DISASTERS

 

Lecture

We began by watching a video. Previously, I would strongly recommend this video as it shows how devastating and serve different types of disasters are. Then as a class, we discussed if this video would be appropriate to show in class. For me and others, we noticed that when a tsunami hit there was a person engulfed in the ocean; cleaning dying. This could be hard for some children to watch. For me, it was an effective video but I would not say it is a classroom resource to be used. For us as adults, it gives quick knowledge on different disasters and some really interesting examples, facts, and figures. For me I have developed the skill to be more apparent of videos and if they can be shown as a classroom resource. I will now be more are when coming up with ideas for lesson planning so no children are scared/frightened by what I would show them. Here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQYe3ngG6qs

• NATURAL DISASTERS Definition = sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society. Often caused by environment/nature which has an impact on the environment.
• Natural disasters (the different factors that could cause disasters)
  • natural hazards
  • geographical
  • hydrological
  • biological
  • climatical
• Natural disasters (process)
  • Preparing (flood defenses)
  • Responding (how to respond as an individual and community after a disaster)
  • Recovering (how do the government help? Other charity agencies help)

 

Workshop 1 – Political and Economic Considerations

 

 

Workshop 2 – Different Activities that could be used in the classroom 

1. Fossil find

Here you need a map and different biomes where things originated. Thos was a cross-curricular activity where there were elements of geography and science integrated into one effective activity.

Instructions:

    

Here is a map empty and the completed biome task

 

A good idea as a teacher is to have information of the topics you are working on displayed around the class so if children begin to disengage and begin to look around the classroom they are still learning by consuming the information displayed around the classroom. Here are some example used this week:

  

2. Next, we looked at the different textures and features of different rocks and followed the instructions to find about different rocks:

    

(Chiseling at the rock to test it for acid with vinegar) 

(Scraping the back of a tile with the stone to see if a mark was left)

(Using a knife to see if the rock was soft) 

3. Again the next activity was cross-curricular where geography and science and some art were integrated together:

 

(Children would also be learning about geographical, biological and meteorological disasters in this lesson)

 

Directed Study Task

This week we were to make our own presentations on a random subject area to do with disasters. This was to do with the micro-teaching activities being undertaken in all the modules. The area that we got was fire. The reason we got this was, we put all the different subject areas into a hat and pulled out a slip of paper that would tell us what we were going to be talking about. I went into quite a lot of detail about this task; what I learned; main points from others’ presentations and the skills I found associated with this task. I talk about:

• FIRE
• VOLCANOES
• TSUNAMIS
• TORNADOS
• FLOODS
• EARTHQUAKES

Please check it out at:

Directed Study Task 4 – Week 8

 

Skills I have developed by taking part in this theme:

How this relates to Primary Education:

What has changed in my thinking from this theme?  Is there anything else I’d like to look into relating to this theme?

Useful resources or links (either for future teaching or for your own assignment): CLASSROOM RESOURCES IDEAS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdP9_v3USU http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/vinegarvolcano.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRlpLenOcTg&list=PLfxgCcur_ZRwpc8ksRFS-msbfPWgEOVZ1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9vPv-T51I (Could be used to show pupils in the classroom) FURTHER READING: Middleton, N. (2003) The Global Casino (3rd Edition). London: Hodder Arnold (Chapter 21) AJ+. (2015). Wildfires Start Strong Thanks To Record-Breaking Heat. [Online Video]. 30 September 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et8seg5aSjI. [Accessed: 31 October 2017]. Chan, E. (2017) Public Health Humanitarians Response to Natural Disasters. [online] Available:    https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ECQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA224&dq=response+to+natural+disasters+fires&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjL4tzX1ZvXAhVLY1AKHVjeC4UQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=response%20to%20natural%2 Education Scotland (2004). A Curriculum for Excellence. Edinburgh: Scottish Government Gazzard, R. McMorrow, J. Alyen, J. (2016) Wildfires Policy and Management in England [online] Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874416/ [accessed 31 October 2017] Kendra Pierre-Louis. 2017. This is how much of the world is currently on fire.[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.popsci.com/global-wildfire-maps. [Accessed 2 November 2017]. Natural Disasters Association (2017) Natural Hazards: Wildfire [Online] Available at: http://www.n-d-a.org/fire.php [Accessed: 31/10/2017] Petra Tschakert et al. 2017. Penn State – College of Earth and Mineral Science. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog30/node/379. [Accessed 2 November 2017]. Swinley Forest Fire ‘Largest in Berkshire’s history’. (n.d.) [online] Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13292400 [accessed 31 October 2017] Wildfires officially recognised as a major UK hazard. (n.d.) [online] Available:  http://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/research/research-with-impact/wildfire/[accessed 31 October 2

 

DISASTERS

For this task, we were going to do some micro-teaching to the rest of our peers. Our focus was on the topic of fire with regards to disasters. I was extremely apprehensive and nervous, but it worked better than I thought. We were also up first to present. However, in the end, it was better to get it over and done with.

 

For me, this activity developed a lot of my skills such as:

• confidence
• time-keeping
• working as a group
• collecting information
• speaking without notes
• researching effectively
• the tone of my voice
• projection/volume of my voice
• eye contact

As you can see this task has developed me and gave me more courage and the skills I need to be an effective teacher. Here was our finished PowerPoint as a group. The slides I mainly focused on were,

FIRE

FIRE-MICROTEACHING-LAYOUT-FINAL

(my slides = Scientific Background and Facts/Figures)

Some of the main points I got from the other topics included:

TSUNAMIS

• Ocean waves travel like a train
• Long as 100km
• 10ft high
• can travel at 5000 km/hr
• Can cross the whole of the Indian Ocean in one day
• An earthquake lasting 20 seconds can cause a devastating tsunami
• There is a warning and watch team who monitor the possibility and rate of earthquakes to determine the rate of tsunamis and their severity
• You should always have your own warning system where if an earthquake hits, the probability of a tsunami is very high
• Assemble a ready-made disaster kit, watch on family and friends, secure property in the best way possible and spread the word where others may not know if such things as an evacuation has started. These will help you be more prepared in the event of a tsunami
• Advanced technology as there are now warning systems located in the sea if a tsunami is about to hit or has started
• Pressure sensors are now below the sea level and of the sea surface to record any significant changes so warnings can be put in place
• A rise or drop in the sea level is a good indication to show if a tsunami has started
• Example: Indian Ocean 2004
  • 26th December 2004
  • 4th largest tsunami in the world
  • Affected 12 countries
  • Devastated many people and towns
• A real-life context that this was put into was if Ayr was to be hit by a tsunami:

Before

• • Unknown as no warning systems
  • Main way of contacting any changes would be through social media sites
  • Try to follow instructions of expertise as never experienced before

During

• • Head away from the sea as quickly as sensibly as possible
  • Try to stay calm
  • Follow any evacuation plans given
  • Buildings are more stable here so can survive a tough bash

After

• • House damage
  • Costs
  • Injuries
  • Work/school life affected

Teaching this theme:

• • Best to keep it on the second level
  • Can be a very sensitive subject
  • Good resources online that can be used for activities/explanations
  • Watch when doing research tasks as some internet sources are very graphic and inappropriate

 

TORNADOS

• Can reach over 300mph
• can be 1 mile to 500 miles long
• warm air is consumed turning inside
• Identify safe room when a tornado is about to hit
• have an energy kit
• have an item that makes noise in case you become trapped
• stay away from damaged buildings/places
• Help anyone prepare or in the after-math possible

Example:26th April 1989

Bangladesh

Deadliest Tornado

Wiped out 3 towns completely

Killed 13,000 people

• Typhoons:

100mph

Tropical thunder storms

Winds reach over 73mph

Mainly common in China, Thailand…

Example:

8th November 2013

190mph

Cost – 83 billion dollars

• Hurricane

Characterised by low pressure

Tend to travel around the Caribbean

Example:

Hurricane Matthew 2016

Over 1000 people died

 

FLOODS

• A much calmer disaster when happening but can still be as disruptive and damaging
• 2 million homes are on a flood plane
• Costs more than £1 million of damages each year
• Using science can help
  • Flooding houses having flood barriers made
• Lesson
  • Make floating houses on water
  • Make their own instrument to create a whole class rainstorm

 

EARTHQUAKES

• Lesson
  • Have a class quiz to see what the children already know
  • Earth roughly has 20 plates which are the causes of earthquakes
  • We have to think about the impact earthquakes can have and can we do anything to stop them being as disruptive/devastating

VOLCANOES

• 3 types: active, dormant and extinct
• Super volcanoes = 1000km3
• Normal volcanoes = 1km3
• Different parts of a volcano
  • Magma chamber
  • Lava
  • Creator
  • Main event
  • Secondary cones
  • Secondary vents
  • Ash, steam and gas
  • Volcanic stems
• Ring of fire, countries most prone to an earthquake
• Lateral blasts
• De-forestation after lateral blast
• Mudflows can cause devastation after a volcanic eruption
• Example = Tenerife is the most visited volcano due to the picturesque scenery
• After a volcanic eruption, it provides fertile grass, which is of excellent quality
• Lessons:
  • Baking soda experiment
  • Building an emergency supply
  • Paper mache volcano making
  • Wax experiment used last week in science lab
  • Make a paper volcano diagram to give knowledge of all the different parts/features of a volcano

 

REFERENCES

Here are all the references we used in all our slides (some interesting reads here):

• AJ+. (2015). Wildfires Start Strong Thanks To Record-Breaking Heat. [Online Video]. 30 September 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et8seg5aSjI. [Accessed: 31 October 2017].
• Chan, E. (2017) Public Health Humanitarians Response to Natural Disasters. [online] Available:    https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ECQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA224&dq=response+to+natural+disasters+fires&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjL4tzX1ZvXAhVLY1AKHVjeC4UQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=response%20to%20natural%2
• Education Scotland (2004). A Curriculum for Excellence. Edinburgh: Scottish Government
• Gazzard, R. McMorrow, J. Alyen, J. (2016) Wildfires Policy and Management in England [online] Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874416/ [accessed 31 October 2017]
• Kendra Pierre-Louis. 2017. This is how much of the world is currently on fire. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.popsci.com/global-wildfire-maps. [Accessed 2 November 2017].
• Natural Disasters Association (2017) Natural Hazards: Wildfire [Online] Available at: http://www.n-d-a.org/fire.php [Accessed: 31/10/2017]
• Petra Tschakert et al. 2017. Penn State – College of Earth and Mineral Science. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog30/node/379. [Accessed 2 November 2017].
• Swinley Forest Fire ‘Largest in Berkshire’s history’. (n.d.) [online] Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-13292400 [accessed 31 October 2017]
• Wildfires officially recognised as a major UK hazard. (n.d.) [online] Available:  http://www.seed.manchester.ac.uk/research/research-with-impact/wildfire/ [accessed 31 October 2

This topic was going to be slightly different because week one would entail going to a farm and learning about the land of independence whereas week two would involve having a study task on oceanic interdependence. It would not be the stereotypical lecture followed by two workshops. I will begin talking about what I learned in week one at the farm and then what I learned in week 2 of the study task.

 

Week 1 – the farm visit 

Farm 1

We were taken to two different farms, one of which the cows are mainly kept indoors and another where the farmer runs an organic farm. When we arrived at the farm it looked very modern. The road had been recently concreated and the fences and surrounding buildings looked fairly new. When we got inside the farm we could see that it was in-fact a new farm as it has robotic systems in place with a lot of machinery about. Everything was clearly presented and the farmer clearly looks after the workspace.

One robotic system we saw was the electronic feeder where it ensures that the cows have three fresh feeds a day. It makes sure the cows all have equal shares and it keeps the piles of straw/feed replenished. Here is this machinery:

We were told that from birth the calves can be split up from their mums as young as four-years-old. They are watched clearly and have two-buckets: one for water and the other for food. They are in a pen like this:

 

Before growing and developing and being allowed in a bigger pen with other calves such as this:

Before finally moving to a bigger pen such as this:

At this farm, the cows are milked around three times a day. However, the farmer said that the cows are very relaxed and milk when they want. They do not have set times and will freely go up to the machines to get milked. Here it is a machine that milks the cows not a person. It is done by this machine here:

The milk is then processed through the tubes and it goes into this big red tank. However, as it is all electronic it is easy for the farmer to see if anything is wrong with the milk or if not enough milk is being produced etc. A very handy easy accessible piece of technology:

  

Once the milk has been through the machine and calculated etc etc then it is stored in a separate room ready for collection or selling in a big silver talk like this:

As you can see the cows seem very happy and seem to be in one central area with one another. They are not shoved away in a dark barn with no fresh air. I was very apprehensive about cows being kept indoors all the time but the cows have all their needs met and are happy. The barn even has robotic blinds to keep the barn at a comfortable temperature for the cows so they will open in summer and close in cold winter days. Also, by keeping the cows together in one central area allows the farmer to check on the cows more easily. Here is the air and light getting into where the cows stay:

The other interesting factor is there are two big tanks build underneath the farm and this is where the cows slurry goes. It is then broken down and the liquid is sucked out to make fresh water. This being more environmentally friendly. The beds that the cows are on also get changed regularly so that the cows are clean and no infections from dirty beds affect the cows. These are also cleaned and recycled using the big underground tanks. Using reusable resources like this will help the interdependence of the world and stop wastage if things that can be reused are reused.

Overall, this visit was not what I was expecting and I think from a teacher’s point-of-view this would a be an excellent day out for children to learn all about farm life and what happens on a farm. I was expecting run-down animals when I heard the cows were kept in at all times but the cows are very happy and the farmers clearly monitor and look-after their cows.

 

Farm 2

This farm was recently changed to an organic farm. This is because milk used to cost 27p per litre. However, this then dropped to 17p lire. It now stands at a shocking 12p per litre. This meaning that farmer who milked their cows three times per day were having to push their cows extra hard and get four milkings fone in a day due to the very poor price.

This farm only allowed organic healthy things to be fed to their animals. They do not use pesticides on their grass and do not use chemicals in their food. The farmer said that the quality of milk is much better. In fact, coffee shops in Glasgow want the best creamy, quality milk and this farm provides this to these coffee shops. They say that because of how organic and healthy this farm is they provide a fatter content in their milk which makes it taste better. I tired a samp;e of the milk and it was much sweeter and taster than the normal supermarket milk.

 

At this farm, their claves were still secluded but they were more open and free as opposed to the other ones. They gain though were still clearly monitored:

At this farm though, the cows are still milked the old-fashioned way three times a day, using this equipment:

And on this farm, this is where the cows stay:

You will notice that these cows are brown, this is because they are Native Ayrshire cows. Something very interesting to me as I never knew this before. Again, another good farm that I am sure children would love to visit!

Overall, I was surprised as to how friendly cows are, I have never been confident enough to go up to a cow. However, I managed to get licked in the ear by a cow, take a selfie with a cow and even have a calf suck my finger. A great day out and something I have never experienced before.

Here is my selfie with a cow:

 

You can find them on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/FABathgate/photos/basw.AbrgLOM99OFV-7cmdKEoKqjYI_LjQ3TjfGwi99SfIf9hqt2GOvAZjFEbm_5iHb9uxGG5OreGfldHSWYxItYpQVOsu5JpnuqnkYA4shxeDkpsbrp 

 

Week 2 – Directed Study Task 

To see what I was learning about and all of the information that I now have along with some excellent statistics, check out this link for mine and my group’s work:

Directed Study Task 3 – Week 6

Skills I have developed by taking part in this theme: For me, I have become more aware and have stopped being so naive when thinking about what happens at a farm. I am now much more aware of how interdependence is extremely important in providing us as humans with food and nutrition. The farm helped me to become more aware how difficult a job farmers have, trying to make cows as comfortable as possible to provide us with milk, a big resource used in this country. The independent task made me more aware of the importance of looking after the sea as the oceanic interdependence provides different sea creates which give us as humans food and nutrition too. They help the ecosystems to keep running. We all need to look after our environments and animals better if we are going to maintain the food chain; which is currently under a lot of constraints right now with an ever-growing population.

How this relates to Primary Education: Similar to the activities we carried out today, I would like to take my class on a farm visit as children will learn best when they can experience and see for themselves what happens. If possible I may even organise a visit to see a fisherman so the children can talk to them and see and hear what their job involves. If visits are not possible I may ask the children to make some posters and present their findings on what happens in either the sea or a farm. This could be displayed in the classroom as it is very important the children are educated on how we need to look after the interdependence of environments as any changes could have consequences for wildlife such as humans.

What has changed in my thinking from this theme?  Is there anything else I’d like to look into relating to this theme? I am more aware of what happens on farms and seas I now know the processes of what is involved in a farm and the sea I can now see that both farmers and fisherman need to be supported as this their living and without them there would be serious consequences I will now be more conscious when buying such things as milk as I will now know that a low price can cause such people as farmers to have serious hardship.

Useful resources or links (either for future teaching or for your own assignment) Some useful links about Oceanic interdependence that would be good for the children to use if they used the research task stated above are: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2011/03/16182005/63 https://www.msc.org/healthy-oceans http://www.seafoodscotland.org/en/quality-standards/marine-stewardship-council.html http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5473 http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Some of the videos/information may be quite difficult for the children to understand. However, as the teacher I could make different infromation sheets so the children could still participate in the activities of research but would understand what was being said by adapting the language used. Possible Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn1eSjcRPss

 

This week our task was on-campus. My group of 5 had already completed the readings and we had booked a library room ready to make our pictochart.

 

Lecture 

Firstly though, we had an assignment briefing where we discussed what the assignment would entail and we asked any questions that came to mind that were an issue for us. The main points I found were:

• make a grid with concepts, skills, my knowledge and knowledge relevant to teaching.
• If carrying out a theme ask yourself the following questions (example: climate change):
• what teaching inputs gave you knowledge of this theme
• what knowledge did you gain from independent study skills
• what knowledge have you gained from further readings
• of this knowledge, what relates to primary teaching specifically.
• what skills did you develop through science inputs; independent study tasks; activities in lectures or workshops
• For definitions write in the 3rd person, but for own experiences, you are allowed to write in the 1st person.
• Can use other modules to link within this module if relevant.
• Relate to CFE outcomes and experiences
• Use the UWS CoRE for referencing
• Use Google Scholar for reliable academic sources
• When using direct quotes (author, date, page number)
• See suggested structured guidance (not essential to use though)
• Do not cite lecturers, cite the actual academic author
• There is a 300-word allowance each way (do not exceed 10% as this brings consequences)
• We then discussed what our serial day tasks would involve.

(For me, these are the main points I need to remember when writing the assignment for this module)

 

Independent Study Task (on-campus)

We then split into our groups and make our pictochart. I am going to attach my notes that I made for my three readings as some contained very interesting points (some of which will be included in the final pictochart)

• Reading 1

Link:  http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2011/03/16182005/63

• Reading 2

Link: https://www.msc.org/healthy-oceans/the-oceans-today/the-oceans-today

https://20.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/our-approach/what-is-sustainable-fishing

https://20.msc.org/what-we-are-doing/oceans-at-risk/overfishing-illegal-and-destructive-fishing

https://20.msc.org/fr/en/what-we-are-doing/our-approach

• Reading 3

Link: http://www.seafoodscotland.org/en/quality-standards/marine-stewardship-council.html

 

Here are some other links where other members of our group made notes from which is included in our pictochart:

• http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/our_global_goals/oceans/ 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjZtIgQT4KI 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn1eSjcRPss
• http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=5473
• http://www.iucnredlist.org/
• living_blue_planet_report.pdf 

And then we collated all our information into the following headings:

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

 

Here was our finished infographic:

As you can see from above, we managed to get some images, lots of information and some good statistics to include.

To end, here is a quote that summarises the whole day we have had; learning about the importance of the oceans:

“The marine environment is facing challenges that, if not addressed immediately and effectively, will have profound implications for sustainable development.”

Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General
World Environment Day, June 2004

 

This brought to an end the Interdependence Topic.

Lecture

The lecture began with us watching a hard hitting video about climate change and how it can affect the weather. This was shown to us by the devastating floods of 2012. This video woke everyone up for sure and was extremely interesting. If you would like to check it out please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SmEu_DV8N0

We then moved onto the theory and information about Climate change. I find this topic extremely interesting as I completely agree that climate change is changing our weather fronts and is cause Global warming. The main areas I found were of particular interest were:

1.What is climate change:

• The average weather at a given time which is taken over a long period of time.
• The climate is changing and evidence suggests this. The evidence can be taken from such things as: weather recordings; ice cores; rocks and fossils; analysis of pollen and tress. Some of these I never knew were possible so it was interesting to find this out.
• some crops are being wiped out due to low-lying areas being constantly flooded and this means that these areas become unusable to grow on as they are too wet.
• there is proof that the sea levels are rising which is a major issue for low lying countries and people living on coastal towns as the sea will rise onto their properties devastating millions.

2. Impact of Climate Change:

• the climate if the main factor in determining the weather meaning if we sustain a poor climate we will have poor unpredictable weather.
• the climate is around forever meaning affect future generations in humanity but also against plants and animals too.
• Such things as: biodiversity; air quality; forestry; water and desertification can all be decided  by our climate.
• Statistics wise we have went from having 13.7 as our average degrees in 1860 to a whopping 14.6 in 2000. This evidence clearly suggests that as we have steadily increased in temperature averagely over the years there is the issue of a changing climate and global warming is present.

3. Effects of Greenhouse gases:

• scientists have figured out that the more greenhouse gases we produce the more likely it is for our world to heat up as it is creating a sort of seal around the Earth’s atmosphere.
• I also learned about the ozone layer where there is a thin layer on the Earth’s atmosphere that protects us from harmful UV rays. However, as this heats up, it is getting thinner and we are becoming more exposed to harmful UV rays.

4. Over-use of resources:

• when burning the natural resource of fossil fuels we are creating carbon emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere which is what is causing Global Warming and changing our weather fronts.
• Due to the intensity we are burning these fuels we are increasing the concentration everyday in the world’s atmosphere which is why our climate has begun to change over the years and our weather begins to turn more violent.

5. Against Global Warming

• I found it interesting that ‘Sceptics’ find global warming nonsense and that such people as Bjorn Lomborg are unwilling to prevent global warming and think nothing can be done.
• Greenpeace is usefully in high media profile for exposing such ‘sceptics’ as they find they have other interests/aims usually finical discredit or making a loss if they had to become more environmental friendly.

Overall I hope you can see from the summary above, I have learned lots of information and different opinions as to whether Climate Change is a thing and if it is causing Global Warming. An extremely true and hard hitting quote is:

“Most important – we can’t predict the future, but we know the present. In the time we have been talking, 2000 people have died in the third world. A child is openhanded by AIDS every seven seconds. Firstly people die of waterborne disease every minute. This does not have to happen. We allow it.” (Crichton, M. 2005)

 

Workshop 1

Well this was for sure a head spinner of a workshop as it was very legal and government based. However, it has helped me realise why perhaps as a country we have not been as quick as tackling global warming.

We were firstly, asked to put ourselves in the government’s shoes. This proved a very effective point where we struggled to have the most important and effective policies at the top without affecting our stakeholders and voters opinion about us. This must be a real challenge for the government to try and keep everyone happy. We also learned a bit about how trying to keep the big businesses and the big greens happy is never possible so there has to be a common ground. This relates well to the Paris Agreement Act where all countries are asked to consider and tackle Climate Change in some way. Whenever, this is not possible allowances will be made. This act is good at making sure every country participates and does not leave all the work to just one country. It encourages unity and how to make the world a better place for everyone. The positives that the government has already done well with are:

• —Preservation of natural resources/areas
• —Rehabilitate endangered and protected species – —Plants/—Animals
• —Protect habitats and species
• —Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004
• —Educate the general public about actions at a local/individual leve
• —Cooperate with other groups and nations

When I read up on the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 I was reminded just how committed the government is on making our climate and world a better place. Introducing 5p per carrier bag made people start to appreciate shopping bags and people even stopped buying them and brought there own. Before this time, the part of Scotland was littered by plastic bags and it can take a long time for plastic to decompose. This Act has helped to stop waste and make us more aware that we need to look after our world as it does not just affect us it affects everything in the world for future generations.

However, we also learned that passing the blame in international issues and the North-South split is where a stand-still of operations can come into force as everyone in different parts wants different things. The government has to think of such things as:

• —Who shoulders most of the blame?
• —Industrialised, wealthy nations more able to adapt
• —Industrialised countries caused most historical emissions
• —Developing nations becoming bigger emitters
• —Threats not universally accepted
• —Trade not environmentally appropriate
• —Emissions vouchers
• —Over-reliance on fossil fuels
• —No incentive for developing nations to be environmentally sustainable

Some may ask why this needs to be taught in primary schools. This is because, this is the world the children are living in. These are the challenges facing the government everyday. The government is trying to make everyone happy but does not want to have to do all the work themselves. Getting the children actively involved is helping the world as every little helps. Getting them educated about the dangers and consequences of a changing climate will help them to know when they are older they need to look after the world. Getting the children to participate in such things as the green flag schools is a good way to motivate and educate them to look after and treasure the world they live in!

As you can see this workshop was a mind-spinner. However, going over the PowerPoints and reading again, I can clearly see why children need to be educated about this in schools!

 

Workshop 2

This workshop was much more practical-based and had some excellent ideas for becoming a teacher. I have taken pictures of each station that I managed to participate in and hopefully you will like what we got up to here.

1.This first activity involved us working as a group and doing a research task. Here is our scenario and the questions we had to fill out:

This first activity was good at getting us to understand and appreciate certain things we have in this world. It also makes you stop and think how lucky we are today, and how spoiled we really are. This task was good at getting us to think of what a biome actually is. Something that I had never known about before. It was also good at improving our research as you had to find out a bit about the place to see how warm it was; was there nay water; was there any dangers etc. The task was also good at being a cross-curricular lesson as we were having to look and explore a globe to find out exactly were we were in the world. A suggestion to make this activity more suitable to primary age level is to have a research sheet available for younger ones, for example a primary 4 lesson were it would be too time consuming to research all of this information to answer the questions. However, getting primary sevens to research in this task will make them more aware and able to navigate through trustworthy accurate sites. A good starter lesson.

 

2. We were then to make snowflakes and carry out an experiment. We had to cut out one snowflake first, and then cut out a second trying to make it exactly the same. However, we had to then crush one of these into a ball and drop the snowflake and the ball of paper which symbolised a hail stone. This experiment was good at showing how two materials the same but in different formats can have a different reaction. This would be a good practical, easy lesson which would show the children the meaning as opposed to just telling them. Here was my snowflakes and the easy instructions I was to follow:

 

 

3. The third task involved us taking part in a quiz. This was a good activity as it was reading a fact-file with information but answering fun interesting questions as part of a group. This would again tie in with a cross-curricular lesson as there is literacy reading of a fact-file involved but also a science element of information involved to. This activity would be good for children who want to improve their knowledge and learn more about the water cycle. Here was the fact-file and quiz questions:

4. Our fourth activity was again very practical. It involved a big basin with room lukewarm water. Two cups with stones, one with very chilled water and the other with room temperature and water. Both had different coloured die in them. The results were very interesting and really conveyed the message well. The cold water sated at the bottom and the hotter water rose to the top. This was good at showing how evaporation and how water enters, leaves and re-enters into the water cycle. A very good activity for children where the meaning and learning is still conveyed but through a practical-engagement way as opposed to just sitting and hearing about it. Here is a video of what happened and the results of the experiment:

5. Our fifth activity involved us looking at how a tornado is formed and how it takes the shape it does. To do this you need a jar that seals well, hot water, food die and washing up liquid. This was another very practical activity that would be great to use with children. Here is the video of our experiment:

As you can see this session was extremely practical and I even learned a few things. The biggest and most important part for me is that I now feel more confident in teaching science as I was always worried that it would be boring. However, as all the above activities show, this is really not the case. All the activities were practical and still everyone learned. I will be sure to use some of these in my classroom as they were easy enough to conduct and the message of learning was still very strong.

 

Directed Study Task

I was asked to answer questions and carry out three tasks. I answer the questions in this link and also you can find out about some of the resources I used and my recommendations:

 

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/uwssustainabledevelopmentba2201718/2017/10/05/directed-study-task-2-week-4/ ‎

 

Skills I have developed by taking part in this theme There are several skills that I have developed throughout the past two weeks is firstly learning and expanding my knowledge about Climate Change as I was unaware of some of the key policies such as the Paris Agreement Act. However, I have also developed the skill of being more knowledgeable with ideas on how to go into the classroom and teach this. I was very skeptical on how I would teach this in a fun way. I now have several fun ideas on how to go about this!

How this relates to Primary Education The past few weeks have shown me the importance of teaching this. Climate Change is such an important and current issue. We need to be sure that this is taught in education! However, some aspects especially the legal side with politics and polices can be confusing. As a student teacher I now know how to show the importance of Climate change in a fun and interactive way while the children are still learning about the important issues around global warming.

What has changed in my thinking from this theme?  Is there anything else I’d like to look into relating to this theme? The only area that I consider myself needing to do a bit more research into is the legal political side. I found the first workshop very confusing and I need to re-read what was discussed to be sure I fully understand all the different elements. Writing about it above though has helped me to go over what we spoke about in the workshop, so, I have a better understanding that I did when we had finished as my head was spinning.

Useful resources or links (either for future teaching or for your own assignment) There were quite a few videos that I would recommend and activities that would be good for a class to use. Here are some of these links: Climate And Climate Change Activity Booklet(1).pdf Climate And Climate Change Poster(1).pdf Climate Change Case Studies(1).pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SmEu_DV8N0  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ObqBUzhiQk https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/weather-for-kids (highly recommend)

 

Until next week, Christopher

 

Welcome and thanks for checking this out. Here are the questions I was to answer and the tasks that I carried out:

Task 1 – WWF Measure Your Footprint

I was quite happy to find that my carbon footprint was 93% and in the green area. I was pleased to find this out as I do try and be as environmentally friendly as possible. However, the quiz did suggest to me that I could do some things differently and be even more greener and environmentally friendly. Here were my results:

1. 
2. 

As the image is a little unclear I will share my results:

• Food = 23% (could you buy more seasonal food)
• Home = 28% (do you have energy-saving measures in your house?)
• Travel = 41% (how much do you cycle, car-pool or walk to work?)
• Stuff = 8% (could you buy more things second-hand?)

This showing that my biggest area for producing carbon emissions is my travelling. This may be down to the fact I spend 90 minutes travelling to and from university everyday. That is a lot of time and fuel to burn. Hopefully, if I start to drive then my carbon footprint here will begin to be lower.

3. 

4. 

5. 

Overall though I am fairly happy with my carbon footprint. However, nothing is ever perfect and there is always room for improvement. This activity would be good to do with children as it would show them the consequences of not caring about the world and not recycling and the difference with someone who does care and takes and interest in looking after the world. If any readers fancy taking the test here is the link:

http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/questionnaires/show/1/1/1

 

Task 2 – BP Carbon Footprint Toolkit

What an interesting website, with lost of activities to work on. The website even splits the ages ranges for children up for you and gives you sub-topics for science and other subject areas. This making it an easy and navigable site for children and teachers. Here is an example:

The site even has different subject areas such as geography and business studies. This meaning the site is not just secluded to having science. The site again has different age ranges for these other subject areas meaning no child should have something to easy or too hard. It also makes it easier for the teacher as they do not have to sit and look through all the resources to see which age level they should be pitched at.

The main activity I carried out was the schools emissions test by filling out the information of a school nearby me. However, I also looked at the energy and electricity units to see how interesting they were and the results were good. I was so intrigued and surprised as to how interactive it was, especially for the children to use. Here are some examples from the website:

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As you can see the children can found information out and insert the data into the website. An excellent tool for collaborating a maths lesson and a science lesson. They can find out so much about their school but in a fun and interactive way. They are learning to handle data and analysis data but also getting to find out about their school. As you can see from the above pictures it is very colourful and well-presented. A resource I will be using for sure as a teacher!

Here is the link if you fancy cheeking anything I have said out:

http://bpes.bp.com/secondary-resources/science/ages-12-to-14/earth-and-atmosphere/carbon-footprint-toolkit/

 

Task 3 – “Antartica on the Edge” Video

Here was the main ideas and informational facts I found out from this video:

• The ship was a research ship – a floating laboratory
• There were 55 scientists aboard and 22 experiments took place
• They were going to travel around 25, 000 km
• There was no ice present until the 6th day of their travels
• The Glacier  in the Antarctica is the most interesting as 35-75 km broke off in 2010
• To see under the glacier they used a special submarine known as the ‘Swiss army knife’
• The results shocked the scientists as it was much  warmer than expected
• It is predicted that the sea water will rise 1 meter in the next century and it will rise 500 meters in the next 500 years.
• When they took a sample of ice, they found salt bubbles which can weaken the ice glaciers and cause them to break off and fall into the sea
• The research samples will help as they do not have many resutls about climate change
• Due to the human action of burning fossil fuels this has caused an increase  in the carbon dioxide concentration found in the ice
• They found a sea creature was able to kill a fish which can move 5 times faster than it but the fish has slowed due due to a change in its ecosystem. Another 10 examples of this were found on that same day.
• Dead animals lying on the sea beds can actually increase the carbon dioxide concretion as all the animals bodies are made up of carbon molecules.
• They also took samples of the air to try and build their own clouds as without air particles we would not have clouds and would have no rain
• The air at the Antarctica is the cleanest in the world
• They then went on an island were only lichen and moss were found
• They were surprised to find a small creature living in the lichen that could only live there due to an increase in carbon dioxide concentration
• The Antarctica does not get dark, there is only a long sunset
• The Penguins are now moving further south as it is becoming increasing warmer
• Alarm bells should be ringing now as the evidence is clearly suggesting we are heating up and this is having serious consequences
• We should be concerned and wanting to do something as this is a serious threat to sustainability
• We ALL need to accept that this is happening and need to think of new ways to stop global warming and take responsibility for our actions.

Overall, this was an excellent video to watch and I have learned lots, as can be seen from the above summarised points. From a teacher’s prescriptive, I think this would be great to show to a Primary 7 class as they would find it very interesting as they could see how the scientists carry out the experiments opposed to me just telling them about it. If you fancy checking it out click here.

Task 4 – Questions:

In your learning logs,  please reflect on what you’ve learned from this:

• any misconceptions that you had
• knowledge gained that will influence your choices in the future
• ideas/tips that you have discovered to reduce your footprint.

Here are my answers:

• I was unaware the serious consequences that carbon dioxide contractions can have to our wildlife and ecosystems. I was always aware that carbon dioxide was heating up our world but I did not know that if carbon dioxide increases in our waters it can seriously affect different animals and change the systems we are used to.
• I now know that I need to stop being oblivious and seriously consider what my daily actions are having on the world we are living in. Sometimes I can be lazy and not recycle. I now need to think of the bigger picture of how much waste we are producing which will release carbon into the environment which is affecting our world. I need to be sure I do not just put my TV on standby as this is causing somewhere to burn fossil fuels which is heating the world up; which is making the ice melt; which is making the sea rise; which is causing a change in weather and causing flooding on coastal towns.
• Some of the handy hints and tips I have learned is I need to be more appreciative of what I have. If I go to buy new clothes but have a wardrobe full of clothes, do I really need more? This most important thing that I have learned is I will for sure be more conscious about the environment when I make daily decisions now!
• In the sense of the wider society, we all need to take responsibility for our actions and how our decisions can affect not only the climate but the later generations. We now need to accept that our decisions are having consequences for not only our world but the wildlife within it. We need to be more united and think of others’ in this world not just ourselves. As a society we need to stop being so wasteful and harmful to our world as it is having serious consequences. If we do nothing to improve, it will get worse from here!

 

This was good task, and has really helped me to reflect on my own life and how I affect the climate.

Christopher.

What is sustainability?

“To enable all people through the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations”  (Scottish Government, 2012, P.6)

 

What is the point of Sustainability?

“To educate the overuse of resources by industralised nations which has raised living standards in many countries but at a huge cost to the health of the Earth’s living systems” (Scottish Government, 2012, P.6)

 

What are the benefits of Sustainability?

+ Environmental benefits

+ Health benefits

+ Promotes Equity and respect

+ Better use of resources

+ More efficient policy making

+ Makes education relevant

 

As we started the course, these 3 questions really stuck out for me, they caught my eye as I can see their importance for educating sustainability and the reasons why us as student teachers should be clear about what sustainability is.  The last benefit is the most important for me as making education relevant is what will give these children the best start at life. They will be educated enough to look after themselves and their planet for themselves and for future generations to come. This relates well to the next part, where we were asked to pick a word from the word board where something interest us and an area we were looking forward to in this course. The funny thing for me was I found all of the words on the images of interest and knew exactly what this module was going to contain.

(UWS, Louise-Scott-McKie)

 

Workshop 1 

Today’s workshop involved us getting out and about and seeing the outdoors for what it is and what the environment is all about. We carried out various tasks such as:

• looking at lichen on trees and how polluted the environment is from these findings
• looking at the different types of bugs and animals around the area of Ayr
• looking at the different leaves on the trees to see the different variations of trees around the university in Ayr had on offer.
• we also took a sensory walk around the university taking in more than we are used to. This way we were sure not to miss anything and take nothing for granted. We noticed more things in the environment such as: bird noises; traffic noise; the wind; the air and how fresh it is.

During the extra reading these powerpoint slides educated me and surprised me:

Are there enough resources to go around?

• 70% of the world’s fresh water supply is
  used in farming.
• 40% of the world’s farmland is too poor to grow very much.
• Land the size of a football pitch is lost to farming every second.

Hydroponics

• I learned what is Hydroponics is and how it is a method of growing plants without soil.
• I also learned that in place of soil, plants are grown in water containing nutrients. A material base supports their root system.
• Hydroponic units can be built in places where crops would normally never grow – in old factories and warehouses, or even underground. This is a good technique for spaces that are limited and correlates well to the fact that ‘every second a football pitch is lost due to farming.’

 

This workshop was good for getting out and about and seeing nature and the environment for what it really is. I feel as though I take some things for granted in my environment and this activity has helped me to realise that I need to notice more in my environment. I now know the best idea is to get the class outside and to embrace their environment. This way they will be educated more on facts and information as they will physically see it in front of them.

Workshop 2

The next part of the workshop involved again being outside again but also involved us being in science lab, which was a new experience for me. From looking on the powerpoints under the plants topic tab and from the experiments we carried out from the workshops. The following is the main points I learned from them both:

• Leaves  to photosynthesis and provide food for the plant as sugars
• Flowers to reproduce
• Fruit – after fertilization the ovule becomes the seed and the ovary the fruit. The fruit allows seeds to be dispersed away from the parent
• Stem – to keep the plant upright towards the sun
• Roots to provide water and anchor the plant

Leaves

• Have a flat green blade supported by a network of veins.
• Carryout photosynthesis for the plant
• Large surface area allows for maximum exposure to sun

Algea

•  Range in size from single cells to the seaweeds
•  Pigmented
• Seaweeds have true roots, stem or leaves.

Mosses

• Tiny plants with leaves and stems.
• No roots.
• Chlorophyll

Liverworts

• Closely related to mosses
• Male produces sperm rather than pollen
• Green

Fungi

• No true roots,leaves or stem.
• No chlorophyll

Conifers

• Cone bearing trees
• Male and female cones
• Needle shaped leaves
• Not all evergreen

The Stamen

• The stamen, contains an anther and a filament.
• The anther produces the male sex cells – the pollen.
• The anther ripens before the pollen is released.

Pollen Grains

• Pollen grains have different shapes.
• They can be large and sticky for attaching to insects
• or small and light for carriage by the wind.

Misconceptions about seed/plant growth:

• Seeds DO NOT require light to germinate
• Only green leaves photosynthesis (produce their own food) Green stems also produce food.
• Plants DO NOT require soil to grow – as long as water and air are provided.

As you can see I have attached the theory and notes that summarise best the key points I learned and liked the best. This related well to the activity we carried out where we were to dissect a flower and look under a micro-scope to see all the different parts of the flower. This help to physically show me all the different varieties of flowers we are lucky enough to have in our environment.

The other activities we carried out were to take tree rubbings and to hold snails. These two activities were the two I enjoyed the most. The tree rubbing exercise got me thinking from a teaching perspective. I thought about how I could use different papers for each tree so the children could identify and get to know different types of materials. Also by getting them out and about and looking at different trees around their environment would be more interesting than just showing them pictures of trees. They are more likely to consume and retain the information in a fun way. We also got the opportunity to hold snails. This would be a great activity for the children as they could actually get up-close-and-personal with the animals in the environment. This activity would take a normal/average lesson and make it more fun and interactive.

This workshop was very good at providing referencing facts to make me think of the different things that happen and are within our environment. It was also good at providing a root for me to start thinking about the activities I could carry out as a teacher with my class.

 

Directed Study

This exercise involved us looking around our environment and understanding our urban environment. Please feel free to check out what I discovered: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/uwssustainabledevelopmentba2201718/2017/09/22/directed-study-task-1-week-2. This task was great at getting me out-and-about and being more appreciative of my environment and what it has to offers. All the different things I learned and what I found out can be seen in this blog, Enjoy!

Skills I have developed by taking part in this theme: This topic of the environment has helped me to think as a teacher and some of the lessons I would carry out with my class. I now know more about the structure of plants and how the environment must be right for them unless modified to suit their conditions. I now have some ideas that we tried at university that we could carry out as a class.

How this relates to Primary Education: The lecture was the best at making me aware of the importance of teaching Sustainable development. I now know how teaching about such things as the environment help to educate the children about everyday life and what is around them. I am now also aware of some activities I could carry out with my class.

What has changed in my thinking from this theme?  Is there anything else I’d like to look into relating to this theme? I am now more positive about my environment and I understand more about what is in my environment. I would say I respect my environment much more now! I now see the importance of educating children as a teacher about their environments.

Useful resources or links (either for future teaching or for your own assignment): Here are some links of places I may use as a teacher and some I may use for my assignment. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/  https://rsgs.org/ http://moodle.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/320579/mod_resource/content/1/Beyond%20Your%20Boundary.pdf https://thecrunch.wellcome.ac.uk/schools-and-colleges/dont-take-us-for-granted

 

 

 

My Urban Environment…

Firstly, I do not stay near an urban environment. I stay in a very rural environment with a population of 121 (Census, 2001) but I am sure that will have increased as we have had a few new houses built since then. However, we are still very rural. The only thing community based in out little town is a bus stop with a shelter and a newly fitted post box. This is why for the purposes of the task, I will talk about the nearest and biggest Urban area to me which is Kilmarnock.

 

(Kilmarnock town centre, Google Images)

Kilmarnock has an estimated population of 46,350, making it the 15th most populated town in Scotland and the second largest town in Ayrshire. As I am not that overly familiar with Kilmarnock, I may struggle with aspects of what happens in the town. However, I do pass through the town a lot for shopping and commuting due to the excellent bus services the town provides.

 

Physical Characteristics

Kilmarnock has a real difference in the types of housing it has around the town. As with every place, the town keeps expanding as the town’s population keeps increasing. However, if I focus on the centre of Kilmarnock, the majority of houses are fairly old and are very unique. As you drive along the centre of Kilmarnock it would be very difficult to find two houses that looked exactly the same. Some are made from the same sandstone brick and have the same materials used. However, they all are very unique and were build a long time ago. The interesting fact about Kilmarnock is that in the centre of the town which is the oldest part; it has a one-way system. Now if you are not from Kilmarnock and are not familiar with this set-up it can be very challenging to commute around the town. In fact since the one-way system was designed in the 60’s it has constantly been under scrutiny. One of the big factors is there are no vehicles allowed up the street where the shops are, this meaning that when all the shops are shut, it is a very airy, dark place to walk up after 5:30pm. As the town expands and grows, I do not think this one-way system that can be quite a headache will ever change now. Although Kilmarnock is forever growing it still has several little parks and grass areas around the town. The biggest park/grass area near the town centre is called the Kay Park. It has a lovely big play area for the children and a great size walk for dog walkers or people who just want to take in the scenery. It also has a lovely pond area where it is lovely and peaceful with a few swans and ducks.

(Kay Park, Kilmarnock, Google Images)

 

Transport

As someone who uses public transport very regularly, I can give a lot of information on the benefits and downside to the transport Kilmarnock offers. When coming from home the buses operate on a 15 minute basis which is very handy for me commuting around. However, under recent financial strain they have had to cut one of the buses and now you have to wait half an hour for one bus; which is usually very overcrowded. The Transport to Ayr UWS is very regular now. I used to have to wait for a bus once every hour but they have updated this so there are now two every hour. There are also very regular buses to Irvine with them having one every seven minutes at peak times. They also provide good transport links to Glasgow and East Kilbride. All of which I can commend as I have travalled on them at one point. The only issue I have with the bus network is the consistent increasing of bus fares. The fairs are forever increasing as it is getting more and more expensive. This may start to put people off and they may decide to start driving to commute as it will eventually become to expensive to use public buses. There is also a train station which is highly recommended by people of Kilmarnock as a good link for connecting Kilmarnock and Glasgow and also Kilmarnock and Edinburgh. However, when I started uni I tried to get a train from Kilmarnock to Ayr but was vert surprised to find that this was not possible! It is a shame as they could provide a link here to ensure that all the Ayrshire’s stay connected and help one another.

(Kilmarnock bus station, Google Images)

(Kilmarnock Train Station, Google Images)

 

Community Spaces

In Kilmarnock there are non-denominational schools and also Catholic schools. There are four academies in the area of Kilmanrock and a good handful of primary schools. There are allotments in Kilmarnock although not as many as you would expect to see for such a big place. Something that could be added to, to make Kilamarnock a bit more of a greener town. We have the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock which is our library. However, over recent years the library gets used less and less which is strange because the population continues to grow. Many people now read online and do not use the facilities of library in Kilamarnock as much now.

(Dick Institute, Library, Kilmarnock, Google Images)

 

Industry and Work

Kilmarnock used to be a very labour intensive town. All the town’s in the surrounding of Kilmarnock also used to have factories in them. In the Kilmarnock area there used to be a mining industry. However, with all the mines now closed and the majority of factories closed, Kilamarnock has moved towards the service industry as like many other towns and cities. We even used to produce our own alcohol under the name of Johnnie Walker. However, the factory for it closed a few years ago and now stands the new Ayrshire College campus which just opened recently. We also have an Ayrshire Maternity unit and a university hospital in associated with UWS called Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.

 

Recreation Spaces

As with all the towns and cities the number of leisure centres is declining. However, Kilmanrock still has one and it quite a big leisure centre. It offers a range of activities and is well-known for having blow-up bouncy castles on the water. The Galleon is well utlisied and is a popular place in Kilamnock. We also have the palace theatre where a lot of singing, acting and drama classes take place. The Palace theatre is very popular at Christmas time. The majority of the surrounding schools will go and watch the pantomime. The palace theatre is also good for renting out the grand hall for events or encouraging children to participate in Scottish Highland Dancing. An excellent asset for Kilmarnock to have!

(Galleon Leisure Centre, Kilmarnock, Google Images)

(Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock, Google Images)

 

Air Quality 

I was very surprised to see Kilmarnock has a score of low for the air quality!

 

Primary 5 class idea

“I can interpret historical evidence from a range of periods to help to build a picture of Scotland’s heritage and my sense of chronology.” SOC 2-02a (CFE outcomes, Scottish Government)

“Having explored my local area, I can present information on different places to live, work and relax and interesting places to visit.” SOC 2-10a  (CFE outcomes, Scottish Government)

These two outcomes would best describe and collaborate well with my activity. The best idea would be to have a day-out, nice and simple. If they are out and about and moving, they have more of a chance of learning about their local area and taking it in as opposed to being stuck in a classroom. The teacher could even put a letter out to parents to come and talk about certain places as they walk around to see and learn about Kilmarnock’s area. They could then come back and creatively show their understanding of the most memorable part of learning about their heritage in Kilmarnock!

 

I have learned loads myself about Kilmarock, I hope you have too!

 

Christopher.