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

2. How are you connected to the forest?

What you need:

Photos of the Scots Pine forest and the Congo Basin rainforest
Coloured pens and large sheets of paper

Aims

To encourage pupils to make connections between their lives and trees

To establish a baseline around pupil awareness and understanding of our interdependence with trees

What to do

In groups, give pupils a large sheet of flip chart paper with the photo of the Scots Pine forest in the middle. Ask them to write down all the ways they are connected to the forest in Scotland. You might need to use the teacher prompts to get them started.

Ask groups to feedback 3 main ideas.

Now give the groups a sheet of paper with a photo of the Congo Basin rainforest in the centre and ask them to write down all the ways they are connected to the Congo Basin rainforest.

Groups can again share 3 ideas.

Explain to the class that they will add to their ideas at the end of the unit of work and use them to reflect on what they have learnt and to explore some of the similarities and differences between the forests.

Teacher prompts

Why might you visit the forest?
Are there any forest products you use at home / school?
Do you know anyone whose job is connected to the forest?

Reflection and evaluation

This activity should be repeated when the pupils have finished exploring forests. Give pupils their original ideas for ways they are connected to trees and ask them to add any further ideas using a different colour pen.

Ask pupils to compare their initial connections with their connections now. What do they notice? Discuss the ways their understanding of their connections with the forest has changed.

Assessing the feedback

To what extent have pupils demonstrated a broader range of ideas and show greater depth of understanding?

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4