'FORESTS OF CRESS': MODELLING EROSION WITH 8 YEAR-OLDS.

(STEVE PRATCHETT)

A muddy experience!During a fieldwork trip to the River Tamar with their teacher, Alan Bruce, a class of 8 year-old children from Bere Alston Primary School in Devon observed the after effects of a week of heavy rain. The river was swollen and muddy. Where had this mud come from? There was evidence all around on their walk down to the river. Rivulets of muddy water were pouring off the ploughed fields and heading for the river. Some of the Devon banks had burst and 'gushers of mud' spewed into the lanes! However, not all of the farmland bordering the river was ploughed, some was grassed some wooded. Here there seemed to be less mud pouring into the Tamar. Was there some link between the degree of soil erosion and the vegetation or lack of it?

Modelling processes, a word of cautionBack at school, the children embarked on an investigation to explore this question which would involve them in modelling the process of soil erosion. Wiegand (1993) offers a word of caution for the teacher engaging children in modelling processes:

"Models can be used to demonstrate process as well as form by building models in the sand....... However, there are problems in the extent to which it is possible to scale down the effects of rivers on their valleys by using sand and water. Most difficult of all is to establish that rivers erode their valleys very slowly, as 'erosion' in the sand tray can be very rapid." (pp. 98-99)

Speeding up the time scale and reducing the physical scale both occur when modelling a geographical process like erosion but as long as this is taken into account and discussed with the children, do the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages? As with time-lapse photography, speeding up the process can make normally imperceptible changes visible to the human eye which allows the children not only to see the after effects but also the process in action. Young children need tangible experiences to help them conceptualise ideas such as 'erosion' otherwise they remain an abstraction. Modelling also reduces the physical scale but again this can have its advantages by facilitating the viewing of land forms and processes from a variety of perspectives e.g.: eye-level, oblique, vertical, close-up and distant. On a field trip the sheer scale of the landscape can prevent such opportunities.

Key questionsThe children were encouraged to formulate key questions with me before and during their modelling:

· What effect does rainfall have on bare soil?· What effect does vegetation have on the erosion of soil from sloping land?

· Is it the roots, the foliage or both which affects the rate of soil erosion?· What effect does deforestation have on soil, particularly on hillsides?· How can soil erosion be prevented?

Are they mole-hills or mountains?The children split into groups and used sterilised John Innes soil compost to build four hills on white Formica boards in the playground. Through discussion and negotiation, it was decided to treat each hill as follows:first hill....................leave as bare soil (a 'ploughed field')second hill...............plant all over with a whole packet of cress seeds (a 'wooded hill')third hill...................one side planted, one side not ('reforestation v deforestation' )fourth hill.................plant all over with cress (later to be 'deforested' with

scissors but leaving the 'tree roots' behind)These would later be exposed to rain (either real or simulated with a watering can). To encourage germination, the children sprayed the cress seeds with a plant sprayer three times a day and 12 days later the vegetation reached maturity.

Gulliver looked about himIt was important at this stage to engage the children in extrapolating from the models to real life. They were encouraged to look down like giants and to talk about what the images reminded them of. The children entered enthusiastically into the role, stomping around the cress mounds below and talking about "mountains" "hills" and "forests".

"When I found myself on my feet I looked about me, and must confess I never held a more entertaining prospect. The country around appeared like a continual garden and enclosed fields, which were generally forty feet square resembled so many beds of flowers. These fields were intermingled with woods of half a stang, and the tallest tree as I could judge appeared to be seven feet high."

( Swift, 1952 edition: Gullivers Travels. p. 12)

Using a pair of scissors, one group 'deforested' their cress covered hill leaving only the roots in the soil. During this process, one boy took a toy dumper truck out of his pocket and began loading it with cress! When asked why, he replied,

"I'm loading the logs on the lorry 'cos they're going to the factory for furniture".

He was making the imaginative leap between the model and the real world through play.

The rainmakers!The day I returned to the school it was dry and sunny, an unusual phenomena in Devon! The children suggested watering cans and I just happened to have some

in the boot of my car! Before the rainmaking, it was important to discuss fair test and the control of variables. The ones which were identified by the children and kept constant were:the amount of 'rain' in each watering can;the height from which the rain fell;the number of showers;the size of each hill;the amount of seed (packets) used on each hill.

Each hill was 'rained on' in turn while the children observed closely during and after the event. Questioning was important at this point to refine the children's perceptions.

" A good teacher can help children to see more perceptively through good questioning and talk and through this means can give them new perceptions of even the most mundane and familiar things".

(Clement 1986 p. 70)

The features of erosion made plain for all to seeOn the white Formica boards the slightest traces of eroded soil would show up clearly. The cress-covered hill was indestructible, even under the deluge of several can fulls of water. There was evidence of a only a few fine particles of soil around the base of the hill. The bare soil hill was destroyed after one can full. An interesting concept illuminated by the simulation was the transportation of soil particles which got smaller the further away from the hill. The hill half planted with cress provided dramatic contrasts. On the vegetated slopes, erosion was minimal but on the bare slopes, there was a landslide This exposed the deep penetrating cress roots in the remaining half of the hill for the children to examine and discuss. Finally, the 'deforested' hill, on which the cress had been chopped down leaving only the roots, was watered. Some erosion took place (more than the cress-covered hill but less than the bare hill).

Assessment"Good assessment requires a range of assessment techniques and tasks to enable us to judge a child's achievement. Different styles suit different occasions and tell us different things".

(Balderstone & Lambert 1992 p. 18)

The following written and oral comments were made by the children during or after their investigations:

"The roots holded the soil together"."The bare side eroded because there wasn't a canopy of cress leaves and no roots to hold the soil together"."As the leaves kept all the water on them there was no water to pull the mud"."On the other side the leaves were caught by the leaves and no water got to the mud"."After 20 seconds of watering, the cress had a parting like a parting in our hair. The cress mountain was intact except the cress drooping down. The water was very clear".

"There was no leaves to capture the water"."It" (the water)"roled off onto the next leaf and so on"."The water made the mud slide down the mountain"."The roots held the mountain together. If the roots weren't there it would of collapsed like the one with no roots"."The water was murky in some places""The water ran down the sides and in doing so eroded the mud and deposited it at the bottom of the mountain leaving the edges twice as steep and most of the mud at the bottom of the mountain".

Analysis of these observations and deductions shows the emergence of some key concepts:

canopy, erosion, transportation, deposition, soil retention by roots, mud slide, slope and gradient.

The children are clearly beginning to realise that both vegetation and roots play a part in reducing soil erosion.

In addition to writing and discussion, the children made drawings of what they noticed. However, they tended to draw a picture of each hill from memory. Ideally, these should have been close, annotated observational drawings of the hills before and after the rainfall. This would have refined their perception of the changes that had occurred. The drawings would then have provided better quality evidence for assessment, particularly of those children whose difficulties with written and or spoken language could be masking their true understanding.

"The medium ideally should not mask what the children can do"(Balderstone & Lambert 1992 p. 18)

ExtensionFollowing this modelling erosion activity, it is important to look for real life parallels. This can be done by children examining and discussing video footage and photographs of deforestation and soil erosion from different places around the world but the potential of the school grounds and locality should not be overlooked. In one school, I saw an excellent illustration of soil erosion caused by the destruction of vegetation. Part of a sloping grass bank next to the playground had been used as a short cut by the children, completely wearing away the grass. After heavy rain there was always a 'delta' of fine soil particles fanning out onto the playground.

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..Copyright: Steve Pratchett, (1996) Senior Humanities Lecturer at the College of St. Mark & St. John, Plymouth, Devon. I would like to thank Alan Bruce and his class of children at Bere Alston Primary school for their help, enthusiasm and hospitality during this project

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ReferencesBalderstone, D. & Lambert, D (ed.) (1992) Assessment Matters. Sheffield:

Geographical Association, p. 18. Clement, R. (1986) The Art Teacher's Handbook. London: Hutchinson, p. 20. Swift, J. (1952 edition) Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.

London: J. M. Dent & Sons, p.12.Wiegand, P. (1993) Children & Primary Geography. London: Cassel, p.98-99.

Word count: 1,664 narrative text (including acknowledgements and references)

cresshil/doc/1996 Steve Pratchett.

Photographs of 9 year-old children’s ‘Cress Hills’ investigations in which they explore the link between deforestation and soil

erosion.

Children building their hills with soil

The bucket Question:What type of soil would you give the children for building their hills?Answer:A good soil is Jon Innes Loam-based seed compost. This is a finely sieved soil that has small particles well-suited to the demonstration of soil erosion, transportation and deposition. Don’t use peat-based composts as they contain large lumps of humus material.

The soil hill on the white board

Question:What issues would you encourage children to consider regarding the size of the soil ‘hill’?Answer:This is a good opportunity to discuss some of the variables in this investigation and the concept of fair test. One such variable is, “Are all the hills we are building the same size?” The same size circle has been drawn on all the boards so that children can build all the ‘hills’ with the same circumference.

The white board Question:Why do you think the children are building their ‘hills’ on white

Formica boards?Answer: The movement of particles of soil during the processes of erosion, transportation and deposition are made more visible by being set against a white background. If the board was brown the particles of soil would be camouflaged.

The shovel Question:What other tool could the children use to dig out the soil from the bucket and build their ‘hill’? Answer: The children are using a coal shovel. Other alternatives would be plastic seaside spades or trowels.

The children Question:Why do you think the children are working in pairs?Answer:This encourages social skills of co-operation, job sharing, discussion, negotiation, etc. Pairs are the easiest grouping for young children to manage. Threes or even fours would be possible in this activity but the larger the group the more difficult it becomes for children to manage without squabbling, leaving someone out and all being involved in the practical work.

Children sowing the hill with cress seeds

Packet of seeds Question:What sort of quantity of cress seeds do you think are needed?Answer:

Be generous as you need a dense ‘Amazon Rainforest’ to demonstrate the dramatic impact of how dense forest can prevent soil erosion. You need at least one whole packet of cress seeds (B&Q packets are generous). Some seed suppliers are stingy and you may need to use two packets.

The soil hill on the white board

Question: Are there any practical issues regarding the height and steepness of the hills?Answer:Yes. Avoid building the ‘hills’ too steep otherwise the seeds will roll down the sides or be washed off by watering before they have germinated. A ‘mole-hill’ configuration is best.

The children Question:What do you notice about the children?Answer:Even though this is a still photograph, you can see every child is focused on the task and watching intently. They are content to take turns as all will have a go at sowing the seeds.

Children watering their cress seeds

The water sprayer

Question:What are the children watering the seeds with and why?Answer:They are using a plant sprayer so that the seeds and soil are not washed away before the plants have germinated and taken root. The children can also use an indoor plant watering can which has a very fine rose.

The soil hill Question:Do the seeds need to be spread evenly?Answer:Yes, encourage the children to spread the seeds evenly so that all the soil is covered with plants when they have germinated. The children will then see the full effects of total ‘forest’ cover on preventing soil erosion.

Children demonstrating how they used a plant sprayer to keep the cress watered

The cress hill Question:How long do you think it takes the cress seeds to germinate and grow ready for the investigation?Answer:It takes about a week in a warm classroom. The children can cover the seeds with polythene for the first few days which speeds up the germination. This is a science investigation in its own right which children can explore using a control of seeds not under polythene for comparison.

The plant sprayer

Question:How often do the seeds need watering?Answer:Once in the morning and once at the end of school should suffice. Before a weekend they will need a thorough soak. Do not let the seedlings dry out.

Children cutting down the cress canopy with scissors

Hill in centre on which the children are cutting down the cress

Question:What do you think the children are simulating by using scissors to cut down the cress?Answer:The children are simulating the geographical process of deforestation. However, on this hill they are chopping down the canopy but leaving in the roots. This will allow them to investigate the variables of roots and canopy, e.g. is it one or both of these involved in preventing soil erosion?

Boy who is loading cress plants onto a yellow Dinky toy lorry

Question:What do you think the boy is doing?Answer:He took a yellow Dinky toy lorry out of his pocket while the girls were cutting down the cress and started loading some of the cress onboard. When asked what he was doing he said. “I am loading logs onto the lorry to send them off to the factory where they make furniture.” This suggests that he was totally immersed in the simulation of deforestation and slipped into role-play in which he saw the cress plants not as cress but as trees.

A group of children posing for a photograph with their cress hills

The 4 cress hills

Question:What types of cress hills can you identify and what variables do they address? (from left to right)Answer:Hill 1 is a forested hill with both roots and canopy.Hill 2 is a deforested hill but with the roots left in the soil.Hill 3 is half forested and half deforested (for contrast.Hill 3 is deforested with no canopy and no roots.With younger children you can keep the investigation simple by just using hills 1 and 2 (one forested and one deforested)

One of the four watering cans

Question:Would you ask children to water (‘rain on’) all four hills at once?Answer:No, this is inadvisable as there would be too much to observe and record at once. Children need to observe the processes at work on one hill at a time.

Another of the four watering cans

Question:The concept of fair test - what variables regarding the watering cans and the rainfall would you help children to identify, discuss and control?Answer:Here are some suggestions:

· Same amount of water in each watering can?· Is the water raining from the same height (perhaps waist

height)?· Are the ‘raindrops’ the same size (watering can roses all

with same size holes)?

Simulating rainfall on the ‘forested’ hill

The watering can/cress hill area

Question:What would you draw children’s attention to during the watering of the forested hill?

Answer:The effect of the ‘rainwater’ on the canopy (water will run off leaves and from leaf to leaf, rather like overlapping slates on a roof, and the plants may be bent over). A forest canopy acts very much like an umbrella, preventing the raindrops from impacting the ground and washing/eroding it away. There will be some signs of soil erosion. Soil particles will be very small and travel fast but can be seen against the white board. Make sure the children discuss the differences they notice between the ways the deforested and forested hills behaved and get them to compare the end results.

The cress hill on the right

Question:How would you get children to record their observations?Answer:There is a wonderful opportunity for children to use ICT. They could take digital photographs of stages in the erosion process as well as the end result. They could also use a video camera so that the process can be reviewed, paused, stopped, rewound and discussed back in the classroom.

Simulating rainfall on the ‘deforested’ hill

Picture to the left of the watering can and soil hill area

Question:What geographical processes can children observe at work during the watering of the deforested hill?Answer:Soil erosion, transportation and deposition. These processes can happen very rapidly and this could be seen as a criticism when in the real world they often happen over much longer periods of time and on a much larger scale.

“Models can also be used to demonstrate PROCESS as well as form … However, there are problems in the extent to which it is possible to scale down the effect of rivers on their valleys by using sand and water. Most difficult of all is to establish that rivers erode their valleys very slowly, as erosion in the sand tray can be very rapid.”

Wiegand, P. 1993 Children & Primary Geography. London: Cassell pp 98-99.

The problems that Wiegand identifies with modelling geographical processes seems to be the:

· speeding up the time-scale· reducing the physical scale

In response to Wiegand, sometimes erosion can sometimes take place as fast in real life as the children will see it in their cress hill investigations. However, as long as we raise and discuss the issues of time-scale and physical scale with children and use video and photographic images to support that discussion, we can help to avoid

the development of misconceptions.Primary children at the Piagetian concrete operational stage can struggle in understanding new abstract concepts without concrete experience. Hence, the advantage of modeling processes is that the intangible is made tangible, the abstract made concrete and multi-sensory, and the imperceptible made perceptible.As with time-lapse photography, a process can be speeded up making the imperceptible change that takes place over a long time visible to the eye. Modeling also reduces the physical scale facilitating the viewing of different aspect of a process all at once from different oblique and vertical perspectives.

Close-up photograph of the ‘deforested’ hill after the ‘rainfall’

The soil hill in right hand picture

Question:What would you encourage children to notice about the deforested hill after it has been watered? Answer:There is a considerable amount of dramatic soil erosion from just one watering can. Notice that the soil particles are graded. The smaller ones have traveled the furthest away from the hill and the larger particles the least. Ask the children why they think this happens. If children examine the board closely both during the watering they can watch the process of erosion, transportation and deposition of soil particles happening.

Simulating rainfall on the half ‘forested’ and half ‘deforested’ hill

The soil hill in right hand picture

Question:In this simulation half the hill is dramatically washed away. What is this phenomena called in the real world?Answer:This is a mudslide where the whole of a hillside gives way and slides downwards in a torrent of mud. In nature this can be highly destructive burying and destroying whole hillside villages with great loss of life as on the Philippine island of Leyete in the village of Guinsaugon on 17th February 2006 when over 1,500 people died and a Primary school was buried. Children could simulate this by placing small Monopoly type houses/buildings at the foot of the hillside and watching how they are buried under the mudslide.

Question:

Can you describe the processes that generate a mudslide in a deforested hillside?

Answer:

Sherwood, H. (18 Feb 2006) 1,500 feared killed by mudslide in Philippines London: The Guardian. p.14.

Close-up photograph of the half ‘forested’ and half ‘deforested hill’ after the ‘rainfall’

Question:What would you make the key focus for observation and discussion with the children here?Answer:Sometimes it only takes one watering can full of ‘rainwater’ to totally wash away the whole side of the hill and expose the roots. If not, the children can give it another watering to achieve this. The key focus for observation and discussion here would be the roots. Notice how they have grown down into the ‘forested’ half of the hill. This tangled mass of roots is binding/holding the soil together and greatly reducing the amount of soil erosion. Observation of this phenomena will help children to begin to realise that it is not just the canopy that protects the soil but also the roots.

Simulating rainfall on the ‘deforested’ hill with the canopy removed but roots left in the soil

The cress hill on the left

Question:This cress ‘forest’ has been chopped down but the roots left in the soil. Which part of the ‘forest has been removed?

Answer:The canopy has been removed which means the ‘umbrella’ is not there to protect the rain from hitting the soil with full impact. Here is some soil erosion – not as much as the deforested hill but more than the forested hill so the roots on their own play a major role in reducing soil erosion.

Cress hill on the right

Question:Can you think of any examples of human beings using roots of plants other than trees to prevent soil erosion?Answer:Farmers may leave the roots of crops in the soil, e.g. wheat stubble, so that the soil is not so easily blown or washed away. Similarly, one way of protecting sand dunes is to use Marram grass, so that the roots hold the sand together to prevent wind erosion.

Assessing the children’s learning

Read the two examples of children’s recordings of their cress hills investigation and assess their learning with regard to:

· their understanding of the geographical processes of erosion and deforestation the variables that influence them;

· their use of geographical terminology;· the National Curriculum levels for Geography

Then answer the questions that follow.

A 9 year-old child’s recording of the cress hills investigation Example Child A

A 9 year-old child’s recording of the cress hills investigation Example (Child B)

Question 1:Can you identify any evidence that child A and Child B have developed any understanding of the geographical processes of erosion and deforestation the variables that influence them?

Answer:Child A:“The bare side eroded because there wasn’t a canopy of cress leaves and no roots to hold the soil together unlike the other side which had a canopy of leaves and roots”. This indicates that child A has grasped the idea that both canopy and roots play a part in preventing soil erosion. This suggests that she has the ability to identify two variables.

In addition she is also to explain the part played by the roots in the process of both soil erosion and soil conservation, for example, she sees the roots as “holding the soil together” and explains that “The roots held the mountain together. If the roots wern’t there it would have collapsed like the one with no roots.”

Another feature of this child’s work is her refined observation skills. Note the features observed such as

· the effect of the rain water on the canopy: “After 20 seconds of watering, the cress had a parting like a parting in our hair.”

· The change in gradient through erosion: “The side that was bare started to erode into a steeper side than the other side that didn’t erode.”

· The suspension of mud in the water: “The water was murky in some places”; “the water was very murky.”

Child B“The water was caught by the leaves and no water got to the mud” and “it roled off onto the next leaf and so on” and “there was no leaves to capture the water and it ran down the stalks and onto the mud.” Even though child B does not use the term interception, it is clear that he understands how the leaves intercept the rainwater and prevent it hitting the soil. Child A understood that the canopy played a role in preventing soil erosion but did not explain this process of interception. The raindrops rolling from one leaf to the next is an acute piece of observation and is a feature built into the design of tiled and slated roofs where rain runs from one overlapping slate to another down the roof.

The child also demonstrates an understanding of the processes of erosion, transportation and deposition, e.g. “the water pulled down the mud to the bottom” (transportation); “when the water was poured on it ran down the sides and in doing so eroded the mud and depsited it at the bottom of the mountain” (erosion & deposition)

One important difference between the two children is that unlike child A, child B only focuses on the one variable of canopy and seems not to be aware of the part played by the roots. However, we must be cautious in jumping too readily to this conclusion. It could be that the child understood the way roots bind the soil

together to reduce erosion but simply forgot to write about this. If this were the case then a writing frame to help the child structure his writing to encompass both roots and canopy would have helped him communicate a truer picture of his level of understanding. As will be seen in the next task, relying too heavily on one mode of communication (in this case writing) may mask what the child really knows and understands. If the child had been questioned and asked to orally explain the role of the roots in relation to the process of soil erosion or asked to graphically draw an annotated diagram, then the teacher might have got a different insight into the level of the child’s understanding, which may or may not have differed from the evidence in the writing..

Another feature of this child’s work is her observation of fascinating detail in the process. Note the features observed such as

· the rolling of raindrops from overlapping leaf to leaf: “it roled off onto the next leaf and so on”

· the drooping of the plants under the weight of water: “the stalks were bending over”

· the change in gradient of the slope with erosion: “When the water was poured on it ran down the sides and in doing so eroded the mud and depsited it at the bottom of the mountain leaving the edges of it twice as steep.”

· on the hill with the canopy cut down leaving only the stalks: “there were no leaves to capture the water it ran down the stalks”

Question 2:Have a go at leveling child A’s & B’s work against the end of Key Stage National Curriculum Levels for geography. What level do you think they are working within?

Look at the following statements for levels 4 & 5

Level 4

Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies of a range of places and environments at more than one scale and in different parts of the world. They begin to recognise and describe geographical patterns and to appreciate the importance of wider geographical location in understanding places. They recognise and describe physical and human processes. They begin to understand how these can change the features of places, and how these changes affect the lives and activities of people living there. They understand how people can both improve and damage the environment. They explain their own views and the views that other people hold about an environmental change. Drawing on their knowledge and understanding, they suggest suitable geographical questions, and use a range of geographical skills from the key stage 2 or 3 programme of study to help them investigate places and environments. They use primary and secondary sources of evidence in their investigations and communicate their findings using appropriate vocabulary.

Level 5

Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies of a range of places and environments at more than one scale and in different parts of the world. They describe and begin to explain geographical patterns and physical and human processes. They describe how these processes can lead to similarities and differences in the environments of different places and in the lives of people who live there. They recognise some of the links and relationships that make places dependent on each other. They suggest explanations for the ways in which human activities cause changes to the environment and the different views people hold about them. They recognise how people try to manage environments sustainably. They explain their own views and begin to suggest relevant geographical questions and issues. Drawing on their knowledge and understanding, they select and use appropriate skills and ways of presenting information from the key stage 2 or 3 programme of study to help them investigate places and environments. They select information and sources of evidence, suggest plausible conclusions to their investigations and present their findings both graphically and in writing.

Answer:The children are beginning to work within Level 5.Level 5

Pupils show their knowledge, skills and understanding in studies of a range of places and environments at more than one scale and in different parts of the world. They describe and begin to explain geographical patterns and physical and human processes. They describe how these processes can lead to similarities and differences in the environments of different places and in the lives of people who live there. They recognise some of the links and relationships that make places dependent on each other. They suggest explanations for the ways in which human activities cause changes to the environment and the different views people hold about them. They recognise how people try to manage environments sustainably. They explain their own views and begin to suggest relevant geographical questions and issues. Drawing on their knowledge and understanding, they select and use appropriate skills and ways of presenting information from the key stage 2 or 3 programme of study to help them investigate places and environments. They select information and sources of evidence, suggest plausible conclusions to their investigations and present their findings both graphically and in writing.

At Level 4 children will be describing geographical processes but at Level 5 explaining them as well as describing them. Both child A & B are beginning to work within Level 5 as they have moved beyond pure description of the process of soil erosion to explaining causation. Child A has been a little more successful in this respect by understanding multiple variables affecting the process. They both select information from observations to suggest plausible conclusions and present their findings both graphically and in writing. The following class discussion and writing can indicate an understanding that human activity (in this case deforestation) can cause changes to the environment. Unfortunately, their graphical recordings communicate little and are useless for teacher assessment. This is because the drawings are the ‘before’ drawings with

no ‘after’ drawings for comparison, nor have the children annotated their drawings with labels to indicate the process and factors affecting that process. Had the recording been designed differently by the teacher, the children would have been able to explain the ways in which human activity (deforestation) causes changes in the environment (soil erosion & mudslides). See the next task to see how this might have been achieved.

Evaluating the modes of recording

Evaluate whether the way the children have been asked to communicate their learning from the cress hills investigation.

1. Is their sufficient diversity of pupil evidence?2. Is there any possibility that the chosen mode of communication is

masking what the children really know and understand?"In the context of Teacher Assessment, any learning task can be presented in a variety of ways - diagrammatic, written, oral, or through demonstration. A teacher can take full advantage of the range of possibilities to ensure that difficulties in communication are not confused with difficulties arising from the learning task itself."

(Schools Examination and Assessment Council - SEAC. 1992 p.14)

"Some children will achieve at a higher level if asked to present evidence in a certain way e.g. a child with poor co-ordination might perform better verbally than graphically. Focus on the attainment objectives of the task, the medium ideally should not mask what the child can do"

Balderstone, D., & Lambert, D. (1992) Assessment Matters. p.18. Sheffield: Geographical Association.

3. How effective are the children’s modes & methods of recording in providing the teacher with reliable evidence for assessment?

Re-designing the recording task

Question:Can you re-design the recording task to ensure a greater diversity of pupil evidence for assessment and improve the opportunities for the children to communicate more effectively what they have learned?

Answer:Look at this blank zigzag book and think how you would help 9-11 year-old children to structure their recording using a diversity of modes of communication. On each page decide what you would ask children to do. The zigzag book would probably be best as a paired or group enterprise where children share the tasks as it would be a major undertaking for one child on their own. If a zig-zag book focuses on one of the cress hills, then each pair or group have a ready-made audience for their work in a class show and tell or in a plenary. Differentiation could be built into the design and structure of the book, e.g. the number of pages, the quantity of writing, the use and type of writing frames, storyboards, etc.

When you have thought click on the blank page and a suggestion will appear. This does not mean your ideas are wrong, rather someone else’s ideas to add to your own and make you reflect.

Contents for each page of the zigzag book

Page 1 Front cover designThis links with Literacy and children researching & evaluating the front covers of books. Also this is a good cross-curricular link to art & design.

Page 2 Geographical enquiry questionsAn opportunity for children to articulate their enquiry questions for the cress hill investigation, e.g.

· What happens to rain when it falls on a forested hillside?· What happens when rain falls on a deforested hillside?· What happens when it rains when it falls on a deforested

hillside but with the tree roots left in the ground

Page 3 How we made the cress hillsAn opportunity for some procedural genre writing with each step in the process accompanied by some graphical recording, e.g. annotated drawings or digital photographs of the process of making the soil hills, sowing the cress seeds and germinating them.

Page 4 ‘BEFORE’ picturesAn opportunity to record the features of the hill in annotated drawings, diagrams, digital photographs. Children will need this image for comparison with the later ‘after’ picture.

Page 5 PredictionsClearly this investigation links geography with science. In science children should be encouraged to make predictions before testing

Page 6 What we did & what happenedAn opportunity for some recount genre writing describing the conduct of the investigation and what happened. This could be illustrated by drawings or digital photographs, very much like a cookery book or Lego manual

Page 7 ‘AFTER’ picturesAn opportunity to record the features of the hill in annotated drawings, diagrams or digital photographs. Do not throw the hills away, they provide opportunities for first-hand observational drawing opportunities for the children. Again a good cross-curricular link to developing observational drawing skills in art & design.

Page 8 A comparison of two hillsA possible optional page could be an opportunity for children to

compare what happened to two hills (e.g. forested & deforested). This could involve a comparison writing frame and include a drawing or

photograph of each to help illustrate the comparison.

Page 9 Explaining what happenedAn opportunity for some explanation genre writing where children try and explain the part played by tree canopy and roots in preventing soil erosion and the effects of deforestation.

Page 10 Examples from the real world

An opportunity to research the Internet, TV, newspaper articles & books for events/disasters caused by deforestation and soil erosion

Page 11 What do I think? What can be done?An opportunity for children to develop views about deforestation and to explore what can and is being done about deforestation and soil

erosion and by whom around the world and what children themselves can do to help.

Page 12 BibliographiesAn opportunity for children to draw or take photographic portraits of themselves and write a brief biography of themselves including their

‘specialist area of research!’, e.g. forests

Identifying the learning process model on which the design of the zigzag book is based

Question:How would you describe the learning process that the children would be taken through in completing the zigzag book? How would you describe this model?

Answer:The learning process is one of taking children along the steps from ‘awareness to action’

THE STEPS FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION

5 Do something

4 Develop views

3 Develop understanding

2 Get informed

1 Become aware

“Poverty leads to conflict and unrest, to unsustainable environmental

practices, to a downward spiral in terms of education and opportunity, to marginalisation and to increased poverty. Only through education can we start to bring about the huge mind-shift necessary to make poverty, rationally and morally unacceptable to people across the globe. We believe that education that education for global citizenship can enable young people to take the first steps to understanding this, and then having the capacity to move from understanding to action.”

Allen, I & Gunsell, A. (2001) The Development Education Journal Vol. 8 No. 1

Although Allen & Gunsell present this model of ‘awareness to action’ in relation to development education, clearly the model also fits well in relation to environmental education. Indeed the two are linked, as many environmental and sustainability issues arise from underdevelopment. In the case of deforestation, one of the pressures leading to deforestation in the developing world is poverty. In the cress hills investigation children can become aware, informed and develop understanding about the causes and effects of deforestation, develop their views, attitudes and feelings about the issue and finally get involved in participation and action at personal, local and global levels.

Identifying the features of the four genres of writing identified in the zigzag book

Question:Can you identify the key features of the genres of writing that feature in the zigzag book?

Click on each of the genre names below to find out

1. Procedural genre

2. Recount genre

3. Explanation genre

Answer:

1. Procedural genrePurpose: to describe how something is done through a series of sequential steps.Generic structure

· Goal – statement of what is to be achieved , e.g. How to make an omelet· Materials and equipment required· Sequenced steps to achieve the goal· Often there are diagrams or illustrations to accompany the steps

Language features of procedures· Written in present tense or imperative, e.g. “First you take …..”· In chronological order, e.g. first, next, after that, finally (these are often

used as connectives)· Focus on generalized human agents rather than named individuals, e.g.

“You”

(Teachers can scaffold this genre of writing for children by devising writing frames)

Answer:

2. Recount genrePurpose: to retell eventsGeneric structure

· Orientation –‘scene setting’· Events – recount of events as they occurred· Re-orientation – a closing statement

Language features of recounts· Written in past tense· In chronological order, using temporal connectives, e.g. then, next, after· Focus on individual or group participants, e.g. we, I

(Teachers can scaffold this genre of writing for children by devising writing frames)

Answer:

3. Explanation genre Purpose: to explain the process involved in natural and social phenomena or to explain how something works.Generic structure

· General statement to introduce the topic· A series of logical steps explaining how or why something occurs (this can

include effects as well; as causes)· These steps continue until the final state is produced or the explanation

complete.Language features of explanation

· Written in the simple present tense· Uses temporal connectives, e.g. then, next· And/or causal connectives, e.g. because, so, this causes

(Teachers can scaffold this genre of writing for children by devising writing frames)

Follow-up researchVisit the websites of agencies involved in tree conservation and combating deforestation and soil erosion. Here are some examples to get you going.

Tree Aid Website

http://www.treeaid.org.uk/

Rainforest Concern Website

http://www.rainforestconcern.org/

Forestry Stewardship Council Website

http://www.fsc-uk.org/

World Wildlife Fund Website

http://wwf.org.uk/(search A-Z for forests)

Soil Erosion Website http://soilerosion.net/doc/background_menu.html

University of Reading ECIFM Soil Erosion

Website

http://www.ecifm.rdg.ac.uk/erosion.htm

Soil Erosion in agricultural areas

slide show http://www.cjnetworks.com/~sccdistrict/shw_agso/

Coastline management of Sand

dunes website

http://www.seftoncoast.org.uk/shore_sanddunesprocess.html

Also use an Internet search engine to search for ‘Mudslides’ and you will find sites and links to mudslide disasters around the world.

You could also contact development agencies such as OXFAM, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Save the Children, etc. to find out about examples of development projects involving forestation and soil protection around the world.

This resource has been released as part of the OSIER project, which is promoting the use of resources to support the training of practitioners in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship within the curricula of all of the home nations of the United Kingdom. You can find out more about the project on the ‘About’ page of the project repository site.

OSIER is part of the second round of the UK OER (Open Educational Resources) programme, funded by HEFCE and administered by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

The resource was written by Steve Pratchett and copyright resides with the author. Any images or other materials are original unless stated otherwise. Copyright images may be excluded from the Creative Commons licence described below.

The resource is made freely available under Creative Commons licence BY-NC-SA which allows you to use this material for any purpose as long as you:

· acknowledge the original author· do not use it for commercial purposes· publish any derived materials under the same licence conditions

You can find out more about this licence at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

April 2011