Can one person make a difference?
| People | Place | Problem | Possibilities |
| An Inuit Elder and grandchild | Greenland
Inuit territories The Pacific Ocean |
Plastic waste and pollution | Reusing, recycling and reducing plastic waste. |
Synopsis
This project begins with The Starfish Story in which a young boy is returning stranded starfish to their home. He is questioned by a man who believes that individuals can’t make a difference. We then travel to Greenland where we explore the traditional Inuit way of life, this is enriched by a trip to Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum where the children explore Inuit artefacts and, specifically, learn about the way Inuits use every part of animals that they hunt, live in a respectful and minimalistic way and do not produce large amounts of waste. On returning from the museum, the children receive a letter from an Inuit child who tells them about his grandfather’s way of life and how his grandfather questions the way in which humans live. He laments the plastic that he finds on the shores of his village which is washed up from the ocean and has often come from far-away places. This takes us on to learning about the oceans of the world and the children learn about the beauty and diversity of ocean life and how the oceans are connected. Through the book ‘Island’, a wordless picture book, the children create pieces of narrative and descriptive writing. We then return to the plastic washed up on beaches and look deeper into what happens to plastic bottles that we throw away. The children follow the journey of three plastic bottles and focus on plastic that ends up in our oceans. They learn how it affects wildlife including the formation of microplastics. Through learning about methods of recycling and ways in which plastic use can be reduced, the children are taken back to the Starfish Story and they write their own short story about how individuals can make a difference.
Knowledge Organiser
Knowledge Organiser_Can One Person Make A Difference (1)Trips out/Visitors In
Pitt Rivers Museum
Learning Exhibition
Board Game Café – the children work in groups to create board games based on the journey of plastic. Parents come to the café and play the board games with their child. Through this, the children explain what they have learned and their project work with their parents.
