Our colleagues at the Marine Institute’s Explorers Education Programme are delighted to provide the following lesson plans for primary schools teachers to use while following the SEA-SEIS expedition.
The lesson plans can be used to support cross curricular teaching supporting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), as well as English and the Arts.
Please see the links to the relevant lesson plans below. Each link will take you to the Marine Institute Open Access Library, where you can freely download the lesson plan and relevant worksheets.
If you require any further information and other teachers’ resources on how to include marine themes onto the primary school curriculum, please see http://www.explorers.ie.
1. Geography: 4th – 6th Class: The Real Map of Ireland – Word Association and Pictures
Ireland has a marine territory of up to 880,000km² which is ten times the size of Ireland’s land area. The aim of this lesson plan is to develop student’s perception that the map of Ireland also includes Ireland’s marine territory, thus introducing “The Real Map of Irelandâ€. Students will learn to identify key names and areas of Ireland’s marine territory that is under the sea through word and picture association.
2. Geography: 5th and 6th Class – What I would do with the Real Map of Ireland (Irish and English Version Available)
The aim of the lesson plan is for children to learn about the size of Ireland’s marine territory and identify its ocean and seas. From this they will develop and understanding about the importance of the territory as a marine resource that can be developed in a sustainable way.
3. English 5th and 6th Class: Marine TV – An investigative report on the marine science survey aboard the RV Celtic Explorer
The aim of the lesson plan is for the children to learn how to use key media questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? They will work in groups to write a script where they can play different characters aboard the research vessel, allowing them to work collaboratively and use their imaginations.
4. Geography: 5th and 6th Class: Marine explorers and scientists – learning about people and places
The lesson provides students with an opportunity to learn about people and places in Ireland. With a focus on marine science and seismology, the students will learn about the type of work marine scientists and seismologists are involved with and the environments they work in. This lesson plan can be adapted to follow and study the life of any scientist on a scientific survey. Students can also learn about the people that work on the research vessel, the research vessel RV Celtic Explorer.
5. Science: 5th and 6th Class: Build your own Seismometer – learning about energy and forces
Earthquakes occur when parts of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle move suddenly. Large earthquakes can cause catastrophic amounts of damage so it’s very important to be able to predict when they might happen. Earthquakes are detected using a seismometer which detects vibrations in the earth. In class, groups of students can work together to make a simple model of a seismometer to demonstrate how they work. The students will experience working in groups and through a creative process develop skills intrinsic to working scientifically.