Weird & Wonderful Wildlife
One positive I'm taking from all this social distancing is that I'm getting a brilliant amount of time to read. Before our school closed its doors on Friday, a number of my younger students came to my room to borrow books for the lockdown period, which came as a wonderful surprise. Two girls took home a collection that, I imagine, probably weighed more than the two of them put together. Alongside lessons like these ones, I hope that kids across the country are filling at least some of their time away from school with a book in their hands. When it comes to English and the Humanities in particular, there's not much else that will improve comprehension and linguistic skills like regular reading.
My most recent read was Adventures of a Young Naturalist by David Attenborough - three separate recounts of his journeys through Guyana, Indonesia, and Paraguay where he was sent to collect (or capture, more accurately) animals for London Zoo while filming documentaries about the local wildlife. Although it can be slightly jarring reading about the way that Attenborough and his team would simply catch wild animals and stick them in cages to be transported back to London or Whipsnade, it's hard not to be enraptured by his tales of jungle expeditions, isolated tribes, and the various animals he encounters on the way. If you have the chance to pick it up, I'd recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in Attenborough or zoology as a subject.
My challenge today is based on my love of wildlife and the natural world, something I hope is still at the forefront of the minds of our youngsters.
For both KS3 and KS4, the first challenge is to watch a nature documentary - absolutely anything at all. My advice would be - head to the BBC iPlayer, where you'll find entire box sets of Attenborough documentaries (link included). Pick one, put your phone away, and watch it. Easy.
KS3
Challenge 2 - While watching your documentary, I want you to pick an animal you don't know much about. Make some notes/mental notes about the animal from the documentary, then get researching by yourself. I want you to create an informative article/presentation/poster/leaflet about the animal, giving as much information as you can. You could even start a weekly wildlife magazine which focuses on a new animal in each issue.
KS4
Challenge 2 - While I'm sure some older students would love to research some animals (which you are more than free to do), I want you to stretch your persuasive writing skills. You've got two choices to pick from:
1. Write a letter to London Zoo in which you argue for/against keeping animals in captivity. Try to think about the benefits of both sides and anticipate what people who disagree with you would say, then argue against them.
2. Write a letter to a local newspaper explaining what we can do as a society to reduce our effect on the natural world. How are we currently affecting the planet? What changes could we make to protect the natural world and the animals that exist alongside us?
As always, these challenges are open to any student that wants to give them a go. KS3 students, write those letters, KS4 students, create those research presentations. Parents, if you're bored, go for it.
My most recent read was Adventures of a Young Naturalist by David Attenborough - three separate recounts of his journeys through Guyana, Indonesia, and Paraguay where he was sent to collect (or capture, more accurately) animals for London Zoo while filming documentaries about the local wildlife. Although it can be slightly jarring reading about the way that Attenborough and his team would simply catch wild animals and stick them in cages to be transported back to London or Whipsnade, it's hard not to be enraptured by his tales of jungle expeditions, isolated tribes, and the various animals he encounters on the way. If you have the chance to pick it up, I'd recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in Attenborough or zoology as a subject.My challenge today is based on my love of wildlife and the natural world, something I hope is still at the forefront of the minds of our youngsters.
For both KS3 and KS4, the first challenge is to watch a nature documentary - absolutely anything at all. My advice would be - head to the BBC iPlayer, where you'll find entire box sets of Attenborough documentaries (link included). Pick one, put your phone away, and watch it. Easy.
KS3
Challenge 2 - While watching your documentary, I want you to pick an animal you don't know much about. Make some notes/mental notes about the animal from the documentary, then get researching by yourself. I want you to create an informative article/presentation/poster/leaflet about the animal, giving as much information as you can. You could even start a weekly wildlife magazine which focuses on a new animal in each issue.
KS4
Challenge 2 - While I'm sure some older students would love to research some animals (which you are more than free to do), I want you to stretch your persuasive writing skills. You've got two choices to pick from:
1. Write a letter to London Zoo in which you argue for/against keeping animals in captivity. Try to think about the benefits of both sides and anticipate what people who disagree with you would say, then argue against them.2. Write a letter to a local newspaper explaining what we can do as a society to reduce our effect on the natural world. How are we currently affecting the planet? What changes could we make to protect the natural world and the animals that exist alongside us?
As always, these challenges are open to any student that wants to give them a go. KS3 students, write those letters, KS4 students, create those research presentations. Parents, if you're bored, go for it.
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