Adventure 4: Rio vs The Rainforest
Blown off course on our way home, we found ourselves hovering over a strange city. Where were we?
Using electronic maps, we realised the city was Rio de Janeiro and used this to label a map of Brazil which could help us find our way home.
One of the things that helped us work our we were in Rio was by identifying some of the Human and Physical geography.
After exploring the city, the children noticed a protest taking place near Christ the Redeemer. After a closer look, and imagineering what a protest would be like, the children wrote eyewitness accounts detailing what they saw.
The children then looked more into the favelas that look over the whole of Rio. They completed a burn 2 learn where they had to work out what the clues were about. Following that they wrote about what a favela is including key geographical language like urban, population and outskirts.
Since Rio is famous for Carnival and it’s amazing floats, the children had a go at making their own floats based on animals for the rainforest.
Each float was made with a moving part and carefully planned and evaluated.
To understand why people might want the rainforest cut down, we did some research into the favelas that surround Rio. We then imagined we were Ricardo—a boy who lives in the favelas—and wrote a diary entry to show his day.
To understand the other side of the debate, we did some research into the Amazon rainforest learning about it’s climates and biomes as well as others from around the world.
After learning about some of the animals that live in the rainforest, we decided to write a story called How the Anteater got I t’s Nose based on some of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories.
The children learned about deforestation and researched the Pros and Cons of this process. They then took on the roles of various groups and argued their case whether it be for cutting down the rainforest or preserving it.
Samba
As part of our Rio vs the Rainforest adventure, Willow started to learn how to become a Samba band! During the first lesson, we learned about the various instruments and even learned a simple rhythm together.
All this is to prepare us for playing in front of an audience at Pudsey Civic Centre in a few weeks time!
