[Una Halpin]

Hi Alan

That is a nice Climate Detectives question that is focuses on a local issue and relevant to the children’s own experience. School gardens can be a great place to create scientific investigations by measuring different parameters, changing variables and gathering data and it seems that they are not often used in this way. Using your school, garden for a climate detectives question and investigating things like waterlogging of soil due to excess rain is a good idea if you can set up areas that are partly sheltered from rain or compare rainfall amounts over different days or weeks and compare them to the amount of growth on a fast growing plant. The one things your question lacks is a link to Climate Change. You first need to ask have rainfall amounts increased over the past 30 years as climate data is measured over a period of 30 years or more. You can access online data to see if rainfall amounts have increased (using yearly or monthly data) and then investigate the impact of that rainfall on the school garden.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Margaret

I agree that the Paxi video is a really clear and simple way to explain the concept of greenhouse gases and global warming to children. It is an easy way to introduce the science of climate change and correct any misconceptions the children may have about the causes of global warming and climate change. In doing workshops on climate change in schools, I regularly come across pupils who think that the atmosphere is warming because of holes in the ozone layer, so this simple video is a great way of showing what is already happening. If you have a school greenhouse or polytunnel or even try out the ESA Resource Earth Under the Lid, measuring temperatures inside and outside a greenhouse on a sunny day a nice way to reinforce the learning from the video.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Tommy

First can I just point out that you have posted this response to module 5 in the module 3 forum, so you might want to copy it into the correct location to ensure it is logged correctly.

Linking past weather changes to local community action is a nice idea for a project but as I have pointed out to many other participants suggesting a 10 year time period, you will need to broaden your timeframe to make it relevant to climate. As yearly weather fluctuations are common, changes in climate can only be measured by analysing weather data gathered over a period of 30 years or more. While pupils may have direct experience of weather over a shorter time period, online data is easily available for longer periods. I love the idea of different roles within the group so that everyone is involved in the project and everyone can play to their own strengths.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Karl

Linking climate change to local biodiversity is a great idea for a project topic. as I have said to others suggesting a 10 year time period for investigation, you will should broaden your timeframe to reinforce the difference between weather and climate. As yearly weather fluctuations are common, it is only possible to measure changes in climate when weather data is analysed over a period of 30 years or more. Using some of the tools and resources mentioned in the course, you should be able to look at weather trends over a longer time period. I love the idea of looking at actual versus perceived change as different people often have very different ideas of what the weather was like over the same time period in the same location. To make a connection between Biodiversity and Climate Change, it might be nice to focus in on species that are particularly susceptible to changing climate or extreme weather events, such as migratory birds or butterflies. Butterflies would hopefully be easily seen in parks and gardens from April to June and are relatively easily identified and while long term data from Ireland is scarce, data on Butterfly numbers is available from 2019 from the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and other butterfly monitoring schemes. https://biodiversityireland.ie/monitoring/. Last year was disastrous for butterflies throughout Ireland and the UK, partly because of a cold wet spring, whereas lots or warm, dry weather through spring and summer this year has been good for butterfly numbers.

 

[Una Halpin]

Hi Damien

I love the idea of each group researching a different nocturnal animal and presenting their projects to learn more about their local wildlife. So often in schools, I see projects based around animals from far away and many children have very little understanding of the animals living on their own doorsteps.  Your projects are a great way to highlight the wonderful biodiversity on our own doorstep and the threats that these animals and plants face every day. Continuing on with their projects by using what they have learned to take action and share what they have learned about light pollution with their families through posters and videos is a great way to finish the project.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Aimee

Welcome to the course and thanks for sharing your lesson plan. This sounds like a really engaging lesson for your senior infant class. I love how you plan to carry out the lesson after covering time in maths as it is a great way to introduce the playful and practical element of maths. Your smiley face sundial sounds like a lovely plan as is getting the children to use what they have learned from their shadow investigations to choose a suitable location for the sundial. I’m sure your class would love to explain to other classes what they have done and how their sundial works and it is great to give infants the opportunity to explain something to older classes.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Jovana

Thanks for your post. Your lesson plan on the stories and traditions of the night sky sounds like a fun and interactive project. I love the way you have planned to adapt the lesson plan to the needs and abilities of your students and have reference a number of different visual strategies for supporting them in their learning about the night sky, gathering their stories from family and friends, and in telling their stories through written work, oral recordings, drawing or drama.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Andrea

I love the title of your project and carrying it out over a 6 week period is a great way for the children to immerse themselves in the natural and built heritage of their local area. I like the STEM emphasis on tree identification and bird and insect counts and the creative element of nature journaling, drawing and creating posters.  Using Emer Jones as inspiration for scientific exploration is a nice touch and I love the idea of your students using their work to take the lead at a school Biodiversity Week event and help to inspire and educate younger classes.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Niamh

Cabragh Wetlands is a lovely spot to visit and it would be great to bring your class there on a trip. Photos and videos are good if you can’t manage the trip, but there is nothing like the actual experience of being in a location to capture the children’s imagination. I love the idea of bringing in the sounds of the wetland as inspiration for musical composition and the drama based around wetland creatures. Shane Casey’s books would be a nice inspiration for stories or drama around wild creatures. The class showcase would be a lovely way for the children to share their work with each other and perhaps they could share with other classes through a school assembly or have some of their writing published in a school newsletter or on the school website.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Louise

This sounds like a lovely lesson incorporating the use of WorldWide Telescope into lessons about the moon. It is great that you enjoyed navigating the resource yourself and that you can see its value for use with your ASD class. It is fantastic that each of your students has access to an iPad which would allow them to make full use of this tool to independently explore the moon and our Galaxy and to follow their interests in discovering new information and seeing space from a new perspective. Giving the pupils a series of tasks to complete alongside this independent exploration can link with your learning objectives in Science and Maths.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Noirin

That sounds like a lovely lesson plan. The questions are a good way to start the lesson and giving the children the chance to choose their own stick and location gives them ownership of the project. I love the idea of the peer learning, where students who know how to use a compass can teach their classmates and find where North is and also the idea of the pupils explaining  their work to other classes. The compass will point to magnetic North and not true North so with an older class, this could lead to some research on the differences between True North, Grid North and Magnetic North although it is a difficult concept.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Michelle

It is great to hear that you have registered your own garden with the All Ireland Pollinator Plan and that your school is already registered and is doing so much to support Biodiversity. It is fantastic that you have planted so many native trees, which provide a rich learning environment for the children in the school and a stone wall is a lovely habitat to explore. It is great that you already make use of the space and an outdoor classroom will be a lovely addition. Planting pollinator friendly garden plants in beds is also a great idea. Flowering herbs are good and generally easy to grow. For your wildflower area, all you need to do is reduce mowing and always clear the grass clippings and the wildflowers will grow by themselves. There is no need to plant wildflowers and in fact the vast majority of seeds that are marketed as wildflowers are not wildflowers or not of Irish origin, so planting can often do more harm that good for Biodiversity.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Elaine

I love the Rock of Dunamase. It is such a great place to visit and to imagine how it was built, what it looked like and what it was like to live there. I’m sure your infant class would love to use it to learn about the features of castles and as inspiration for their own models. I love the idea of outdoor models for this one. It would be great for the children to build hills in the sand or garden soil and build their Rock of Dunamase model on top with stones and natural materials or to build their model in the classroom with blocks or recycled materials. I remember hearing a few years ago about someone creating a virtual model of what the Rock of Dunamase may have looked like when it was in use, but I can’t find it.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Tommy

Thanks for your response, particularly the ideas for including all learners in practical group activities and including adaptations for students who may have Special Educational Needs or are not used to communicating their ideas through English.  I love the idea of the word wall to help build vocabulary around the subject of weather and climate.  As you said, the collection and interpretation of weather data is a great inclusive activity, where all pupils, regardless of age, ability or learning style can participate at their own level, especially with the use of pictures, recording sheets and different ways of visualising data.

[Una Halpin]

Hi Deirdre

You have highlighted some satellites there that are doing important work monitoring the Earth’s weather and collecting data on vegetation, ocean and atmospheric conditions. There is no doubt that satellites are very useful for learning about the Earth and the damage we are doing to it and provide vital data that we can use to base decisions around. It is a great idea to have students study some of these satellites and create displays and timelines. However not all satellites serve a useful purpose and they can also constitute a big problem in themselves. You touched on the issue of space junk which is a big problem that can increase the possibility of collisions and interfere with the work of useful satellites and with studies of astronomy and this is also worth exploring with the children.

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