We are going on a Park Trail Erasmus Project

Project Title

We are going on a Park Trail

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Natural sciences

Project Summary

CONTENT AND BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
The main aim of this project is to help pupils acquire and develop foreign language skills promoting a comprehensive perspective based on a cross-curricular and project-based approach where the child is at the center of learning. In order to contextualize the acquisition of foreign languages taught in the participant schools we will use the natural heritage, namely the local parks, as the learning thread. Both schools have been working together since 2010 and have developed a strong working and personal relationship. While the British school will benefit from the expertise of the Spanish school regarding Project Based Learning and their leading role in curricular innovation and integration of foreign languages, for the Spanish school this project will help strengthen their knowledge of the foreign language and culture and support their plurilingual and language curriculum integration strategies. This project will support children’s foreign language learning in a more innovative and natural way making links between different subjects and using the language purposefully while enjoying a brief immersion in their partner school’s life.
OBJECTIVES
– Children to expand their foreign language vocabulary related to parks life in a more engaging and innovative way.
– Children to be able to use their foreign language in their final project presentations during the exchange visits where they will have to interact with each other and use the foreign language in order to present a common result. Children being able to use their foreign language in context during the exchange visits.
– Children to demonstrate progress and improvement in the foreign language through project evaluations and by completing the activities on the twinspace.
– Children being able to identify and enjoy the colors and sounds of the parks, developing their observation skills and becoming more familiar with the flora and fauna of their local parks.
– Children participating actively in supporting their natural environments.
– Children enjoying and benefiting from nature.
– Children improving their attitudes towards parks and its inhabitants.
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
18 children and 4 staff per school. Children come from a middle-low socio-economic background in Spain. In the case of the British school the number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is much higher than average. Most pupils are from different ethnic groups and most speak English as an additional language. There are average numbers of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES
– eTwinning Project: We are going on a Park Trail. It will be a platform for collaboration, work display, topic discussions, videos, games, communication and dissemination.
– Visits during the exchanges will also be planned taking in consideration the objectives of the project and will include:
Escape rooms
Workshops organised by the different relevant subject coordinators
Visits to the local parks and other areas of natural interest, museums and local Town Halls
Activities in the parks including games, trails and treasure hunts
Planting a tree in each other’s schools
Immersion in the partner school’s daily life and local environment
METHODOLOGY
This project will be organised through an eTwinning project. Children will work in mixed groups in common documents and walls (padlet). Pupil administrators will support other children and will monitor the work in the twispace. Video-conferences, chat rooms, messenger and forum will be used for discussions. Although at Brampton most of the work will be carried out during the MFL lessons, at La Cala, the activities will be developed across all year groups. During the visits, children will work in mixed groups and will guide and support each other.
RESULTS
– My Little Green Planet’ Conferences
– Nature Bilingual Dictionary and Phrase book
– Nature Digital Gallery of paintings and sound bites
– Sketch book: We are going on a Park Trail
– A commemorative tree planted in each school
IMPACT
Participating children are expected to notably improve their knowledge and competence of the foreign language and to develop their cultural understanding which will help them become better global citizens. As a result of the exchange, we expect children to understand the value of learning languages in their future lives.
By learning about the parks, participants will learn about their local environment and they will be able to compare it to the foreign. Children will become more autonomous and will develop their social and interpersonal skills by being away from their families and having to make arrangements with their room mates, team members, etc. Finally, from the time spent outdoors engaging with nature, we expect children to develop a positive attitude towards their environment which we hope will impact in future healthier lifestyles.

Project Website

https://twinspace.etwinning.net/92783/home

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 9000 Eur

Project Coordinator

Brampton Primary School London Borough of Newham & Country: UK

Project Partners

• CEIP LA CALA