[Carmel Wright]

Hello Patricia,

Thanks for sharing your plans.

This sounds like a lovely activity to engage learners in the topic of dark skies and get them thinking about how to create a dark sky place in their own locality.

Designing a 3-D model using recycled materials is a lovely, sustainable way to bring this topic to life, making it a hands-on, interactive experience.

I love the idea of a Dark Sky Fair, and it could even be worth inviting local counsellors in for learners to present their ideas to and advocate for change in their locality-an action to empower and inspire change.

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Ciara,

Thanks for sharing.

I am glad you see the benefits in linking the arts with astronomy-the night sky has been a muse to many an artist, and there is such a diverse body of art, song and books on this topic.

What a wonderful and eclectic mix of choices- I must make a Spotify playlist from all the wonderful songs that pop up in this module forum! Talking to the Moon is a great contemporary hit that I am sure your learners would be familiar with.

I also really liked your reference to Australian Dreaming Art-one Google later, and I am blown away by its detail and intricate beauty. It could make for a lovely art activity to replicate or inspire learners’ own work. In a classroom context, it could be interesting to include famous art from learners various nationalities.

[Carmel Wright]

Hello Hilary,

Thanks for sharing.

You have some lovely examples of song books and art that would work well with the infants that you teach. I must look up some of the books on your list are new to me-we are spoilt for choice with so many lovely picture books about the moon and stars. The night sky and all its radiant beauty have always inspired the arts.

 

I really like your art idea of the learners exploring Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting and recreating with toothbrushes on black paper. By celebrating its beauty we begin to appreciate what we too often take for granted and ignore!

I hope you enjoyed the course and will make use of the resources provided in the coming academic year.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Cian,

Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the course.

Having read Liston’s paper, what does STEM education look like in your classroom? Do you align with what she describes?

You are right, the weather or climate activity is so simple in what it sets out to achieve, but is such a fundamental foundational piece, and adults struggle with this too, often using the terms interchangeably.

Weather detectives is a very worthwhile activity, and one that has significant scope across STEM and cross-curricular links too. Food for thought for the rapidly approaching academic year!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Austin,

Welcome to the course, and thanks for sharing your reflections.

It sounds like your classroom STEM activities are aligned with Liston’s vision, with a child-led multidisciplinary approach, through a framework of inquiry. Its great to see that hands-on scientific investigation are key priorities in every lesson.

The weather and climate activity and weather detectives run well together, and are a great multidisciplinary activity-as you mention, by comparing classroom data with online sources, students also build digital literacy and develop skills for interpreting real-world information.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Sinead,

Thanks for sharing.

I am glad to see that you found the Paxi video to be an excellent resource. Understanding the greenhouse effect is such an important part of climate change education, and this video really appeals to visual learners, like you said. I think this works very well with a KWL chart, as it covers so much that it could be repeated in subsequent years as a recap.

Great idea to put the focus on the positives. It is so important to look at all the good actions being taken locally, nationally, and internationally, and the ones we can take in our own lives.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Fiona,

Thanks for sharing.

You make an excellent point about this piece engaging learners emotionally and intellectually. It can be interesting for the class to reflect on how the topic of climate change is best conveyed to them to spark their interest and prompt action in their own lives-through art, personal stories, local impacts, facts and graphs, etc.

The video is an excellent springboard for further learning, with a wide variety of topics that can be explored further in groups.

Greta is a remarkable role model, reminding us all of the importance of taking action. Her courage and passion are shared by many others, and here in Ireland, there are plenty of environmental activists coming up the ranks. Here are some local examples: ‘A world with climate justice is a better world’: Meet the young Irish people fighting for the environment

[Carmel Wright]

HI Nicola,

Thanks for sharing.

It certainly is a powerful piece of work, and like you say, it conveys a very strong message about the urgency of taking action against climate change. As it is your first time watching it, I am sure it was very impactful. Educators play such an important role in sharing climate change information with the next generation, and I think this piece alone is a powerful motivator to engage with the topic in the coming academic year.

Lovely idea to elicit prior knowledge as an introduction to the topic with thought-provoking questions, watching snippets from the film and subsequently working in groups to deep dive into the topics it touches on.

It’s great to make it locally relevant at this point, where possible. Wonderful to take action and broadcast these issues at a whole school assembly too! It’s a message that needs to be spread far and wide.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Patricia,

Thanks for sharing.

What an interesting and engaging plan for your learners!

I really like how you are planning to make this a hands-on exploration of canals and their functions through the creation of models.

As you mentioned, there are lots of opportunities for math’s with this one, measuring water and design aspects, etc.

As engineering is being explored, it could also be a great time to discuss the Matilda effect: how women’s contributions in STEM were historically overlooked, etc. To this day, there is a significant gender gap in this area-just 24% of student engineers in Ireland are female, according to a 2024 RTE news report.

 

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Deirdre,

Welcome to the course!

Thanks for sharing. I really like your approach to this activity, with a strong emphasis on a learner-led experience-they are the ones who are exploring and deciding on materials to use, and examining the school grounds for the most suitable location. Learners will learn from their choices and decisions and will be empowered to improve upon their designs, reflect on what they would do differently next time, etc.

You make a great point about this one-learners enjoy it a lot! it’s an ideal class movement break to go take a look on a sunny day. Here’s hoping for plenty more sunshine in September!

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Kayleigh,

Thanks for sharing.

You have come up with a lovely plan for your learner to explore biodiversity in your local area and connect it to the issue of light pollution. Sometimes it can be interesting to frame a nature walk with a challenge-how many different plants can you find in an area? How many can you identify, etc? What could we expect to see here at night? etc. There are some great resources listed in the course to aid with identification.

You make a great point about learners joining the dots between what is in their own environment and light pollution. These topics, rather like climate change, can often be seen as a faraway problem, not ours! It’s an important lesson on fostering respect and appreciation for what we have, and the  impact artificial light is having on us all.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Aoife,

Thanks for sharing.

I like how you’ve outlined how you could make this activity work for both younger and older pupils and included plenty of math’s in both instances. I also think it’s terrific that you are making climate change more real by including human stories.Climate justice is a massive issue, with those furthest behind being disproportionately impacted by climate change, yet they have the fewest resources to address the impact. By bringing these stories to life, learners may come to understand the true devastation of this issue.

By exploring the impact of low and high emissions ,learners will come to understand how important our actions are now to address this issue for the future.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Ciara,

Thanks for sharing.

I like your plan to share climate change information in an accessible, relatable and hopeful rather than overwhelming way! It is so easy to just focus on the negative of the narrative-the polluted world, the extinction of animals, the loss of habitat, plastic islands, etc. Through the lens of doom and gloom, the problem feels too big, and action can feel redundant.

By sharing the positives as a counterbalance, actions being taken around the world, and the changes we can see in our localities—such as solar panels, EV buses, and recycling, as you mentioned in your post —learners will begin to understand the importance of taking action and remain hopeful.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi John,

Thanks for sharing. You make valid points about the HOME film-I think it is so important that educators see this to encourage a focus on this critical topic. It’s a heavy-hitting film, and by using snippets, it can be a more accessible and age-appropriate prompt.

Paxi’s videos are terrific, light and child-friendly, as you say, and ideal for young learners(and old! We can all learn a little from Paxi!). Even learners who have covered the topic in previous years will benefit from the quick recap this video provides.

It can be great to connect this to local environmental issues and empower learners to take climate action, a great remedy for climate anxiety. Making posters and writing pledges are great examples that you have provided. On the pledges, I do think it is important to keep them small, realistic and within the control of the learner-I have seen pledges before to “become a vegetarian”, which is a much bigger and family-based decision! No matter how small the action of the pledge, over time all these actions accumulate and compound, having a positive impact, and learners can take pride in their environmental stewardship.

[Carmel Wright]

Hi Serena,

Thanks for sharing your lovely plan for a seasonal biodiversity project with a focus on birds.

I am glad to see plans for a school garden are underway, and that you have some wilderness on your doorstep to observe.  Bird feeders are an excellent way to support garden visitors, and this make-and-do activity provides plenty of learning opportunities. I have heard of a class that painted their bird feeders, and the first rain shower washed them off! A great learning opportunity for all. It’s so important to consider the water-resistant nature and durability of the materials selected. Of course, there are lots of native plants and trees that will support these birds too, and it sounds like the time is right to get these in, with the garden underway!

By carrying out this activity at home, learners can compare bird reports and see how their local habitat compares for bird diversity and numbers. Great to add all this wonderful data collected to citizen science projects too!

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