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.

> Assessing learning

6. What is the best way to protect the environment?

What you need:

Set of protecting the environment cards [pdf] per group

Aims

To explore how people's behaviour has an impact on the environment

To reflect on the understanding and belief that individuals can make a difference

To develop an understanding of their own and others rights

What to do

Brainstorm with the class ideas around what they can do to protect the environment.

Arrange the class into groups and give each group a set of cards which they should spread out on the table in front of them. Ask them individually to identify a card they think is the most important and the least important. Share their thoughts with a partner.

Next ask them, as a group, to arrange the 9 cards into a diamond pattern with the most important idea at the top and the least important at the bottom and the others ranked in between. They need to reach a consensus as a group as to where the cards should go.

As a whole class share the most important and least important cards and see how similar the responses were.

Next ask the pupils to arrange the cards into 3 categories; transport, consumption and waste. In groups, they should select a card from each category which they think will have the most impact on protecting the environment.

The suggested best answers are:

TRANSPORT- highest score 'buy food grown by local farmers'
CONSUMPTION – highest score 'only buy what you need'
WASTE – highest score 'start a compost heap' or 'give unwanted items to charity'

Hold a plenary discussion on why some activities have a greater impact than others.

Revisit the original brainstorm and see if there are any other activities we can do to protect the environment.

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4