Special Educational Needs Planning Guide

Transcription

1 Special Educational Needs Planning Guide Overview This guide has been written for use with learners in special schools, outlining a series of activities that allow learners to take part in Oxfam Water Week to gain an understanding of water issues. These resources run in parallel to the main Oxfam Water Week resources, so higher ability learners will be able to access both. The ideas are designed to be flexible, based on the needs of your learners and the time you have available. The sensory journey could be used as an assembly, a single lesson, or several weeks worth of study. It is important that all learners learn that they can have an impact on the world. These resources have been created by an experienced SEN teacher to engage and empower SEN learners, giving them confidence and a sense of self-worth. Introduction Begin your lessons by sharing the Water Vulnerability as a class. To do this you will need: water washing up liquid or bubble bath a piece of sad music a large piece of dark coloured fabric plants or food to smell optional: a rainmaker Share the Water Vulnerability by reading each slide in turn and then, during the picture slide, by facilitating the accompanying sensory experience to your learners. Learn, Think, Act Oxfam encourage learners to follow a Learn, Think, Act sequence. If you plan to do a series of lessons you may choose to spend the first few sessions learning, the next ones thinking and the final sessions acting. Alternatively you may want to follow the Learn, Think, Act sequence within each session. The choice is yours. Choose what best suits your learners and the time and resources available to you. You can find these Learn and Think activities below. To Act, we encourage you to visit the Water Week web page for additional resources and suggested activities. s We have suggested a number of lesson themes, and also some inclusive activities that could be used to teach learners about water and water vulnerability. Other suggested activities encourage learners to reflect on the value of water and the significance of water vulnerability. We need clean water Learners learn that they need clean water to drink, and also to wash with and keep clean. They also learn the consequences of not having water, and not having safe, clean water.

2 We need water to grow our food Learners learn that the animals and plants we eat also need water to grow. They learn that not having clean water can mean going hungry as well as thirsty. Enough water: not enough water Learners learn about how much water is needed for a healthy life. They will begin to recognise that if water supply is limited then choices have to be made, e.g. in the UK this can mean hose pipe bans, in other countries it can mean much more serious choices. Causes of Water Vulnerability Learners discover that water supplies are not just limited by a lack of rainfall. Other factors, e.g. poor infrastructure or fighting, can also limit the availability of water. Activities We want all learners to be able to access learning about the importance of water, for this reason activities have been provided which cater to a wide range of needs. Sensory activities These can be accessed by anyone and provide learners with an experience of water that highlights its value in our lives. Experiential and practical activities These activities are great for hands-on learners and for those who need concrete experiences in order to be able to understand. Research and think activities These activities are for learners who are able to get their information from secondary sources, and also able to think beyond what is in front of them and make links between the importance of water and the significance of water vulnerability. Emotional understanding The impact of water vulnerability is not simply measured by its practical effects; it is also measured by suffering. Understanding that not having enough water makes people sad is an important aspect of your learners learning. Where possible, support your learners emotional understanding of the consequences of water vulnerability by: o o o Talking to them about how they feel and how they would feel in different situations. Making available to them the use of symbols to support their expression of emotions. This can be as simple as having the image of a happy face and a sad face and matching them up to situations. Finding ways to convey the emotions present in different situations, such as using a sad voice when talking about water vulnerability, or playing sad music during an experience linked to water vulnerability (e.g. carrying water in a bucket with a hole in it).

3 Differentiation The activities provided for different levels of ability and achievement overlap and link together so that a class can be doing the same thing, but on many different levels. For example, within a lesson on clean water you could have some learners experiencing water at a sensory level, whilst another group of learners take part in the practical task of sorting clean water from dirty water. Others could research the possible impact of drinking dirty water on someone s health. In this way everyone works together and everyone works at a level appropriate to them. Resources Many of the activities below can be carried out using resources you will already have around school. You will also need the Water Vulnerability. Note that new information will appear on most slides when you click. The blue circle on the bottom left-hand corner indicates the slide is complete. Additional resources to help support your learners learning are available in the main Oxfam Water Week for schools resource.

4 Learning activities We need clean water We need water to grow our food Enough water: not enough water Slides 2 & 3: We need water to live. Slides 4 & 5: We drink water. Slides 6 & 7: We use water to keep clean. Slides 4 & 5: Plants and animals also drink water. Slides 10 & 11: Lots of people who do not have clean water to drink, or to wash with, can get sick and die. Activities Sort clean and dirty water. Drink clean water. Look at the ingredients on other drinks and recognise that water is a key ingredient. Identify places where we use water to wash: shower, bath, sink, dish washer, washing machine, footbath at swimming pool, etc. Hand wash clothes in water. Wash hands in water. Identify when you use water in a typical day. Role play using water in different environments, e.g. at home, school, a public swimming pool or a farm. Experience clean and dirty water, e.g. before and after a paint brush is washed, water contaminated with glue or corn flour, or water with bits floating in it. Water plants. Fill water dispensers for different pets to drink from. Make a collage of pictures of animals drinking: domesticated animals, farm animals, wild animals, etc. Sort pictures of things that drink water, e.g. plants and animals, from things that do not, e.g. toys and buildings. Learn that we eat some animals and plants. Make a snack out of edible plants, e.g. chop up some cucumber to eat. Record water uses in your school, e.g. learners drinking, dinner staff cooking and washing up, the swimming pool and water play. Measure how much water you need for different activities: e.g. for one drink, for water play, for the swimming pool, etc. Explore how much water different containers will hold and how heavy it is to lift them.

5 Causes of water vulnerability Slides 14 & 15: If there isn t enough rain people do not get enough water. Fighting can make it difficult to get water. Activities Find out what happens to rain. Some of it waters the countryside; some of it is collected in reservoirs and becomes the water that comes out of our taps. Pretend you are a rain drop and act out a journey from cloud to cup. You could use a slide to represent a water pipe. Create a rain collecting device. Look at pictures of other rain collecting devices, e.g. water butts that attach to drain pipes. Pour water through tubes as a way of transferring it from one place to another. Look at pictures of the water pipes that carry our water, go out and identify the manhole covers that provide access to the water pipes we rely on. Thinking activities We need clean water Slides 2 & 3: We need water to live. Slides 4 & 5: We drink water. Slides 6 & 7: We use water to keep clean. Activities Clean dirty water using different filters, e.g. filtering through paper, fabric, a sieve, etc. Try to wash clothes and/or hands in dirty water. Experience different ways of getting water. Compare how you get your water to how someone in a water vulnerable community might get their water. Sort water by how clean it looks. Begin to understand that water can look clean but still be dangerous. Learn that the water that comes out of our taps is cleaned before it is sent to us. The idea of water looking the same but being different can be demonstrated by using a few drops of colourless food flavouring added to drinking water. The glasses of water will all look the same but will taste different. Match images of yourself using water with images of someone in a watervulnerable community using water, e.g. this is me having a drink, this is me going for a swim; this is having a drink, this is going for a swim. Talk about the differences.

6 We need water to grow our food Enough water: not enough water Causes of water vulnerability Slides 4 & 5: Plants and animals also drink water. Slides 10 & 11: Lots of people who do not have clean water to drink, or to wash with, can get sick and die. Slides 14 & 15: If there isn t enough rain people do not get enough water. Fighting can make it difficult to get water. Activities Look after two plants. Water only one and observe the difference in their growth and health. Find out where the food on your plate came from did it come from an animal, a plant or something else? Sort pictures of animals and plants that have enough water from pictures of animals and plants that have not had enough water. Look at pictures of sophisticated irrigation systems and more basic ways of watering crops. Recognise that plants are being watered in all the images. Record the different types of water use in your school and sort your results in order of how important they are to survival. For example, we use water to drink; we need to do this in order to stay alive. We use water to swim in; we do this for fun. Some people in water-vulnerable communities have to carry the water they will use in a day. Measure how much water different activities need and experience carrying the requisite amounts of water. Which activities would you stop doing if you had to carry the water for them? Carry the water you need for various tasks but be given a bucket with a small hole in to do it. Pour water through tubes to transfer it from one location to another. Try to pour water through tubes made from substandard material, e.g. paper or tissue. Try to pour water through tubes that have holes in them. Think about our water pipes and what would happen if they got broken. Recognise that one of the effects of war could be that water pipes get broken. Look at different ways in which people get their water, e.g. from a tap, a well, a river or a stream. Think about what could cause the water they collect to be unclean, e.g. someone contaminating a well. Collect rain water in a bucket. Try and work out a way of collecting more rain water. If it is not raining you could use a watering can to simulate rain.

7 Taking action Taking action Sensory Journey Slideshow Slides 16 & 17: Some people are trying to help people who have got water problems. You can help too! Activities Visit the Oxfam Water Week web page for resources and suggested activities. Learners can find out how Oxfam and local communities have acted to overcome water-vulnerability and then choose their own action to make a difference. They can then choose to take part in the Water Can Change Lives campaigning activity or raise money for our WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) projects. Reflecting on your learning Come together as a whole class to share and celebrate your learning. Revisit the Water Vulnerability together. Try to end the unit with an opportunity for learners to decide how to act in response to their learning. This could be taking part in an Oxfam Water Week action as suggested in the Water Week action guide or it could be a smaller and more personal action such as agreeing to turn the tap off whilst brushing teeth. We hope you have enjoyed taking part in Oxfam Water Week and will want to take part again in the future! About the author These resources were written by Joanna Grace, a special educational needs and disabilities consultant. Joanna has experience working with individuals with special educational needs and disabilities of all ages and in all settings. Through her work Joanna seeks to contribute to a world where people are understood in spite of their differences. You can view more of Joanna's work at