The DRama of Environment: our Action Movement! Erasmus Project

Project Title

The DRama of Environment: our Action Movement!

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND OF PROJECT.
“DREAM” project: The Drama of Environment: our Action Movement! is a school exchange partnership involving three partner schools, Colegio Salesiano San Juan Bosco in Valencia (Spain), Základní škola a mateřská škola in Prague (Czech Republic), and Szkoła Podstawowa w Nowej Iwicznej (Poland). It aims to foster a critical reflection among pupils about different environmental issues and to promote solutions, through drama techniques, while they improve their English speaking skills (among others) using this methodology.
OBJECTIVES.
General objective:
Analyze an environmental problem from different viewpoints and encourage high-level critical thinking skills.
Specific objectives:
-To foster students cooperative work in international teams.
-To improve language skills in general and especially those that imply expression skills, both writing and speaking.
-To develop cross-curricular elements such as: creativity and innovation, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, ICT skills, moral values, leadership, learning to learn, social education, and a sense of multicultural cooperation.
-To foster multiple intelligences: especially VERBAL LINGUISTIC in all skills, BODILY KINESTHETIC through corporal expression in dramatisation; VISUAL-SPATIAL through imagery, as well as video production; MUSICAL through sound, speaking rhythmically, etc.; INTRAPERSONAL through individual analysis of resources, as well as autonomous and planning skills; INTERPERSONAL being able to work cooperatively in international teams; and NATURALISTIC because they will have to observe, understand and organise patterns in the natural environment.
NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS.
This project will involve Primary Education pupils (ages 10-12). Other participants will be teachers (especially English teachers), parents, Parent-Teacher Associations (will take part supporting and financing some activities), administration and services staff (as consultant experts) and, ultimately, all the educational community in dissemination activities for all the school. Moreover, a group of 20 pupils from each partner school will travel abroad for short-term mobilities. All pupils will have equal opportunities of participation, giving priority to those facing economic, social, culture or learning obstacles.
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES.
Virtual activities (2020-2021).
– Logo contest; penpal project (each school is going to ask their students to write letters introducing themselves, their school, their class, environmental projects in every school, actions at home to help the environment. Letters will be sent using eTwinning to every partner school so pupils get to know each other; films analysis and debates in international teams (we will watch and analyse several films related to the topic of environmental protection: Bikes, Moana, The Lorax, Wall-E); writing of theatre plays/stories (in international teams of 3-6 students, pupils will have to write their own stories/plays to promote environmental protection, similar to what they had previously seen in the films and getting ideas from the debates).
Mobilities (2020-2022) in Spain, Czech Republic, and Poland:
-Research on several environmental issues and creation of a magazine/blog. – Dramatisation, puppets and masks workshops (pupils will prepare some puppets and masks to be used in the performances). – Performances (storytelling) and videos in international teams (written theatre plays are prepared beforehand in virtual activities. The performances will be recorded for dissemination); DREAM Awards Ceremony (the best theatre plays, as well as best actors, actresses, plot, music,… will receive a DREAM Award. – Debate league about environmental problems researched during the project and creation of a manifest.
METHODOLOGY.
We will combine several methodologies: cooperative learning (cooperative structures to foster collaboration in international teams). We will also include gamification elements (including avatars through the creation of masks and puppets to be used in performances; badges because we will give prizes for everybody, according to the categories where they performed better, and trophies for the most creative teams). Role play and drama techniques will be used to enhance speaking skills.
RESULTS AND IMPACT.
The results will be shown in videos, written theatre plays, posters, radio programmes, magazines and a blog. The envisaged impact is to transform students’ attitude, who will become promoters of change with regard to environmental issues. Also the promotion of plurilingualism. We will share our results with other schools in the future, thanks to eTwinning, SEG, and Erasmus+ Project Results Platform, among others.
LONGER TERM BENEFITS.
All partner schools want to become GREEN schools. This project will be a great opportunity to bring us closer to that DREAM, to enhance pupils’ sense of environment, and multicultural cooperation to solve environmental problems.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 79104 Eur

Project Coordinator

Colegio Salesiano San Juan Bosco Valencia & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Szkola Podstawowa w Nowej Iwicznej
• Základní škola a mateřská škola, Praha 2, Na Smetance 1