Back in May, the Year 7 Humanities team wrote that our students were ‘developing their understanding of water as a resource.’
Water has been our Term 2 focus and, like the shifting tides and the plip of a tap in the night, we have been gushing about our resource privilege - all the while, concentrating on countries that have water issues and scarcity. Over the last couple of weeks, our Year 7 Water Warriors have launched their ideas, creations and thought-processes to address the world’s water problems.
Their task required them to work as a group. They participated in a brainstorm session, where all possibilities were explored and, yes, some of them were very left-field. However, having read in the June 4th Edition of The Economist that scientists are considering a scheme to reintroduce, by gene-editing Asian elephants, something resembling a mammoth to Siberia. Their feeding habits could restore the grassland habitat that was around before mammoths were exterminated, increasing the sunlight reflected into space and helping keep carbon compounds trapped in the soil…
we decided that no idea was too far-fetched.
Within two to three sessions, the Water Warrior groups collaborated, communicated and constructed pieces to showcase their ideas. Some looked to ‘solve’ the water issues of their focus country, while others prepared letters to the United Nations asking for support or businesses asking for finance. Some groups used stop-motion; others diorama displays. They all spoke and pitched-in. Each student contributed something to the ongoing project and each individual worked at their own pace.
Well done, Water Warriors of 2022! We look forward to starting some History investigation with you soon and hope you have learnt to appreciate turning on the tap for fresh water in the kitchen or bathroom.