The next topic was all about interdependence, the way in which two or more living things depends on each other to grow and remain healthy. For this topic we were kind of left to do all the learning ourselves, as we had a PowerPoint to look at before the farm visits and then we had various sources to read for the second part of the topic.
I was always one of those children who was never indoors, always playing in the woods with my friends and getting my hands dirty. I’ve also known a lot about farms and farming as my mum and dad were both brought up on farms and enjoy sharing their experiences, and I am very interested in hearing about them too. This meant that I was very excited about the farm visits and I had plenty of questions to ask about the working of each farm.
I think that teaching children about interdependence is very important, and doing it in a practical format like we did would be even more beneficial. The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) provide lots of services around farm visits and they do all the planning for you, including the risk assessments! They also cater children from the age of 3 up to 18, so you could use their services at any stage in a school. I think that taking the children out into their local environment can make them more engaged in learning about how thy can help these local farmers. For example, buying local produce, buying from farmers markets rather than supermarkets, going local before global.
Teaching interdependence could be quite a tricky thing to do, and before we carried out the activities around this topic I was slightly clueless on how you could teach children about interdependence. Personally, I would definitely take a class to a local farm as learning outside the classroom environment is beneficial. I would also use the activity of creating an infographic on piktochart, the only thing I would do differently is give more child friendly sources so the children can understand what is being said.
The experiences and outcomes that would refer to interdependence include:
I have observed living things in the environment over time and am becoming aware of how they depend on each other.
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I can explore examples of food chains and show an appreciation of how animals and plants depend on each other for food.
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Through carrying out practical activities and investigations, I can show how plants have benefited society.
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The following are skills that I have developed throghout this topic:
- Listening
- Observation
- Reading
- Technology – Piktochart
- Questioning
- Collaborating
- Critical Literacy
This topic has opened my eyes even further about how important interdependence is and how much of an impact is made if it is interrupted. I’ve also learned that when it comes to farming you do what you can with what you have. Willy said that on his farm they rear sheep and cattle because the one thing that they can grow in abundance is grass, which they can use to feed their animals. There wouldn’t be much point of him trying to grow wheat or corn in a field that can only sustain grass growth.
Useful Resources
https://www.rhet.org.uk
Piktochart – https://piktochart.com/
