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For the research question, I would hope to examine the effects of climate change and coastal erosion, as this has a huge impact on the local area. We would use the Climate Detectives planner to identify our target research. There are many beaches in our local area where coastal erosion is clearly visible and children will be able to explore this. Children can involve parents and grandparents by investigating changes on a given beach over time and analysing responses. They can also communicate with Wexford Co. Council re existing strategies to address coastal erosion.
This project will allow for single-class exploration but could also be extended to involve the whole school as part of SSE for example. The skills developed including questioning, predicting, investigating, analysing, reporting will be beneficial for all classes and there are so many opportunities for cross-curricular integration also.
Hi Robert,
I agree. Linking the activities to the direct experience of the children is a great approach. It immediately engages them more and hopefully creates a more lasting impact also.
I would definitely make use of the Nose High Up in the Sky activities. I think the children would really enjoy the hands on aspect of the activities like the balloon experiment. I think that there are many opportunities for cross-curricular integration including art, geography and maths. The group and collaborative learning aspects of the activities are very appealing and I think that feedback could be given by the children both in class as well as to other classes and at assemblies.
Examining, recording and reporting on weather is something we are expert at in Ireland! Everyone has an opinion! It could be a lovely idea to have a weather report as part of an oral language activity in Our News. It could also be used to introduce new vocabulary in a Gaeilge lesson. Key STEM skills like critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, innovation, communication, collaboration, problem-solving can all be developed through this activity pack in a way that can be tailored to suit your own class.
Hi Sinéad,
I agree. Children could be involved in creating their own experiments. I think this could be useful across all class levels but especially for more senior classes. They would really experience a sense of ownership and agency in their learning.
I absolutely loved the film, Home, and feel it should be seen by everyone. It is accessible and visually so striking. I think it would engage pupils immediately and help them to understand the catastrophic changes to climate as a result of overdependence on fossil fuels, deforestation, excessive mining, extreme practices in agriculture, etc. It also demonstrates the link between these global climate changes and the impact on humanity whether through floods, wild fires, storms, food shortages, diseases, etc.
I think it would be useful to use the film in sections to elicit discussion in class, gather views and opinions, link to prior knowledge. I would ideally use this with 5th and 6th classes where group and collaborative work could be used to think about global issues but then return to our local situation, in school and at home, to investigate how we could implement small but effective changes to address some of these issues. This could be something led by a class or two or by a Green School Committee or could involve the P.A. to encourage connections with home.
Hi Monica,
I agree with your post. Small, incremental steps that encourage children to be active agents in change are so important. They are more likely to be sustained and more likely to have a positive impact on their peers also.
I love the Paxi resource. It is accessible, entertaining and engaging, particularly for visual learners. Concepts such as climate, weather, greenhouse gases can be explored in a meaningful way. The resources allow for these potentially challenging topics to be delved into by younger learners without making them so simplistic that the meaning is watered down.
In our society, our pupils are seeing and hearing so much about climate change, rising temperatures and sea levels etc. I think it can be overwhelming to grapple with all of the information. The material in activity 3 provides accessible engagement that really helps children to understand everything, from the origin of a fossil fuel right up to its impact on the environment. The David Attenborough video is a must see for every class, every home in reality.
The Earth under the Lid project would be especially useful as it clearly explains and demonstrates the effect of greenhouse gases. I think the pupils would benefit from working collaboratively on this and their learning could be consolidated through presenting their work to the next class (up or down a level) or at school assembly.
Hi Louise,
I love your idea of extending the activity through art for younger learners. It makes the activity more accessible and allows the pupils to personalise their interaction with the subject.
I think these activities could be used across all classes in the school. They are practical and hands on and the pupils would benefit hugely from this. In our school we are lucky to have a lot of green space outside which would lend itself to these activities. I also think we could have a buddy system with younger and older classes to work together on some of the activities.
The difference between climate and weather can be a tricky concept to get across and I think the activities here would really consolidate that learning. Whole school assemblies could be used to present findings from the weather stations, sharing the responsibility for different tasks across junior and senior classes, e.g. temperature, rainfall, cloud cover, windspeed.
I like the opportunities for collaboration in these activities. This can include collaboration between classes in the school but also outside of school, e.g. having input from parents or grandparents re weather proverbs etc.