Teach Primary Issue 19.5

( slide 3 ). Explain that long ago, some cultures gave each Full Moon of the year a name, to remind them what happened at that time in their natural surroundings. For example, some groups of indigenous North American people knew June as ‘Strawberry Moon’ time. Ask pupils to guess why and confirm it was the time, where these people lived, when wild strawberries could be found. Remind pupils that a long time ago there was no supermarket or freezer, and people hunted and foraged for food. Wild strawberries were a treat! Next, watch the introductory film from the National Association for Environmental Education (NAEE) about their ‘Environmental Lunacy’ project ( slide 6 ) and discuss how useful a natural calendar of the year is. Ancient British Celts had names for the June month, too. Discuss these and get pupils’ thoughts (see slides 9-11 ). Draw out links between location, climate, vegetation, animals and culture. How appropriate, for example, is the term Strawberry Moon for the UK today? UK strawberries are at their peak in June too, suggesting a similar climate range. Pupils can then work in twos and threes to research the meaning of some popular Moon names ( slide 13 ) and think about how useful they are for describing the natural world where they live (you can also find a writing frame in the lesson downloads). Finish by sharing some of the completed responses from pupils and identify some class favourites. Finally, look at a map showing estimated snow loss in the UK and Ireland in the next few decades if climate change continues at the current rate ( slide 14 ). Remind pupils that place and time are important when thinking about biomes, as they are vulnerable to change. How might this influence Moon names we could choose to represent modern times? Assessment Can pupils use research to make reasoned judgments about Moon names? Find a resource sheet in the L2 download. WEEK 3 Lesson objective l How can I keep myself safe during fieldwork? In weeks four and five, you’ll be undertaking fieldwork so that pupils can come up with some Moon names of their own. First, it’s important to explain how we can all keep ourselves safe when outside the classroom. Whether you’re just walking the streets around your school, visiting a park, or taking a trip to a local river, a risk assessment is a must. Carry out your own first, and then you can talk to pupils about some of the potential risks they might face when gathering data. You could even virtually walk the route beforehand with a tool like Google Street View, or Tripego. Choose a couple of places you plan to visit, and view maps on the interactive whiteboard, naming risks and identifying actions needed to stay safe. The accompanying PowerPoint for this lesson gives some ready-made examples that you can add to ( L3 slides 5-8 ). Then show three to four locations and ask pupils to take a few minutes to discuss the risks and make notes with a partner. Pupils can then write up their own risk assessment using the writing frame provided (see L3 download). It’s useful to remind pupils that they are also responsible for their own safety, as they can choose whether to listen to and follow advice, or not. Finish by sharing examples of advice from the children, and use this to help create a kit list for the day. For example, you might need comfortable shoes, a raincoat/hat/ drinking bottle, etc. Assessment Can pupils give an example of a risk in their local environment and explain how to stay safe? (See L3 download). WEEK 4 Learning objective l What is happening in nature this month (focusing on your school grounds)? This lesson will utilise the school grounds to practise some fieldwork techniques, and give pupils information on which to base their Moon name ideas. First, check the date of the next Full Moon and identify which Moon cycle is happening - the NAEE website can help you with indications to look out for ( tinyurl.com/tp-NAEEmoons ) . Discuss with pupils the expected weather patterns for the time of year and check current conditions – this will involve some weather data monitoring, or perhaps just checking the daily forecast. Discuss with pupils what you might expect to find out about natural events from a single trip around the school grounds. What kind of data might you collect? How will you do this? How might what you find influence ideas for Moon names? If available, you could use night-vision cameras to monitor nocturnal visitors (such as hedgehogs and foxes), and the Merlin App is a useful way to identify bird song ( merlin. allaboutbirds.org ) . The process of identification (whether flora or fauna) is the most important part of this lesson, and you’ll need ID techniques and resources to support it. You could either provide weatherproof ID charts (the RSPB has helpful resources for identifying birds at tinyurl.com/tp-RSPBbirdID and The Woodland Trust has some useful plant F EATURE S P L ANN I NG www.teachwire.net | 23