One of our largest multi-schools event to date, I think, and what a delight it was! On board this virtual adventure to the Amazon were more than 500 Key Stage 2 pupils and teachers from eight schools throughout the UK, namely The John Moore Primary School in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire (https://www.thejohnmooreprimary.org/); Ashton Gate Primary School in Bristol, Avon (https://www.ashtongate.bristol.sch.uk/); Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Benfleet, Essex (https://www.holyfamily.essex.sch.uk/); St. Mark and All Saints C of E Primary School in Godalming, Surrey (https://www.stmarkallsaints.uk/); Greenleas Primary School in Wallasey, Merseyside (http://www.greenleasprimaryschool.co.uk/); Bilton C of E Junior School in Rugby, Warwickshire (https://www.biltonjuniorschool.co.uk/); Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School in Coventry, West Midlands (https://corpuschristi.coventry.sch.uk/) and Skegness Junior Academy in Skegness, Lincolnshire (https://www.skegnessjunioracademy.org/). The youngsters and teachers were engaged and enthused throughout the whole day and produced some impressive work.
The day took a similar format as before, with the content tweaked slightly to incorporate more recent material sent from, or captured when spending time with, the Kambeba indigenous community in the heart of the Amazon.
After introducing ourselves and making use of Digimap for Schools (https://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/) to identify our various locations within the UK (never miss a chance to develop place and locational knowledge!), re-naming groups, outlining the learning objectives and format of the day, it was time for our ‘starter’. I played a short movie clip to challenge any misconceptions about the location of the Amazon (it covers many countries within South America, not just Brazil), we then ‘travelled’ from the UK to Manaus in the state of Amazonas in northern Brazil and I posed a few questions to the children relating to distance, direction, means of travel, sustainability, costs, length of time, etc. They were then immersed in a 360 degree tour of the tropical rainforest, which truly fascinated many.
The ‘main’ part of the workshop was divided into two components, the first led by myself and the second delivered by Adriana Meirelles, a Brazilian and professional animator/film producer with first-hand experience of the Amazon.
My session had a geography focus, but also integrated an element of numeracy/maths, literacy/English and promoted critical thinking. We looked at the distribution of tropical rainforests across our planet, analysed and interpreted a climate graph and data for Manaus, explored the tropical rainforest biome, considered the importance of the tropical rainforest and its role as the world’s medicine cabinet and contemplated a fundamental local and global issue (deforestation).
Afterwards, there was time for a spot of ‘thunking’; providing pupils with an opportunity to think deeply, philosophically and independently. They were asked what their dream Amazon would be like and invited to share their thoughts with fellow students, teachers and ourselves.
After lunch, we came together again virtually for the afternoon session, led by Adriana Meirelles, to learn about the indigenous people’s culture and lifestyle through the medium of art and design and technology. Firstly, Adriana talked about her origins (Sao Paulo), emphasised the extent of Brazil by comparing it with the area of the UK and highlighted how diverse the country is. Next, she shared an animation, based upon a traffic light analogy, that she had created to help explain some of the pressures that our planet faces, e.g. over-consumerism; depletion of resources; sustainability.
Using a series of photographs, Adriana then took her audience into the heart of the Amazon. She explained that the rivers are seen as roads and projected images of river boats with hammocks and many people.
Subsequently, a film about indigenous people was screened. Adriana explained that people live in the forest and work with nature, protecting it and living in harmony. They have a simple life, living in communities and maintaining strong traditions. Whilst they live extensive distances from each other, such traditions encourage them to meet up, have fun and help each other. Adriana discussed the indigenous people’s philosophy in order to ensure the sustainability of the tropical rainforest; living within its limits; relating to it in an ‘affectionate’ way; ‘dreaming’ about the forest. Adriana discussed how we might follow their example so that we lead more sustainable lifestyles and help preserve the rainforest and our planet too.
Marcella Haddad, a professional photographer-journalist, had spent a day with the indigenous people in Adriana’s film and, later, introduced her to them. Adriana shared further footage and information that both she and Marcella have gained from their regular conversations with, and their visit to the Kambeba indigenous community last August.
Adriana referenced some items that she had collected on her various trips to the Amazon and demonstrated how she had used these to create her own forest soul and allow its character to be unveiled using her brilliant animation skills. It was then time for pupils to be creative! She invited the children to produce their own forest soul using natural artefacts (an English forest soul, who would become friends with a Brazilian forest soul). Teachers were requested to take photographs of pupils’ artwork, so that they could be shared with Brazilian teachers and pupils. Some of their wonderful creations can be viewed below:
Double bubble encourages youngsters to reflect critically, comparing their lives with those of the Kambeba children in the heart of the Amazon; whilst some things are very different, there are several similarities. In their classrooms, teachers led a whole group discussion around this and I then asked classes to convey their thoughts by unmuting themselves or adding comments to the chat feed. Many similarities were noted: both attend school; they are keen to learn; they take part in the same activities; they enjoy swimming, climbing trees, etc. in their free time. Youngsters also identified a number of differences: the Kambebas often go bare foot; they do not wear a school uniform; much of their learning is conducted outside; they have less access to technology.
Towards the end of the workshop, pupils and teachers were given some time to reflect via the completion of an online Google Form and annotating a leaf with their concluding comments/thoughts; an effective means of us gathering pupil and staff voice, as well as them contemplating their learning and experiences over the course of a day.
Words/phrases used to sum up the day included:
We learnt lots about the Amazon.
Enjoyable; exciting; educational; fun; interesting.
Learning about different cultures.
Interesting; friendly; busy; surprising; educational.
Informative; fun; educational; hands on; interesting.
Inspirational; educational; insightful.
Educational; informative; eye-opening; fun; fantastic.
Interesting; inspirational; educational; adventurous; creative.
Informative; prepared; educational; enriching.
Thank you for a brilliant day!
Teachers and pupils have been inspired to continue with or extend some of their learning and experiences from today over the remainder of this week. We will endeavour to share their work with the Kambeba children too and, hopefully, have some messages to relay to teachers and pupils in return.
A message from Adriana:
It is always a pleasure to have the chance to share the knowledge and experiences that I have from the Amazon. As a Brazilian, it is very important for us to know that children here are learning about our amazing rainforest by accessing factual information and hearing first-hand accounts, employing a degree of critical thinking in the process. I love to see how pupils engage with the various materials to increase their geographical knowledge and understanding and the videos of the indigenous children produced especially for this workshop, as well as creating pieces of art, which remind them of the day, their global connections and commitments towards pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle.
It was a brilliant day with youngsters from all corners of the country. Next week, I intend to share their work with the indigenous community that we have been connecting with in the heart of the Amazon. This project is our step to building a collaborative thread of hope.