OVERVIEW AND UNIT QUESTION EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Grade 6

Environmental Focus And Personal Reflection

Skills Assessment

‘THE CALL OF THE WILD’

Why do people choose the wilderness to test themselves?

Students complete workshops in each skill and then are required to use these skills on a hike. An instructor accompanies each team and provides assistance if required.

Students play a game of ENVIROQUEST. Each student takes the role of a member of a food chain (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore etc.) trying to seek out food and water to survive.

Students use acquired skills to complete a compass orienteering course and geocaching course using GPS.

Students experience Thai culture through cooking Thai dishes, and visiting a local orchard to explore and try seasonal fruits

Movie: Bear Grylls Running Wild

All students take turns in serving meals, washing-up dishes and cleaning the classroom after meals.

Environmental Education

Balance in nature and food chains

Respecting the planet Minimal impact hiking

Character Education

Finding a balance in our lives

Balance between real and virtual worlds

What learning from this experience is transferrable for me? (Home, school or socially)

How can I improve my personal organization using what I have learned from this experience?

The Outdoor Safety Code

Planning an expedition

Radio communication

Basic 1st Aid

Navigation:

• Features of a map

• Map orientation

• Using co-ordinates to identify locations

• Understanding contour lines and elevations

• Using a magnetic compass to take a bearing

• Using a single bearing to identify your position on a map

• Use of a GPS to establish position on a map

• Use of a GPS to “go to” a given waypoint

Log Book & Written Test: Students are able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of outdoor safety, navigation and environmental awareness through their logbook and a written test (consisting of recall, understanding & application questions). An opportunity to complete the test and logbook orally is available to students who feel that they are unable to express themselves adequately in writing.

Teamwork & Leadership: Teachers observe students in a variety of group challenge situations & under a variety of pressures. Teachers also use logbooks to assess goal setting and reflection on learning and the ability to see the transfer of this learning into other situations.

Overview And Unit Question Experiential Learning

Grade 7

Environmental Focus And Personal Reflection

Skills Assessment

‘PUSHING THE LIMITS’

What does pressure do to me?

Students complete workshops in Navigation, Rockclimbing and Abseiling.

Students compete in a 3-day “EcoChallenge Adventure Race” in teams of 7 or 8.

Day 1: Students are dropped off in teams in an area within a 1-hour hike to camp. Students must use map and compass to find a series of locations and complete navigation, first aid, and knot tying tasks.

Day 2: Teams rotate through rockclimbing, abseiling and Temple of Discovery, spending 90 minutes at each activity.

At all stations, good teamwork is essential to complete this successfully.

Day 3: Teams participant in ‘Mission Eggpossible’, requiring team members to take responsibility of one section of the challenge

Environmental Education

Overview of EWC Environmental technologies at work

Understanding how we can minimize our impact on the environment by thinking about packaging goods, disposing of trash

Character Education

When I was under time pressure, or unsure about where I was, how did I respond?

How did my responses impact others in the team?

How can this experience change my life for the better?

What learning from this experience is transferrable for me? (Home, school or socially)

How did I push myself or control myself when in challenging situations?

Review Outdoor Safety Code

Navigation:

• Review of G6 skills

• Using a bearing to find a location

Orientating a compass

Using coordinates

Using scale to measure distance

Climbing / Abseiling

• Putting on a harness and helmet

• Names of basic climbing equipment

• Climbing calls

• Belaying with an ATC

• Back-up belaying with a prussic

• Fitting climbing shoes

• Basic climbing techniques

• Abseiling with a top- belay

Log Book & Written Test: Students are able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of outdoor safety, rock- climbing, abseiling, navigation and environmental awareness through their logbook and a written test (consisting of recall, understanding & application questions). An opportunity to complete the test and logbook orally is available to students who feel that they are unable to express themselves adequately in writing.

Teamwork & Leadership: Teachers observe students in a variety of group challenge situations & under a variety of pressures. Teachers also use logbooks to assess goal setting and reflection on learning and the ability to see the transfer of this learning into other situations.

Overview And Unit Question Experiential Learning

Grade 8

Environmental Focus And Personal Reflection

Skills Assessment

‘JUST ADD WATER’

How well do I make decisions?

Water safety Canoe and kayak skills and techniques

1st Aid Navigation and course plotting with map and compass

Students compete in a “Search and Rescue Scenario” in kayaks and canoes. Students will use their skills and knowledge to navigate around a lake to locate and provide 1st aid treatment to 3 missing persons.

All students take turns in serving meals, washing-up dishes and cleaning the classroom after meals.

“Who do I want to be?” Students are asked to reflect on their family their experiences and their journey, and consider where their path may take them from here by listening to the story: “Oh The Places You’ll Go!” By Dr. Seuss.

Students are placed out on their own for 20 minutes. They are encouraged to reflect on what sort of person they want to be and what they want to achieve

Environmental Education

Understanding the Mae Prajan Reservoir & the need to preserve and respect water as a diminishing resource.

Looking at the EWC as a model for sustainable technologies

What can I do in my life to preserve the environment?

Character Education

How well do I respond under pressure?

How can I improve my ability to quickly analyze a situation … and make good decisions?

How can this experience change my life for the better?

What learning from this experience is transferrable for me? (Home, school or socially)

Review Outdoor Safety

Code

Radio communication

Navigation:

• Review of Grade

7 skills

• Plotting a course on a map using bearings

Canoe / Kayak Skills

• Moving boats

• Fitting a PFD

• Lightening safety

• Capsize safety

• Basic paddle strokes. Forward, sweep, reverse sweep, rudder stroke.

• Canoe/Kayak signals “raft up” “OK” and directions

First Aid:

Scene safety Primary assessment Action

SOAP note recording Gathering and prioritizing information in order to make good decisions?

(This is done in the context of triage in an emergency situation but the expectation is that students can link this to more everyday situations).

Log Books & Written Test:

Students are able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Flat-water safety and systems, canoeing, kayaking, navigation, first aid and environmental awareness through their logbook and a written test (consisting of recall, understanding & application questions). An opportunity to complete the test and logbook orally is available to students who feel that they are unable to express themselves adequately in writing.

Teamwork & Leadership: Teachers observe students in a variety of group challenge situations & under a variety of pressures. Teachers also use logbooks to assess goal setting and reflection on learning and the ability to see the transfer of this learning into other situations.