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I really like this idea of the children being involved in planting trees in their own area. It gives the children a sense of ownership over the trees and also they feel like they are doing something to help with climate change.
My Climate Detective research question would be why is there a decrease in trout in the local river? Lots of thee children like fishing and I think that this research question would entice a lot of children to get involved. They would have to gather evidence from the ground around the river. Are there other fish which are stopping the trout? Is the temperature of the water going too warm for the trout? Is the temperature of the water causing other fish to come and eat the trout? The children could also your satellite images from space to see if the river Is widening due to erosion and is this the reason for the lack of trout? I would ask the children to interview someone who likes fishing either a family member or a member of the community to talk about the changes in fish in the local river over the years. I would bring the children down to the river and test the temperature of the water and record what fish we can see. I would also invite in a member of the local Lions Club who is passionate about the local river and ask him about the decline in the trout.The children could ask him questions. They could then compile ll their evidence and make a plan about what t do.
This seems like n interesting activity to do in the classroom and I think the children would be fascinated to see the different satellites which are passing over Ireland.
I used the resources ‘From The Ground and from the Sky’ for this assignment. I think that this resource promotes discuss about what the earth looks like from space. Firstly, I would ask the children if they have ever been in an aeroplane, ask these children to share with the class what the earth looks like when they look out the window. Discuss the difference between what you can see during a nighttime and a day time flight. I would then show the children the resource from ESA ‘From the ground and from the Sky’. Talk about what the children expect to see from Space. Split the class into groups and show the children the photos which the astronauts took from space. Discuss what the children think are in the photos. Then ask the children to compare and contrast the photos and see if they can match them. After using the ESA resource, I would put the children into pairs and send them off with an IPAD. I would give them the task of taking pictures different items round the school, one from above like from space and one from the ground. When the children come back, we will do a whole class activity where they show their photos and see if we can match them.
I like your idea Jacqui of making a class contract which would be focused on climate change and what as a class we could do in our own classroom. I also like the idea of bringing it home for homework and making parents aware of climate change and the little things which can be done in the home.
I thought that the movie ‘Home’ was sensational. It explored so many ways in which our earth is suffering and the effects which it will have in years to come. Some interesting facts which I took from it were that despite the amount of sun Dubai has, there are no solar panels. Also that Las Vegas and Palm Springs which are both built on desserts but they consume a huge amount of water due to population in Las Vegas and golf courses in Palm Springs. I would like to show senior classes this movie as I feel that over a few days they could watch parts of it and they could learn different things about climate change. The pictures and the facts are easy to understand. I think children would find facts like the Amazon rainforest has been reduced by 20 per cent and that when the inhabitants of Easter Island exploited their natural resources and the civilization did not survive. I would give the children a response sheet to go with the movie and this would be like a fact finding sheet. I also think that the video clip of Greta Thunberg would be an interesting watch for the children and for them to give their opinion on climate change and compare and contrast that to Greta’s.
I agree with you Brendan that there is a lot of fake news out there. A lot of the news headlines have scare tactics in them. Education is the key for children to find out more climate change nd to get the facts right. There are a lot of excellent resouces for example the ESA Weather vs Climate tool, The paxi video and the Teal resource too which help children to find out more. I enjoyed watching the David Attenborough video and this shows us what we can do to help the world.
Activity three gets the children thinking about the future and what the effects of climate change will have on the world in years to come. Firstly, I would ask the children to watch the Paxi video as this explains to the children the effects of greenhouse gases on the climate. I would ask the children to brainstorm the different reasons why there is a rise in greenhouse gases. I would then get the children working in pairs on the following https://tealtool.earth/ . Working in pairs allows the children to engage in conversation and share observations about how temperatures are changing all over the world. I would then ask them to look at activity 3 and to pick an area. They will look at a country in detail and find out about the climate in the past and make predictions for the future. The children will then present their findings to the class and listen to other peoples finding. This in turn will spark a whole class discussion as they find out where is the hottest country they picked is and the coldest country.
I also liked how the ESA resources are cross curricular and link literacy, maths and active learning. It is great when the children can get outdoors and learn. Children always seems to be more engaged when it is hands on activity outside in the playground or in the garden.
I think that the resources from ESA are an invaluable resource to have in the classroom. Ech lesson is laid out to give the teacher guidance on what to teach. I would firstly look at the weather sayings and also look at what how farmers are able to tell the weather from the land and animals. It would be lovely to invite a farmer into the classroom to talk to the children about weather on the farm. I would then look at setting up a weather station. I would encourage the children to make their own anemometer and rain guage. This would bring S.T.E.M. to life in the classroom as the children. As the children would have to plan out how to make both devices, design them and make them. Also evaluate them at the end. I think I would lead a weather and climate initative in school. Use display boards to show where the different climates are in the world, their names and the weather associated with them. Then I would get the children to record the daily weather too. This would bring both weather and climate to life for the children.