Our Ref: SKa/EHi
February 2015
Dear Parent/Carer
Re: C3 Home Study – ‘The Environment’ YEAR 7
On Monday 16th February 2015, we will begin our next project which is called ‘The Environment’. Please find more
details on the College website. The homework for this project is detailed below. Students are expected to do one
piece of work and the deadline for return is:
Monday 16th March 2015
The subject focus for this term’s assessment is Geography.
This term’s homework will focus on human interaction with nature and how nature can be used in art. Choose one of
the options from the list below.
1.
Create a presentation entitled ‘What is Nature, and how can we protect it?’ This can be created as a
visual display, a computer presentation, or a short film. Use recent research to help form ideas to
protect nature.
2.
Research a natural/environmental disaster from the past 50 years e.g. Chernobyl, Aral Sea, 2004
Tsunami. What happened? How did it happen? What are the effects on the area today? This can be a
magazine/newspaper article as if you have recently visited the site of the disaster, include any relevant
pictures.
3.
A booklet or PowerPoint presentation focusing on the relationship between art and nature, e.g. studying
the work of a specific artist such as Andy Goldsworthy or Richard Long who specialise in works that
blend art and the natural world; alternatively students could look at artists, like Constable or Cezanne
who paint scenes from nature. In this work students should describe the work and include specific
examples. They should explain in what ways the artists use nature in their work and they need to write
about what they think and feel about the work.
4.
Make a model of an object such as a musical instrument or chair from natural materials you have
collected e.g. wool, twigs, leaves, string, flowers. Students must include a written explanation of how
they approached this task.
5.
Joint project with Netolpitiya School “recycling” – see attached sheet.
Students must ensure that they include a bibliography of any book, newspapers or websites they have used. We
strongly discourage the use of Wikipedia. Students should use the note making skills they have acquired in college
and should not copy and paste from the internet.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Yours faithfully
S Kane
C3 Faculty Team Leader
Option 5 – What Waste?
This option is a joint project which our twinned school in Netolpitiya, Sri Lanka will be completing. Work
completed will be selected and sent to Sri Lanka, where it will be displayed in the school.
As part of this project, students should do the following things:
1. Complete a journal at home for one week to record the amount and type of waste that your family
produces in an average week.
Key questions covered:



How is it disposed of?
Where does it go?
How much of it is recycled?
2. Research and presentation task. Pick one of the following items:
Glass, Cans, Food, Plastic, Fabric, Paper, Wood, Garden Waste, Water, Batteries
For your item, research the following:





How is it produced?
How can it be disposed of?
Is it bio-degradable or recycled?
What effects does it have on the environment?
What can be done to protect the environment?
This work can be presented as a booklet, display, PowerPoint presentation, poster, video or song.
Remember to be creative and imaginative when presenting your work!
RE
Religious ideas about looking after
our world
GEOGRAPHY ECOSYSTEMS
The Rainforest
The Mediterranean
Coral Reefs
The Desert
Antartica
DRAMA
Work based on the story by
Michael Morpurgo “Blodin
the Beast” which explores
the issues about the use of
oil and its effect on the
planet.
The
Environment
ICT
Creating flowcharts to mimic a
lighthouse system to be used in
times of extreme weather
GEOGRAPHY FOCUS
PLTS: Reflective learners, Independent Enquirers, Effective Participators
DANCE
Study of “Still Life at the Penguin
Café” (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
based around endangered species
and destruction of the rain forest.
Students create their own pieces
around this work.
MUSIC
Keyboard work on the theme
of the environment
DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT
Flooding, man-made environmental
disasters. Water, air and land pollution.
PROJECT WITH NETOLPITIYA
Recycling – A comparison of two
countries
THE KEY QUESTIONS
 How can we manage our own environment?
 How are we damaging the environment?
 How can students manage their school environment?
PERSONAL LEARNING AND THINKING SKILLS



Effective Participators
Reflective Learners
Independent Enquirers
 How do local authorities help us recycle?
KEY GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTS
 What are the different ecosystems of the world?
 What moral responsibility do we have for our planet?
Students will have an understanding of the following concepts:
 Interdependence
 Physical and human processes leading to change
 An understanding of the place and developing “geographical
imagination” of place
 Environmental interaction and sustainable development
 In what ways have we damaged the environment?
This will help them deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and
understanding
 How can we help to reduce the ongoing damage to our
environment?
ASSESSMENT
 Written Geography assessment
 Which areas of the world need our protection?
 What ideas do the major world faiths have about looking
after the environment?
sd