GREEN iT! (LS-PT-274)

Indeed, we are social beings. So, all good relationships are of the utmost importance for our wellbeing.

GREEN iT! (Global Resilient Environmentally Energetic Neighbours in Teaching!)

As a result, the leitmotif of this Learning Scenario was the discussion of “What makes a good neighbour” in the world we live in.

Who we are

I teach both English and Citizenship to these 12/13-year-old students, 19 altogether. I am also their Form Teacher. Therefore, I am with them in many activities at school. I started teaching them in September 2019 and, hopefully, I will be their teacher till they finish year 9.

So, I want them to realize that a foreign language facilitates access to information and technology and helps build our multicultural and global identity.

Reasons for the Learning Scenario

I designed this learning scenario aiming at developing the students’ literacy in the English language, helping them understand the great asset Europeana is, the sequence of the story in The Curious Garden, by Peter Brown, and the common themes in English and Citizenship, for instance.

Apart from reinforcing learning within and across subjects, I also wanted my students to:

understand when it is advisable to use mobile devices,
spend time with their peers,
be aware of the power of their actions, within their school community,
be attentive to the issues the world we live in is facing,
as well as develop a sense of belonging to a school, a community, Europe.

In GREEN iT!

(Global Resilient Environmentally Energetic Neighbours in Teaching!), the students were able to:

experience meaningful learning experiences,
acquire knowledge about Europeana,
develop literacy in the English language,
get involved in collaborative activities, in and outside the classroom.

Additionally, the students learned how to:

use digital devices safely, respectfully and responsibly,
read information and
develop both their autonomy and their resilience.

Some results and feedback

As an illustration, 94% of the students took part in the Flipped Classroom activities about Europeana and The Curious Garden in the Google Form and LearningApps. Regarding the last Flipped Classroom activity, only 57% of the students accomplished it. Nevertheless, they rated the quality of their work, engagement, and resilience as Very Good. However, I still need to check what didn’t work for the others, not only to improve the assignment but also to have their full responsibility as well as their engagement.

Good neighbours at school…

Respect everyone, help the environment and motivate others.

Follow-up activities

eTwinning

Additionally, the students will write articles about the resources they used and the activities they took part in. Then, they will send the articles to the eTwinning partners: Green Ambassadors@work and Let’s Geopark! Projects.

Important dates

Finally, we (the students and I) want to turn GREEN iT! into a project. In fact, we are already getting ready for Outdoor Classroom Day and for World/European Neighbours’ Day. Meanwhile, as I am the Coordinator of year 7 and we want to be Good Green Neighbours, we will involve the other year 7 students and teachers.

Would you like to know more about this learning scenario? You can download it below:

Europeana-DSI-4-LS-2020-Portugal-Silva Download

Europeana-DSI-4-LS-2020-Portugal-Silva-pdf Download

Did you find this learning scenario interesting? You might also like:

See, Understand, Challenge – Be a Change Agent by Agnieszka Pielorz
Facts about Me – Europeana and Adjectives by Karolina Nedelkovska
We Have The Right To… by Eva Toth

CC BY-NC 4.0: the featured image used to illustrate this learning scenario has been found on Europeana Collections and has been provided by the Historical Archives of the American Farm School of Thessaloniki, Greece.

14 Responses to "GREEN iT! (LS-PT-274)"

Alexandra Duarte says:

March 15, 2020 at 3:18 pm

Dear Fátima,
Congrats on your LS! I’m currently teaching 7th graders and truly believe your activities are all doable at this age level and regarding their English proficiency. I particularly appreciate the scope and clarity of your goals as well as the video and related activities.
I’m also very involved in raising students’ awareness for climate change and environmental problems and your LS is definitely added value. Thanks for sharing it.
Best wishes,
Alexandra

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1. mariadefatima says:
  
  March 20, 2020 at 2:38 am
  
  Hello, Alexandra. Thank you for your kind words.
  I agree with you, year 7 students can accomplish activities such as these, especially if they are eager to learn. This year I am lucky as most of my students understand the importance of innovating in the classroom and follow instructions very easily. Some of them like using a translator app, whenever they face some challenges, but I always advise them not to translate the webpage, only some words.
  Indeed, we can make a lot of connections when we teach about climate change. We can also help our students understand that the different subjects can have a lot in common and see the learning experiences they have in these subjects, not as arbitrary divisions, but as an opportunity to find solutions with data from several resources and to connect with each other. Sooner or later, students will have to understand that in their future life, they will have to connect information from different sources and relate to one another to find solutions for their problems.
  
  As Maya Angelou once wrote,
  
  “Alone, all alone
  Nobody, but nobody
  Can make it out here alone”.
  
  Best regards from Fátima
  
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  1. Alexandra Duarte says:
    
    March 23, 2020 at 2:56 pm
    
    Dear Fátima,
    
    Thank you quoting Maya Angelou, one of my favourite authors, with such wise words.
    As I told you before, I loved your video and the matching exercise – in fact, so much that I used the same video to create a different activity to share with my 7th graders. If you would like to check it out and try, it’s available at https://www.educandy.com/site/resource.php?activity-code=98d2
    Hope you enjoy it (or your students).
    #stayhome #staysafe,
    Alexandra
    
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    1. mariadefatima says:
      
      May 2, 2020 at 12:07 am
      
      Hello, Alexandra,
      I see we are both fans of Maya Angelou’s work. I talk about her whenever I get the chance when I have older students or when I teach Citizenship and want to refer to Civil Rights. I wish I still have the chance to teach “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” and hope my students appreciate it.
      It seems I inspired you and you created a different activity which I think is great. I am going to share it with my students. I liked your idea so much that it also inspired me to create an activity with a different tool (one a colleague is using with my class). I share it with you here:
      https://quizizz.com/join?gc=800935
      I am also going to share Educandy with the other year 7 teachers. I think most of them will feel like trying it to create new long distance activities.
      Thanks.
      Keep safe.
      Best regards from Fátima
      
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brendanbuttigieg says:

March 18, 2020 at 12:13 pm

This a great Learning Scenario. I like the GREEN IT idea, it’s a different learning approach and learning experience. I perfectly agree between the balance of teaching and learning both in the classroom and also outside of the classroom environment. I encourage gardening a lot! Students really like this. Well done!

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1. mariadefatima says:
  
  March 20, 2020 at 1:31 pm
  
  Hello, Brenda,
  Thank you for your gentle remarks. I see we are in agreement. Indeed, it is of great importance to promote our students’ connection to the natural world. It raises both their awareness for environmental issues and it also promotes their growth as responsible and respectful citizens.
  I think that, when we were our students’ age, we never considered that playing outside, helping in the orchard, on the farm or in the vegetable garden was a problem. Apart from being a chore, it was also fun as we were outside in the fresh air.
  Nowadays, our students spend most of their time indoors and, even when they are in the playground they are connected to other people but on the mobile phone.
  I like helping them understand that getting hands dirty when we plant is not a big deal. It can be fun and we are preserving the green area we have at school. Hopefully, it will be an experience they can replicate in their communities, neighbourhoods and gardens, even if it is a balcony or roof garden.
  Best regards from Fátima
  
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Theodora Tziampazi says:

March 19, 2020 at 10:50 am

You have made some serious work here! Well done! The video with the book narration warmed my heart.
To me, ecology lessons might have to be multiplied…

This is a kids’ song about climate change. It was created in our school… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyXIKbPEtcc
You may share it with your students and tell them that you found it here- in a comment by a Greek collegue. It is very important for us all (pupils and teachers) to feel members of communities wanting a… greener future!

Thank you!

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1. Alexandra Duarte says:
  
  March 22, 2020 at 1:34 am
  
  Hi Theodora,
  
  Thanks for sharing the youtube link.
  Best wishes from Portugal,
  Alexandra
  
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2. mariadefatima says:
  
  March 23, 2020 at 3:18 am
  
  Hello, Theodora,
  Thank you for your nice comments and for your contribution.
  Your 6th Graders participated in a fantastic competition. I will check it next school year.
  It is important to use music in teaching as songwriting must be a great experience to help students express themselves. Learning about music structure and creating the lyrics promoted your students’ engagement and they connected the knowledge they got in different subjects. As I watched your video and read your lesson plan, I realised the students had the opportunity to play the role of real artists: songwriting, composing, illustrating and recording.
  At the moment, we are not at school due to the Coronavirus outbreak. However, I created classes in Google Classroom. So, I will share the song with them. Hopefully, they will get inspired and create something, too.
  In spite of the online lessons, my students and I keep discussing environmental issues on collaborative documents because we are developing some projects and addressing Climate change in the Citizenship lessons.
  On account of the terrible moment the world is facing right now, we need to think about what kind of community we live in and what kind of community we want for our greener and healthier future.
  Best regards from Fátima
  
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zehragulenis says:

March 25, 2020 at 11:41 am

Dear Fatima;
Your LS is really great and covers a very important topic. The video included in LS is amazing and impressive. It is time for all to integrate the issues related to the Nature and Climate change in our everyday lesson no matter what we teach. It is a must, I think.

Thank you…

Zehra Güleniş / Turkey

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ivanabusuttil says:

March 27, 2020 at 12:28 pm

Well done for creating such an interesting learning scenario involving such a current and important topic. I really like the fact that you also linked it to eTwinning. Your use of digital resources is also exemplary. Thank you for sharing.

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ayrtoncurmi says:

April 1, 2020 at 6:58 pm

A very interesting learning scenario! In various countries, nature is being highly affected by the number of construction building taking over our beautiful landscapes so it’s very important that as educators we promote its importance. I really appreciate the fact that you managed to link this learning scenario with an e-Twinning project. Well done! Thank you for sharing 🙂

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juditbenedek says:

April 15, 2020 at 6:43 pm

I like The Curious Garden story and the ‘What do I know so far?’ exercises. It is a good way to check where students are in the process. Thanks for sharing.

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marcinjablonski says:

April 30, 2020 at 9:47 am

Great Learning Scenario. GREEN iT it’s a different learning approach. Well done! THS for sharring!!!

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Who we are

Reasons for the Learning Scenario

In GREEN iT!

Some results and feedback

Follow-up activities

eTwinning

Important dates

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