[Carmel Wright]

Hi Annette,

Thanks for your post. I am delighted to see that you enjoyed using the Stellarium app for the first time, and that you are looking forward to introducing it to your third class in September. It makes the night sky so much more accessible for us all when attempting to identify stars, constellations and planets.

You mention encouraging students to explore this more at home, and I think it’s a great idea to develop this interest further-perhaps by setting homework to find Venus, the brightest planet in our sky, using the app, factoring in when it will be most visible, etc.

The learners can also make use of apps like Book Creator to develop ICT skills by putting together their fun facts and creating a book together.

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Una,

Thanks for your post. You are fortunate to have seen the wonders of the Northern lights in Cork this year! What a great experience and relevant prompt for this activity, discussing and comparing experiences. We are losing the breathtaking beauty of the night sky to poorly managed and, in some instances, wholly unnecessary lighting. As someone who has seen firsthand this baseline shift in darkness levels your experiences are a great source of learning for your learners, along with their parents and more senior family members.

You have some wonderful activities listed for your class, and I like your proposal to explore the other end of the scale, where there is a lot of darkness and little light – investigating the use of light therapy in countries that have very little light, as well as the impact on peoples, sleep and overall wellbeing especially in the darker winter months. It would be great to explore how animals respond to these conditions, by hibernating, etc.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Michelle,
Thanks for your post. You have created a robust plan for exploring biodiversity in your local area and the possible impacts of light pollution on local biodiversity.

As Una has highlighted in the course, there is a wide range of excellent resources to help in the identification of species, and I particularly like the simplicity of this one shared during this module, as it is highly accessible for young learners, asking simple questions to determine what type of bug you have found: Identify a Bug – Buglife

I really like your idea of a nighttime habitat in a shoebox, the acting out of nocturnal creatures being disturbed and negatively impacted; it will add a sense of fun and drama and create a memorable impression for young learners, fostering a sense of empathy for their plight.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Niamh,

Thanks for your post. It’s great to see that you plan to bring learners to a nearby forest. It is an ideal starting point for a conversation on biodiversity, and depending on the type of forest, it should be rich in native biodiversity. Holding an umbrella or white sheet under a tree branch and giving it a shake is an effective way of seeing what bugs have made a home there.

Your plan is well laid out, connecting the dots between biodiversity, artificial light, nocturnal creatures, SPHE, and well-being and culminating in presenting solutions to others to promote better lighting practices.

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Olivia,

Thanks for your post. I am delighted to see that this module has opened your eyes to the wealth of free, up-to-date information available about the artificial satellites in space. It’s terrific to have such an easy and accessible tool to help learners explore the constellations. You make a great point about this being a nice fit for developing home/school links by giving this as homework.

Creating the plough is a wonderful way to model this famous feature of our night sky and I have no doubt, will make a wonderful feature for your classroom ceiling too!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your post. It sounds like your learners will enjoy this learner-led experience, with autonomy to explore and decide where the sundial should  go. Of course, if and when things go wrong, this is all part of the learning and an opportunity for learners to develop their problem-solving skills to address issues that arise.

I couldn’t agree with you more about making full use of school facilities. As a site with plenty of space and a large yard, it’s great to have a reason like this to go out and engage with this activity. Fingers crossed for a sunny September ahead for conducting this activity with your 5th and 6th class learners!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Fiona,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course. The sundial is a great and memorable lesson for learners as I see from your other post that you still recall this activity from your own school days.

I like your approach to bringing learners on a journey of discovery, looking at the sundial’s beginnings. This activity can be completed simply as you have outlined, which suits younger learners, or with more technical details in line with a class’s unique abilities.

It can also be interesting to reflect on whether there are any sundials in your locality-sometimes they feature in a local park or even a historical site nearby. I highly recommend the Time Museum in Waterford for anyone nearby; it’s a great collection of time measurement devices throughout the ages.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Fiona,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the course!
I am delighted to see that you find that the resources shared in this module will be useful when teaching your third-class learners in the coming year and that you have a beautiful school garden-what a wonderful resource for all.

By tying in with the student council/green schools committee, you will help make this a more school wide endevour, and will help ensure this activity is sustained, and other classes can participate in learning and reading the instruments.

There are lots of great opportunities for data collection—another poster has mentioned that his learners really look forward to this- and it’s a great activity as part of a movement break in nature, too.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Emma,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the course!
As a 2nd class teacher, I can see how elements of this activity may prove a challenge for learners, and that you have made a plan to adjust the resources to a level that suits your class’s unique abilities.

By demonstrating and focusing on one aspect, learners will take away a lot from TEAL, as a visally engaging prediction tool.

Designing posters for around the school is a great way to extend the lesson, integrate Art and English, and consolidate learning on this important topic, perhaps using some of your findings from TEAL as part of the poster.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the course! I am delighted to see how after reflecting on Liston’s paper, you can see the strengths in how you deliver STEM in a special education setting, sharing how are bringing STEM to life, with dynamic, engaging and hands on experiences for your learners, that are adapted to their unique abilities and interests, with a focus on real life scenarios.

I really like how you make the activity the learner enjoys a springboard for topic integration, covering maths during baking, etc., and using the simple but highly effective, fun, and hands-on activity of building a paper plane to explore aerodynamics.

Sometimes, there is a misconception that STEM activities require lots of expensive equipment, but this really is not the case, and your examples demonstrate this very well.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Shauna,
Thanks for your post. Proverbs are a great entry point for this topic, and students may be able to gather some good ones from their parents or grandparents, too, perhaps as part of homework. They are less common these days than before, but it’s fascinating to learn the scientific basis behind them.
Our senses are a great way to connect to weather and nature in general. It’s a great reason to get learners outside, immersed in the elements to explore and articulate using the senses as an opener and then build on language and explanations of how to describe weather.

There is a lot of potential for cross-curricular links with vocabulary development,  exploring the many ways we describe rain here in Ireland, from misty to light drizzle, and the role of weather as an antagonist in stories-can they identify this in the stories they are currently reading? etc.

I highly recommend the weather station instruments, which will bring this activity to life with a hands-on learning experience, including building equipment and measuring.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Aaron,

Thanks for your post. The BO browser certainly is an accessible way to explore Earth from space, and it is an important tool for showcasing how we are changing our planet over time. It gives learners a new vantage point and the ability to research those changes for themselves.

It is a tool that does take a little time to become familiar with, but with an initial demonstration from the teacher and some support, learners will grow in their confidence using this technology. Once they develop a level of competence in using the browser, it can be an excellent and engaging resource for a broad variety of projects to enrich learners’ understanding.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Siobhan,

Thanks for your post. The HOME video really is a stark and striking reminder of the beauty of our planet and the ways in which we are mistreating this finite resource we call home.

You make an important point about how this is not about one person’s actions; it is about a collective response. We all have a role to play, and educating and empowering the next generation to be part of this positive movement will help move the dial in the right direction.

I agree that we certainly dont want learners to be overwhelmed, and I think by being selective of the video segments you show and possibly even the use of a circle of control exercise, learners will see what is within their control to change.

Greta is a great role model. Closer to home, we also have young Irish climate activists who may be relatable too. Here is a link to an article about some: ‘A world with climate justice is a better world’: Meet the young Irish people fighting for the environment (irishexaminer.com)

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Siobhan,

Thanks for your post. I can see that you plan to give your learners the autonomy to define the research question. I think this is a great way to ensure they are passionate and engaged in the topic, making it of the most interest to them as a learner-led research project.

I would recommend brainstorming in groups and then perhaps voting on one specific topic for deeper exploration rather than several, as the project may become too broad. This way, this one area can be fully and comprehensively addressed.

It is a great idea to survey teachers and learners to measure changes. This could vary depending on what you choose to focus on; if it’s electricity, it could be usage, waste could be the weight collected, etc, and as you mention, there are plenty of opportunities for cross-curricular links, too!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Aideen,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the course!

You make an important point about the need to differentiate content to meet the abilities of the learners. The resources provided serve as a template that can be adapted to become simpler or more challenging and are by no means prescriptive.

There is a lot to take in from the TEAL tool, and with careful guidance from a teacher on its use, it can add to the resource toolkit available to explain climate change. The PAXI video is an excellent video, and as you said, it explains the concept in a child-friendly way. It is a great conversation starter for this topic and is suitable for all ages.

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