Una Halpin - Heritage Experts | Heritage in Schools

Una Halpin

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Una  Halpin  Rocks And  Fossils
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Subject(s):
Science, Geography
Curriculum Strands:
Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science), Materials (Science)
Counties catered for:
Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow
Classes catered for:
All Classes

Book virtual / in-person visit


With a background in Geology and Environmental Science, Una has worked with primary school pupils and teachers for many years and specializes in hands on inquiry based learning and getting children outdoors exploring and investigating the natural world around them. Una’s workshops are curriculum linked and can be adapted to suit all classes.

Virtual school visits

Select from the options below or contact Úna for further information:

Classes: Junior infants to 6th class

Una can assist your class to conduct their own investigation of autumn trees and their seeds. There are 3 parts to the virtual visit: a pre-recorded video to be watched in class; some ideas and worksheets for independent outdoor investigations on trees and a one hour zoom call where the children can showcase their work, ask questions and participate in a class activity. Suitable for all classes with 2 separate videos for junior and senior classes.

Materials needed: Paper, pencils, crayons, camera, magnifying glasses /magnifying jars, Tree identification books or sheets if available.

Session 1 (pre-recorded, 12 mins)

  • Short video introduction on trees and seeds to be shown in the classroom with prompts to pause for discussion and guidelines on what to do and what to look for outdoors

Session 2 (live, approximately 1 hour)

  • Follow-up one hour live zoom session where the children can share what they have discovered. During the virtual visit, the class can either work in groups on an illustrated tree poem or complete a tree quiz. The format of the virtual visit can vary and will be arranged in consultation with individual teachers.

Worksheets & teacher's notes:

  • Teacher notes on PowerPoint with further ideas on how to run an outdoor session on investigating trees and links to relevant websites and supporting resources
  • Lesson outline with curriculum links
  • A selection of worksheets for tree investigations.

Classes: Junior infants to 6th class

Una can assist your class to explore rocks in their homes, school and the surrounding landscape. There are 3 parts to the virtual visit: a pre-recorded video introduction to rocks, minerals and fossils; some ideas and worksheets for independent investigations and a one hour zoom call where the children can showcase their work or their own rock samples, ask questions, learn more about the rocks in their own locality, explore the uses of rocks in their classroom and participate in a rock quiz. Suitable for all classes.

Materials needed: Paper, pencils, crayons, camera.

Preview (Senior): https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkR6G-lGhDPDhqJ2ZyaD-anBCxU2bQ?e=Epra5X

Session 1: (pre-recorded, 10-16 mins depending on class level)

  • Short video introduction on rocks, minerals and fossils to be shown in the classroom with prompts to pause for discussion and guidelines on what to do and what to look for in the local area and some ideas for practical activities on rocks
  • For younger classes the focus is mainly on rocks as materials: their properties, characteristics and uses
  • For older classes, the video covers different rock types, the structure of the Earth and the formation of the landscape.

Session 2 (live, approximately 1 hour)

Follow-up one hour live zoom session where the children can share what they have discovered. During the virtual visit, we can use online resources to find out about rocks in the area around your school, discover where rocks have been used in the classroom and complete a rock quiz. The children can also showcase their own rock specimens or completed worksheets. The format of the virtual visit can vary and will be arranged in consultation with individual teachers.

Worksheets & teacher's notes:

  • Teacher notes on PowerPoint with further ideas on how to run some investigations on rocks and links to relevant websites and supporting resources
  • Lesson outline with curriculum links
  • A selection of worksheets for the children to complete investigations of rocks in the locality

Preview of 'Rocks and the landscape' virtual visit:

In-person school visits

Select from the options below or contact Úna for further information:

Una can come to your school in any season and guide the class in an outdoor investigation of trees in the school grounds including parts of the tree, seasonal changes, tree identification, photosynthesis and animal life with a variety of tree related games and creative activities. The visit also includes an introductory video on trees and seed dispersal and worksheets that can be used in advance of the workshop or as a follow-up. Suitable for all classes.

Una can come to your school or meet you in another outdoor location to explore rocks in the natural or built environment or can use her own extensive collection of rocks, minerals and fossils to set up an outdoor rock trail in your school grounds for the children to explore and investigate. The visit also includes an introductory video on rocks and worksheets that can be used in advance of the workshop or as a follow-up. Suitable for all classes.

Úna can cover a wide range of Biodiversity related topics from collecting and learning about minibeasts, to identifying and recording plants and animals or making your school more wildlife friendly. Visits can be adapted to suit your needs if you are working towards your Biodiversity flag or completing a particular project. Suitable for all classes.

Úna can help your class to learn about maps through a variety of outdoor games and activities, from learning how to draw simple maps and make 3D maps to exploring more detailed concepts like scale, contours, grids and directions in a fun way. Suitable for all classes.

Úna is happy to meet your school in any suitable, accessible outdoor location of your choice and can custom design a programme to include any aspects of rocks, landscape, maps or biodiversity to suit your class. Previous field trips have included visits to Abbeyleix Bog and the River Barrow towpath as well as local parks, streams and woodlands. Úna can work with one class for a full day or meet individual classes in the same location at different times during the day.

In this short video Úna encourages children to explore and record their local heritage by taking a walk locally and making a 3D map of what they have seen.

Testimonials

  • "Una was most patient & adaptable to all the interactions with the children and shared her expertise in a lovely child friendly manner" - Queen of the Universe NS, Carlow
  • "The students really enjoyed the event & learned so much about the plants and insects around our school grounds. Una was great with the students & they were fully engaged from start to finish. It was a really well organised event & ran so smoothly." - St Mark's Special School, Kildare
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  • "The children enjoyed learning more about rocks. They new some information but learnt a lot of new information about rocks in their home in particular. The pre-virtual visit video was excellent - a good level and length of content. The resources and activity pages were very helpful and a great variety for different class levels." - Gaelscoil na Ríthe, Meath
  • "The children thoroughly enjoyed the BioBlitz in our school grounds! This was a very engaging and worthwhile learning experience for them." - Killinkere NS, Cavan
  • "Úna made the content relevant to each class level and everyone thoroughly enjoyed her visit."
  • "Una had a fantastic manner with the children. She shared her in depth knowledge at all times during our visit and facilitated some superb hands on activities that really motivated the children to learn independently. Thank you." - Portlaoise ETNS, Laois
  • "The children learned a lot about the wildlife in our school grounds and interdependence of species, in an enjoyable way." - St. Patrick's NS, Clogh, Co Kilkenny
  • "The children were so excited about this visit and brought in their materials for Una to check. She checked all of them at the end of lesson which they really appreciated. Una brought plenty of samples and resources to aid her talk. The visit today was an excellent introduction for a project I'll be doing soon." - Jonathan Swift NS, Wicklow
  • "We had an excellent experience working with Una. The children really enjoyed the activities and learned a lot. I'd highly recommend Una's workshop to other teachers." - Patrician NS, Kildare
  • "Very enjoyable day for the children. Learning through doing was very worthwhile for them." - Kilmoganny NS, Kilkenny
  • "Really engaging workshops and excellent support materials and curriculum links for both 1st and 5th classes." - Carrigaline Educate Together NS, Cork
  • "Children were very engaged and emerged wanting to be geologists!" - Straffan NS, Kildare
  • "Una made the experience very interesting and fun for the children. They were eager to participate in all the activities." - Kilberry NS, Kildare
  • "Really engaging visit and loads of learning and involvement for the children" - Ballycullane NS, Wexford
  • "Great session and una was brilliant with the children . We experienced difficulties our end all last minute but Una was great to accommodate us." - Terryglass NS, Tipperary
  • "Una provided an excellent range of activities and the children really enjoyed her visit." - Scoil na Críon Coille, Kilkenny
  • "Una came to our school for three full days and took each of the four junior end classes for a workshop on trees and seeds. Third class had a half day workshop on rocks and minerals. Fourth to Sixth class each did a half day workshop on mapping. All classes thoroughly enjoyed their session and learned so much. It was a fantastic opportunity for the children and a wonderful experience. We would happily welcome Una back for more workshops next year." - Carysfort NS, Wicklow

Additional Information

  • Provides in-person visits
  • Provides virtual visits
  • Caters for special needs
  • Provides practical/hands-on activities
  • Provides field trips

Contact Details

Mobile:
087 412 5649
Email:
una@wildwaysadventures.ie
Website:
www.wildwaysadventures.ie