Today we were introduced to the topic of energy. The first thing we explorer was Fossil Fuels. I did not realise how much of my life depended on fossils:

• Generation of Electricity -coal, oil or gas
• Transport Fuels – petrol, diesel, kerosene,lpg
• Cooking and heating – natural gas
• Plastics – polythene, pvc, polyurethane

We did a quick activity of things that morning that we used that would have needed fossil fuels and everyone in the class was stunned t the amount. This would be a good activity to try with a primary class, most likely upper to ensure understanding.

We then went into  a debate about wind energy and wind mills. We all did our own research and brought it together. We were then split as a class and asked to debate against each other.  The debate, I feel, is a really good task to try in class, for any subject. I allows children to practice their researching skills, team work skills, presentation skills and debating skills.

Then in Andrew’s workshop, we looked at the electrical side of energy. Various experiments included solar power, hydrological power,static energy and battery power. 

All the experiments I attempted would be suitable for the classroom, however not all suitable to be left to the children. The battery experiment involves a small flame which would not be suitable however that does not stop the teacher from showing the class and letting them set up a circuit.

The skills I gained here were rather different to the skills I thought I would gain. I gained technical skills, learning how to set up a circuit  and how to use water to create power. Again all these activities promote team working skills.

Today we introduced to the topic of disasters. We were shown some videos of the worst disasters that have happened and discussed the sensitivity of such things. As primary teachers we have to take into consideration the childrens age and background when deciding what to teach and how much depth to go into.

We discussed the preparing, responding and recovering stages that countries affected by disasters take. We discussed different scenarios of different people across the world and what they would feel like and do. I felt this was a very appropriate task as it allowed me to think of other peoples perspectives.

We tried many different experiments in Andrew’s workshops to do with disasters:

• Testing rocks with acid – Not for children – acid is dangerous

• Effects of heating and cooling rocks –  crystallising on slides, easy and fun to do in class
• Baking soda and vinegar volcano – messy but appropriate for primary children
• Fossils – fun for children, could lead into a topic of prehistoric times  or dinosaurs.
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  All of the above, apart from the one involving acid would be great experiments to do in class. Some skills gained through science I have found are:

  • be open to new ideas and linking and applying learning
  • think creatively and critically
  • develop skills of reasoning to provide explanations and evaluations supported by evidence or justifications
  • make predictions, generalisations and deductions
  • draw conclusions based on reliable scientific evidence.

The following week each group in the class was given a different disaster and asked to make a presentation on this, my group was given tsunamis. The presentation on disasters is a great classroom activity, it promotes team work as well as individual, presentation skills, public talking, research skills. I feel all these skills were gained during this presentation and that it was very successful. Learning about disasters through your peers is also a fun way to learn.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the farm trip but from my peers I heard that they were taught a lot of useful information on farming. This is a trip that I experienced first hand as a primary student and I think it is a great idea  for a school trip. They visited  two farms which are complete opposite, I feel this would be appropriate for a school class as it allows the children to give their own opinion on both farms and tell you the differences or similarities. After the visit, it could be moved further to the children creating a presentation on the differences between the farms and which farm they prefer. For the lower school, this could be made into an art project. Children could make paintings or models of what they seen at the farm, with a written explanation of what they made.

In the second workshop we were given a group task, we were asked to work in groups to create a poster on fishing in Scotland:

• Biodiversity
• Economy and Industry
• Community Impact
• Political elements

As this is a topic I had no knowledge, I had no idea what to expect. In our groups, we were given different websites and youtube videos to watch. We picked out the main facts of these to do with the four aspects in order to make our prezi poster. https://create.piktochart.com/infographic/saved/25439909# This activity allowed us to build on not only our team working skills but researching and summarising skills. This type of activity would be a good to use in the upper school as a researching task for their topic work. It allows them to be creative in making their own work through the use of technology. This could be done in a group or individually in a classroom setting.