Tag: Learning Log

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Disasters

In this theme we have looked at the definition of a natural disaster, what classes as a natural disaster and how we could teach this subject in a classroom.  There are many different types of natural disaster but here are a few examples: Tsunami, Earthquake, Hurricane, Flood, Tornado, Forest Fire and Typhoon.  A disaster is defined as “a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources. Though often caused by nature, disasters can have human origins.” (IFRC, n.d.).

Skills I have developed throughout this theme are:

  • Presentation
  • Investigation
  • Confidence
  • Public Speaking
  • Practical skills – experiments etc.

When teaching children about natural disasters you have to be sensitive of their age, maturity and previous experiences.  I would say that the younger the children are the more sensitive the information you give them in regards of injury and death tolls.  As the children move up through the school they will begin to understand more of the language used when describing natural disasters, and although I wouldn’t give statistics of deaths and injuries, you could mention that the numbers are high.

I would start off with a simple definition of what a natural disaster is, then I would ask the class if they know what kinds of natural disaster there are.  Then in groups the children would research a given natural disaster and present their findings to the class.  We would then look at different experiments relating to natural disaster, some examples can be seen below.  The children could then do a writing exercise where they have to come up with a plan for how they would prepare and execute escape for an imminent disaster.

  1. Volcano – the children could make their own mini volcano
  2. Tsunami – show the children how a tsunami is made my having ‘tectonic plates’ under the ‘ocean’ move
  3. Earthquake – the children build mini buildings from various materials and then they go through an ‘earthquake’ and see if any collapse/stay standing
  4. Tornado – using the paper and lamp method, the children can make their own Tornado

 

 

 

 

 

These are the experiences and outcomes that could be used for the topic of disasters:

  • I have collaborated in activities which safely demonstrate simple chemical
    reactions using everyday chemicals. I can show an appreciation of a chemical
    reaction as being a change in which different materials are made.
    SCN 2-19a
  • I can make notes, organise them under suitable headings and use them to understand information, develop my thinking, explore problems and create new texts, using my own words as appropriate.
    LIT 2-15a
  • I can convey information, describe events, explain processes or combine ideas
    in different ways.
    LIT 2-28a
  • As I write for different purposes and readers, I can describe and share my
    experiences, expressing what they made me think about and how they made
    me feel.
    ENG 2-30a
  • I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual
    elements and concepts.
    EXA 2-03a
  • By comparing my local area with a contrasting area outwith Britain, I can
    investigate the main features of weather and climate, discussing the impact on living things.
    SOC 2-12a
  • I can explain how the physical environment influences the ways in which
    people use land by comparing my local area with a contrasting area.
    SOC 2-13a

Useful Resources 

https://www.reachoutreporter.com/feature/hurricane-hunters/

www.nhc.noaa.gov

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane-central/

 

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Interdependence

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.
SCN 0-01a

I can explore examples of food chains and show an appreciation of how animals and plants depend on each other for food.
SCN 1-02a

Through carrying out practical activities and investigations, I can show how plants have benefited society.
SCN 2-02b

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/

 

 

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Climate Change

The second topic of the module was all about climate change.  We looked at the effects and impact of climate change, the links between climate and the environment and the greenhouse effect.  In the first workshop there were six different work stations with different activities that we went round.  Before that though the whole class took part in a ‘Biome Survival Activity’.  For this we were separated into smaller groups and each group was given a biome in which they would have to survive after a plane crash.  The task involved us researching the abiotic factors of our crash site: air quality, water supply, light, radiation, temperature, humidity, atmosphere and soil as well as the biotic factors: plants (producers), and both herbivores and carnivores (consumers).  The other aspect of the task was that we were do describe in detail how we would survive for three weeks in our biome with only a few items that were saved from the plane wreckage.  This activity was good fun but took a long time and meant that it was left unfinished.  I think that this activity would be quite good to use in a classroom but it would either have to be done over a number of lessons or some of the activity would need to be changed or removed.  Perhaps giving information sheets on the biome to avoid lengthy research times or simpler questions to avoid confusion.

After we had spent some time on the survival activity we began moving around the room to do the other activities.  The activities were as follows:

  1. Create an animal – this was where we were to choose a type of biome and use various materials to make an animal that lives in that biome, e.g Polar Bear for Tundra
  2. Homemade tornado – here we used a clear jar with lid, fairy liquid and food colouring to create a visualisation of a tornado
  3. Weather front – this was where we had a large clear basin of room temperature water.  We had a plastic cup with hot water and red food colouring and a cup with cold water and blue food colouring.  Each cup had a few pebbles in it the keep them weighed down.  When the cups were placed in the basin the cold water sank to the bottom and the warm water rose to the top.  The different types of water represent cold and warm weather fronts
  4. Climate Quiz – this was a short quiz with different questions for answering misconceptions with climate change
  5. Debate Table – this was where the groups had a discussion about misconception cards about climate change, I didn’t get to this table
  6. Air resistance – this was where you had to create two identical snowflakes from paper, then you scrunched one up into a ball and dropped them from the same height.  The aim was to show how air resistance works and that’s why snowflakes and hailstones (scrunched up snowflake) fall at different rates

Doing small and easy activities like this is a great way to pack lots of information into a small time frame.  Rather than having one big experiment where the kids just stand and watch, by having lots of small ones it means that they can get their hands on experience and will more times than not, remember the information more than if they were standing round a table watching the teacher.  I think that I will use the majority of these experiments in a classroom as they are really simple and easy to prepare, carry out and understand.

The second workshop was all about climate change and politics.  We looked at government actions, mitigation, adaptation, effectiveness, international issues and the north-south split.  Then as an activity each group was given a stakeholder and were tasked with finding the impacts of climate change that would effect those stakeholders the most.  Our group was given the stakeholder of an elderly couple living in New Orleans.  We looked at the council of foreign relations website, NASA imaging, World resources institute, climate hot map and the Kyoto and Montreal protocols to help us identify which issues would be more prominent for our elderly couple.  We decided that the increase in temperature would be a worrying factor for the couple as with increasing temperature comes illness; specifically heat stroke that effects the young and the elderly.  Weather is also affected by temperature increase as hurricanes and tropical storms love warm weather and would become increasingly common.  This would mean that the couple would be worrying about evacuation and hospital treatment if such weather anomalies occurred.  There were of course other things that would effect the couple for example: insurance rates would become higher or in some cases insurance would not be provided at all as the premium would be ridiculously high and agriculture would be effected leading to some food becoming unavailable leading to poor diet and in turn leading to illness and hospital treatment and hospital overloads.

Whether we want to admit it or not, climate change is happening and we need to do more to reduce its impact.  By teaching children about climate change we can mould them into greener people and help them to reduce their own impact on climate change and the worlds impact too.  Teaching climate change can be a touchy subject to talk about as some people believe that it should be left to the upper end of the school to avoid scaremongering (talking about natural disasters and events causing death etc.).  I, however believe that we should teach children about climate change and how they can help reduce it as soon as they start school.  All you would have to do is provide age appropriate information in a way in which the children will understand and remember it.  For example, if you ere teaching 1st level about climate change then you could present the information as a story, perhaps about a polar bear who’s house is slowly being destroyed or a family of penguins who have to keep moving because the ice is melting.  Once you have read the story you can go on to explain to the children that these things are happening in real life and not just in story books, and that it is happening because of climate change and global warming.  As the children move up the school you can use more adult language and incorporate percentages and figures into the equation so they are getting a level of information.

The only way we can help our planet is to teach our planet!

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The Environment

Our first topic was all about the environment, we looked at the natural environment, urban environment and plants and living things.  We looked at the mechanics of how plants grow, biodiversity and interdependence and energy sources and sustainability.  We also looked at air pollution and how we can identify areas of plants that are being affected  by air pollution.

The workshops were very useful in solidifying the learning achieved from the lectures, they were all very practical and I personally find it easier to remember things when they been practised hands on rather than on paper.  Throughout the workshops we did various activities.  We went out into nature and took tree bark and leaf rubbings using crayons, we went bug watching and tree identifying, we also we out to look for different types of lichen using a chart to help us identify them.  We also went on a sensory walk around the University grounds so as to tune in all our senses into the environment around us.  I enjoyed this as I often go out with my camera and watch, listen, touch, smell and even sometimes taste nature.  Some of the other activities included making food webs, dissecting flowers, identifying plants from a selection of pictures and many others.  My favourite activity was the tree identification as I’ve always tried to unsuccessfully remember tree names just by name, but this chart that we were given was very useful as it showed us the exact leaf shapes which was very useful in identifying those trees.  These activities would definitely be something that i would use in a classroom in the future.  Here are some pictures from the workshops, one is of a tree bark rubbing and the other is of a food web.

 

 

The directed study task involved us writing a blog post about our local urban environment, this can be found under the weekly blogs tab.  This encouraged us to look at our local environment and experience it in a way that many us won’t have done before.  We were also to talk about how we would plan out a lesson or topic around the urban environments of Primary 5 pupils.

There have been a few skills which i have developed throughout the topic of the environment, some of those are:

  • Observing
  • Listening
  • Reading
  • Evaluating
  • Experimenting
  • Analysing

The environment can relate to primary teaching in many ways.  It is important to teach children and young people about the environment and ways to protect it as they are the future and one day it will be up to them whether or not the world as we know it survives.  Teaching children about the environment doesn’t just help them to understand what is around them and how to protect it, but it can also teach them about making themselves healthier for example to avoid producing unnecessary air pollution by driving to the shop when its only round the corner or buying local produce or growing your own fruit and vegetables rather than buying produce that is flown half way across the world.  Here are a few of the Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes that relate to this topic:

  • I can discuss the environmental impact of human activity and suggest ways in which we can live in a more environmentally responsible way. SOC 2-08a
  • I can consider the advantages and disadvantages of a proposed land use development and discuss the impact this may have on the community. SOC 2-08b
  • Having explored the ways journeys can be made, I can consider the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of transport, discussing their impact on the environment. SOC 2-09a

Before starting this module I would like to think that I had a reasonably good understanding of the environment and even if my understanding wasn’t as good as I thought it was, I was interested to learn more about it.  So far I’m really enjoying this module as it is feeding my desire to learn and engage more in the sciences as I have always had a passion for them even if my exam results don’t say the same thing!  After the lectures and workshops on the environment I can say that I think I would feel quite confident in teaching a class about the environment either in a one lesson format or a topic format.

One thing that learned that I hadn’t ever thought about was that ‘the environment’ doesn’t just mean plants, nature and all things green.  I didn’t realise that there is such a thing as an urban environment and that the towns and cities we live in are classed as environment.  Before starting this module I would have said that the urban environment is ruining the natural environment, towns and cities are the reason for global warming and air pollution.  This is in fact correct.  54% of the world’s population lives in cities, 75% of the global energy consumption comes from cities and 80% of gas emissions that cause global warming come from cities.  To tackle the environmental issues of our planet we have to start in the cities all over the world.  Air pollution and the majority of the gases causing global warming are not caused y the whole world as a whole, only by the cities that over half of the world live in.  So to combat air pollution and global warming we should look at how our cities can become more sustainable and environmentally friendly.  This could also be a good activity for children to do as they create and design their own environmentally friendly and sustainable cities, thus showing their learning of the environment and its protection through are and other areas of the curriculum.

 

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