Geography Teacher Educators’ ConferenceBrighton, 27th-29th January 2006

Mark Jones, University of the West of England

Strange Bedfellows: Emerging relationships between geography and English.

• Geography and English in Year 9

• English and geography trainee teachers

• English and geography Tutors

Landscapes of Language

Re-constructing connections across the curriculum

•English and Geography

•Sequence of 5 collaboratively planned lessons

•Year 9 post SATs English lessons

•Tourism through a range of media and genres

English LessonsLearning Objectives

Studentactivities

Resources Learning outcomes

1 – Perceptions of Kenya explain through talk, your thinking giving reasonsdemonstrate an awareness of the reliability of different textsunderstand differing perceptions of a country’s tourism potential

starter ‘Odd one out’Perceptions/ prior knowledgeCard sort and/or washing line activityPair and small group discussion

Interactive white board & Powerpoint

Flags as text

Kenya Flag

Card sort packs

Annotated flags

Small group exploratory discussion

Perception of Kenya charts

Extract from Scheme of Work

Learning objectives

• explain through talk, your thinking giving reasons

• demonstrate an awareness of the reliability of different texts

• understand differing perceptions of a country’s tourism potential What topics have you covered in geography and English this year? Can you see any links between how and what you learn in these two subjects?

Lesson 1

Odd one out

What is the relationship between these flags?

What do you think this country is like?

Write down what you know about Kenya?Write down any questions you have about Kenya?EXIT strategy: Wray and Lewis

Kenya is in East Africa.

Where can we get sources of information on Kenya?

• internet, travel brochures, travel guide books, TV holiday programmes, films, photographs, postcards, people who have been, diaries, autobiographies, news reports, newspapers, radio, atlas, school text and reference books, people from Kenya

Questioning reliability of sources

Unreliable Reliable

What issues and questions were raised by doing this activity?

Image of model Book Cover and opening chapter format

• Image and title of a book cover

• E.g. Living on the Edge – Life in Sao Paulo

• Opening page of a chapter

Homework: Fiction writing

Write the opening of a story which is set in Kenya. In this you should:

· introduce a main character -write in first person narrative style

· include reference to factual geographical information which you have researched, using technical vocabulary

· encourage the reader to want to read on

· design a front cover & title•Word processed or handwritten on landscape A4

• Image of pupils’ original creative writing by a Year 9 student

• Book Cover word-processed and opening chapter to story set in Kenya

When the Tourists Flew in

• Task

1. Put a ‘+’ by lines which include positive features of tourism

2. Put a ‘-’ by lines which include negative features of tourism

3. Use a key to show which lines talk about:

Economic (Ec) - Cultural (C) and Environmental (En) aspects of tourism

Where do you think we might find a photograph

like this?

What impression do you get of this place?

What’s my title ?

Task: Holiday Brochure images

Tall, green palmsRed, tropical plants

Clean swimming pool Indigo- blue sky

Poolside Paradise

Water supply needed –

where from ? Who loses out?

Problems in Paradise

Task to be completed for Friday

• Produce a code: How to be a responsible tourist

• Either :

1 – Storyboard for an in-flight video

2 – Instruction sheet to be located in

the seat pocket

3 – Version aimed at younger travellers

e.g. informative cartoons, poster

Original Image of pupil A’s finished poster – responsible tourism

Original Image of pupil B’s finished poster – responsible tourism

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Flags as text, reliability of information, initial perceptions

Different perspectives on Kenya. Homework task – Opening page

Holiday brochure - positive/negative aspects of tourism

Poetry – cartoons – Homework task What is responsible tourism?

Video captions, talking heads, role play

research

research

0 10 20 30 40 50

1st Qtr

2nd Qtr

3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

English

English & Geography

More Geography than English

Geography

% students’ responses

Question -What have these 5 lessons felt like?

Pupil quotes on

views about English

and geography

Mote quotes from data

More pupil

quotes on working together

Trainees’ Collaboration

• Rocks• Mountains• Industry• Urban• Migration• Caribbean• Ice

• Disasters• Weather• Rivers• Sea• Biomes• Environmental issues• Rural

Speaking and listening, reading and writing

Range of genres and media

Creative use of facts

Critical Thinking

• Rocks Who am I? An oral exploration of characteristics of different rock types and minerals e.g. Limestone, mudstone, chalk and diamond to produce creative definitionsof different rocks using personification

• Mountains What are mountains like? Paired research into different mountain ranges in relation to climate, flora, fauna, aspect, human activities with emphasis on using synonyms and antonyms. Creative writing outcome of a ’Recipe for becoming a mountaineer’.

• Migration What is it like to live in a favella? Use of text ‘Beyond all pity’ extracts to introduce life in a Brazilian Favella. Outcome of diary entry to develop emotive and figurative writing in response to a chosen scenario.

• Caribbean How do hurricanes affect us? Use of poem ‘Hurricane hits England’ by Grace Nichols and autobiographical account ‘Twenty-five years ago on Ambergris Caye’. Write poem on ‘Hattie hits the Caribbean’; using personification.

• Example of trainee work – 1

• Mountaineer recipe

• Example of trainee work – 2

• Personification of mineral - Diamond

• Photograph of UWE Trainees at Gallery style Presentation of work

Trainees’ perceptions after collaboration

Quotes of English and geography trainees after the Collaborative experience

Landscapes of Language

Re-constructing connections across the curriculum

 What are the constraining factors ( systemic, pedagogical, ideological ) to your creative collaboration with colleagues who have differing subject /age phase expertise?  What support would help you to overcome these barriers? How does collaborating creatively with colleagues, in the interests of promoting your students' learning, contribute to knowledge transfer within your HEI and the wider educational community which we serve?