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5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 1: A Model Rainforest
Process:
• Teacher would initially need to provide background information on the canopy, understorey and forest floor of the rainforest - - this information can be found on The Prince's Rainforests Project site at http://www.rainforestsos.org/pages/structure-of-a-rainforest
• In addition the biodiversity of the forest would require covering so that the children are familiar with the animal, plant, insect life etc.
• Involve the children in the planning of what the model might look like • Decide if the model might be produced by pairs or groups or whether this becomes a whole-class
collaborative project producing one large-scale piece of display work
Product:
A rainforest model, depicting the levels and their inhabitants
Conclusion:
A classroom circle time
Focus Points:
Q: What have we learned?Q: What was good about doing this project?Q: What would we do differently in the light of our experience?Q: Who would we share our work with?Q: What could we do next?
Development:
• Invite as many people as possible to view the work • Stage an exhibition day • Use the children as guides and instructors • Invite visitors to sign up online to support The Prince’s Rainforests Project.
Topic Heading: A Model Rainforest
Task: We are going to make a model of the rainforest which shows our understanding of the canopy, the understorey and the forest floor.
Time: This would ideally provide a mini-topic/study/investigation covering up to half a term
Materials: • Information on the rainforest
• Access to websites
• Recycled materials
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 2: Creatures of the Rainforest
Process:
Teachers would need to initially produce some background information (e.g. rainforest levels; animals; insects; birds; fish; their habitats)
• Option 1: Take one level at a time and assign each individual, pair or group a specific creature • Option 2: assign a level to each of three larger groups
Product Success Criteria:
• The class will produce a display depicting creatures which live in the canopy, understorey and forest floor
• The display will contain information relating to each creature • Children will be able to share knowledge relating to their particular area of study
Conclusion:
An open presentation time to parents and the rest of the school
Development:
• Use the display as a basis for a class assembly, by setting it in the school hall • Invite parents and encourage them to sign up on line in support of The Prince’s Rainforests Project
NB: This Quest lends itself to a whole Key Stage 1 shared project.
Other Activities:
• Listen to Rainforest Sounds from the Rainforest Multimedia area of the website to learn what the rainforest really sounds like.
Topic Heading: Creatures of the Rainforest – A Mini Research Project
AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO QUEST 1 RATHER THAN PRODUCING A 3-DIMENSIONAL MODEL, PRODUCE A DISPLAY WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ON EACH CREATURE AND PLANT (SUITABLE FOR UPPER KEY STAGE 1)
Task: We are going to investigate the creatures found at different levels of the rainforest.
Time: This study/investigation could provide up to half a term's work
Materials: • Books and publications
• Website access
• Recycled materials
For interesting ways to develop the theme in this lesson please visit the following organisations:
Wildlife Trust - Wildlife Watchwww.wildlifewatch.org.uk Wildlife Watch is the UK’s leading environmental action club for kids. Taking part in Wildlife Watch is an exciting way to explore your surroundings and get closer to the wildlife you share it with.
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 3: Rainforest Night and Day Dance
Process:
• Teacher introduces Quest • Teacher highlights the various aspects of life and how they move • Children brainstorm all the creatures they know • Species are placed in the two categories of night and day • Teachers might like to allow time for children to devise movements for as many species as time
allows during one dance session • During the second session the class could be organized on an individual, paired or group basis • Once organized, in this way, children work on a two minute cameo depicting their species
Conclusion:
• Children present their cameo performances to the whole class • Q: Can they guess what species is being presented?
Development:
Present the class performance to other children during a special assembly on the rainforest.
Topic Heading: Rainforest Night and Day Dance
Task: We are going to choreograph a dance depicting life in the rainforest during the day/night time.
Time: 2 sessions (45 minutes minimum)
Materials: • This is an ideal Quest as a follow-on from initial studies
• As with other Quests, the series of programmes produced by the BBC entitled 'Lost Land of the Jaguar' provides an excellent resource for the study of movement during night and day.
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 4: Mini-beast Traps
Process:
• Teacher introduces Quest • Children are shown the location where traps will be set • An opportunity to study which mini-beasts can be located in the area would prove useful • Back in class children are organized into groups of 3-5
Product Success Criteria:
• Each group will produce a diagram / design brief of their trap • They will specify what creatures they are hoping to trap and how the trap will work effectively • The trap should not harm the mini-beasts in any way • Each group should give a name to their invention • The trap should be constructed in 45 minutes
Conclusion:
• Each group should make a 3-5 minute presentation to the class, explaining their plan, the process involved in making and their predictions regarding success. It might prove helpful to allow time for a constructive feedback from other children.
• Mini-beast traps are set in location
Development:
Monitor and record the effectiveness of the traps:
Q: What was caught?Q: Did the trap meet success criteria in not harming any creature? Q: Did they trap anything unexpected?Q: Was there evidence of other visitors (i.e. tracks?)
Further Study:
Teachers might like to extend the project by giving time for the modification of traps in the light of experience.
Please refer to Quest 9 (KS2 Programme for extension and study of bromeliads)
Topic Heading: Mini-beast Traps
Task: We are going to design a mini-beast trap
Time: • 1 session for design
• 1 session for making
• An allocated time for monitoring activities
Materials: At the teacher’s discretion, some access must be made to materials that are water resistant
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 5: Rainforest Book
Process:
• Teacher introduces Quest • Teacher reads 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear' to class
• Q: Why would this book appeal to young readers? • Q: Did we enjoy the story?
• Brainstorm a list of rainforest creatures • Q: What creature will be our 'Brown Bear'? • Q: Why can’t we have a Brown Bear? • Q: What might our book look like?
• Organize the children into small groups • Negotiate or assign their creature • Ask each group to assign role (facilitator, illustrator, scribes, materials manager, time-keeper) • Each group produces a draft lay-out for their page • Final session: production of page and presentation to the class
Conclusion:
Following the presentation constructive feedback may lead to amendments being made to the page
Topic Heading: Rainforest Book
Task: We are going to make a 'Big Rainforest Book'. It will tell children in the Foundation Stage about the creatures you can see and hear in the rainforest (an ideal opportunity for Book Week).
Time: 3 x 45 minute sessions• Session 1: Research and design overall format • Session 2: Plan input, draft and discuss with teacher • Session 3: Production
Materials: At teacher's discretion:• All recycled paper • 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear' by Eric Carle • List of rainforest creatures
1. Jaguar2. Blue and Yellow Macaw 3. Black Howler Monkey4. Blue Orchid Bee5. Giant Anteater6. Strawberry Poison Dart Frog7. Golden Poison Dart Frog8. Green and Black Poison Dart Frog9. Hairy-Nosed Bat10. Striped Coral Pipesnake
• You can also download a collection of colouring in sheets by going to the Free Resources area of the website
Development:
• Assemble individual pages into a 'Big Rainforest Book' • Design a front and back cover • Produce an accompanying recording • Share the book with younger children • Share the book with other schools in your cluster • Send the book out on loan
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 6: Night and Day Diorama
Process:
• Introduce the children to the Quest. • Inform them of the availability of resources. • Set the criteria for how groups can work well together. • Allocate tasks to groups. • Once in groups allow children time to plan what their Diorama might look like. • Give an opportunity for each group to feedback what they have planned and share any problems
encountered. This should be done as a whole class. • Introduce your role and that of the Teaching Assistant as expert consultant. • During the production time build in report back sessions in order to share problems with the whole
class.
Product Success Criteria:
• Each group will produce a Diorama depicting life and activity in their specific part of the day or night. • They will give a presentation to the whole class lasting no more than three minutes sharing their
knowledge. This could be recorded and uploaded to PRP website as content for a higher award. • Optional: They can receive questions on how they made their Diorama.
Conclusion:
• A circle time. • Focus
• What did I like about this Quest ? • What did I learn? • What was difficult? • What could I do next?
Topic Heading: Night and Day Diorama
Task: We are going to produce a Diorama showing what can be seen in the rainforest at the following times and locations:
• Canopy day and night • Understorey day and night • Forest floor day and night
Time: 3 x 45 minute sessions minimum
Materials:• Access to relevant websites • Rainforest Sounds - through the day and night (available in the Free
Resources/ Rainforest Multimedia area of the website)• Rainforest information texts • A variety of environmentally friendly and recycled materials for
manufacture of the Diorama • An example of a Diorama for demonstration• Classroom resources for cutting, fixing and joining
(All of the above to be displayed so as to encourage free choice and management by children)
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 7: Musical Composition
Process:
• Introduce the children to the task. • Tell the story of 24 hours in the rainforest. • Break the 24 hours up into 6-8 segments of time. • Identify the creatures that will be active in the particular segments. • Identify other sounds i.e. not made by creatures that might be heard e.g. rain. • Form the class into groups. • Allocate specific time segments. • Highlight availability of resources . • Play examples of relevant music. • Once children are in groups allow a time for brainstorming and free thinking. At the end of the initial
planning time invite a report back to the whole class on progress made. • Set a time frame for the composition.
Product Success Criteria:
A soundscape of musical composition depicting life and sounds of the rainforest over a 24 hour period of time.
Conclusion:
A group based feedback.
Focus:
• Could we identify sounds of creatures? • What we learnt as a group. • What was difficult.
Topic Heading: Musical Composition
Task: As a class we are going to produce a soundscape of music depicting life and activity in the rainforest over a 24 hour period of time.
Time: 2 sessions maximum
Materials: • Access to relevant websites and rainforest information texts.
This might include the Conservation International video about using an iPod to record birdsong:
http://www.conservation.org/fmg/pages/videoplayer.aspx?videoid=40
• Rainforest Sounds - through the day and night (available in the Free Resources/ Rainforest Multimedia area of the website)
• Percussion instruments.
• Examples of music inspired by the rainforest or Saint Saen’s ”Carnival Of The Animals”
• A recording facility.
• How did we solve it? • What could we do next?
Development:
• Make a recording of the composition. • Play it as assembly music. • Use it as a starting point for a class assembly. • Don’t forget that you can submit this work to the PRP website and use it to gain a higher award. • Material may be used for PRP publicity leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference
in Copenhagen 2009.
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 8: Little Footprints – A Dos and Don'ts Poster
Process:
Teacher introduces Quest by sharing facts as follows:
• Every hour thousands of acres of rainforest are being cut down. • Why? We use wood for furniture, flooring and building, paper and fuel. • We clear land to grow food for ourselves and our animals. • We clear the trees to make roads and towns.
Q: What can we do?A: Check that where possible, the products your family buys are rainforest friendly and/or fair trade, eg. bananas, coffee, soya milk, wooden furniture.
Posters can be produced by individuals, pairs or groups.
• Introduce the concept of a positive message i.e. include Don’ts but make sure that they are balanced by Dos.
• Discuss with children what makes a good poster i.e. eye-catching, high impact message etc. • Allow planning time at the beginning of the task. • Allocate time for whole class sharing of plans and ideas.
Product Success Criteria:
• A poster depicting what action can be taken to stop the cutting down of trees in the rainforest. • A presentation lasting no more than 3 minutes by each producer explaining the process and outcome
of their poster.
Conclusion:
A feedback from all other producers. Focus: What was good about each poster? What was interesting?
Development:
• Display the posters in school where they can be seen by everyone. • Display the posters in the local community i.e. Library, Community Centre. • Invite those who view them to log on and sign up in support of The Prince's Rainforests Project.
Topic Heading: Little Footprints – A Dos and Don'ts Poster
Task: We are going to produce a poster showing what we can do to stop the cutting down of the rainforests.
Time: 2 x 45 minute sessions minimum
Materials: • Classroom drawing and artwork resources.
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 9: Rainforest Food Detectives
Process:
• The teacher introduces the homework task: Children are to search store cupboards at home to find 3 commodities sourced from the rainforest.
• Having gained permission from parents/carers they bring the commodities or their labels to school. • The collection is pooled during a whole class session. • Groups are assigned particular commodities to research and display their findings on the world map • Roles are assigned within the groups.
Product:
• A display on a world map showing the origin of the commodities. • Gathering and display of simple data such as ingredients, price etc.
Conclusion:
Class discussion on what discoveries have been made.
Development:
• Invite children to add to the display. • What issues does sourcing products from the rainforest raise? • Are there alternatives available? • Discuss the air miles covered by importing these goods. • What does Fairtrade mean? Is it fair to environment and people? • What does ‘rainforest friendly’ mean? • Find out more about particular ingredients.
Topic Heading: Rainforest Food Detectives
Task: To conduct research into which foods come from the rainforest.
Time: 2 forty minute sessions
Materials: • Food products brought in by the children (This could include products derived from sugar, coffee, cocoa, coconut, banana, pineapple, mango, brazil and cashew nuts etc)
• A large world map for display.
• Access to relevant websites, information texts and maps.
• Classroom resources for illustration and labelling.
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Quest 10: Growing Project – Visiting a Forest or Woodland Site
Ideas Bank:
• Contact the Woodland Trust and organize a visit to one of their sites. • Alternatively contact the Forestry commission. Or RSPB (have woodland reserves), or Natural
England (manage National Nature Reserves etc) • Focus: How we can properly manage our environment? • Contact various agencies for advice on trees, planting and soil.
Suggestions: 1. Grounds maintenance team (Local Authority) 2. Local Garden Centres. 3. Local Authority for advice on potential sites in the community. 4. Local businesses who might wish to give support funding for the project. 5. School PTA or Friends who might support the project via fund raising activity.
• Focus: Improving the school environment. Other schools within your cluster who might want to develop a shared project.
Product Success Criteria
• An area within the school grounds or local environment which the children have established as their 'Tree Planting Project'.
• An action plan for ongoing maintenance and sustainability.
Conclusion:
• Suggest: A good news event. Invite the local media and all supporters to the opening of the area. • Invite a special person to plant one of the trees.
Development:
• Monitor and report back on progress and development to The Prince’s Rainforests Project. • Make plans for more projects.
Partners:
GLOBE www.globe.org.uk/ GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program.
Topic Heading: Growing Project – Visiting a Forest or Woodland Site
Task: We are going to study woodlands and forests and do a tree planting project in our local environment.
Time: This lends itself to a longer term period of investigation (1/2 term minimum)
Wildlife Trust - Wildlife Watchhttp://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/ Wildlife Watch is the UK’s leading environmental action club for kids. Taking part in Wildlife Watch is an exciting way to explore your surroundings and get closer to the wildlife you share it with.
Groundwork www.groundwork.org.uk Groundwork works with children in and out of school to illustrate how our individual actions can make a difference to both our immediate surroundings and the global environment.
Global Action Plan www.appetiteforaction.org.uk Appetite for Action helps primary school pupils connect the food they eat with the environment. GAP offers free downloadable resources that deal with sustainability.
Kew www.kew.org On a visit to Kew, the wonder of the rainforest will be brought to life as students can experience the fantastic collection of plants from all the temperate areas of the world. There are also special activities, led by the highly skilled and dedicated Kew teachers.
The Woodland Trustwww.woodland-trust.org.uk The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading charity dedicated solely to the protection of our native woodland heritage.
Natural Englandwww.naturalengland.org.uk Natural England is here to conserve and enhance the natural environment, for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people and the economic prosperity that it brings.
RSPBwww.rspb.org.uk Their work is driven by a passionate belief that we all have a responsibility to protect birds and the environment. Bird populations reflect the health of the planet on which our future depends.
The National Trustwww.nationaltrust.org.uk/ The NT protects and opens to the public over 300 historic houses and gardens and 49 industrial monuments and mills, and also look after forests, woods, fens, beaches, farmland, downs, moorland, islands, archaeological remains, castles, nature reserves, villages.
EDF Pod for Greener Learningwww.jointhepod.org Find examples of best practice in the quest to reduce the impact of climate change by going to The Pod for Greener Learning. Schools can also apply for funding to improve the sustainability of their schools through the EDF Energy Green Fund.
Eco-Schoolswww.eco-schools.org.uk/ Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools on their sustainable journey, providing a framework to help embed these principles into the heart of school life.
Project Geniewww.projectgenie.org.uk This site has useful information on teaching climate change and issues around sustainability. It also offers a free storybook suitable for 7-11 year olds, which can be downloaded along with lessons that link to the book.
WWFwww.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/working_with_schools The website has a free monthly resource pack on biodiversity for schools. Follow the link for more information.
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Rainforest SoundscapeThis activity enables children to experience a living, breathing rainforest, through the sensory window of sound.
Imagine you’re in the rainforest and it's night time, feel the hammock rocking, your mosquito net around you. What can you hear?
Soundscape Activities
Either:
Ask Children to lie on the floor and shut their eyes (preferably in a darkened room) Ask them to think of a noise that they might hear in the jungle at night. Build up a soundscape using their voices/ drumming their bodies raising the volume then bringing it down to silence again. N.B. need clear signal for start/stop/louder/softer. Or children start their noise only when tapped on the shoulder – sound gradually builds to crescendo. Second tap means children go silent so sound gradually dies away.
Or:
Sit in circle – build up rainstorm. Each person copies the actions of the person to their right and sound moves around circle. Start with rubbing hands together, clicking fingers, clapping, stamping, clapping, clicking, rubbing, silence.
“My name is Solomon Jean-Pierre and I’m 11 years old. I live with my dad, my three brothers and two sisters in a small place called Belle Anse, in Haiti. It’s a beautiful place, but we always suffer when storms hit. When Hurricane Noel hit our community late October 2007, I was walking home from school. It was a Friday afternoon and it was pouring with rain. I saw red muddy water coming down the mountain, gushing through the streets. The rains had caused a flash flood. I was so scared. I quickly climbed the nearest tree to get out of the way. From up there I saw people, animals, pieces of houses and furniture carried away with the water. I was so scared, I didn’t even notice I was bleeding; I had climbed a tree we always avoided (as it has big spines) and I was covered in scratches. All I could think about was my family.
I don’t know how long I was in the tree, but minutes felt like hours. When the rain stopped and the water lowered, I rushed home to find my dad, brothers and sisters on the roof of a nearby house. I was so relieved. My dad was so happy to see me alive. We went over to our home to find it had gone. The water took away our home, our crops and all our possessions. It was heart-breaking to see my dad sobbing. But we were lucky, as we were all alive. We, and families like ours, received immediate help from the government and local organisations. They helped us with food, shelter and things to go back to school with. This meant we could get our lives back to normal. But I was scared it would happen again and I didn’t know what we could do to protect our community. Many of my friends felt the same. That was why I was so happy when my dad came back from a community meeting and told us that ActionAid was organising projects for us children. The projects gave us a chance to talk about our experiences, understand what happened, and even do things to help protect ourselves. We had meetings to talk about what we saw and how the flash flood affected us. It was good to be able to do this, as I could talk about my fears and realise I was not the only one feeling like that. We also had lessons on climate change and protecting the environment. This was followed by a greenhouse project, which I am the most excited about. The greenhouse project is lots of fun. We learn about what we can do to improve our local environment. The main aim is to grow trees which we can plant in and around our communities. ActionAid and their partner organisation CODAB
Climate hero
Belle Anse, Haiti: Solomon’s story
[Coordination of Organisations for the Development of Belle Anse], helped us to build greenhouses to grow tree saplings. They also taught us to prepare the soil, how to mix nutrients to feed the saplings, how to care for the trees and how to transplant them. I did so well in the training I was chosen by my group to be in charge of our greenhouse. I am so proud, as I am helping to protect our community. In our greenhouse we have 2,000 saplings. These fast growing trees are planted in areas around agricultural fields, our homes and up in the hills to help stop soil erosion. So far, we have planted just over 1,000 trees. The roots will help to hold the soil together and prevent the landslides we had last year. I also teach younger children about our environment and what we can do together to improve it. They come to the greenhouse for a few hours every Saturday to see what we are doing and to help out. Working in this greenhouse every day makes me feel good about what I can do to protect our community. I see my future with positive eyes, as I am helping to rebuild my area. When I get older, I will get more training as I want to learn more about using and protecting the land. This project has helped me to face my fears, and now I am helping to protect our future.” Solomon 2009: “Since then, my dad and I have built a greenhouse in our yard where we grow plants. We use some of the trees for sale and the others we plant in our area. It’s really getting greener now, we are so happy about it!”
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Solomon Jean-Pierre PHOTO: KESNER MICHEL/ACTIONAID
Words to remember Belle Anse: a town in the south-east of Haiti Haiti: a country in the Caribbean Hurricane: a violent wind which has a circular movement, especially found in the West Atlantic Ocean Gush: to flow or send out quickly and in large amounts ActionAid: an international charity working in over 50 countries to end poverty Climate change: a term used to describe changes to normal weather conditions and patterns caused by humans CODAB: Coordination of Organisations for the Development of Belle Anse Sapling: a young tree Nutrient: any substance which plants or animals need in order to live and grow Erode: to rub or be rubbed away gradually
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Background information Background to Belle Anse (Haiti): Belle Anse is a town in the south-east of Haiti. The Republic of Haiti is a country in the Caribbean. The people who live there speak Creole and French. Its capital is Port-au-Prince. Background to Hurricane Noel: Haiti has two rainy seasons: April to May and September to October. June to November is hurricane season. Hurricane Noel reached Haiti at the end of October 2007 and its rainfall (continuing over five days), caused severe flooding and mud-slides. Many families lost their homes or had to move away from affected areas. Deforestation in Haiti has increased the severity of the floods that accompany hurricanes. It is estimated that only 2% of Haiti’s original forests remain (Wikipedia). With the loss of trees and their roots, soil is more easily eroded and heavy rain can cause larger mudslides.
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Solomon’s greenhouse, Belle Anse, 2009 PHOTO: RONALD ST. VIL/ACTIONAID
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Deforestation and landslips in Haiti after Hurricane Gustav, August 2008 PHOTO: GIDEON MENDEL/CORBIS/ACTIONAID
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Lesson ideas Age range: we have written these lessons with pupils aged between eight and 14 in mind and therefore some activities might not be suitable for your pupils. Wherever possible, we have added extra information and exten-sion activities so you can adapt these ideas for your class. Introduction: use these lesson ideas to learn about deforestation and how some people are working to plant and protect trees. Subject links: English, geography, PSHE, citizenship Cross-curriculum dimensions: Global dimension and sustainable development Time: three to four lessons
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Learning objective Lesson ideas Resources
To learn about hurricanes and how they affect people To learn about deforestation and how trees are important to our climate
Activity one Find out what your class know about hurricanes and record thoughts. Read Solomon’s story as a class. You could split the class into small groups and ask them to generate questions to swap with other groups or to share with class. Your groups or class might find it beneficial to list the points of Solomon’s story that they understand and the points they need to do some more research on. Activity two Find out more about Hurricane Noel and Haiti. Please find below some suggested research prompts. You could divide your class into groups to research different areas and then report back. Haiti: Where is it? What is its official name? What is its capital? What is its official language? What is its population? What is its currency? What is its life expectancy? [Questions continued on next page]
Some suggested websites: http://maps.google.co.uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1202772.stm#facts http://www.globallinks.org.uk/countries/haiti.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/hurricane_cycle.shtml
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Learning objective Lesson ideas Resources
To learn about hurricanes and how they affect people To learn about deforestation and how trees are important to our climate
Hurricanes: What is a hurricane? How do hurricanes form? Where do hurricanes get their energy from? When are where do hurricanes usually happen? Hurricane Noel: When did it occur? Which countries were affected? How did it affect Haiti? Extension activities: Pupils can finish this activity by presenting their combined research in posters for the wall. Pupils could write a newspaper article or blog about Hurricane Noel as if they were a reporter in Haiti at the time. Or Pupils could write a newspaper report or blog, from the future, about how the people of Belle Anse have survived a large hurricane with minimal disruption because of the Greenhouse project.
Some suggested websites: http://maps.google.co.uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1202772.stm#facts http://www.globallinks.org.uk/countries/haiti.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/understanding/hurricane_cycle.shtml
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Learning objective Lesson ideas Resources
To learn about hurricanes and how they affect people To learn about deforestation and how trees are important to our climate
Activity three Ask pupils for their thoughts to these questions: how does the greenhouse project help to
protect Solomon’s community from future hurricanes and floods?
why is it important for everyone to protect trees?
(These questions could be used as homework set before this activity.) Use pupil’s thoughts to lead them into learning about the Amazon rainforest and exploring the effects of deforestation ion the world. Amazon rainforest: What is a rainforest? How are rainforests different to forests? Where is the Amazon rainforest? Why is the Amazon rainforest important to everyone in the world? What is deforestation? Why is it happening? Why is it important to slow deforestation down? Ask your pupils to answer this question: How is climate change linked to deforestation? They could present their thoughts in a written answer or a diagram, working individually, in pairs or small groups. Extension activity: Pupils can research where other rainforests are in the world, what is happening to them and what people are trying to do to save them.
Some suggested websites: http://schools.rainforestsos.org/ http://schools.rainforestsos.org/images/stories/pdfs/factsheet-teachers2.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_rainforest http://www.actionaid.org.uk/powerdown – enter ‘rainforest’ or ‘deforestation’ into the Keyword search http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_3540000/newsid_3546300/3546395.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4560000/newsid_4563300/4563353.stm –facts about deforestation
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Learning objective Lesson ideas Resources
To learn about the emotional effects of surviving a hurricane and how someone can feel empowered to change their future for the better
Activity four Start the activity off by posing the question: how does Solomon turn the disaster of Hurricane Noel into a positive? Ask pupils to underline all the words that relate to how Solomon feels at certain points of his story. Pupils can do this individually or in pairs. Draw a graph tracking how Solomon feels at certain points at his story. See rough example be-low. Think about things he might have felt but did-n’t put in his story. Extract quotations from his story and think about why he has used those words e.g. why was it ‘heart-breaking’ for Solomon to see his dad sobbing? Please note: some children might find it easier to just record what Solomon does in his story at key moments. Activity five As a class, read the last two paragraphs of Solomon’s story starting at ‘Working in this greenhouse…’ Ask the question: why does Solomon’s feel so positive at the end of this story? Share thoughts as a class.
Example graph
Climate hero
Belle Anse, Haiti: Solomon’s story
Reg
iste
red
Cha
rity
No.
274
467
www.actionaid.org.uk/powerdown
Learning objective Lesson ideas Resources
To learn about the emotional effects of surviving a hurricane and how someone can feel empowered to change their future for the better
Ask your class: why does ActionAid call Solomon a climate hero? Some thoughts to start you off: Doing things for others Protecting trees Gives hope to others Extension activities: Ask your pupils to write a letter to Solomon telling him their thoughts about his story and send them to Solomon Jean-Pierre c/o Schools team, ActionAid UK, Hamlyn House, Macdonald Road London N19 5PG or email them to [email protected] Please note, it is easier and more environmentally friendly for ActionAid UK to email letters to our rep-resentatives in Haiti who would be able to print off the letters for Solomon. Or pupils can write their own climate hero story and email it into ActionAid at [email protected] To close this topic, pupils could create a wall display showing how afforestation (repopulating an area with trees) in an area can mean disasters like Hurricane Noel have less of an impact on people like Solomon.
Climate hero
Belle Anse, Haiti: Solomon’s story
Reg
iste
red
Cha
rity
No.
274
467
www.actionaid.org.uk/powerdown
Tracking Solomon’s feelings
Solomon starts his story
Joins the Greenhouse project – ‘fun’, ‘proud’, ‘helping’, ‘feel good’, ‘positive’, ‘teach’, ‘face my fears’
Goes to ActionAid project where he can talk to others – space to open up and share worries with others
Hurricane and floods hit – Solomon feels ‘scared’ and worried about his family. He might also be in shock
Finds his family safe – ‘relieved’
Finds home has been destroyed and that they have no food as their crops have been washed away and that all their possessions have been washed away – ‘heart-
Gets help from gov-ernment and local organizations of food, shelter and school things – ‘back to normal’ ‘Scared it would
happen again’
5-7 Years (Key Stage 1)
Fruit TastingThis is a great way to talk about different foods, cultures and climates and the lives of farmers all over the world.
Cut up different fruits and vegetables and ask children to describe them
Write down three words that describe the taste two for texture and one for colour
Mark on a world map where they have come from, how far have they travelled to get to us?
Discuss food miles, fair-trade, buying from local farmers, organic food, healthy eating and 5 a day
Try to find pictures of the plants where they come from.
Compare exotic tropical fruits with local ones. We have a huge number of exciting fruits that have been traditionally grown in the UK which many pupils won’t have tried e.g. unusual apples, pears, plums, raspberry, blackberries damsons etc. Talk to your green grocer or a local gardener about what is in season. You could try to grow some of the seeds from the fruit you try.
Show children how to use a knife and talk about safe food preparation, be aware of any food allergies.
Most fruit and veg shops and supermarkets stock exotic fruits, beware though, as some don’t travel that well and won’t taste anywhere near as good as they should.
