1 Useful web links www.suffolklearning.org The Suffolk County Hub Learning Platform. From the Humanities Homepage locate details of your local SGN (Suffolk Geography Network), which can provide 'Source to mouth' aerial photos of Suffolk rivers, including the River Gipping and Waveney, on CD Rom. www.halton.gov.uk/schools/weblinks/geoglinks_pupils_investigatingrivers.htm Many useful links to other websites about rivers. www.geographyalltheway.com Resources for 11 – 18 year olds, including river processes, the water cycle, drainage basins, flooding, use and management of water and fieldwork skills. www.4learning.co.uk/apps26/learning/microsites/E/essentials/geography/units/rivers_bi.shtml Site based on the QCA Unit 14 Investigating Rivers. www.geograph.org.uk An online community that aims to collect photographs and information for every grid square in Britain. Access images of your local area and add to the image bank. www.naturegrid.org.uk Canterbury Environmental Education Centre web pages. ncil is not responsible Information for teachers and online children’s activities, including: Investigating Rivers (with photos, maps and links), Pond, Grassland, Woodland and Plant Explorer. www.environment-agency.gov.uk Under “At home and leisure” / “What’s in your backyard” - view maps of river systems and obtain data on water quality, flood risks, etc., for all river systems. www.bbc.co.uk/schools/riversandcoasts BBC Schools website with plenty of interactive pages and useful glossary of terms, including information about the water cycle. www.learnanywhere.co.uk/la/geography/14.ppt Simple PowerPoint slide show including water cycle and meanders. Aimed at KS2 Unit 14 – Investigating Rivers. www.swgfl.org.uk/rivers/default.htm Journey along an Exmoor river with information on how to carry out fieldwork, recording sheets and a worked fieldwork example with results. www.gatm.org.uk Geography at the movies. A range of short videos/movies related to rivers (and other subjects). Designed by Drab Ltd. www.wearedrab.net www.sharegeography.co.uk/riverdomterms2.html Simple game with multiple-choice questions linked to river terms and facts. www.radicalgeography.co.uk/Rivers.html Links to river and water related games, quizzes and presentations. www.naturalengland.gov.uk Search for “Suffolk geology” to find out more about local geology. www.anglianwater.co.uk Learn with Captain Splosh, or find out more about how the water you use reaches your taps. © Discovery Project - Mid Suffolk District Council - 2009. Reproduction for educational purposes only. Mid Suffolk District Cou © Discovery Project - Mid Suffolk District Council 2009. Reproduction for educational purposes only. for the content of other websites listed. Introduction Rivers are an inspiring topic, looking at how places and landscapes are formed, and how people and their environment interact. Rivers are an ideal topic for undertaking a local project and then making comparisons with other parts of the world. Most of us live within a few kilometres of a river or stream that can be studied. Water is vital to life on earth and our bodies are made up of over 50% water. Therefore understanding where water comes from, its journey above and below the land, the habitats it creates, how we consume it and how to protect it, is an important educational topic. Suffolk itself has a fascinating history linking today’s water courses to the past. Over 600,000 years ago a large river flowed to the north east across the area of present day Suffolk, depositing sands and gravels in its valleys. Later, ice advances covered Suffolk in a thick sheet of ice pushing this river 2 south to eventually become today’s River Thames. Around 425,000 years ago the ice retreated, leaving behind thick layers of material (commonly called Boulder Clay) that covered the underlying rock and formed the Suffolk claylands. Water flowing from the melting ice deposited sand and gravels and also created new river valleys, the forerunners of many of Suffolk’s present day river systems. Further sands and gravels were deposited in these river valleys at later stages of the Ice Age. These sands and gravels became a rich source of aggregates and are still being dug out today in the Gipping and Waveney valleys. The River Gipping is featured throughout this pack but many of the ideas and suggestions can be used on other rivers near you. A visit to a local river or stream can act as the centre piece of the study, with work in class preparing the pupils for the field visit and the follow up work developing their understanding of river processes and features. How to use Project Rivers This practical hands-on resource provides information, ideas and activities to assist you in making the most from a rivers study. The contents will support classroom learning by providing © Discovery Project - Mid Suffolk District Council 2009. Reproduction for educational purposes only. useful web links, a template self-led field trip, an overview of the River Gipping from source to mouth, including stopping Contact Us points for a coach trip, and health and safety considerations. Discovery Project and To help continue the topic in school there are a variety of Countryside Team pre and post visit ideas that overlap with other parts of the curriculum. Telephone: 01449 724632 email: [email protected] Project Rivers can be used in conjunction with other popular or visit the Discovery Project and education packs in the series, including Project Ponds, Project Countryside pages at: Minibeasts and the Aggregates Trail’s X Traction. These www.midsuffolk.gov.uk resources help to link young people to their local environment and heritage. Please contact the team for more information on any of the above. River Studies naturally link to the geography curriculum but there are Cross lots of ways to use your river study to curriculum enhance and compliment work across ideas the curriculum. Maths • Calculate averages etc., of group data collected on your visit • Compare lengths of different rivers and display the information, eg. with Literacy graphs/scale drawings • Write a poem or story about a river journey • Plot graphs to show velocity, width etc., • Define the terms found in the word bank of selected rivers • Write a letter to the Environment Agency • Estimate water flow of a river using your requesting specific river information velocity and cross section information • Run a debate about the conflicts between river user groups Science • Carry out water cycle experiments (such as evaporation rates) anch, image ref. K681/1/59/1. ref. image anch, The Arts • Research how to minimise water pollution • Use water, mud and sand to recreate • Create land art or sculpture with pebbles, river processes sand and river related materials • Make a scrapbook about plants and • Create a giant wall picture depicting life animal life found along the river along the river • Make up your own songs/rhymes/music 3 about rivers • Create a dance about a river’s journey ICT • Create a database of river information • Design a digital photo library of the trip • Make the most of the great websites available by exploring the river web links Citizenship • Why and how do we protect wildlife along the river? • Discuss how to keep safe near water • Think about the choices we make, for example: using water for irrigation or conserving water for wildlife. • Should people be allowed access to All other photos © Discovery Project - Mid Suffolk District Council - 2009; Line illustrations Jem Seeley www.wearedrab.net Seeley Jem illustrations Line 2009; - Council District Suffolk Mid - Project Discovery © photos other All rivers in the countryside, for example Br Ipswich Office, Record Suffolk at held Image 4. Greenough; Denis © 3, www.northeastwildlife.co.uk; © 2 and 1 : credits Photo walking or canoeing? Ideas to get you started The following are suggestions to help a group to prepare and learn about rivers prior to a field visit. Things to learn • The water cycle • River features and how the river changes on its journey to the sea. • River terms found in the word bank. This will help with map work on your field visit. • The main rivers in Suffolk and the UK. • Find the river to be studied on a map. Things to try • Mark the edge of a puddle with chalk and measure how long it takes for the water to evaporate. • Do puddles dry up faster in the sun or shade? • Build a sloping mound of damp sand, aggregates and mud then slowly pour water over the top. Observe the route the water takes and the materials it carries as it goes. Things to discover • Use Ordnance Survey maps to find a local stream, then trace its route to the sea. Which towns/villages does it pass through? Where does the stream start? • Look for place names linked to rivers and streams. What do they tell you about the river (e.g. Bramford)? • Discover the source of the Nile! Why was it so hard to find in the past – though many people tried to? © Discovery Project - Mid Suffolk District Council - 2009. Reproduction for educational purposes only. Future study ideas Once you have completed your field visit, the experiences gained and the information you have gathered can be used for further study. Why not use some of the ideas below to continue your study of rivers? Things to create • Visit our suggested web links and use your own images from a visit and create a scrapbook, or annotated map of how a river changes on its journey to the sea • Write a story about a raindrop on a journey from the sky, down the river and back to the sea • Create a movie of images taken on your visit Things to do • Use data to calculate the river’s velocity and draw your depth cross-sections • Find out about some of the creatures you saw on your visit • Make a map of Britain with the main rivers shown • Update you school’s website with information about your river visit • Compare your river to other UK or world rivers Things to discover • Use the Internet and school library to find famous paintings of rivers, for example, by John Constable • Find the longest rivers in the world and the communities along them • Find out about the impact of flooding in the local area and in other parts of the world (e.g.