Discovering Our Countryside brings the world of farming and the countryside right into the classroom.
Food production, agriculture, horticulture and the countryside are rich with Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths, steeped in our History, part of our surrounding Geographical world, inspiration for our Art, Music, Literature, part of Religious belief so why is only healthy eating, and not how or where this fundamental element of life is produced, the only element covered in most teaching? read more
Why bring Discovering Our Countryside in to your classroom?
Being lucky enough to grow up on a farm, agriculture has always been my passion and an important part of my life, first as a farmer producing food, then as a science teacher, showing film I had taken of piglets being born and helping children discover where their food comes from. While not everyone can grow up on a farm I would like more people to experience the day to day life of a farm – using today’s technology I have done my best to offer this with Discovering-Our-Countryside.
Benefits of having the Discovering Our Countryside farm yard into your classroom?
My passion for sharing and experience of agriculture led me to develop teach.discovering-our-countryside an innovative virtual learning platform (VLE) which contains a series of farming, growing and food production teaching resources in line with the new curriculum for September 2014. These include engaging video diaries, teachers’ packs and student workbooks – each subject is designed as a self contained, yet integrated lesson plan that builds up the pupils’ knowledge and interest in the countryside.
How to get the Discovering Our Countryside farm yard into your classroom?
Well watch the videos of why, how and then make it so with our free trial – details below or click to Discovering-Our-Countryside Free Trial Now
The Discovering-Our-Countryside themes:
- Yr1-2 Are your pets really alive?
- Yr1-2 Plants – what use are they?
- Yr3-4 What goes in….
- Yr3-4 Follow the poo…
- Yr5-6 Can sheep really read numbers?
- Yr5-6 Farmers V Bugs – It’s WAR!
Mission of Discovering Our Countryside.
The films and commentaries have been developed specifically to help teachers in the classroom. We offer suggestions and provide specific links to the National Curriculum and your Eco School work – it covers many of the topics under the Eco Schools initiative, such as: transport; waste, recycling and litter; care of school grounds; healthy living; energy; bio-diversity; and the global perspective.
The programmes also play a role in related national Government initiatives such as: healthy schools; sustainable schools; Every Child Matters; and Learning Outside the Classroom.
We hope you will use the programmes to enhance the work that you are doing in your own classrooms.
Discovering Our Countryside not only follows the national schools guidelines, but also encourages learning through discussion and interaction by children in pairs and groups, circle time or class discussion, as well as providing a clear, interesting and informative picture of the important role of agriculture and rural affairs in the lives of pupils from an early age.
Discovering Our Countryside is a modular approach to the seasonality of rural affairs. Agricultural content covers crops, from seed to harvesting, through to how food reaches the table; livestock rearing, including birth, milking, and rearing; and how often large and overpowering vehicles and farm machines work. And the programmes also include the importance of wildlife, including mice, rabbits, hares, badgers, foxes etc. through to the vast range of birds that are often seen as just distant wings on the horizon, as well as flowers, shrubs and trees.
Agriculture and rural life goes on all year round, and Discovering Our Countryside captures this seasonality.
Whilst many schools operate farm visits, these are invariably held during term time and usually when better weather can be expected, but farming goes on day after day through all the seasons. Discovering Our Countryside not only brings autumn, winter, spring and summer right into the classroom, but it also allows pupils to get ‘up close and personal’ with such activities as milking, sowing and harvesting, and gets closer to farm machinery than any risk assessment will allow.
