Walkabout, Talkabout

I spent some time today with two classes doing ' walkabout talkabout'. I have had a growing feeling that I have kind of skimmed over industry with s4, and wanted to test my fears, I suppose. With Higher, I always feel that Rural Land Resources is such a big topic that it can be overwhelming, and I like to stop in the middle of the topic and take stock of where we are at. I put out some flipchart sheets with appropriate headings. The groups would collaborate for about 5 minutes or so on one topic, write on the flipchart sheet what they had agreed was relevant, and then move on to the next table. At this point, groups would then look at the list the previous group had written, tick or cross whether they agreed with the statement and then add their own extensions to the list.

I was really pleased with the results from both classes. I combined the exercise by leaving a traffic lighting sheet at each desk for completion before groups had moved. First up, industry doesn't really seem to be as lacking as I thought, maybe just a little bit of mapwork and some revision of reasons for decline in old industries. You seem to have a good understanding of most topics, and we will have a look at how you would apply that knowledge in a tets paper scenario by looking at a past paper. Secondly, the Higher are actually fairly comfortable with most of what they have done so far. This is really pleasing, because I always feel that it is sometimes late in the year when RLR really 'clicks' for some students. There are again, a few minor areas to address, which I'll try to do tomorrow as we review the exercise. This does not mean, sadly, that I can postpone more of the core work. I'll think of a way to soften the blow a bit :-( . On that note, there are some good links on this site for National Parks, which we'll hopefully finish tomorrow.

S1 are doing a little bit about people in Brazil. We spent today looking at Brazilian culture, having a little fun around some Portuguese language, odd Brazilian sayings and riddles. We then used google Earth to explore some places around the Globe. I asked the class to think about what linked the places. After some good discussion, we arrived at the answer that people have moved to Brazil from these places, places as diverse as Italy and Angola, and the movement was not always one of choice in the past. This sets us up for some of the written activities we have to complete, but only after our map skills assessment....Look on the bright side, it's almost the weekend!