As party of their Civics and Citizenship unit our Year 3/4 students are learning about laws that govern them and how they can make an impact on those laws. This, combined with their literacy investigation into persuasive writing, helps students understand what a difference they can make to local laws and how they can be influential. Facilitated by their creative teachers, students explored a case study, “The Story of a River”, where they replicated the journey of a pristine river as it meandered down a mountain, past farm land, urban blocks, through a town and eventually out a river mouth into the sea. As the fresh rainwater was carried on it’s journey along the river through various catchment areas it was exposed to muddy water, animal effluent, fertilizer, pesticides, mineral waste, fishing lines, urban waste, pollution, oils, chemicals, waste water, plastic bags, and sewage before it reached the ocean where it became part of a deadly habitat for marine life including turtles. Focusing on humans’ interconnections within a catchment, students could see the impact of water pollution, life style choices and the decision making process on the whole river ecosystem. This was followed by a movie called ‘ForkFish – Plastics in the Ocean’ a cynical, exaggerated portrayal of the role plastics play in the health of the ocean. Plenty to think about… Comments are closed.
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March 2024
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