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Hi Valerie
I agree with that you the most important thing when introducing the topic of climate change with children is to try to instil that sense of optimism that there are actions we can take and avoid overwhelming them. This is why the film Home was included in this module as a way for teachers to be informed of the bigger picture so that they could choose apporpriate ways to introduce the topic to their classes and was never intended to be shown in its entirety to primary school pupils. You might consider showing clips from the movie, or as you have mentioned, discussing problems with the current administration in the USA but try to balance these with some good news stories of people taking positive action and projects within school where children can take personal action.
Hi Ellen
I like your approach here, showing short video clips and then linking each one back to the children’s everyday lives. It is important that when talking to children about Climate Change, we have a balance of fact and action, so they are informed but also empowered. Of course, the clips here are representative of the type of information that is out there and there are many other video clips and articles available that can help to spread the same message. The important thing is that as educators, we are informed and up to date ourselves with issues around climate change and biodiversity loss so that we can best choose how to communicate that message to children in an age apporpriate way.
Hi Jessica
It’s great that you are considering registering your school with the All Ireland Pollinator Plan to build on the pollinator friendly actions you have already undertaken and encourage whole school engagement with pollinators and biodiversity in general through giving rhe children agency in surveying biodiversity and making decisions on how to improve areas of the school through actions like reduced mowing and pollinator friendly planting. Mapping the school and using the map to identify areas for future work would make the plans visible for all.
Hi Richelle
I like the idea of junior pupils working collaboratively as a class and with the teacher to come up with map symbols and colours and to decide what features should appear on their map and key. Using the familiar territory of the school would help to make it more relevant to them as they discuss the familiar buildings, structures and surafces and decide how best to represent them.
Hi Mary
I am delighted to hear that you found the resources in this module helpful for your urban school and that it has given you ideas for improving and studying biodiversity in your school and also for bringing learning out to the Castle Park. I love the idea of involving the Post Primary students in making bee hotels for placing in the school ground and hopefully attracting more solitary bees for the primary children to observe.
Hi Pat
Congratulations on your new school garden. It is great to hear that you plan to incorporate studies on Biodiversity and to use some of the resources from this module from the start. It will be a great opportunity to see how the variety and number of species recorded in the garden varies from year to year as your garden becomes more established. Making some simple weather instruments and recording the weather along with other instruments would also tie in well with your phenology calendar. As well as integrating all the subjects you have mentioned, your plan would also incorporate many of the Key Competencies of the new primary curriculum.
Hi Niamh
I love the idea of using the proposed new bridge in Newbridge as inspiration for a bridge design project. Looking at the pupose of the new bridge is a good link to the Engineering strand of the New STEM curriculum in particular the emphasis on user-focused design. It is also. as you said, a lovely way to incorporate practical maths skills.
Hi Eibhlin
I love your comprehensive ideas for the use of maths skills and concepts in the design of your bridges for an integrated STEM approach to the task. The application of practical maths skills in their designs will really help the children to understand the importance of maths in real life, especially in ensuring that large engineering structures such as bridges and buildings are fit for purpose. The Curious Minds Amazing Triangle resource might be a good starting point for the use of triangles in structural stability.
Hi Sheila
It is great that you found the resources in this module so useful and you have great ideas for implementing them in your classroom. As you said, having a good understanding of the difference between weather and climate is essential before going on to use the TEAL tool. I love your ideas for both STEM integration and cross curricular learning in the future news and weather reports with the use of maps and digital tools to both research and present their findings.
Hi Ellen
I’m glad that you found the resources in this module so useful. Home is a really good tool for educators to bring home the reality of Climate Change and Biodiversity loss to us so that we can then choose how to share that knowledge with young people in a way that will empower them to take action. As you said, Greta Thunberg is a great role model for young people, but many children may not have heard her earlier speeches so it is good to use them. Fro the Carbon Footprint calculator, I have found it useful in the past to use some made up profiles of people, to get the children to predict who will have the highest carbon footprint before using the calculator. After that, they might try it athome with their families.
Hi Dolores
I like your focus on the impact of single use plastics in school as it is a relevant local issue and is not too broad. As you have mentioned, there are plenty of data collection opportunities and the use of digital programmes to create surveys and produce graphs would be a great opportunity for integrated STEM learning. Ideas for investigating alternatives to plastic and encouraging chance across the school community should be followed by a repeat of the surveys to measure the change. To link the project with Climate Change, pupils could research the energy used to produce plastic bottles and packaging and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in it’s production and factor that into their calculations.
Hi Riona
As you have said, taking learning outdoors once a month is a big time commitment but really pays off in terms of the learning. As well as covering most or all of the key competencies of the new curriculum, you can also use outdoor learning to cover aspects of not just the STEM curriculum but also SEE, Arts, Language and Wellbeing. I’m glad that you found the resources in this module useful and that you plan to use so manyt of them with your class.
Hi Ciarán
I love your commitment to bringing learning outdoors once a fortnight and I’m sure you will really see the benefit in terms of student engagement and wellbeing. You have lots of ideas for using the outdoors and biodiversity across the curriculum and the use of nature journals to record what they observe will really foster an appreciation for the natural world and changes across the seasons and increase their STEM skills.
Hi Laura
Those sound like fantastic actions and it is great to hear that you have already signed up to the All Ireland Pollinator Plan and taken so many small actions for pollinators. This should provide great inspiration for other schools looking to start taking action for pollinators and for biodiversity.
Hi Barbara
For infants, a story is a nice way to start an activity and then the scenario of animlas needing to cross the bridge leads on nicely from the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. The idea of drawing a picture of their bridge before building is a nice way to introduce the concept of planning for a younger class and I lke that you have considered opportunities for testing and evaluating their work. Bridges are a great introduction to engineering design and the concepts explored in this can be applied to many other engineering challenges.
