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Hi Aisling
It is such a pity that we have lost so much because of light pollution. As you are living in Cork city, I assume that you are also teaching in the city and that many of your pupils may not have shared experiences like yours of looking up at the stars. I think the solution to the problems of light pollution is questioning how much of it is as you say a “necessary” evil. It is certainly not necessary for shops and businesses to be completely lit up at night or for private houses or gardens to be lit up with bright spotlights. Once businesses are closed, low level security lights on sensors should be enough to protect them and low level sensor lights are enough to provide security for houses and and gardens don’t need to be lit up all night. Also, while a certain amount of street lighting is necessary, it is not necessary for streetlights to be as numerous or as bright as they are.
Hi Hannah
Welcome to the course. I’m glad you like this resource so much and that you have ideas for adapting the resource for all class levels. Using pictures, art and craft and the Sun Earth model are all really great ways of explaining the differences between the seasons. As you said younger classes can concentrate on exploring and discussing the differences between the seasons and what happens with light levels and the amount of darkness and also with studying what changes occur in nature in the different seasons and how these changes are related to the amount of daylight and the changes in temperature and moisture levels, while older classes can start to explore why these changes occur and what causes the seasons. Of course no lesson on the seasons with any class level would be complete without going outside in each season to observe seasonal changes first hand.
Hi Amy
Your approach to studying the moon with your class is great as you are allowing the children autonomy in what they study. From class discussion and their brainstorming activity, the children will have identified what they know about the moon and if they have some misconceptions, not only will you have identified them, but they themselves may have started to question their own misconceptions through discussion with their peers. Throughout their discussion period, you can move between the groups adding a prompt question here or there if discussions have stalled or if a particular group need a little guidance to get started. Allowing them to choose which questions to research, will as you said mean their research is more pupil directed and they will be more likely to retain that information than if they were simply handed the information. Making models of the moon phases will then help to illustrate what they have learned.
Hi Deirdre
Your plan here shows the value of inquiry based STEM teaching. This is a very simple activity but by taking the approach of guiding the children in their research and allowing them autonomy in what animals they choose to research, how they will carry out their research and how they present their projects, you are fostering a range of scientific skills and incorporating the use of technology to support the learning needs and styles of each child. I would suggest setting the condition that the animals researched should be Irish animals or those who migrate to Ireland to mak eit more relevant to their own experience.
Hi Cora
I’m glad you found the topic so interesting and plan to teach it this year. You are so right. The excessive use of light makes no sense and is harming ourselves and nature in so many ways. The more awareness we can spread, the better it will be, because light pollution is much easier to fix than most of our environmental issues if we only have the will to do it. You have oputlined a great plan there which involves Citizen Science through the Globe at Night programme, mapping of light pollution sources, discussion on solutions and an engineering project to design shielded lights.
Hi Geraldine
It is a great idea to revisit the information you gained from your visitor talking about butterflies. Butterflies are a great indicator species for the health of a habitat. Numerous reports from both Ireland and the UK and my own observations from my garden butterfly count have indicated that their numbers are very low this year, so everything you can do to create suitable habitat for butterflies and especially caterpillars will be very helpful. Also, by focussing on increasing butterfly numbers, you will also improve the habitat for lots of other wildlife. Perhaps you could invite that visitor back to the school for additional guidance once you have started planning for wildlife and implementing your plan.
Hi Caolan
You make a great point there about the need for understanding nocturnal creatures as part of a holistic approach to learning about Biodiversity. Often, people focus on the needs of a particular species or group of species, which is important, but it is also important to look at the interaction between species and the environment in which they are living. For example, bats, birds and many other groups of both animals and plants rely on insects and both plants and animals rely on darkness at night to flourish. A recent study in China found that in some situations, excess light can affect leaf growth on plants making the leaves inedible to insects. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/05/all-night-streetlights-make-leaves-inedible-to-insects-study-finds?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawEmxF1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSTKlEkQCFx3Z4qOOeYAMhihmmxDXIztzViJYXHJ7e-k28rsN7loSPEDmg_aem_xt3y9UJ_V0uQX4IIy8YuNg#Echobox=1722838112. Working on shielding and restricting lights in school could have a positive impact on wildlife and I love the idea of dark sky zones. While you may not be able to control all of the light sources affecting your yard, you can work on creating areas where that light doesn’t penetrate as much.
Hi Annette
I love the idea of the tent and getting the children to come up with ways to make it darker. The constellations added to the roof and the torches are a great way to do a range of investigations on light pollution and reducing its effects and I’m sure the children will love taking turns to enter the tent to try out their investigations. This classroom investigation and the group research and discussion are a great lead up to the mapping exercise in the yard as the children will already be tuned in to the effects of light pollution and what to look out for.
Hi Alannah
Your experience of growing up in Donegal and being able to experience the stars and especially the Northern Lights is something you can share with the children ion your class as a great way of illustrating the problem of light pollution. I’m sure the children will connect with your personal story so that when you show them pictures of the night sky over Donegal, they will identify with them more than if you were just showing them pictures without the accompanying personal story. Some of the children may have seen darker skies while visiting relatives or have spent holidays in more rural parts of the country but some may not have experienced a truly dark sky at all so that connection is important. Getting them to observe the night sky from their own homes in the evening time will provide a good contrast and is a good way to introduce the topic and your classroom activities will help to reinforce the idea to children who may not be able to observe the stars on a regular basis.
Hi Edele
That is a great plan that looks at the problems that light pollution causes for nocturnal animals from a number of perspectives: learning and researching and taking action. I love that you plan to involve the local community and engage with the local authority to look at reducing light pollution and that you plan to spread the word about the dangers of light pollution as well as working to provide shelter for nocturnal creatures who might visit your school.
Hi Sarah
Putting a focus on the needs of bats is a lovely idea for your school biodiversity plan. I’m not sure why bats being out would be a problem for the children, as the whole point of learning about bats and undertaking a project to look after their needs is to show children how beneficial bats are and how there are no reasons for anyone to be nervous around them. Changing the lighting and planting night scented flowers is a great idea. Bat Conservation Ireland are currently working on a series of videos on gardening for bats which might be of interest to you when they are finalised.
Hi Fiona
That sounds like a great step by step plan to design a dark sky place and a great way to recap on everything the children have learned about dark skies and put it into practice through discussing their dark sky place. You might also want to think about areas outside of the National Park that would be contributing to light pollution and ask the children to consider how they might engage with the local community.
Hi Ailbhe
I think a class discussion to assess children’s prior knowledge of Climate Change is essential before dealing with this topic As you said, most children will have some knowledge as it is now belatedly being discussed to some extent in the media, but I’m sure you will find that children have many misconceptions as the causes of climate change are rarely discussed in any detail and many adults are not aware of the differences between weather and climate and how global warming can lead to many different extremes including cold and wet weather. The Paxi video is a great place to start in explaining how man made climate change is happening and how our actions can contribute in negative or positive ways.
Hi Caroline
Welcome to the course. I am glad that you have enjoyed the first module and are confident that you can use the resources to round out your teaching of STEM and provide a more inclusive and interactive STEM experience for your pupils. Hopefully you will find lots more inspiration in the rest of the course for inquiry based STEM integrated with all other aspects of the curriculum. I like the idea of involving all classes in your weather station with each class being responsible for recording the weather on a different day of the week.
Hi Lorraine
I agree with your point that it is very important to link Climate Change to the children’s own lives. Too often, people in Ireland dismiss the idea of climate change thinking that it won’t affect us or that because we are a small country, our actions don’t matter. It is important to realise that while we in Ireland have escaped the worst effects of climate change so far, we are being affected by increased floods, occasional droughts and other unpredictable weather events as a result of climate change so it is relevant to everyone . We also need to take responsibility for our own part in contributing to the problem.
