PRESERVING NATURE IS A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Teacher: Maria Elena Maia de Moura
School: E. M. de Praia Grande
City: Ilha da Maré - Salvador - BA
Country: Brasil
Project: The Environment

Man needs to learn to live with nature, making this relationship a positive exchange by using natural resources in a balanced and sustainable way. This rule holds true for everyone. But it takes on a whole new meaning when you live on an island and one of the main sources of survival is fishing and dependence on the raw materials that come from the forest.

This is the case on Ilha de Maré, near Salvador, Bahia where there is a loss of native forests, and a need for greater investments in areas like sanitation and pollution control. It was in this context that the 1st grade students from the Praia Grande Municipal School had direct contact with the need to protect what nature offers us.

Encouraged by their teacher, Maria Elena Moura, the students took a field trip, walking around the areas with environmental issues to be resolved. On their visit, they gathered recyclable materials like PET bottles and lids. In the classroom the use of educational technology enriched the experience, because they were able to relate the theme of environmental preservation to what they were learning in subjects like Portuguese, Math, Science, Art and Geography.

With the Alphabet Learning Panel the group found a fun way to work with letters and words using the labels on the bottles they found during the field trip. The Discovering Math software stimulated their interest in math operations like addition, subtraction and other notions of math, using the bottle lids. Using the Kid Pix software and Super Artista Mágico (Super Magical Artist) students used their creativity making posters to raise awareness among the population about the importance of preserving nature. The set of activities went beyond the school environment and its effects rippled into the whole community.

Raising environmental awareness and critical thinking in children is an important step. It shows us that nature depends on us and that we all depend on nature. Ilha de Maré taught us an important lesson: our planet is an island in the universe. It deserves to be well taken care of.