How to use this resource...

Our Forest, Our Future helps teachers and pupils to explore the interdependence of people and forests and the vital role forests play in sustaining our environment – in the past, the present and hopefully the future.

The Scots Pine forests in Scotland and the Congo Basin rainforest in Africa provide case studies through which pupils will begin to understand why our forests are under threat and the implications for our planet. Further information about these forests is provided in the following documents.

In making connections between consumerism, people and the environment, pupils will be encouraged to see how they and their actions have an impact on the lives of others globally. It encourages reflection on the possible futures of the world's forests and ways of taking positive actions for a future where people and forests co-exist in a sustainable way.

The resource is structured around a global citizenship framework devised by Oxfam.

The reflection and evaluation sections in each activity support formative assessment and ongoing monitoring of pupils learning.

Additional assessment opportunities are indicated by...

Outdoor learning opportunities are indicated by...

Homework activities are indicated by...

Taking Action for Change

Education for Global Citizenship is committed to enabling pupils to bring about positive actions for change either locally or globally. This process should support pupils to make their own informed choices through a critical evaluation of the options open to them and the possible implications of those choices.

Throughout the resource there are ideas for possible actions, such as reflecting on our power as consumers, peer education and tree planting. Your pupils themselves should be encouraged to think creatively about the many actions they could take, critically evaluate the impact these actions might have and then evaluate what they have done.

The materials below support your pupils through this process.

> Asking questions

1. What are forests like?

What you need:

Part A Large sheets of paper and pens
Part B forest/local wooded area visit or selection of parts of tree/undergrowth around tree for exploration in class

Aims

To find out pupils' understanding and ideas about forests

To establish a baseline of the pupils' knowledge and feelings about forests

What to do

Part A

Explain that we will be thinking about what forests are like.

In groups, pupils draw and/or write what they think they would see in a forest.

Teacher prompts

What plants / animals would you see?
Are there any people? What are they doing?
Are there any buildings or developments?
What might the weather be like?
Where might these forests be in the world?

Reflection and evaluation

This activity can be used as a baseline assessment for pupils to reflect on their own learning. Repeat at the end of the topic on forests and findings can be compared. Pupils should be encouraged to think of their own questions for each other to assess learning together.

Differentiating for ability, facilitated reflection may be required, adapting the suggested reflection questions below:

How has your understanding of a forest environment changed?
How has your thinking about who you might see in a forest changed?
Were your perceptions at the beginning positive or negative? How do these compare at the end?
Where do you think your ideas came from at the beginning?

Assessing the feedback

To what extent do the pupils demonstrate greater breadth and depth in their understanding?

Part B

Ideally, take the children to visit a forest or local wooded area (if not possible then use adapted activity below*). Give them 5 minutes to explore individually and bring back 1 thing they find that they would like to share with the group. In whole class circle, pupils share item and explain why they chose it. Pupils then group themselves with others who chose similar items. They must come up with 5 feelings which the items evoke to bring back to whole group. Teacher records the feelings and brings items back to class.

*If a forest/wooded area visit not possible:

Arrange the classroom so that everyone can sit in a circle.
Place the parts of a tree on the large sheet of paper in the middle of the circle with a selection of different coloured pens.
If they wish, pupils take turns round the circle to go into the middle, touch some of the items and write their feelings about the items on the sheet.

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4