The secrets of the forest

An example of a completed project method concerning the protection of the forest ecosystem in B class of Primary school. 

The project method

Is a study on a specific topic of which the designing, the implementation and the evaluation are executed by a group of students or the entire class.

Requirements

Differentiation of the roles both of the student and the teacher.

Experiential approach of learning.

Group-centered learning process.

Objectives of the methodStudents:To participate actively in the learning process.

To practice in research.

To set goals and a frame of reference.

To promote communication and collaboration skills.

To develop creative and critical thinking.

Every summer in Greece fires destroy valuable woodland.

The pain of this loss and the deep anxiety about our natural environment and its future created the necessity for awareness and education about the forest ecosystem, its contribution to our lives and its protection.

Topic selection

Triggered by the major fires that destroyed large forest areas across our country during August.

we expressed in class our feelings we all experienced and our thoughts.

the children raised some initial questions and this was the stimulus of the implementation of the work plan.

Team workThe class was divided into five groups.

Each group gave out roles to its members.

Each group chose its name and created the flag of the team.

Exploration

Utilizing the teaching technique of brainstorming the students mentioned whatever came to their minds when hearing the word ‘’forest’’.

Their ideas were marked down on the board and were classified in the form of a simple concept chart.

Designing the thematic units

What a forest is

What the forest gives us

Threats to the forest-forest protection

Fires in forest-causes

Consequences of deforestation

Designing the thematic units

Each group undertook to study a theme section of the subject with which they got involved under the general title: The secrets of the forest

 

Objectives of the project

The students:To adopt positive attitudes towards the natural

environment. 

 To understand what the forest is and to discover its value.

To understand the dangers threatening it.

To develop values and actions to protect the forest.

  To enrich their experiences and develop critical skills and creative thinking.

To collaborate in groups and communicate with each other for shared goals and objectives.

Activities We extracted information from books, magazines,

newspapers, the internet and the direct observation.

 We went out in the forest, we observed the animals, we collected leaves and we made herbaria.

Made posters and collages, wrote poems , made questionnaires and assignments .

We planted plants in the classroom and we watched them growing .

Each group presented its work to the whole class and to other classes of co-located schools.

What a forest is

Name of the team:Golden Eagles and Silver Nightingales

Animals living in a forest

Name of the team:Golden Eagles and Silver Nightingales

What the forest gives to us

Name of the team The Hares and the Does

Threats to the forest

Name of the teamThe Sun

Forest protection

Name of the teamThe Sun

Fires in forest- causes

Name of the teamThe amazing children

Consequences of deforestation

Name of the teamThe Shiny Sun

Pictures and poems made by the children

Planting plants

Final evaluation

We evaluated

The knowledge gained,

the process,

and the feelings emerged during the process.