Respect for all: Views about the local area

This activity was used with children in key stage 2, year 5.

Aim

• To consider the many groups and communities that make up the local area and their positive influences.

Activity objectives

• To understand the variety of ways in which people maintain and improve their local area.
• To consider whether different groups of people have different views about improvements in the local area.
• To gain awareness of the different views that people have about their local area and consider how far these different priorities are individual views, or whether people from a particular cultural background have similar priorities about environmental improvements in the local area.

This activity promotes multicultural understanding and relates to the following elements in the geography key stage 2 programme of study:

• children's localities (3a, 3d, 3e, 6a);
• changing settlement features (6d);
• geographical enquiry (1a-e), particularly identifying and explaining the different views that people, including the children themselves, hold about topical geographical issues (1d).

Activity description

The children undertook an environmental survey of the local area, designing a questionnaire to find out how people felt about the local area and what they would like maintained or improved. They recorded information on the survey sheet and also recorded a number of the interviews on videotape. The survey included not only environmental issues but also the cultural background of the respondent.

The children analysed the results to find the priorities of the local community as a whole and whether there were different priorities in different groups (based on, for example, age or ethnic background).

In small groups, the children made proposals to deal with the environmental issues raised and then considered the proposals, noting any differences in priorities between the groups questioned. They selected one priority for action and wrote to appropriate local agencies, outlining their proposals and including information on the differences between the priorities of the various groups.

Commentary

The children enjoyed surveying and collecting information in different forms. They engaged well in analysing information back in the classroom, deciding if there was an environmental issue to be addressed and subsequently putting forward proposals to address it. Further examination of the evidence collected produced excellent discussions about why different groups, for example of a particular age group or ethnic background, had divergent priorities for the local area. Questions were raised for further research.

Resources

The geography schemes of work can be found at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes
The online national curriculum can be found at www.nc.uk.net