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Hi Mairead
I like your focus on materials and comparing the materials used to make a rocket and the comparison with the materials used for other forms of transport also the focus on the materials in the box that they can use to make their rocket. Perhaps if you are going to leave it up to the groups to design their own rocket you might like to do some preparatory work on forces and discuss the different forces that might make a rocket move. Maybe exploring some different types of rockets such as the paper rockets and balloon rockets would be a good exploring phase.
Hi David
I like your approach here. Talking about the themes raised in the Paxi video is important. Although it is a short video, it covers quite a lot, so a discussion on the main points is a good idea. I love the idea of using the “Cloudy with a chance of meatballs” film as inspiration for their own thoughts on the Earth’s climate
Hi David
That is a great question. It ticks all the boxes for a Climate Detectives project in that it is a local climate problem, can be investigated and is not too broad or too narrow. It also has the added bonus of having a good practical and hands on component. Your idea of making the weather instruments and learning about weather is a good one and the Weather and Climate resource from Module 1 could be a good one here to help the children understand the difference between weather and climate and how climate change can affect our local weather. You are probably not going to go too much into the data gathering with 1st class but you could also look up past weather data from Ireland to add to your project.
Hi Louise
This is a lovely question that has a nice local link. You will want to pick a bird species whose numbers have been well documented over a number of years so part of your initial research could involve finding out what birds migrate to Ireland and seeing what data is available on them. If there is a particular migratory bird species that come to your local area that might be a good species to pick as getting someone local to talk about the birds and maybe planning a trip to see them would be easier. Taking action by creating bird boxes or improving the local habitat to provide food for birds would be a great plan. Don’t forget to also study historic climate data to correlate with your data on bid numbers.
Hi Lorna
I agree with your approach in using video clips from Home and investigations such as “Earth Under the Lid” and “The Ice is Melting” to ensure that your pupils understand what Climate Change is before investigating their local problem. I think your research question is too broad. You have lots of examples of different aspects of the local environment to be investigated but I think you will find that by splitting the class into different groups to investigate different aspects you will have too many fieldtrip to organise and too many projects to supervise. I would suggest narrowing your question to one thing such as rainfall or coastal erosion. The project can them be completed as a whole class with different groups responsible for aspects such as accessing satellite data, taking local measurements, graphing results etc.
Hi Anne
Your question is a good one. The World Health Organisation has said that climate change is having an impact on human health but it is hard to quantify. Most of your examples relate to developing countries where the effects of climate change on human health is easier to quantify but the brief for a Climate Detectives project is to investigate a local climate problem so you would need to look at health effects closer to home. For example, a group from Castleisland Community School looked at the incidences of Asthma in their local community and correlated this with air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels.
Hi Eithne
That sounds like a great project on the sundial with lots of opportunities for both research and practical learning. I like the idea of the children making sundials at home to check in the afternoon and at weekends. Adding the ribbon to your sundial to measure the length of the shadow both in the first week and then periodically throughout the school year is a great idea and recording the data and graphing it are great ways of integrating technology and maths. I love how you have then integrated the sundial into a project on farming incorporating not only the timing of the farm day but issues around biodiversity, climate change and sustainable food production.
Hi Niamh
I love your idea of the children working in 4 groups to construct the different moon phases. These would then be a great visual aid to have in your classroom for further work on the phases of the moon and perhaps a reminder to look up at the moon from time to time. This would hopefully mean that when you ask them to look at the sky in the morning, they will be able to identify that they are looking at the third quarter phase of the moon or may even point it out without your having to prompt them. The idea of the movement game, where they use their bodies to make the phases of the moon sounds like a lot of fun and a great example of practical learning.
Hi Marie
That sounds like a well developed plan for class participation in the Rising Star awards. You have included so much in your plan with a detailed timeline to plan out when and how each action will take place. There is great progression in the first phase from having a speaker to spark interest in the topic to having groups explore the website and then research and present their findings to the class. The hands on aspects of exploring the night sky, conducting audits and creating materials to raise awareness and then the engineering design challenge are all activities that will contribute so much to the overall project and to the children’s enjoyment of it.
Hi Laura
I’m glad you share my belief that active outdoor exploration is the best way to learn about Biodiversity. You have also given 2 great examples of how that active exploration can continue in the classroom too. Creating models of the ideal night sky is a great hands on way to explore light pollution and I love the idea of your “Biodiversity Detective” game. All of the hands on activity will stimulate creativity and critical thinking which will provide lots of inspiration for their research into different animals and their responses to light pollution.
Hi Kevin
You are so right about the numbers of unnecessary lights on houses now. I really can’t understand why people feel the need to have so many lights. I have also noticed in recent years the huge growing trend for garden lighting with garden centres having multiple shelves of solar garden lights. I love the idea of getting the children involved in awareness raising around this issue. The creation of a flyer and the day of action are both great ideas to encourage people to change something in their home. I really like the idee of the survey. Perhaps parents and others could be asked to complete a survey before or at the start of the day of action and then repeat it afterwards so the impact can be measured.
Hi Catherine
You have some lovely ideas for Biodiversity friendly actions in your school. Just a word of caution on the butterflies and moths. Raising one or two butterfly or moth caterpillars found in your garden and then re-releasing them in the same area can be a great way of studying life cycles, but never buy or bring in caterpillars from elsewhere for release as this can be extremely harmful to local biodiversity for a number of reasons: imported insects can spread disease into local populations, there may not be enough food for additional insects and many species are specialists and the local habitat may not support them. The best way to increase the population of butterflies and moths is to plant native flowering trees and shrubs and reduce mowing to allow native species of wildflowers to grow. If you have the space to allow for a really wild corner, nettles are the food plant for many butterfly and moth caterpillars.
Hi Catherine
I love the idea of your reflective story. Just reading it here is a very powerful reminder of how much we have lost. Your point about the LED lights is well made. They are far more efficient but as with a lot of energy efficiency measures, the energy saving from the efficiency of the bulbs, is more than wiped out by the number of lights installed the vast majority of which are unnecessary. I think a survey at home of lights and a discussion on solutions would be a good follow up to your story as the children would be more aware of lighting after hearing you speak.
Hi Barbara
That sounds like a lovely approach to Greenhouse gases for a younger class. As you have outlined, it is important first to establish that they understand what a gas is before talking about greenhouse gases and then to introduce the topic of greenhouse gases in a very simple way through use of the Paxi video and simple discussion. Making the connection between our everyday actions such as travel, water use, energy use and recycling and the release of greenhouse gases is very important. Once you have given them this solid foundation, they can then build on this knowledge and understand more about the science of Climate Change and perhaps look at tools such as the TEAL tool as they get older.
Hi Fiona
Looking at the impact of your new solar panels on your school’s energy performance is a great idea for a Climate Detectives project. I would make your title a little more specific as benefitting planet Earth is a vague concept. Perhaps something like “How will our new solar panels reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our school?”. A comparison of your electricity bills from year to year will show the number of units of electricity used and should, also show you the resulting Carbon Dioxide emissions. SEAI also have data on Carbon emissions from electricity generation in Ireland in the Data and Insights section on their website https://www.seai.ie. You can also see your school’s energy performance data at https://psmr.seai.ie/Public although if the solar panels are new, you may not see the energy reduction reflected on your report yet.
