite type is a payload. Its orbital period is one hour and 33 minutes and it travels at a speed of 27,587 km/hr. Its orbital path is through the south of Ireland.
Essa 1: This satellite’s country of origin is the United States. It was launched in 1966 and is currently inactive. Its orbital period is one hour and 39 minutes.
Centispace 1-S10: This satellite’s country of origin is The People’s Republic of China. It was launched in January of this year. Its orbital period is one hour and 38 minutes.
Cosmos-413: This satellite was launched by the Commonwealth of Independent States. It was launched in 1971. Its satellite type is a payload. Its orbital period is one hour and 55 minutes and it travels at a speed of 25,580km/hr. Its orbital path is diagonally through Ireland, starting in the North West and ending in the South East.Satellites are useful for a number of reasons. They help to collect data which provides more knowledge about the earth. This can help with decision making with regards to navigation, preparation for natural disasters, information for aviation and navigation.
I also loved the idea of creating posters. Having the children physically create something will give them a sense of action around communicating the messages about Climate Change.
The video HOME is a very impactful and sobering watch. It really outlines the delicate balance our ecosystem needs and how the damage humans are doing is upsetting that balance. Like a lot of things to do with Climate Change, it is very hard hitting. The messages that these types of films deliver are very important and certainly need to be communicated, however, they can sometimes leave the viewer feeling overwhelmed or even a little bit hopeless, as it is easy to feel quite powerless in the grand scheme. This is why I think I would only show parts of the video to classes. The Climate Aid video carries the same message but manages to retain a message of hope and for that reason I think is a lot more suitable for the classroom. I could definitely see myself discussing Ireland’s Climate Action Plan as again, this would give the children an insight into the positive steps that are being taken and the need for solid action and accountability. It highlights the individual and collective roles we can play to work towards our goals.
I think activity 3 is very stimulating! The children will love having the autonomy to choose which country they want to base their statistics on. They will also enjoy hearing about other countries their friends have chosen.
The Paxi video is interesting, short and visually appealing. I think it would be an effective start to the lesson and would grab the children’s attention. It is also very relatable and I think all of the children will be able to make connections to it.
The TEAL tool is fascinating. I love how the children will get an opportunity to explore this tool as part of the assignment. They can work in groups using the i-Pads and it ties in nicely with our Digital Learning Plan.
One thing that might enhance the lesson and bring in some mathematical skills would be if the children were to present graphs of the predicted changes in their chosen countries in a given year.
I love this idea of integrating the topic into your other subject areas. I think the children would really enjoy viewing the topic from a different angle and exploring with different styles of writing. Great idea!
That’s a fabulous idea Audrey! We already have a buddy system in the school so this is another great opportunity for them to work together. It would also expose the younger but perhaps more able children to more challenging discussions and ideas which would be very positive.
I think the children will really enjoy activity 1. The videos on weather and climate are stimulating and will be engaging when exploring the theme, giving them a good understanding of the differences between weather and climate. This will be a good point of reference for the children by the time they begin activity 1. The design of activity 1 lends itself really well to group or paired discussion, which children love. They have an opportunity to tease out their answers without the pressure of too much writing, and then they are tasked with explaining what weather and climate are in their own words. This will give me an opportunity to see if they understand the differences and is a useful form of assessment.
Activity 2 is very interesting and again, I think the children will enjoy it. There are brief instructions which are useful, but not too many, which I think will also naturally create a deviation in results, which will provide very stimulating and challenging discussions. For example, it doesn’t suggest taking the air temperature inside the classroom (which we know can vary rapidly throughout the day) or whether they should take it outdoors. They are also challenged to think critically about which resources they need as opposed to being told. I particularly like that they are given a graph template, but again they are tasked with filling in the details themselves, thus opening up room for error, which again will provide critical discussion. The simple explanation for finding the average is also a very practical way of introducing a mathematical concept and applying it to an everyday problem. The activities have all of the features of a good STEM activity.
This activity would be a natural segway into creating our own weather station to collect data and engineer data collection tools as it would allow the children to reflect on some of the things that worked well, or some of the things we need to improve ( such as where we would locate the weather station).
