Focus group: Year 10

LO:

• Create a poster and supporting piece of art that highlights the main environmental issue in a Spanish-speaking country.

• The artefacts are to be judged by the Geography, Art and MFL departments. The best will have the chance to be presented to the whole school.

Overall idea:

• Explore Spanish-speaking countries' culture, society, and geography (decolonising the curriculum)

• Conduct research in groups (collaborative work and practice of research skills)

• Planning and creating an artefact (freedom in expression and practising art skills)

Main research areas

• Main features on the country chosen

• Main environmental issue and impact on the country's society/culture

• Solutions the country is currently adopting

• Your proposal for a solution

• 3 images of artwork from that country

For learners that come from such a variety of heritages (Pakistani, Bangladeshi, African, African Caribbean, White British) a welcoming and happy environment can be created by valuing the stories from beyond the shores of Europe.

This project aims to enthuse students about the wider Spanish-speaking world and consider how their interactions with the environment affect the whole of humanity.

With regards to environmental issues, students will be drawing on prior knowledge of climate and environmental issues from primarily the Sciences and Geography curricula. The issues in general do not need to be taught, but the pupils do need to identify the main issue affecting their chosen country.

During KS3, all pupils will have been exposed to different styles of art, sculpturing, materials, etc. They can use this experience to guide them in their expression of the environmental issue in the form of an artefact (supported by their poster/fact file).

The poster acts as a framework to guide students in their research (a template can be provided, but students are free to adapt it). It helps them to quickly gather their information before moving on to their creative piece. The artistic aspect provides opportunities to those who prefer expressing their knowledge and emotions in a non-written format.

• What is the main environmental issue of a chosen Spanish-speaking country.

• How this environmental issue is affecting the country's society and culture.

• What solutions is the country implementing.

• What solutions do the students believe would help the country.

Skills:

• How to undertake online research on a Spanish-speaking country.

• How to collect information online and choose relevant information to put onto a poster.

• How to create a collaborative poster and artwork displaying the required information.

• How to present the poster/artwork to a group of students and teachers.

Values:

• To develop a perspective of environmental issues in Spanish-speaking countries.

• To develop a deeper understanding of these environmental issues and to be able to evaluate them.

• To be able to develop solutions for the environmental issues of the chosen country.

MFL lesson in a computing room: students are presented with the project and divided into small groups. They learn about the Spanish-speaking world and the cultural and environmental diversity that characterises it.

In collaboration with the Geography department, students use the lesson to explore the Spanish-speaking world and choose a country they are interested in. At the end of the lesson, it is agreed with students what country each group will research. All groups will focus on a different country.

1 hour

2. General research:

In collaboration with the Geography department, students will undertake their research on the chosen country with the aim of identifying the main environmental features and issues the country is currently facing. Students will have to identify information for the main areas of the project that they will then have to put into their poster/artwork. They will be able to use planning templates provided to guide their research.

1 hour

3. Planning the poster/artistic artefact:

In collaboration with the Art department, students will bring the findings of their research to their art lesson and will plan the poster or artwork they want to produce. The artefact can take any shape (from posters to artworks) as long as it includes/represents the 4 main points of the research (characteristics and environmental issues of the researched country, schemes currently in place in the researched country to tackle the issue; solutions proposed by the students).

1 hour

4.Producing the poster/artistic artefact:

During one of their Art lessons, all groups of students will engage in producing the poster/artistic artefact planned in the previous lesson.

1 hour

5. Presenting the project:

Groups of students will take turns to present their research project to the rest of the class.

1 hour

6. Display of projects:

During Earth day, an art exhibition is organised in the school with all the projects created by students displayed so that everyone can see them and learn about a Spanish-speaking country and the different environmental issues around the world. During this time, teachers from the MFL, Geography and Art department will have the chance to see all the works and vote for their favourite one. At the end of the day, votes will be collected and students will be informed of the winning group.

7. Sharing the winning project:

The winning group will have the chance to present they work to the rest of the school during assemblies.

TOTAL 5 hours learning time.

Using or adapting a template, create a poster/fact file on the issue in the given country:

• Main features on the country chosen

• Main environmental issue and impact on the country's society/culture

• Solutions the country is currently adopting

• Your proposal for a solution

• 3 images of artwork from that country

Art Phase

Create a piece of art/artefact highlighting the main environmental issue in the given country.

Guidance in their creation:

• Have you seen examples of the art produced in that country? What colours/patterns/shapes/imagery?

• What materials can you use? Plastic waste/reclaimed wood/etc.?

Presentation Phase

Present to the class in groups.

Students will display their artefact and explain why they have made the decisions to create it in that way (they can follow the structure of the poster template or their own poster to help them with structure).