Thursday, October 13, 2011

Coming Attractions

We are pleased to announce an upcoming innovative cross-curricular programme that we have designed for schools in the Wanganui District. Feel free to follow along in the weeks to come. Here is a preview.


The Little House That Could

Curriculum Overview

Introduction: The Little House That Could programme is designed for learners at Levels two and three, and includes four learning areas of The New Zealand Curriculum: science, maths, the arts and English. The scientific foundations of passive solar design are presented first in a science unit. This is followed by a combined maths, English and arts unit on eco-design and communication. All of the units are presented as clearly and concisely as possible for ease of implementation.

The Story: The Little House That Could is introduced in a narrative style intended to “hook” students with a recent significant event that made headlines across New Zealand: The coldest week in recorded national history. An illustrated blog post tells the story of an incomplete passive solar renovation project and how it performed during this historic week of frigid, but sunny weather. The wood burner had not been fully installed when the cold southerly blew in...



...but the little house that could…

To be continued at: www.ecothriftydoup.blogspot.com/…

A series of interactive posts follow that allow students to post questions.


The Science Unit: Based on the age and ability of pupils, a number of science activities are suggested and described to varying degrees in the attached science unit. They address the basic elements of passive solar design: sunlight energy, thermal mass and insulation.

The Combined Maths, English and Arts Unit: This integrated unit is presented as a cross-curricular approach to meeting learning objectives of the New Zealand Curriculum. It is presented in its entirety, and individual teachers can adapt it to their students’ needs.

The Little House That Could programme was developed by The ECO School with financial support from the Wanganui District Council and administrative support from the Sustainable Whanganui Trust.


Peace, Estwing

No comments:

Post a Comment