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QUARRY GEOGRAPHY

Here are all of the units relating to quarrying and geography.

Developed against the schemes of work recommended by Department for Education and Skills. Each has been written by a qualified teacher and vetted by a group of other teachers.

Click on the links for more detailed information on quarries and quarrying.

Quarry Geography Unit 1 - Around our school

We're wonderful WALL watchers

For some general background about these units and how to use them, please read our teachers’ briefing.

This is a unit which introduces young children to geography field work. The children will look at the walls of buildings in their local area. They will be introduced to some of the purposes and origins of some common building materials.

The unit mirrors the opportunities of those in the QCA unit for links to literacy, mathematics, speaking and listening, design and technology, history, IT and the world of work. It also has links to science, drama and, importantly, education for sustainable development. I.e. this unit helps children acquire the basic knowledge that will help them eventually discriminate between which of the Earth’s resources are renewable and which are finite.

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Overview Teacher Introduction:

This unit uses a specific task (Looking closely at the outside surface of walls) to introduce children to the idea of investigating their local area.

It covers similar learning objectives as the QCA Geography Year 1 Unit “Around our school – the local area” but, in addition, begins to make children aware of some of the purposes and the origins of common building materials.

The unit mirrors the opportunities of those in the QCA unit for links to literacy, mathematics, speaking and listening, design and technology, history, IT and the world of work. It also has links to science, drama and music.

Finally and importantly this unit promotes education for sustainable development. It helps children acquire the basic knowledge so they can discriminate between which walls are made from natural materials and those which are “man made.” Eventually children will learn which of the Earth’s resources, in terms of a human lifespan, are renewable and which are finite.

The origin of basic building materials
Bricks are made from clay. The clay is mixed with water, moulded, dried and then fired in an oven. The colour of the brick depends on the mineral content of the original clay.
Clay is a sedimentary rock, made up of tiny mineral particles that were originally part of another quite different rock. The original rock may have been changed by the Earth’s heat and movement, by chemical action and erosion. The particles were probably deposited in ancient seas and lakes that occupy the space where the UK is today.

Cement is made from either limestone or chalk. Both are rocks that were originally derived from material, produced by organisms such as coral or shellfish, which accumulated as sediment in ancient seas. To manufacture cement, the rock is quarried, crushed, mixed with small amounts of other minerals (such as clay or shale) and then heated to about 1450º Celsius. The material is cooled, powdered and packed in waterproof bags. Builders mix the cement powder with sand and water and use it as an adhesive to hold bricks (mortar) or stone (concrete) together.
The outside walls of many buildings are covered with a cement render. This can be used as a decorative feature to improve the appearance of damaged brickwork or unattractive concrete blocks. The renders are often coated with a waterproof layer.

Concrete blocks are widely used in the building industry. They are a moulded mixture of sand, cement, gravel or crushed rock plus a combination of other materials which affects the final properties of the product. These other materials can include recycled cinders, ash and slag from other industrial processes e.g. coal fired power stations, iron and steel smelting. Concrete blocks are usually larger than bricks and the building process can consequently often be completed more quickly. The properties of the blocks can include strength and good insulation.
The sand and gravel that are used both in concrete products and in mortar are also sedimentary rocks. These materials are often quarried in the same location then sieved apart. Their origins are similar to those of clay. However, the particle size of sand and gravel is larger than that of clay.

There are large reserves of clay, limestone, chalk and sand and gravel in the UK. These materials are quarried in many locations.

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ABOUT THE UNIT
This is a ‘long’ unit. It uses investigative tasks to introduce children to the idea of looking at their local area.
The local area will be studied frequently during a child’s time in primary school and therefore this unit focuses on aspects of local features, land use and environment. This allows for them to be developed later, perhaps as smaller, more highly focused units, eg Unit 2 ‘How can we make our local area safer?’ or Unit 14 ‘Should the high street be closed to traffic?’
The unit may be shortened to a ‘medium’ unit by leaving out the sections marked.
The unit offers links to literacy, mathematics, speaking and listening, design and technology, history, IT, citizenship and the world of work. It also has links to science, drama and education for sustainable development. This unit helps children acquire the basic knowledge that will help them eventually discriminate between which of the Earth’s resources are renewable and which are finite.

PLACES SKILLS THEMES
• School locality
• Physical and human features
• Broader context • Take part in enquiry process
• Use geographical terms
• Undertake fieldwork
• Follow directions
• Make maps and plans
• Locate home locality
• Follow a route
• Use secondary sources • Land and building use
• Environment: express views

VOCABULARY RESOURCES
In this unit, children are likely to use:
• address, near, far, travel, journey, routes, features, attractive, buildings, offices, church, shop, houses, flats, garage, factory, leisure, playground, park, brick, concrete block, rock, stone, repair, replace, broken, derelict, extension
They may also use:
• parade, library, museum, facilities • local maps and plans
• computer software for drawing simple graphs and the V. Quarry
• pictures of the local area (collected by teachers or children and from local guidebooks)
• a camera
• local newspapers
• local shopkeepers and employers
• adults who care for the children

PRIOR LEARNING
It is helpful if the children have:
• experienced some introductory work on their school grounds and local area in reception classes

EXPECTATIONS
at the end of this unit
most children will: understand the variety of features that form part of their local area; understand the part people play in developing and changing the area
some children will not have
made so much progress and will: have a more limited understanding of the features that make up their local area; be able to annotate a simple map with some of the features
some children will have
progressed further and will also: offer simple and, in some cases, more reasoned explanations for the presence of certain environmental issues, e.g. derelict or redundant buildings, new civil engineering developments, in the area

FUTURE LEARNING
Children may build on this unit by learning in more depth about particular issues in their locality, eg ‘Traffic’ in Unit 2, and by studying contrasting localities, as in Unit 4, for example.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES POSSIBLE TEACHING ACTIVITIES LEARNING OUTCOMES POINTS TO NOTE
CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN CHILDREN
Why do we need walls? (Lesson 1) Where do I live? Where do other pupils live?

• To understand some of the different reasons why walls are built.
• To recognise that walls can be built with different materials.
• Those walls can be the habitat of different creatures.
• That all pupils have a personal address and that they travel to school • A big book shared reading activity
• Ask the children to write out their addresses, with an explanation of each line, and display these around a map of the area.
• Discuss with the children who lives the furthest away and who lives the nearest.
• With the children’s help, design and carry out a survey of how children come to school. Help the children to draw a graph, which could be computer generated, and analyse the findings.
• To understand the reasons why buildings and other structures are built.
• To recognise and know some simple building materials.
• know their own addresses
• understand the significance of each line of the address
• represent the various types of travel on a simple graph
• draw some conclusions from their findings
Mathematics: when children carry out a survey and record their results, there are opportunities to link with work on classifying, representing and interpreting data.
IT: if children generate their graphs on a computer, this work could link to IT (Unit 1E).

Where is the school? How do I get to school? (Wall watching at home. Lesson 3)

• their sense of place in relation to home and school
• to describe a route • With the aid of the teacher to locate a picture of a wall of their house on a local map of the school catchment area.
• Ask the children to explain their route from home to their classroom to their peer group.
• use a map showing their route to school
• recognise where places are around the school Speaking and listening: when children are speaking about their route to school and listening to their partners, encourage them to use questions and words that trigger questions and help the speaker to add detail to their account eg Where do you cross the road?
With the aid of the teacher and ICT to construct a graph of the main building materials used in the wall of their home.

What can we see in the streets around our school? Wall watching in the streets around our school. (Lesson 2)

• to recognise some of the physical and human features in their locality
• to understand some of the ways in which the features are used
• Show the children pictures of walled features in the locality, ask them to and group them into sets, eg far and near, buildings and features, and place them in the sequence they are seen on the route to school.
• Help the children to identify from evidence what individual buildings are used for, what material has been used to build the walls. Ask them to annotate correctly the map they have drawn. • identify a clear sequence of features seen on their route to school
• use correct vocabulary to describe features Literacy: these activities offer children opportunities to use correct vocabulary (see vocabulary section) and to begin distinguishing between nouns and adjectives.

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Lesson 1: Why do we need walls?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
No specific learning required. This lesson builds on children’s acquired experience.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand some of the different reasons why walls are built.
• To recognise that walls can be built with different materials.
• Those walls can be the habitat of different creatures.

Subject Links:

• Literacy – A shared reading activity using the online Big Book Waggy the wonderful wall watcher.
• Speaking and listening – developing a vocabulary linked to walls, insects and the wagtail.
• Citizenship – to understand that other living things (the wagtail) have needs.

Resources:

• Class access to a computer and a large visual display unit such as a white interactive board.
• On line Big Book Waggy the wonderful wall watcher.
• Additional pictures of a wagtail and some of its insect prey downloaded and saved from websites such as: www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/p/piedwagtail/index.asp www.arthurgrosset.com/europebirds/piedwagtail.html www.butterfly-guide.co.uk http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/jblincow/nmoths/pg5.htm www.nhm.ac.uk/interactive/woodlice/extra_notes.html http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sirrobhitch.suffolk/invert/jr/img13
• Examples of wall building materials: a brick; concrete block; if possible, a piece of local rock or stone.

Background Information:

This lesson uses the example of a common British Bird, a pied wagtail, to encourage children to look closely at walls. This wagtail is common throughout the U.K. The small black and white bird has a long tail which it wags up and down as it searches for its food. It feeds on insects such as ants, mosquitoes, spiders, moths, woodlice, beetles and flies. It is particularly common near water but is often seen searching for food on walls and roofs.
The big book focuses on walls that can be seen around homes and schools. In addition, a seawall and farm wall is also included.

Activity:
This is a shared reading and discussion activity.
Introduce the unit to the children by telling them that they are going to be wonderful wall watchers! Use the on line big book resource attached to this unit and show the children the opening picture of a wagtail.
Discuss why a wagtail needs to be a wonderful wall watcher. (It hunts for insect food. It sometimes finds this insect food living on walls.) Explain that not all birds eat insects. Some, such as sparrows for example, mainly eat seeds.
Show the children pictures of a variety of insects that might be part of a wagtail’s diet.
Then discuss each pair of pages in the Big Book. Discuss with the children:
1. Why each wall was built. The reasons will include:
• To keep people and their property safe.
• To keep out cold and rain and keep people inside the walls warm.
• To show the boundary or edge of someone’s property. (The space somebody owns or looks after.) Sometimes to keep farm animals safe and secure.
• To support or hold up other parts of a building such as roofs, towers etc.
• To keep water, soil or rocks away from the space we’re using.
• To help people feel private and secure.
2. What they think the wall is made from. Answers will include bricks, blocks and stone. Use your examples of wall building materials as a visual aid.

At the end of the session tell the children that they are going to become wonderful wall watchers too.

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Lesson 2: Wall watching in the streets around our school

Prior Knowledge / Work:
The children need to have shared the online big book in Lesson 1.
Learning Objectives:

• To look closely at walled features near the school.
• To identify from evidence what the walled features are and why they were built.
• To locate the features on a large scale map or plan of the school vicinity.

Subject Links:

• Literacy - the activity provides good opportunities for developing the children’s vocabulary.
• Design and Technology - looking closely at the patterns in wall construction.
• Science – an introduction to commonly used materials.

Resources:

• A copy of a large scale map or plan of the vicinity around the school on which pictures, photographs and rubbings can be mounted.
• As appropriate: Digital camera, wall rubbing materials (Broad wax crayons and manageable A4 sized pieces of newsprint paper), clipboards and pencils.
• A copy of the photograph of each of the different walls if you are using method 2 below.
• Examples from lesson 1 of wall building materials: a brick; concrete block; if possible, a piece of local rock or stone.

Background Information:
This lesson focuses on walls of buildings and other civil engineering structures (bridges, tunnels etc.) in the local area. It can be completed in one of two ways:
1. Taking the children out of school and using basic field work;
2. Using pictures of local structures in the classroom
If you are using basic field work plan a local safe walking route for children, in accordance with your school’s “out of school safety policy.” The route should pass a variety of walls constructed for different purposes and made of different materials.
If you use field work, the children will need to collect some sort of physical evidence of the observed walls to use for the activity in the classroom. This can be photographs, drawings or wall rubbings. If the children are going to collect evidence by wall rubbing, work out a manageable technique that does not leave wax crayon defacing the wall! You probably need to practice with the children on a school wall before using your neighbour’s property! Help the children to work in pairs, one holding a modest A4 sized piece of paper tightly against the wall while the other rubs on the centre of the paper with the side of a crayon.

Activity:
Remind children of Waggy the wonderful wall watcher in lesson 1. Tell the children that they are going to be wonderful wall watchers too.
Then follow one of the following options:
1. Using simple field work. The children are taken out of the classroom and look at different walls in the immediate vicinity of the school. On location, discuss what the features are, why they were built, and, in simple terms what material has been used in their construction. Collect some visual evidence of the wall to bring back into the classroom. This could be in the form of a rubbing, a child’s picture or a digital photograph of a section of each wall.
2. Show the children digital pictures of familiar local walled features.

In the classroom, now show the children a copy of a large scale map or plan of the vicinity around the school. Using the pictures, photographs or rubbings of walls together identify:
• What the features are;
• Why they have been built;
• Where these are located on the map or plan.
During the activity try and help the children identify some of the materials used to make the wall. E.g. brick, concrete blocks or pieces of rock (“stone”).

Together, fasten the pictures, photographs or rubbings of walls in the correct location on the map or plan. Add annotation if necessary.
Finally, in a “game playing mode”, using the plan as a visual aid, ask children to describe the features they would pass if they journeyed from one location to another.

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Lesson 3: Wall watching at home

Prior Knowledge / Work:
This activity could be used in addition or as an alternative to “Where do I live? Where do other pupils live?” in the QCA unit. Here the children are asked to write their address, with an explanation of each line, and display these on a map of the area.

Learning Objectives:

• For pupils to look closely at the outside walls of their own home.
• To locate their home on a large scale map of the area.
• To take part in a graph drawing activity.

Subject Links:

• Numeracy – creating a graph of the material used to build the walls of pupil’s homes.
Resources:

• Large scale map of the catchment area of the school to which you can add drawings or pictures.
• Children’s drawings, photographs or wall rubbings of the exterior wall, facing the street, of their own home.

Background Information:
This is an activity which will work particularly well if you enlist the help of the adults who look after the children. Ask the adults if they can help the pupils collect evidence about the exterior wall of their home which faces the street by either helping the child:
• Draw a picture;
• Take a digital photograph;
• Make a wall rubbing.
Ask the adults to help the children identify the main material that the children can see in the wall e.g. brick, stone, concrete block and cement render.
Tell the adults when you plan to use the children’s material.

Activity:
Ask the children to bring in to school their picture or rubbing of a wall of their home. (See background information above)
Show the children the large scale map of the school catchment area.
As an orientation exercise, together, try and identify key well known local features.
Then in turn, ask each child to show the class their pictures or rubbings of the wall of their house. Praise their efforts and help them locate their house on the map. Mount the child’s work on the map, using annotation if necessary.

Then, collect the information on the material used to make the children’s house walls. Help the children draw a graph, perhaps using ICT and an interactive white board, and discuss the findings.

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Lesson 4: Waggy wants to know why people keep changing things?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
This lesson can be used as an alternative to What are our immediate surroundings like? and Are there any changes taking place in our area? in the QCA unit. Although the initial focus of this unit was on walls, this lesson expands that focus and can include:
• Any new building or civil engineering projects in the locality. E.g. House building, extensions, road improvements, commercial and industrial developments etc.
• Structures requiring repair, renewal or redevelopment.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand some of the reasons why changes may need to occur in a locality.
• For the children to recognise what features they like and dislike in a locality and those that might need changing.
• To identify the location of places in the locality where changes are taking place or are needed.
Subject Links:

• Literacy – A shared reading activity using the online Big Book Waggy wants to know why people keep changing things.
• Speaking and listening – developing a vocabulary linked to the chronology of time (along time ago, in the past, in years to come, in the future etc.) and the reasons for changes in buildings (Repair, replace, broken, derelict, extension etc.)
• History – understanding that both space and existing structures have been used differently in the past.
• Design and Technology – to look at some of the techniques and tools used in the building of structures.
• Citizenship – children to recognise what they like and dislike and what needs changing.

Resources:

• Class access to a computer and a large visual display unit such as a white interactive board.
• The on line Big Book Waggy wants to know why people keep changing things.
• Large scale map of the catchment area of the school to which you can add drawings or pictures as used in lesson 3.
• Pictures of structures around the school that are in the process of change or may need changing. These could be pictures of new local buildings, house extensions or civil engineering projects and derelict or damaged or redundant structures where repair or replacement is needed.

Background Information:
This is a lesson which can be completed in the classroom using photographs. However as part of the activity, providing it is safe, children could visit places near the school where:
• Building or civil engineering projects are taking place;
• And, or, locations that are suitable for redevelopment.

Activity:
This is a shared reading and discussion activity which also gives children practice at both using the vocabulary acquired from this unit and reinterpreting the map used in the previous lessons.
Introduce the activity to the children by telling them that they are going to answer some questions that Waggy the Wagtail has asked in a big book. Use the on line big book resource attached to this unit Waggy wants to know why people keep changing things.
By sharing each picture and text discuss:
• What is happening in this picture now?
• What might happen here in a few years time?
• What might have happened here long ago?
• What materials are being used or have been used in the features in the pictures?

The activity can now progress in one of two ways. In each case, at each location you should ask similar questions to those used when sharing the big book above.
1. First hand observation, using simple observational work. The children are taken out of the classroom to a local place where changes, similar to those in the big book, are taking place or may be needed. Photographs can be taken for use in the classroom.
2. In the classroom, show children pictures of places in the school locality places where changes, similar to those in the big book are taking place or may be needed.

Finally, in the classroom, together locate and mount the pictures (from 1 or 2 above) on the large scale map, annotating if necessary.

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Lesson 5: Quarry dance/drama

Prior Knowledge / Work:
It would help if the children had some experience of presenting stories through drama and movement. However this lesson could be an interesting introduction.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand that most of the materials used in building walls are quarried out of the ground.
• To remember and sequence some of the quarrying procedures in the form of dance/drama and, perhaps, music.

Subject Links:

• Dance, drama – creating and performing movements that communicate the idea of quarrying activity.
• Music – use untuned percussion instruments to replicate the sounds of quarrying activity.
• Science – beginning to understand the sources and properties of some materials.
Resources:

• Class access to a computer and the Virtual Quarry downloaded from this website.
• Seven printed pictures, taken from the Virtual Quarry website, as a reminder of the quarrying activities.
• Subsequently, space for drama/ dance activity.
• Possibly untuned percussion instruments.

Background Information:
The Virtual Quarry on this website is a cartoon sequence that replicates some of the activities in a “hard rock” quarry. These quarried materials are used in the foundations of roads and buildings and in both cement and concrete.
Many other materials used in the construction of walls (e.g. bricks) are derived from “soft rock”, clay or sand quarries.
For young children, the sequence of activities in a “hard rock” quarry, with its additional drilling, explosion and crushing is more dramatic and has been chosen for this lesson.
The quarrying sequence used in this lesson is as follows:
1. Drilling. Holes are drilled in area of rock face. The holes are filled with explosives.
2. Explosion. Following a sequence of warning sirens the explosive is detonated.
3. Excavation. When the detonation is safely complete a huge mechanical excavator lifts the pieces of broken rock into a dumper truck.
4. Transportation. The huge dumper truck carries a massive weight of rock and tips it into the crushing machinery.
5. Crushing. The rocks are crushed between revolving metal rollers and carried on mechanical conveyors to sieves.
6. Sieving. The rock is sieved into different sizes and taken to a store.
7. Transportation. The rock is transported away from the quarry by road and rail to the builder.
Avoiding misconceptions.
There are several misconceptions that you should be careful to avoid.
1. Some children will think that the rock that is quarried occurs everywhere. Obviously, because of the diverse geology of the UK particular rocks are only found in specific locations.
2. Some children will think that objects such as “bricks” are quarried. You will need to explain that often the quarried rock has to be cooked or mixed with other quarried materials before it can be used to make buildings.
3. Not all quarries are “hard rock” quarries. Some materials come from other quarries. There are video clips of sand and clay quarries on this website which you could show children if necessary.

Activity:
Tell the children that you are going to find out where the materials that are use to build walls come from.
Show the children the Virtual Quarry.
Discuss the sequence of activities in the quarry trying to make sure children avoid misconceptions such as those listed above.
Now show the children all the pictures of the quarrying process in a random order.
Together sequence the pictures to reflect the quarrying process.

Take the children and the pictures to an area that is suitable for dance/drama.
Show the children the first picture of the quarrying process i.e. Drilling. Holes are drilled in area of rock face. The holes are filled with explosives.
Ask the children to suggest ways they could move to represent the quarry worker or the drill. Select a range of individual interpretations as exemplars.
Using the pictures as visual aids, repeat with each the other activities in the quarrying sequence.

You could then select groups of children to perform in turn one activity in the whole sequence as a class performance.

The lesson can be developed. The pupils could compose a sound picture to accompany their dance/drama. The pictures from the virtual quarry can be used in sequence to help the pupils create a sound picture, using both voices (as the warning siren) and untuned percussion instruments. The sounds could be used alongside the dance /drama as a class performance.

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Quarry Geography Unit 6 - Investigating the local area

For some general background about these units and how to use them, please read our teachers’ briefing.

When, as part of their science curriculum, children learn about rocks and soil they may well ask “What rock is beneath our feet?” This unit encourages children to look for clues to answer this question by looking at the quarried materials used in structures built in their local area.

This unit also uses some of the “fun” activities provided in the Science unit “We’re living in rocks and SOIL!” Teaching both units simultaneously will make efficient use of teaching time and help children acquire a more holistic understanding of the importance of local geology in both shaping their lives and landscape.

In addition, this unit provides motivating opportunities for children to develop skills and knowledge in literacy, PSHE, history and science. Most of the classroom based activities make use of the opportunities provided by ICT and an interactive whiteboard.

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The rock investigators- What’s hidden beneath our feet?
Unit 6 Investigating our local area Geography Year 3

ABOUT THE UNIT
This is a ‘long’ unit, in which children develop geographical ideas and skills by studying their own locality. This unit has been adapted so that children can try to deduce, from studying their locality, the nature of the rocks that may be hidden beneath their feet. This unit is linked to our version of the QCA science unit 3D We’re living in rocks and soils.
The unit offers links to literacy, IT, environmental education, music, education for sustainable development, maths and the world of work.

PLACES SKILLS THEMES
• School locality
• UK locality
• Wider context
• Physical and human features
• Links with other places • Collect and record evidence
• Undertake fieldwork
• Make maps and plans
• Use maps
• Use secondary sources
• Use ICT • Settlement: land use
• Environment: impact, sustainability

VOCABULARY RESOURCES
In this unit, children are likely to use:
• hamlet, village, town, city, settlement
• north, south, east, west
• route, scale, distance, direction, key, symbol
• homes, shops, roads, services, factory, buildings, transport, land use
• environment, repair, damage, pollution
• slopes, valleys, streams, soil
They may also use:
• words specifically associated with the locality
• words relating to the main physical and human features, land uses and occupations in the locality
The above MAY be used but bthe following are includedQuarry, manufactured, natural, supervisor
o Terms linked to: building materials (brick, concrete etc).: quarrying procedure (blasting, sieving etc.). • globes
• local maps eg street maps
• Ordnance Survey maps scale 1:10,000 or 1:25,000
• Digital camera
• aerial and ground photographs
• outline plan of settlement based on oblique aerial view
• atlases
• database or graphing software
• questionnaires and worksheets
• collection of locally used building materials
• ICT and The Virtual Quarry
• Sample of local soil

PRIOR LEARNING
It is helpful if the children have:
• investigated the school buildings and grounds using plans and photographs
• investigated some basic features of their locality, as in Unit 1, for example
• drawn their own maps of how they get to school, as in Unit 1, for example
• considered routes around the school and made a simple land use map of the school and its grounds
• taken part in a simple environmental improvement programme in the school grounds, including an evaluation of the likes and dislikes of the grounds and possible improvements
• This unit could be completed alongside the adapted science unit 3D Rocks and soils “We’re living in rocks and soils!”

EXPECTATIONS
at the end of this unit
most children will: describe a range of physical and human features of their locality; use appropriate geographical terms; offer appropriate observations about locations and patterns in the area; identify how people affect the environment and recognise ways people try to manage it for the better; use a range of secondary sources and first-hand enquiry
some children will not have
made so much progress and will: respond to questions about where things are; ask and respond to questions about places and topics using information provided by the teacher; undertake simple mapping tasks demonstrated by the teacher
some children will have
progressed further and will also: use confidently a wider range of fieldwork and map skills; begin to appreciate the importance of location and offer explanations for physical or human features; ask their own questions and set up simple tasks to seek answers

FUTURE LEARNING
This unit provides a base from which children can extend their concept of settlements, at other scales, as in Unit 7, for example, and in other contexts, eg Units 7 and 9, and environment, eg Unit 8.
Children can also develop their fieldwork skills, see Unit 8, and their mapping and enquiry skills in all subsequent units.

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Lesson 1: Where is our school?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
It would help if the children had previously had access, even on an informal basis, to a globe, atlases and maps of different scales.

Learning Objectives:

• To locate the UK on a globe.
• To locate on a map the children’s home city, town or village within the UK.
• To locate on local large scale maps or plans the school.

Subject Links:

• ICT: interpreting information (POS 1c)
Resources:

• A globe.
• ICT, interactive whiteboard and downloaded maps, based on the postcode of your school, from a website such as http://maps.google.co.uk/
• ICT, interactive whiteboard and downloaded aerial photos of the school from sites such as: www.getmapping.com/home

Background Information:
This lesson closely follows the initial activity in the QCA Geography Unit 6 Investigating our local area (Where is the locality in relation to other places? Where is the school?) but uses on line interactive resources as an alternative to conventional paper maps.

Activity:
Tell the children that through out this project they are going to be investigators and find out more about where they live and how they come to school.

Establish from pupil’s acquired experience of either flying in aeroplanes, climbing tall structures or features such as hills and mountains that the further they are above the surface of the earth the smaller its features appear. Use ICT to show the children an aerial photograph of the school to reinforce this principle. (See resources above.)

Ask the children to locate the UK on a globe.

Using ICT and an interactive whiteboard, enter the school’s postcode into an interactive mapping website such as http://maps.google.co.uk/ This website allows you to zoom out to show the children a “flat” Mercator map of the world, then progressively zoom in onto more detailed localised maps to identify the location of the region, county, city, town or village of the school.

When the children are looking at the map which shows the detail of their community ask them to point out their route to school.
The children can have fun checking their route on the above website by using the Get directions facility. Enter the child’s postcode as the starting point. Ensure that the school’s postcode is the finishing point. The website will display a route to school on a large scale plan, plus the directions and the distances.
The children can evaluate the suggested route as it is devised principally for people travelling by car. It may differ from the route actually taken by children.

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Lesson 2: How they get building materials out of the ground.

Prior Knowledge / Work:
It would be useful if the children have had experience at using a variety of untuned percussion instruments and created “sound pictures.” An alternative literacy lesson which addresses the same non musical learning objectives is provided in the companion geography unit The investigators- What’s beneath our feet?(Lesson 3)

Learning Objectives:

• To understand how some materials are quarried and manufactured from rocks.
• To musically interpret the quarrying sequence with untuned musical instruments.
• To develop musical composing, appraising and performance skills.
• To understand that the quarrying can potentially be a noisy process.

Subject Links:

• Music performing, composing and appraising skills. (POS 1b, 1c, 2a, 3a, 3c.)
• Geography knowledge and understanding of places, patterns and processes plus environmental change and sustainable development. (POS 3a, 3e, 4b, 5a, 5b.)

Resources:

• On line Virtual Quarry.
• A selection of untuned percussion instruments.
• A collection of examples of locally used building materials obtained from a builder’s merchant. (see Lesson 1)
• Worksheet 1 displayed on an interactive white board or computer screen or printed copies of each page of the worksheet. (This depends on the way you plan to develop the lesson. See below.)

Background Information:
Once planning permission for a quarry has been obtained and the top soil removed (This is often used to build embankments to screen dust and noise.) there is a basic sequence of activities that take place. The following describes this sequence for a limestone quarry.
1. Drilling. Holes are drilled in area of rock face. The holes are filled with explosives.
2. Explosion. Following a sequence of warning sirens the explosive is detonated.
3. Excavation. When a siren indicates that the detonation is safely complete a huge mechanical excavator lifts the pieces of broken rock into a dumper truck.
4. Transportation. The huge dumper truck carries a massive weight of rock and tips it into the crushing machinery.
5. Crushing. The rocks are crushed and carried on mechanical conveyors to sieves.
6. Sieving. The rock is sieved into different sizes and taken to a store.
7. Transportation. The quarry products are transported away from the quarry by road and rail.
Often, after the quarried rock has been sieved and stored, it is manufactured into products such as cement, ready mixed concrete and asphalt within the confines of the quarry. This reduces the environmental and economic cost of transporting “virgin” rock.

The quarried material is taken away and used in the construction and repair of roads and the manufacture of building materials and other products (E.g. toothpaste, farm soil improver, cleaning materials, treating and cleaning water etc.).

Activity:
Remind children of the contents of the first lesson in this unit. Use the examples collected from a local merchant to remind children that building materials are very important and that most are dug out of the ground.
Show the children the Virtual Quarry and discuss each of the different stages in the process.
Sit the children in a circle and give each child an untuned musical instrument. Some quarried products such as bricks, tiles and slates could be tapped with sticks and used as instruments.
Tell them that together they are going to compose a set of sounds that could represent the activities in the Virtual Quarry.

Show the children the enlarged copy of the first page of worksheet 1. The drilling process.
Together, using the children’s acquired experience from other sources, develop a sound picture that matches the activities in this list.

To represent each activity on the list encourage the children to:
• Experiment with different kinds of sound;
• Combine different sounds;
• Change volume;
• Include rhythm;
• Use different speeds.
As “conductor” you will probably need to narrate and perhaps mime each activity on the list.

Once the children have experimented with sounds to interpret the drilling process the lesson can develop in several ways. Here are some possibilities:
• The class could practice and refine their composition for The drilling process;
• The class as a whole could develop the sound picture for the next quarry process The BIG Explosion;
• The class could divide into at least three groups and compose sound pictures for The Big Explosion, Excavating the Rocks plus Moving and Crushing.

Which ever way the lesson develops allow time at the end of the lesson for children to both perform and appraise their sound picture.

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Lesson 3: Safety at the beginning, middle and end.

Prior Knowledge / Work:
This literacy lesson helps children understand the “quarried origins” of most common building materials. This learning occurs in the context of discussing safety issues. A musical alternative to achieving the first learning objective of this lesson is in the unit We’re living in rocks and SOIL! (Lesson 2)
The lesson uses information contained in the Virtual Quarry downloaded from this website.
It could also be used after a class visit to a real working quarry!
This lesson provides an opportunity for children to cut and paste on an interactive whiteboard display.
Learning Objectives:

• To understand the origins of quarried building materials.
• To group and sequence key ideas.
• To know that safety is an important consideration in any activity.

Subject Links:
• Literacy. Non fiction reading comprehension. (POS 2c, 5f, 5g, 9a, 9b)
• PSHE and citizenship. Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle

Resources:

• ICT, interactive whiteboard and the Virtual Quarry downloaded from this website.
• Worksheet 1 downloaded from this Virtual Quarry website. View on the interactive whiteboard in Reading layout format using the option of multiple pages.
• A copy of the school fire and evacuation policy downloaded for display.

Background Information:

Safety is a key concern at all working quarries. A risk assessment is completed for all procedures.
Quarry workers are protected in many ways. Some of these protection and the safety procedures are highlighted in the Virtual Quarry.
Safety Protection
In the virtual quarry all workers wear high visibility appropriate clothing with hard hat skull protection. All workers are required to report their presence to a supervisor once inside the quarry boundary.
Safety Procedures at blasting
In the hard rock Virtual Quarry rock blasting takes place at clearly designated times. The blasting supervisor gives a sound (siren) and visual (red flag) warning at a fixed time before the actual blast. All other quarry workers have to leave the blast area and report to a safe area once the warning is given. The blasting supervisor checks that the blast area is clear before sheltering in a safe area.
The blast is detonated and the supervisor returns to check that all explosives are detonated before sounding the “all clear.” Only after the “all clear” can other quarry workers return to the quarry face.
Safety features in quarry machinery
Much quarry machinery is designed to handle large and heavy loads. Vehicles are designed for strength, good all round visibility and cab protection for the driver. The vehicles have high visibility flashing warning lights and an automatic sound warning signal when in reverse gear.
It is important to control the dust in the air both on the quarry site and on nearby roads. Quarry roadways are sprayed to reduce air borne dust pollution which could be a health hazard for quarry workers. Public roadways are sprayed and cleaned.
The quarry sequence
The following describes the sequence of activities in obtaining rock from a limestone quarry.

1. Drilling. Holes are drilled in area of rock face. The holes are filled with explosives.
2. Explosion. Following a sequence of warning signals the explosive is detonated.
3. Excavation. When a siren indicates that the detonation is safely complete a huge mechanical excavator lifts the pieces of broken rock into a dumper truck.
4. Transportation. The huge dumper truck carries a massive weight of rock and tips it into the crushing machinery.
5. Crushing. The rocks are crushed in machinery and carried on mechanical conveyors to sieves.
6. Sieving. The rock is sieved into different sizes and taken to a store.
7. Transportation. The quarry products are transported away from the quarry by road and rail to the user.
The quarried material is taken away and used in the manufacture of building materials (E.g. cement, concrete, asphalt.) and other products (E.g. toothpaste, farm soil improver, cleaning materials, treating and cleaning water etc.).

Activity:

Tell the children that they are going to find out where many of the materials used to make buildings and other structures come from.
Tell the children that they are going to watch the Virtual Quarry. Tell them to look carefully for anything that is designed to keep the quarry workers safe.
At the end of the Virtual Quarry sequence discuss the children’s observations. Replay the Virtual Quarry if necessary.

Now display to the children worksheet 1 in the format described in resources above.
Explain the meaning of the term supervisor.
Tell the children that a quarry supervisor has invented a game that is used to teach new workers how to be safe in the quarry. Tell the children that the safety instructions that the new workers need to understand are listed on page 1 of the worksheet but they are in the wrong order.

The children are to be “new workers.” They are going to use the computer to cut and paste each safety instruction under a heading on page 2. Then they are going to rearrange each group of sentences into in a new more sensible order.
Firstly, together read each of the instructions.
Explain that the instructions are either for:
• When workers arrive at the quarry.
• When blasting takes place.
• Before workers leave the quarry.

Select a child in turn to cut and paste each rule under an appropriate heading.
Ask the child to explain the reasons for their decision.

Then select a child to cut and paste each group of sentences into a sensible order.
Discuss the children’s answers.

Finally in the plenary show and discuss with the children how the school’s registration and fire and evacuation policies protect their safety.

The New Quarry worker’s safety game.
Here is one sensible solution. There may be other equally sensible answers.
When workers arrive at the quarry.
1. All workers must keep these rules. They are for the safety of everyone in the quarry.
2. When workers arrive they must tell the supervisor and put on their safety clothing.
3. Workers must wear their safety clothing until they leave the quarry.
When blasting takes place.
4. Workers must find out the time when blasting will take place.
5. When workers hear the siren or see the red flag they must go to the safe place.
6. Workers must stay in the safe place until the “all clear” siren sounds and the red flag is taken down.
Before workers leave the quarry.
7. At the end of the day workers must give back their safety equipment.
8. Workers must tell the supervisor that they are leaving the quarry.

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Lesson 4: The quarried material trail.

Prior Knowledge / Work:
To complete this lesson children will need to know two of the key objectives of the QCA Science Unit 3D Rocks and soils i.e.:
• To understand that there is rock beneath the visible surface of the Earth.
• To know that there are different rocks in different locations.
Lesson 4 I’m a rock and soil expert of the unit We’re living in rocks and SOIL! on this website covers these and other objectives. If you are not using the science unit you will need to incorporate that or a similar lesson into this unit.

Learning Objectives:
• To collect evidence from their locality.
• To recognise some land use patterns in the use of some building materials.
• To use field work techniques.

Subject Links:

• Science, particularly the QCA unit 3D Rocks and Soils.
• History: finding out about the past from observation (POS 4a)
Resources:
A clipboard and a plan of the “trail” to each pair of children.

Background Information:
In accordance with the school “out of school activities policy” you’ll need to plan a safe local walk which passes buildings made of different materials.
In some areas where there is a great diversity of material you may need to focus on one particular structural feature. E.g. walls, roofs or the material around doorways and windows. Limiting the focus of observation and the range of materials may make the task more manageable for year 3 pupils.

Activity:
Tell the children that they are going to try and find out which rocks might be hidden beneath their school. Explain that they are going walk along a short trail and look at the different materials that have been used to build things near the school.
Explain that they are just going to look at the building material used in a particular situation e.g. either in walls, roofs, doorsteps or around windows and doors etc.
Give out a clipboard and plan of the trail to each pair of children.
Discuss the route and the key that can be used to identify different building material.
Take the children on the trail. Stop at appropriate points and help children:
• Orientate their plan;
• Identify the building materials used;
• Use the key and mark their plan.

On return to the classroom with the children discuss:
• The different building materials that were observed and where they were located. Remind children in simple terms about how each of these materials are obtained
• Any patterns the children noticed. I.e. were there some places where all the buildings were made of similar materials?
• The explanations children may have for those patterns.

Now remind children that most building materials are originally quarried out of the ground.

Explain that
• It can be expensive to transport heavy building materials such as stone, bricks and sand and gravel long distances.
• The building materials used around their school may have been dug from under the ground near to the school
• That the materials may give a clue to the rocks hidden beneath the soil under the school.

Ask the children to suggest which rocks may be hidden beneath the school and what evidence they have for their suggestion.

The results of the children’s observation in this lesson can be used in a subsequent ICT or maths session to produce databases, simple graphs or pie charts.

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Lesson 5: adapted from QPA Science Unit 3d, Lesson 4

Prior Knowledge / Work:
This follows all of the previous lessons in this unit, including Lesson 4 I’m a rock and soil expert of the science unit We’re living in rocks and SOIL! on this website.
This lesson marginally increases the scope of lesson 5 in the science unit and the detailed lesson plan is in that unit. Only the adaptation to meet the learning objectives of this unit is described below.

Learning Objectives:
As in lesson 5 of the science unit We’re living in rocks and SOIL! Plus
• To look for evidence in local soil of locally occurring rocks.

Subject Links:

• Science: QCA Unit 3d Rocks and soils.
• Technology (POS 5b)
Resources:
As in lesson 5 of the science unit We’re living in rocks and SOIL! with the additional proviso that one sample of soil should be obtained from on or near the school site to meet the objective of this unit.

Background Information:
This lesson uses the information on the feeding habits of the worm from a previous lesson to establish a purpose for examining soil and similar materials.

Activity:
Follow the lesson plan described in the science unit. Pay particular attention to the health and safety issues regarding the handling of soil highlighted in the previous lesson

When the children are given a sample of soil collected from near the school ask them to look for stones, pebbles and other small bits of rock.
Ask the children if any samples they find look similar to some of the materials found on The Quarried Material Trail (lesson 4 above).
Explain that these pieces of rock might be clues to the rock hidden beneath the school.

Follow the rest of the lesson plan described in lesson 5 of the science unit We’re living in rocks and SOIL!

For a separate activity you might like to save the children’s evidence of underlying geology (rock fragments in the soil sample). You and the children might be able to identify from maps or knowledge disused quarries, road cuttings etc. where rock is locally exposed.
If you could safely procure a sample of rock from these locations this could be compared to the children’s evidence.

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Worksheet 1
The New Quarry worker’s safety game.
You are a new worker at the quarry.
Here are some rules for your safety.

1. Cut and paste each rule under a sensible heading on Page 2.
2. Then rearrange each rule in a sensible order.

At the end of the day workers must give back their safety equipment.

Workers must tell the supervisor that they are leaving the quarry.

When workers arrive they must tell the supervisor and put on their safety clothing.

Workers must wear their safety clothing until they leave the quarry

When workers hear the siren or see the red flag they must go to the safe place

All workers must keep these rules. They are for the safety of everyone in the quarry.

Workers must stay in the safe place until the “all clear” siren sounds and the red flag is taken down.

Workers must find out the time when blasting will take place.

When workers arrive at the quarry.

When blasting takes place.

Before workers leave the quarry.

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Quarry Geography Unit 16 - What's in the news?

The Sustainable Olympics

For some general background about these units and how to use them, please read our teachers’ briefing.

This unit is based upon the QCA Geography continuous unit 16 (What’s in the news?) and is designed to be used throughout Key Stage 2.

It uses news of the design and construction of the venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games, “the most sustainable games ever,” to promote:

• Geographical learning at a widening range of scales;
• Education for sustainable development.

The unit can be used flexibly:

• When relevant developments occur.
• Within and outside designated geography curriculum time.

This unit consists of sets of activities clustered around three general themes.

1. Local and UK Theme: Where will the London 2012 Olympic Games take place?
2. Sustainability: How will the design, construction and use of the games venues help and conserve the environment?
3. The International Connection. How will competitors and spectators travel to the games in an environmentally friendly manner?

Unit 16 – What’s in the news?
Geography Years 3 - 6
The investigators – the Sustainable Olympics
Description/overview of the unit
This unit is based upon the QCA Geography continuous unit 16 (What’s in the news?) and is designed to be used throughout Key Stage 2. It uses news of the exciting development of the 2012 London Olympic Games sites to motivate and interest pupils whilst particularly developing:
• Geographical skills and ideas at a widening range of scales;
• Education for sustainable development.
The unit can be used flexibly when relevant news events occur. The teaching ideas can be used both within and outside designated geography curriculum time or can be incorporated in lessons or projects promoting Literacy, Numeracy, PSHE and citizenship, etc. This unit consists of sets of activities clustered around three general themes.
1. Local and UK: Where will the London 2012 Olympic Games take place?
2. Sustainable Development.
3. The International Connection
The activities can be adapted to meet the needs of different ages and abilities within Key Stage 2. Activities or combinations of activities can be used in individual lessons.

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Background Information:
Sustainable Development theme
The planning and development of the venues for the London Olympics provides a good opportunity for primary school pupils to learn about sustainable development. The demands of urban conurbations, like London, are undoubtedly having a great impact on the planet and could be compromising the lifestyle of future generations.

To summarise the problems and opportunities, the Mayor of London’s Sustainability Commission wrote for organisations planning new developments in the city:
“In 2000, a study to estimate London’s environmental impact found that over that year an average Londoner consumed 13 MWh of gas and electricity, almost five tonnes of materials, more than 680Kg of food and undertook over 8400 km of travel. The study concluded that the area of land and sea needed to provide all the energy, water, food and other materials that were consumed in London (often referred to as an ecological footprint) amounted to 49 million global hectares, which is about 293 times the actual size of London, or equivalent to the size of Spain. This means that if everyone in the world consumed at the same rate as Londoners, then we would need at least three planets to sustain life.

Such continued consumption rates are clearly unsustainable. Not only are the earth’s natural resources depleting rapidly, including those used to produce energy, but as other areas in the world continue to grow and develop, it is also predicted that there will be increased demand on those remaining resources. Additionally such high consumption produces a huge amount of waste. Landfill sites are rapidly filling up, and the incineration of waste releases pollutants and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This combined with the carbon dioxide and other pollutants released in London particularly through transport, means that although London’s air quality is improving in some respects, it is still unlikely to meet European standards for certain key pollutants, and it still poses a considerable threat to the health of Londoners.

Additionally, these large amounts of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere contribute to the ‘Greenhouse Effect’, changing our ecosystem upon which life depends.
The London footprint study estimated that to attain a sustainable lifestyle by 2050, as an intermediate step, the average Londoner needed to reduce their consumption of energy, water, food and other materials by 35 per cent by 2020. This is an achievable goal, and there are many practical ways in which your project can help to meet this target.
For example, to manage your waste better, (planning) proposals can:
• reduce the amount of packaging or waste they produce;
• reuse materials where possible;
• recycle those materials that can no longer be used.
This should also result in cost savings, not only through the reduced amount of materials that you will need to purchase but savings associated with less storage or lower waste charges. Further benefits can also be produced by using energy from renewable sources, and utilising energy more efficiently.

Managing resources is not only about consumption and production, but also relates to protecting and improving London’s diverse green environment, plant and animal life, open spaces and buildings of historic or cultural significance.

As London continues to grow and develop, greater pressure will be exerted on its wildlife habitats and open spaces, an important factor in determining how Londoners feel about their local area, and vital for the maintenance of a good quality of life in the bustling capital. Historic and cultural buildings can create a ‘sense of community’ within an area, and improve people’s happiness with the area they live in.” www.lsx.org.uk/

Sustainable Olympic Venues
The design and construction of the Olympic Venues provides the opportunity to study many sustainability themes. This unit concentrates on just four of those themes which are appropriate for most Key Stage 2 pupils.
A summary of the sustainable policies and the reasons for those policies are listed in the following table.

Theme Sustainable policy Reasons
Transport and Air Quality To carry resources using energy efficient transport e.g. water and rail. Reduce pollution, improve air quality, minimise production costs.
Construction resources and Waste minimisation Using on site recycled materials where possible. Incorporating recycled materials or waste products into new construction materials.
The procurement and management of resources that generates minimal waste. As above, plus reducing the amount of waste going into landfill or incineration.
Water management Constructions are designed to:
• Be water efficient e.g. collecting, storing and cleaning rainwater for toilets;
• Reduce rapid run off. Reducing the demand for water, conserving natural water systems and their environments.

Reduce the risk of flooding.
Protecting and enhancing the environment. Designs incorporate quality green spaces. Promotes community health, social cohesion and biodiversity.

Transport and air quality
A great deal of quarried material will be brought in to construct elements of each Olympic Venue.
Products will include aggregates (including limestone and granite), asphalt, cement and ready mixed concrete. If this material were to be carried in average twenty tonne loads by road then there will be great potential for pollution and damage to air quality.
One alternative is to use train. For example, limestone aggregates can be brought to London from Torr in Somerset.

“Through the joint venture between Foster Yeoman and Hanson, Mendip Rail Ltd operates 8 General Motors Class 59 locomotives, over 400 items of rolling stock and transports over 5 million tonnes of limestone per annum from the Mendips. In addition, it also hauls aggregate from South Wales, Leicestershire, Isle of Grain in Kent and Essex. If it were not for the company's rail capability, these movements would require over a quarter of a million lorry trips per year.

Through dedicated train logistics Foster Yeoman has built up a highly sophisticated and far-reaching rail terminal network linking Torr Works to its key markets and major civil engineering schemes throughout the United Kingdom. Aggregate is loaded from storage bins at Torr Works into purpose-built rail wagons at a rate of 2,000 tonnes per hour. Once they reach the depot our hopper's under floor discharge facility enables quick and efficient unloading.”
www.foster-yeoman.co.uk

Another alternative is to use barges. For example, Bennetts Tugs Ltd. has barges that can carry up to 1700 tonnes of aggregate in a single load on navigable Thames waterways. www.bennetts-tugs.co.uk

Construction Resources and Waste minimisation
The government, as part of its commitment to European Union policies to reduce both waste and pollution, has responded by introducing taxes on:
a) The amount of waste going into landfill:
b) The tonnage of aggregates quarried.
The quarrying industry has also reacted by developing processes to:
• Recycle building and construction waste into aggregates. This waste will be either be recycled and used on the development site or will be recycled and incorporated with new virgin quarried material.
• Recycle waste from other sources into useful construction materials.
Both processes reduce the demand for virgin materials so the industry is conserving materials for future use.
Recycling building and construction waste into aggregates.

The redevelopment of the Lea Valley, Wembley Stadium etc. for the London Olympics gives an opportunity to recycle demolition waste from existing redundant features on site.
The construction waste will be screened to remove wood, plastic and metals which can be reused, recycled or, as a last resort, committed to landfill.

The remaining waste of brick, stone, concrete etc. is then crushed and sorted. It can be incorporated in blends with new virgin quarried materials and used in a variety of applications.
The larger sized particles can be used road and building foundations, under paths and track ways, in concrete etc.

The smaller particles can be blended into soils which are often used in reinstatement projects in urban or post industrial settings. These “Manufactured soils” conserve agricultural soils which may have previously been removed for these purposes. The soils have already been used in a future Olympic site (The Millennium Dome at Greenwich). www.hanson.co.uk
Soils containing recycled aggregates are likely to be used through out the Olympic Park particularly in the creation of green spaces.

Recycling waste from other sources into useful construction materials.
For many years lightweight concrete blocks have been available that contain waste from other industries e.g. the ash and clinker waste from coal fired power stations and iron and steel furnaces.
Other developing processes include:
• Using recycled glass in bricks, concrete, asphalt and insulation;
• Reusing asphalt road planings as either new asphalt or foundation material;
• Recycled plastics in pipes, decking, fencing, boardwalks, flooring and ducting etc.;
• Recycled paper in insulation;
• Recycled tyres in roofing tiles.
A good information source for escalating uses of materials previously destined for landfill or incineration is www.wrap.org.uk .

Water management
Even before the Olympics, London’s water supply and usage is finely balanced. To reduce the pressure on the system the companies that supply London are considering installing a desalination plant high up on the tidal reaches of the Thames and building a new storage reservoir in Oxfordshire. Both schemes would have an environmental impact. Desalination consumes large amounts of energy and new reservoirs can destroy farmland and other rural habitats.

To minimise the impact of the Olympics on London’s water supply the games organiser’s proposals include:
• Incorporating water recycling and rainwater harvesting into structures in the Olympic Park;
• New buildings will have dual water supplies i.e. “Mains” drinking water supply and on site rainwater collection for toilets;
• Recycled grey water from washing clothes, showers etc. will be used for irrigation and vehicle washing;
• Waters containing sewage material will be used to produce methane (Natural Gas) for energy use;
• Neglected waterways will be rejuvenated for amenity and wildlife use.

In addition hard surfaces (roads, pathways, etc.) will be designed to absorb rainwater and prevent rapid runoff and flooding. A useful brochure showing how these surfaces can be constructed using recycled materials is available on online. www.aggregain.org.uk

Protecting and enhancing green spaces
“The Olympic Park will lie at the heart of the Lower Lea Valley, just four miles from Tower Bridge.

Currently one of the capital's most underdeveloped areas, the Lea Valley is an area of outstanding potential which will be transformed by the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The Games legacy will transform this area into one of the largest urban parks created in Europe more than 150 years, stretching 20 miles from the Hertfordshire countryside to the tidal estuary of the River Thames.

A network of footpaths, cycleways and canal towpaths will link the communities on either side of the valley.
Riverside housing, shops, restaurants and cafes will provide new amenities for the local community.
New playing fields will sit alongside the world-class sport facilities that will be adapted for community use.
The natural river system of the valley will be restored, canals would be dredged and waterways widened. Birdwatchers and ecologists will be able to enjoy three hectares of new wetland habitat.
And the park will be planted with native species, including oak, ash, birch, hazel, holly, blackthorn and hawthorn, providing a home for wildlife in the middle of the city.
The rehabilitation of the Lower Lea Valley lies at the heart of the Olympic legacy to east London, restoring an eco-system and revitalising an entire community.” www.london2012.com/en/bid/greengames

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Teacher Introduction:
Local and UK theme
On 5th July 2005 London was designated the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games.
London was in competition with Paris, Madrid, New York and Moscow to host this prestigious event.
The city’s successful bid was partly built “on the ecological and sustainable ideals developed in Sydney and Athens.
London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games was a bid for the most sustainable Games ever.”
… “London proposes:
• a low carbon Games – to reduce the demand for energy and meet it from zero/low carbon and renewable sources; and to showcase how the Olympic Games are adapting to a world increasingly affected by climate change
• a low waste Games - to avoid landfill by reducing waste at source, then reusing, recycling and recovering all remaining waste
• a biodiverse Games - conserving natural habitats and wildlife, improving the quality of urban green space and bringing nature closer to people
• a showcase for sustainable transport –reducing the need for travel and providing sustainable alternatives to the private car
• a sustainable legacy from the Games – promoting health and wellbeing through an integrated package of sporting, environmental and cultural initiatives
The London 2012 vision for the Olympic Games 2012 embodies the concept of a "One Planet Olympics", which complements the Olympic ideal of “sport and the harmonious development of mankind” and the notion of fair play in sport.”
www.defra.gov.uk/

“To achieve this environmental excellence, the London bid proposes to:
• Regenerate east London communities and their environment;
• Embed sustainability in all planning and implementation;
• Demonstrate sustainable solutions for global problems.”
www.london2012.org

The Role of the Quarry Products Association
The sustainable development of all the Olympic sites will depend for a large part on members of the Quarry Product Association. They will provide construction materials such as sand, aggregate, and cement in ways that are compatible with the environmental objectives of the London bid.
For example:
• Local aggregates will be prepared and recycled from existing materials on site where possible;
• Many imported materials will be transported in the most efficient, low carbon method possible. E.g. water or rail.

The Geography of the 2012 London Olympics
“Seventeen of the 26 Olympic sports would be staged within 15 minutes of the Olympic Village, either in new facilities in the Olympic Park or other existing venues such as the Dome. …
The Park would be easily accessible to everyone. It would be just six miles (10km) from Trafalgar Square. The journey time from King’s Cross/St Pancras to the international travel hub at Stratford would be just seven minutes. And the proximity of central London would mean the city’s historic landmarks and existing world-class facilities would also play a full role in 2012. Our world-famous parks would showcase several Olympic events.
Historic locations such as Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square would provide wonderful backdrops to other sporting action. And the likes of Wimbledon, Wembley and Lord’s would complete London’s unique line-up.” www.london2012.ctad.net/downloads/London2012_webbrochure.pdf

The remaining sports locations will make parts of the games accessible to other parts of the country. E.g. there will be sailing in Weymouth and football from Cardiff to Newcastle etc.

The main centre for the games: the Olympic Park.
The construction of the Olympic Park presents particular learning opportunities for this unit.
“At its heart would be the new 500-acre Olympic Park, containing the main sporting facilities and set in 1,500 landscaped acres stretching from Hackney Marshes on down to the Thames. It would be one of the largest new urban parks seen in Europe for 200 years, built around a network of reinvigorated rivers and canals.
The centrepiece of Olympic Park would be the Olympic Stadium. Close by would be a world-class aquatic centre featuring a 50m pool, a velodrome and BMX track, a three-arena multi-sports complex, all-weather tennis courts and hockey pitches. The Olympic Village, located within walking distance, would have space to accommodate up to 17,800 athletes and officials, before being put to its designated post-Games use as housing.
Each of the Games venues has been conceived to meet long-term needs. And all will form part of a rejuvenation which would create thousands of new businesses, jobs and homes in the Lower Lea Valley, and throughout the entire East End of London and beyond.” www.london2012.ctad.net/downloads/London2012_webbrochure.pdf

Construction timetable
The successful Olympic bid incorporated a construction timetable. As far as this unit is concerned it means that different aspects of the project are likely to be in the news at different times and can be used by schools. A summary of the major construction projects is as follows:

2005 Burying power transmission lines that cross the Olympic Park site.
Remedial work on contaminated sites begins.
2006
Wembley Stadium completed.
Wimbledon improvement scheme begins.
Jubilee Tube Line improvement completed
2007 Channel Tunnel link completed.
Olympic Village and stadium construction begins.
Wimbledon improvement scheme completed.
2008 Aquatics Centre, BMX circuit and Velodrome completed in the Olympic Park. Broxbourne canoe slalom course completed.
Heathrow Terminal 5 completed.
2009/10 Construction of main facilities progresses.
East London Railway extension completed
2011 Olympic Stadium, Village Hockey Park and other permanent installations completed.
2012
Olympic bus lanes established. July 27 Games start. August 29 Paralympics begin.

Olympic Sports and their locations
There will be twenty six different sports events taking place during the 2012 Olympics. The sports, their location and basic information for this lesson are given below.
Sport Location Basic details
Aquatics A new pool in the Olympic Park. Space for 5000 spectators to watch swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo.
Some water polo matches will take place at the University of East London pool in the London Docklands.
Archery Lord’s Cricket Ground. Sport to be performed in front of 6500 spectators in Pavilion End at the home of world cricket.
Athletics In the new Olympic Stadium in the Olympic Park. Capacity for the games 80,000 reducing to 25,000 after the games. The stadium will become the new home of British Athletics replacing Crystal Palace.
Badminton Greenwich Arena. A new temporary 6000 seat construction, next to the Dome.
It will be dismantled and relocated after the games.
Basketball In temporary arenas in Olympic Park. Finals to be played in front of 16,500 in the Greenwich Dome.
Boxing ExCEl centre An existing Dockland Centre accommodating up to 10,000 spectators.
Canoeing Flat water at Eton Dorney.
Slalom at Broxbourne, Herts. Temporary facilities at both locations seating 30,000 and 10,000 respectively.
Cycling New purpose built Velodrome in the Olympic Park. Seating for 6000 this arena will be surrounded by a “Velopark.” This will be used for road track events, plus both competition and recreational BMX tracks.
Equestrianism Temporary venue in Greenwich Park. 23,000 spectators can be accommodated for this event. The park will return to its original leisure purpose after the event.
Fencing Temporary arena in the Olympic Park This arena will be removed after the event.
Football Final at Wembley. Other matches at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. Using the existing club facilities accommodation is:
Wembley 80,000; Cardiff 74,600; Newcastle 52,000; Birmingham (Aston Villa) 42,000; Manchester (Old Trafford) 75,000; Glasgow (Hampden Park) 55,000.
Gymnastics The Greenwich Dome. Seating for 16,500.
Handball Permanent arena in Olympic Park. Seating 10,000 this venue will be retained for indoor sports after the games.
Hockey Permanent hockey centre in Olympic Park. 5,000 seats which will be retained after the event to host club and international matches.
Judo ExCEl centre An existing Dockland Centre accommodating up to 10,000 spectators.
Modern Pentathlon Disciplines in Olympic Park and Greenwich Park Sharing the facilities for the Aquatic and Equestrian events.
Rowing Regatta at Eton Dorney.. The facilities will be complete for the 2006 World Championships
Sailing Competition at Weymouth. Using the existing National Sailing Centre which will be improved for the event.
Shooting Woolwich Barracks in London Temporary facility.
Table Tennis ExCEl centre An existing Dockland Centre accommodating up to 10,000 spectators.
Teakwondo ExCEl centre An existing Dockland Centre accommodating up to 10,000 spectators.
Tennis Wimbledon On the existing facility. Centre Court will have a sliding roof from 2009.
Triathlon Hyde Park, adjacent roads and the Serpentine Temporary stands to be erected for 10,000.
Volleyball Temporary arena in Olympic Park and Horse Guards Parade Both temporary arenas will seat 12,000
Weightlifting ExCEl centre An existing Dockland Centre accommodating up to 10,000 spectators.
Wrestling ExCEl centre An existing Dockland Centre accommodating up to 10,000 spectators.

Sustainable Olympics and transport
These activities introduce the term sustainable since this is an important objective of the 2012 Games.
For most of Key Stage 2 an appropriate explanation for the term is probably “looking after the environment for the future.” These activities teach sustainability in the context of transport.
The organisers of the London Olympics are trying to organise a games which uses “Sustainable transport–reducing the need for travel and providing sustainable alternatives to the private car.”
The preferred spectator transport in this context is bus, train, bicycle or walking.
At key Stage 2 level the sustainable feature of these modes of transport is that they cause less air pollution and traffic congestion than travel by car.

The potential for both pollution and congestion is enormous. The organisers are planning to have full stadiums at fair prices.
“There will be 8 million tickets on sale for the Olympics and 1.6 million for the Paralympics, a total of 9.6 million.” …”4.3 million will be priced at £20 or under, 6.2 million at £30 or less and 7.6 million at £50 or less. Several events such as the Marathon, road cycling and triathlon will also be free.” www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4662-1683992,00.html

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Background Information:
The International Connection

The construction and development of major traffic infrastructure in London gives older pupils an opportunity for pupils to start to make links with other parts of the world. As well as the competitors, surveys of previous Olympic Games have shown a vast increase in visitor numbers attracted by the event. For example, 1.6 additional visitors went to Australia for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Two major transport infrastructure developments, to cope with such an increase in visitors, have particular significance for the London Olympics.
1. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link
2. London Airport Heathrow Terminal 5

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link
“The Channel Tunnel Rail Link is being built by London & Continental Railways Limited. It will be Britain's first major new railway for over a century - a high-speed line running for 109km (68 miles) between St Pancras station in London and the Channel Tunnel. The project was authorised by Parliament with the passage of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act, 1996.
The new high speed line is being built in 2 Sections. Construction of Section 1 began in October 1998 and runs between the Channel Tunnel and Fawkham Junction in north Kent. The first Section opened in September 2003.
Work on Section 2 began in July 2001 and completes the new line into London's St Pancras.” www.ctrl.co.uk/introduction
Section 2 of the rail link passes the Olympic Park at Stratford. Passengers will be able to disembark from the train and gain immediate access to the games. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link website (www.ctrl.co.uk) has excellent maps and other educational resources.

Most of Section 1 of the rail link runs through attractive Kent countryside. Environmental considerations have been important in both design and construction. Examples include:
• Considering the route. Most lies alongside existing route ways (railway and motorway.) and has not separated homogeneous communities;
• Protecting landscape and ecology. E.g. replanting indigenous woodland and relocating ponds;
• Minimising construction waste by reuse and recycling. E.g. creating sound barriers and embankments with the waste;
• Controlling noise and dust pollution.

London Airport Heathrow Terminal 5
“Construction of the new terminal started in September 2002; phase one of the project is scheduled to be completed and opened by April 2008 with the second phase opening in 2011. Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in Europe and passenger numbers are expected to grow by 27 million per year as a result of phase one, and then by a further 3 million per year after phase two. The airport currently employs 68,000 personnel and expects to increase this by 16,500 as a result of the expansion.”…
“Terminal 5 will have its own modern rail station that will be located in the basement of Concourse A. The station will have six rail platforms: two for the London Underground Piccadilly Line extension; two for the Heathrow Express extension, and a third pair built for potential future rail expansion links to the west.
The T5 expansion will also require additional and improved road infrastructure including internal airside roads and also connecting roads from the current road transport network. A spur road from the M25 is to be constructed in the coming months and the road around the western perimeter of the Heathrow site realigned to provide improved access. In addition to a growth in the transport capacity servicing Heathrow Airport, BAA plans to develop a 4,000-space multi-storey car park”...
The number of people using cars, taxis, buses and coaches in and out of Heathrow will more than double once T5 is operational. This does not take into account extra lorries and other heavy goods vehicles travelling in and out to service the airport on roads that are already three times busier than the national average.
In 1991, approximately 13.8 million people travelled to Heathrow by car and 5.8 million by taxi. By the year 2016, when BAA expects T5 to be fully operational, the figures are estimated to increase to 28.1 million by car and 11.9 million by taxi. Another obvious problem associated with the increase in traffic in the area is a worsening of noise and air pollution.”

In the sustainability section of this unit the environmental problem of carbon emissions has not been mentioned. The unit has focused on less abstract environmental problems. However the development of Heathrow Airport does create an opportunity to discuss the linked problem of carbon emissions and climate change.
The London Olympic Committee understood the contradiction of promoting sustainable games whilst encouraging air travel.
“5 June 2005-- Part of its commitment to a ‘Low Carbon Games’, London 2012 today announced details of its innovative scheme to offset carbon emissions due to international air travel related to the Games.
Working in partnership with UK Government and existing networks in this field the London Organizing Committee would ensure there is no net increase in global emissions due to participants flying to the Games in 2012.
The air travel by national teams, technical officials and Olympic and Paralympic Family members coming to London, and travel by members of the organising committee during the seven year preparation phase of the Games, is estimated to account for some 30,000 – 35,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
These emissions will be offset by supporting renewable energy projects with strong sustainable development benefits in developing countries. This will be achieved through the purchase and retirement of emission reduction credits and by directly investing in new capacity, which will promote access to clean energy in Least Developed Countries.
This will be done by means of installing clean energy systems to replace the use of emission-intensive energy generation, or providing new capacity in remote areas: for example renewable energy for hospitals, schools, sports facilities, sanitation and water supply. Wherever possible, projects will be channelled through existing international programs and networks.”
Global Forum for Sports and the Environment, Press Release.

The actual design and construction of Terminal 5 includes many “sustainable” features.
These include:
• A rainwater capture system from the building and aircraft standing area. The water is cleaned and used in the airport toilet and heating systems;
• An expansion of railway infrastructure to facilitate connection with both London and the area to the west of the airport.

The Olympic Rings
“The Olympic Flag (five coloured interlocking rings on a white background) was conceived by Pierre de Coubertin. Almost a century after the flag's creation, the six colours, those of the rings (blue, yellow, black, green and red) and that of the background (white), still maintain their symbolism today.
The Olympic symbol, the five interlocking rings, represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the world at the Olympic Games.” http.worldatlas.com
The colours do not represent particular continents.

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Lesson 1: Valuable materials from out of the ground.

Prior Knowledge / Work:
As in the QCA unit. It would help if the children have completed Science Units 1C “Sorting and using materials” and 2D “Grouping and changing materials.”
Learning Objectives:

• To review children’s knowledge of materials, used in their environment. I.e. which are naturally occurring and which have been processed?
• To identify, observe and compare some rocks and common building materials.
• To know that most of these materials are obtained from “out of the ground.”
• To know that these materials are used for a variety of purposes.

Subject Links:

• Geography, QCA Unit 6 “Investigating our local area.” (POS 3d,3e.)
• English, Speaking and listening. (POS 1a, 2e, 3a, 3c.)

Resources:

• A collection of examples of locally used building materials obtained from a builder’s merchant. These should include: Some naturally occurring quarried materials such as slate, limestone, sand and gravel; some “processed” quarried products such as brick, concrete blocks, roof tiles, etc; building plastics (guttering, drainage pipe etc.).
• Cardboard identification tabs and felt tip pen.

Background Information:
There are many schools in situations where it is very difficult to easily see materials that young children would define as “rock.” Examples include urban areas and parts of the UK where the underlying geology is clay or sand.
To make the topic of Rocks and soils relevant to these children, this initial lesson includes processed quarried materials in the form of bricks, concrete blocks, roof tiles, etc. which are easily visible in most parts of the UK. The lesson also shows how important quarried materials are in our lives.

Rocks used as basic building materials
Originally, locally occurring rocks that naturally or easily broke into mainly cuboid shaped blocks were used for constructing buildings. Examples include limestone, sandstone, slate and granite. They were all fit for their purpose i.e. they could be easily arranged in the construction and would not crumble or squash.
Limestone, granite, slate and other “naturally occurring materials.”
Today each of these rocks is quarried at particular locations throughout the UK. Each rock is processed in some way before use. For example, limestone is often crushed and different sized particles are used in varying products such as cement or chippings. Granite and slate are often cut or trimmed into rectangular solid shapes prior to use.
Bricks are mainly made from clay. The clay is mixed with water, moulded, dried and then fired in a kiln. The colour of the brick depends on the mineral content of the original clay and the way that it is fired.
Clay is a sedimentary rock, made up of tiny mineral particles that were originally part of another quite different rock. The original rock may have been changed by the Earth’s heat and movement, by chemical action and erosion. The particles were probably deposited in ancient seas and lakes that occupy the space where the UK is today.
Cement is made from either limestone or chalk. Both are rocks that were originally formed from material derived from coral or shell organisms that accumulated as sediment in ancient seas. To manufacture cement, the rock is quarried, crushed, mixed with small amounts of other minerals (clay or shale) and then heated to about 1450º Celsius. The material is cooled, powdered, sometimes mixed with other additives and then packed in waterproof bags. Builders mix the cement powder with sand and water and use it as an adhesive, called mortar to hold bricks and other building materials together.
Concrete is widely used in the building industry. It has been described as “the most versatile building material in the world. It can made into blocks or can be taken to site in a liquid form and set into any moulded shape as a solid. It gets stronger with time as crystals grow and interlock.”
Concrete is a mixture of sand, cement, and gravel, crushed rock or recycled building waste to which water is added.
Concrete blocks are made from this mixture plus a combination of other materials which affect the final properties of the product. These other materials can include recycled cinders, ash and slag from other industrial processes e.g. coal fired power stations, iron and steel smelting. To manufacture the blocks the concrete is poured into a mould. The blocks are usually larger than bricks and the building process can consequently often be completed more quickly. The properties of the blocks can include strength, relatively light weight and good heat insulation.
Glass is an obvious material in many buildings. The main ingredient in glass is sand. If heated to 1700º Celsius the silica in sand would fuse to produce a glassy substance. However, by adding “soda ash” (Sodium Carbonate) to the sand, the fusion process takes place at much lower temperatures. Soda ash is made from a chemical process involving both limestone and salt.
Sand and gravel are also sedimentary rocks. These materials are often quarried in the same location then sieved to separate them. Their origins are similar to those of clay. However the particle size of sand and gravel is larger than that of clay.
There are large reserves of clay, limestone, chalk and sand and gravel in the UK. These materials are quarried in many locations.

Building plastics. Although children will have already used vast amounts of plastic in their lives, most will be unaware of where it comes from.
Plastic is mainly derived from crude oil which is pumped from beneath the ground. Apart from pictures of a sticky black treacly substance polluting beaches most children (and adults) will have no real experience of crude oil.
Most scientists accept that crude oil is a finite fossil fuel that was formed in warm seas millions of years ago. Plants and small creatures, called plankton, thrived in the sea. When they died their remains sank to the ocean floor where they were covered by silt and sand. Over millions of years the pressure from accumulations of further silt and sand, plus heat from the earth's core, has changed the remains of these organisms into crude oil.
Crude oil is obtained by drilling oil wells and pumping the substance to the surface. Then, by heating, different useful substances are separated from it. Young children will recognise several of these other products, i.e. petrol, diesel, and ‘natural gas’. They may be surprised that most plastics, some fabrics, chemicals, paints and polishes are derived from crude oil too. Sand and limestone are both often added to plastics as “fillers.”

Activity:
Tell the children that they are going to play a game to help them learn more about some important materials that we use everyday in our lives.
Show, identify and label each of the examples of building materials.
Then, together sort the materials into those which are “natural” (limestone, slate, sand, gravel.) and those which have been “manufactured.” Explain that all these materials came “out of the ground” and in simple terms what happened subsequently to each quarried material.
Now play a game with the children. Describe one of the labelled materials selecting an observable characteristic (colour, texture, shape) and a possible purpose. Reinforce the terms “natural” and “manufactured” in the questions.
E.g. Which building material am I describing? This is red and manufactured for building walls? Answer: brick.
Which natural smooth material is used on roofs? Answer: slate.

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Activities for the Sustainable Development theme

Prior Knowledge / Work:
Children should have completed at least the first two activities from the first activity group. This will ensure they understand the kind of sport played at each Olympic venue and where that venue is located.
Learning Objectives:

• To use secondary sources to understand the origin of some of the construction materials used in the London Olympic venues.
• To know how the construction materials are obtained in a more sustainable fashion.
• To recognise a sustainable feature or element in an Olympic venue’s design and construction and identify opportunities for their own involvement.
• To know some of the ways the London Olympics is being managed sustainably.
• To use ICT and information from other media in Geographical Investigations.

Subject Links:

• Science: activity 6 and 7.
• Literacy- 6,7,8,9 and 10.
• PSHE - 6,7,8,9 and 10.

Resources:

• Information copied from the media on one of the Olympic Games venues being developed. This information can be from newspaper and magazine cuttings, internet articles and recordings from radio and television.
• Large wall mounted map of the British Isles.
• Large wall mounted map of London.
• The Virtual Quarry downloaded from this website.

Background
See Sustainable Development theme in teacher introduction

Activity 6: A story; From Rock to Gold Medal!
Tell the children that they are going to find out how lumps of quarried material can help someone win a gold medal.
Show the children some information copied from the media on one developing Olympic Games venue. Identify on a U.K. or London map the location of the venue.
Discuss:
• Why the venue is being built?
• Which games will be played at the venue;
• Which raw aggregate materials are being used in the construction?
• Any of the four sustainability themes (see above) that is apparent in the construction.

Show the children the Virtual Quarry. Together identify the quarry sequence and list the main elements (in italics below) on a flipchart or whiteboard. The sequence is:
1. Drilling. Holes are drilled in area of rock face. The holes are filled with explosives.
2. Explosion. Following a sequence of warning sirens the explosive is detonated.
3. Excavation. When a siren indicates that the detonation is safely complete a huge mechanical excavator lifts the pieces of broken rock into a dumper truck.
4. Transportation. The huge dumper truck carries a massive weight of rock and tips it into the crushing machinery.
5. Demolition materials enter the quarry. The materials are screened and sorted and bricks, stone, concrete, cement and glass are separated and crushed;
6. Sieving. The crushed materials are sieved into different sizes and taken to a store.
7. Transportation. The quarry products are transported away from the quarry by rail.
Now together complete the sequence on the flipchart or whiteboard using the media information. E.g. The Olympic Venue is constructed, games are played in it and victors are awarded their medals.
Now ask the children to complete a written account explaining how lumps of quarried rock eventually helped victors win their Olympic Medal.

Activity 7: A cartoon sequence: From Rock to Gold Medal!
Using the same lesson format as in activity 6 above, but, perhaps, with a different Olympic location discuss the purpose, sustainable methods and construction materials used.
Use the Virtual Quarry to identify and record on a flipchart or whiteboard the main elements of the quarry sequence.
Complete the sequence to include construction, competition and the victor’s ceremony.
Divide the class into groups.
Ask each member of the group to devise an annotated cartoon to explain one element of the sequence.
Display the cartoons in sequence order.

Activity 8: The Olympic Venues: They can improve the quality of our lives.
Show the children some information copied from the media on one developing Olympic Games venue. Identify on a U.K. or London map the location of the venue.
Discuss:
• The sustainability features incorporated in its design and construction;
• The reasons for these features i.e. they reduce air pollution, water consumption or waste or, improve the green environment.
Identify practical ways the children could improve their immediate environment to achieve the same effect.
Let the children use desktop publishing, ICT or artwork to create posters which advertise both a sustainability feature of an Olympic venue and how a similar result could be recreated at school.

Activity 9: Devising an environmental impact assessment.
Remind children of the range of sports that make up the Olympic Games.
Together select one of the sports. Identify on a U.K. or London map the location of the venue for this sport.
Explain that many new venues are being constructed for the games.
Discuss and list:
• The things needed for people to play and watch this sport at the Olympic Games. E.g. an Olympic Standard competition area, training facilities, comfortable viewing area for spectators, easy access for competitors and spectators, some parking for vehicles, etc.
• Who or what might be affected by the Olympic development? E.g. neighbours, people who regularly travel through the area, existing wildlife;
• The environmental problems they might want to avoid before, during and after the Olympic Games. E.g. air pollution, traffic congestion, litter and waste, noise for neighbours etc.
• The environmental opportunities the new building might create. E.g. improved facilities for transport, recreation and play, more open spaces and wildlife.

As a class, group or individual select one of these sports. Ask pupils to devise a list of questions that they would ask to find out how an Olympic venue will be made friendly to:
• Competitors;
• Neighbours;
• Spectators;
• The environment

Activity 10: Using ICT and research to complete an environmental assessment.
Using information copied from the media on one or more developing Olympic Games venues (e.g. newspaper and magazine cuttings, internet articles and recordings from radio and television.) try and find answers to the questions posed in the environmental assessment in Activity 9 above.
You could display questions and answers alongside pictures and press cuttings of the developing venue.

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3. The International Connection
Prior Knowledge / Work:
These are activities for older key stage 2 children. It extends the breadth of study it focuses on the new infrastructure being constructed to enable people from different parts of the world to visit the Olympics. It would be helpful if children were familiar with atlases and understood how to use the index.

Learning Objectives:

• To use atlases.
• To know how and why some places have changed.
• To recognise how people can improve and damage the environment.
• To recognise how and why people seek to manage an environment sustainably

Subject Links:

• Literacy- activity 12 and 13.

Resources:

• A copy of the Olympic Flag
• World Map or Globe
• Atlases for each pair of children
• List of flight arrivals at Heathrow airport on the date and time of the lesson downloaded from www.baa.com (Select all Heathrow, all terminals and arrivals. Copy and paste the relevant arrivals into a new Word document.)
• Maps of the route of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, photographs of construction and Eurostar trains downloaded from www.ctrl.co.uk

Background Information:
See Teacher Introduction International Connection theme

Activity 11: How will spectators from abroad get to the London Olympics? Five Continents.
Show the children a copy of the Olympic Flag.
Discuss and explain using the World Map or Globe as a visual aid where necessary:
• That the land on the world’s surface is divided into five continents (Europe, Asia, Africa North and South America) plus Antarctica;
• That the rings on the Olympic Flag represent the five continents;
• That the rings on the Olympic Flag do not represent particular continents;
• That the rings overlap or interlock to show that the athletes of the world are coming together;
• Olympic athletes and spectators will travel to London from all parts of the world;
• Many of these people will travel by plane. Many will fly in to London Heathrow Airport.

Tell the children that they are going to play a game.
Give out Atlases and a copy of the flight arrivals at London Heathrow Airport during the time of the lesson to each pair of children.
Tell each pair to:
• Draw their own copy of the Olympic Flag;
• Select a ring for each continent;
• Use the atlas and its index to find the location of each city or town that planes arriving in London have flown from;
• To identify which continent the town or city was located;
• To write the name of that city or town in the appropriate ring.

In the plenary show the children the correct answers.
Discuss or explain, in appropriate terms;
• That London is expanding its airport facilities by constructing Terminal 5 at Heathrow;
• Some of the environmental problems of air travel;
• How the London Olympics plans to offset these effects.

Activity 12: Arriving by train. Looking after passengers, neighbours and the environment.
Remind pupils of the previous activity. I.e. Many people will travel to the London Olympics by Plane.
Show children a map of the location of the Channel Tunnel Rail link, plus photos of Eurostar trains and the tunnel.
Explain:
• The organisers are encouraging people to travel to the London Olympics by train;
• Trains cause less air pollution than planes;
• The people will travel under the English Channel via a tunnel in a high speed train;
• That a new high speed railway track is being built in time for the games;
• The railway will pass close to the Olympic Park at Stratford:
• People will be able to get off the train at Stratford and watch or take part in the Olympics.

Show the children pictures of the construction of the rail link.
Ask the pupils to work in small groups and think about the design, construction and operation of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Ask the children to discuss and list:
• Those who will benefit;
• Those who will suffer;
• What will need to be done to protect the environment?

In the plenary session discuss and list each group’s answers.
Explain some of the actions taken in the design and construction to minimise the damage to neighbouring communities and the environment.

Activity 13: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Debating the issue
Remind children of the previous activity.
Show them the lists of those who benefit and suffer from the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and what needs to be done to protect the environment.
Let individual children or groups take on the role of one of those affected by the design, construction and operation of the railway.
Encourage them to use ICT and other media information to develop and express their point of view.
Role play a debate on the whether the Rail Link should have been built.
Use the children’s written contributions and downloaded maps of the scheme to present a display on the project.

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Worksheet 1

1. Use the large map of the British Isles.
Use the map scale and some string.
Calculate the approximate distance between your school and these places where some Olympic Events will take place.
Olympic Location Sport Distance from my school
London Most sports
Eton Rowing and canoeing
Broxbourne Canoeing
Weymouth Sailing
Cardiff Football
Newcastle Football
Birmingham Football
Manchester Football

2. The Olympic Games organisers want spectators to use public transport rather than cars to travel to the different sport’s locations. What do you think are their reasons?

3. Suppose you are living close to a Sport’s location when the 2012 Games Take place.
List the ways you think the organisers would prefer you to travel to watch a sport.

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Worksheet 2
Why we need to walk, cycle or travel to the Olympics by Public Transport.
The organisers of the London Olympics 2012 want to encourage spectators to fill every stadium for every event.
1. Look at the table.
It shows the Olympic Venues and the seating capacity.
Calculate how many car journeys and car parking spaces would be needed if each stadium was full and everyone travelled by car.
Stadium Seating Capacity Average of 4 persons per car Average of 3 persons per car Average of 2 persons per car Average of 1.6 persons per car
Aquatics Pool Olympic Park
5000
Olympic Stadium Olympic Park 80000
Greenwich Dome
16500
Velodrome
Olympic Park
6000
Cardiff Millennium Stadium 74600

2. List the problems that would be caused if lots of spectators went to each stadium by car.

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Visual Aid 1
Olympic Sports

Aquatics Hockey
Archery Judo
Athletics Modern Pentathlon
Badminton Rowing
Basketball Sailing
Boxing Shooting
Canoeing Table Tennis
Cycling Taekwondo
Equestrianism Tennis
Fencing Triathlon
Football Volleyball
Gymnastics Weightlifting
Handball Wrestling

Visual Aid 2
Olympic Sports Descriptions
Races and competitions in water.
Hitting targets with arrows fired from bows.
Running, jumping and throwing events.
A game with a shuttlecock, racquet and net.
A team game like netball.
People wearing gloves try to hit each other.
Events where people paddle small boats.
Bicycle races.
Competitions that take place on horses.
Competition with swords.
Teams try to kick a ball into another team’s goal.
Balance, strength and agility events.
A game like squash played with gloves and a ball.
Teams try to hit a ball into another team’s goal.
Tripping and throwing an opponent onto a mat.
Five events involving running, swimming and riding.
Races in boats powered by oars.
Races in boats powered by sails.
Competition with rifles, pistols and shotguns.
A game with bats, ball, net and table.
A martial art involving spinning and kicking.
A game using a court, racquets, ball and net.
Running, swimming and cycling a race.
Team game on a court, using hands, ball and net.
Competitors try to lift the heaviest weights.
Throwing and holding an opponent on the ground

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Quarry Geography Unit 20 - Local Traffic – an environmental issue

What's going to happen here?

This is a focused local investigation to identify and predict what might happen to a redundant structure. This unit closely follows and meets all the objectives of the QCA Geography unit 20 Local Traffic – an environmental issue.

In this adapted unit children identify both the location of the redundant structure and who will be affected by the change in land use caused by redevelopment.

They look at a range of potential land uses and take part in a decision making process to decide the most appropriate future use.

By considering the implications of demolishing the structure, this unit teaches children the important environmental issue about why we should reduce the amount of waste going into landfill sites. They learn some of the impacts of committing waste materials to landfill and ways it is possible to reuse and recycle valuable redundant resources.

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Unit 20 – Local Traffic – an environmental issue
Geography Year 5
What’s going to happen there?

Overview Teacher Introduction:
This is a focused investigation for children who have developed field work skills to determine what could, or is going to, happen to a redundant structure in the local community. The structure could be an old factory, derelict housing, disused railway bridge, underused church, vandalised tennis courts, disused farm buildings etc.
This unit closely follows the objectives of the QCA Geography unit 20 Local Traffic – an environmental issue. Five full lesson plans are supplied. The important sixth concluding lesson is described in the QCA unit and follows, seamlessly, from the fifth lesson in this unit.

This adapted unit encourages children to:
• Identify the location of the redundant structure;
• Identify the specific features and people who will be affected by a change in land use;
• Look at a range of land uses and suggest a variety of uses for either the structure or the land on which it stands;
• Go through a decision making process to decide the most appropriate redevelopment.

In addition, this unit raises the important environmental issue about how we reduce the amount of waste going into landfill sites. In it children:
• Understand the environmental impacts of committing waste materials to landfill;
• Know that it is possible to reuse and recycle redundant resources.

What is the quarry industry doing about reusing and recycling redundant resources?

The Government’s Environment Agency estimate that in 2004 24% of the 434 million tons of waste produced annually is derived from the construction and demolition industry.
The government, as part of its commitment to European Union policies to reduce both waste and pollution, has responded by introducing taxes on:
a) The amount of waste going into landfill:
b) The tonnage of aggregates quarried.

Both the quarrying and the construction and demolition industry have reacted by developing new processes to recycle building and construction waste into aggregates.
By reducing the demand for new aggregates, the industry is becoming more sustainable i.e. not using assets up today that our children may need tomorrow.
The industries are working hard to support the Government’s drive to bring more recycled aggregates into play and, by 2005, were well on the way to beating the target set for 2011. Significantly, Britain has moved ahead of previous leaders Netherlands in the European aggregate recycling league.
As well as preventing building and construction waste going into landfill the Quarry Products Industry recycles other industrial by products that could enter the waste stream. Examples include:
• Ash from coal fired power stations is used in some cement and concrete products i.e. concrete blocks.
• Slag from iron and steel production is used in aggregates.

Why do we need to reduce the amount of waste going into Landfill Sites
As a nation the UK has historically been profligate and wasteful with natural resources. For example, in 2002 years more than 80% of household waste was dumped in landfill sites. This compared badly with some of our European neighbours. E.g. Sweden 23%, Denmark 13% and Switzerland 7% (Source: Green Alliance.)
Recently there has been some progress. In 2004 the figure had reduced to 78% (Source: Environment Agency) but there is still scope for considerable improvement.
One explanation for our “throw away culture” is as follows:
The UK has a very diverse geology in a relatively small area. As a nation it has been possible to mine and quarry a wide range of useful minerals. Wherever these minerals have been mined a hole in the ground has been left after the minerals have been extracted. Filling these holes with our waste has been a convenient and relatively easy option in order to reinstate the landscape.
However there are several problems with this strategy.
Two of these problems, land fill sites are running out, and, valuable materials are wasted, are easily understood by most Year 5 pupils. Teachers working in “eco centres” have also found that some children of this age can cope with a more complex environmental problem. I.e. that the way landfill sites are designed, to reduce air and water pollution, can accidentally create methane gas, which may contribute to climate change.

Land fill sites are running out!
It has been calculated that each UK citizen produces more than half a tonne of household waste per year. www.acrr.org/resourcities/waste_resources
Although this weight of waste has not changed much from the 1930’s, when most waste was ash from open fires, the volume of waste has more than doubled and is increasing. The large amount of waste that our society produces has filled many of the existing landfill sites. For example, Manchester and the North West of England have less than five years supply of landfill available. www.biffa.co.uk
In other areas, our throw away culture has filled many of the local holes in the ground and waste has had to travel many miles in order to be dumped. As an illustration, Bristol sends its city waste by a nightly train to be discarded in former brick making clay quarries in Bedfordshire. www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/environment/wasteandrecycling

Some valuable products are wasted.
Many of the materials that are discarded into landfill site are valuable and were obtained at considerable environmental cost. Metals are one example.
Metals are mined from mineral ores. Some of these ores are common and are distributed widely around the planet. (E.g. iron.) Others, such as gold and silver, are much rarer. Some people predict that the known reserves of some of these ores (e.g. Zinc, lead, copper.) may be exhausted within the children’s lifetime. Other people are less cautious and believe that there are sufficient reserves to last for the foreseeable future. Which ever is true, all of the common mineral ores will be mined at an environmental cost. Some new reserves that are found are likely to be in less accessible places than current reserves. Places such as Antarctica and the ocean floors may need to be exploited. There is the potential for severe environmental damage.
The current metal mining process already impinges on valuable environments. For example, iron ore is mined in Brazil. There railways and roads, to carry the ore, have cut swathes through vast areas of rain forest. In other areas the legacy of mineral mining is water pollution. In parts of Northern Spain, arsenic, left in bygone mineral workings, has been washed out of them by rainwater. There is severe long term damage to the surrounding environment.
In addition, huge amounts of fossil fuel energy are used to convert mineral ores to a useful end product. The carbon dioxide pollution from production, distribution and manufacture is probably contributing to climate change.
In most cases recycling metals rather than dumping them in landfill makes good economic and environmental sense. Producing aluminium, for example, from the raw mineral bauxite, consumes up to 20 times more energy than recycling existing products (e.g. drinks cans).

Landfill sites have to be designed to cope with polluting materials. This can create another environmental problem.
Some of the objects that we use in our daily lives are potentially toxic. Batteries for example may contain mercury or cadmium. When these batteries are thrown away into holes in the ground the poisonous metals they contain have the potential to leach into the surrounding geological formations and pollute underground water supplies.
Other discarded items can contain hazardous wastes that can pollute the air around the land fill site. For example products containing asbestos fibres are particularly dangerous and are known to cause cancer in those unfortunate enough to be exposed to them.
There are now strict environmental controls on the use of areas as land fill sites. They have to be lined with a waterproof material to prevent hazardous waste leaching out of the site. Clay is commonly used for this purpose.
Layers of waste are compacted and covered with soil and inert quarry waste to prevent air borne pollution and discourage vermin.
Most of the waste that originates from minerals does not change significantly once it’s dumped in the landfill site. In the USA black plastic garbage bags full of waste, dumped decades ago have been unearthed. Much of the waste was in “pristine state” and has hardly deteriorated. The evidence is that long after we’ve lived our lives and we have decomposed, our waste will remain. The crisp packet and the super market shopping bag, derived from oil, and discarded so frivolously are more enduring than we are!
However, in contrast, the organic waste that is derived from products made from animals, trees and other plants does decompose in landfill sites. This decomposition of this organic material produces a potentially more serious problem.

Methane!
In order to get as much waste as possible into the land fill sites the rubbish is compacted. There is no point in burying air! In addition, the impermeable barrier around the site prevents liquids from draining out. Land fill sites are in fact poorly managed compost heaps! They are a damp, compact, airless mass. If oxygen is not freely available in the decomposition process of organic materials then the biodegrading organisms produce methane gas.
In some landfill sites the methane produced is collected and burned. It is either “flared off” and its heating potential is wasted, or it is used as a fuel to heat buildings, water etc.
In other landfill sites the gas escapes into the atmosphere.
Burning methane gas from land fill sites to generate electricity adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and may contribute to Climate Change. However, if methane gas is not burned it probably causes a bigger problem. Methane is believed to be a much more potent Greenhouse Gas than carbon dioxide. If greater proportions of this gas are added to the Earth’s atmosphere then Global Warming is likely to accelerate.

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What’s going to happen there?
Unit 20 Local traffic – an environmental issue Geography Year 5

ABOUT THE UNIT
This is a ‘long’ unit. It deals with changing the land use of a local derelict or redundant structure and the impact it will have on local people and the environment. The unit has been designed so it can be adapted easily for any local issue. The issue could be concerned with traffic improvement schemes, eg speed ramps, one-way streets, cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings, routes for handicapped people or a quite different issue, eg a proposal for quarrying, the effect of a hypermarket on existing shops, building a BMX track. The key questions for any issue are likely to be:
• What is the issue? – identify it clearly from maps, photographs, local knowledge
• Where is the issue? – how far does it extend?
• Why is it an issue? – which groups are in favour of this scheme and which against?
• What are the views of the different groups involved?
• What do the class think about the issue?
• How might the issue develop in the future?
The unit offers links with speaking and listening, citizenship and environmental education.

PLACES SKILLS THEMES
• School locality
• Widening range of scales
• Effect of features on activities
• Changes • Observe and question
• Collect and record evidence
• Use maps and plans
• Use secondary sources • Settlement: land use, land use issue
• Environment: impact, sustainability

VOCABULARY RESOURCES
In this unit, children are likely to use:
• useful, helpful, valuable, new, modern, brand new, original, smart, neat, tidy, clean, spotless, unpolluted, fresh, dirt-free, redundant, derelict, dilapidated, ruined, neglected, abandoned, deserted, disused, surplus, unneeded, unnecessary, demolition, landfill site, land use, agriculture, forestry, recreation, leisure, transport, residential, community, retail, industry, redevelopment
They may also use:
• words associated with the issue • a range of local maps and plans
• contemporary and historical photographs (ground and aerial)
• local newspaper reports
• planning proposals
• local people and professionals, eg residents, planners, local politicians

PRIOR LEARNING
It is helpful if the children have:
• studied aspects of their own and other localities, as in Units 6 and 13, for example
• developed map, photograph and fieldwork skills
• been introduced to some patterns and processes relating to the physical and human landscape

EXPECTATIONS
at the end of this unit
most children will: begin to account for their own views about the environment, recognising that other people may have reasons for thinking differently; identifying how people affect the environment and recognise ways people try to manage it for the better
some children will not have
made so much progress and will: undertake simple tasks relating to maps, diagrams and secondary sources; state a range of views held by people about the issue
some children will have
progressed further and will also: recognise and describe how people can improve or damage the environment; come to a reasoned, personal view about what should happen; begin to understand the democratic process used to make local decisions

FUTURE LEARNING
Children may build on this unit by undertaking a larger-scale issue-based enquiry in year 6. They may also reflect on the progress of redevelopment in their area from time to time in the following year.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES POSSIBLE TEACHING ACTIVITIES LEARNING OUTCOMES POINTS TO NOTE
CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN
Numbers in brackets indicate the lesson in which this objective is covered. CHILDREN
Lesson 1: Where is the structure? Lesson 2: Who is affected and what do they think?

• about the issues involved in a change in the local environment (2)
• to locate features on a map (1)
• to relate maps to photographs (1)
• to carry out an interview (2) • Lesson 1 Provide opportunities for the children to identify the location and purpose of a redundant or derelict structure through looking at maps, newspapers and photographs, and (Lesson 2) carrying out local surveys and interviews with key people. If possible, take the children to visit the site of the redundant or derelict structure. • understand the nature of the issue Speaking and listening: prepare children for interviewing by encouraging them to discuss the nature of the task and the amount of formality required. Ask them to consider the effect this has on the language they will use.

Lesson 1 and 2

• to use maps at a variety of scales (1)
• to identify key physical and human features (2)
• how features influence the location of human activities (2) • Ask the children to locate the area of the structure using Ordnance Survey maps and relate the development to the neighbours, main roads, local villages and towns and local land forms, eg hills, valleys. • understand how human and physical features in the area affect structure

Lesson 3: What happens if we knock it down?
Lesson 4: Can’t we reuse it?

• about proposed changes in the locality(4)
• about a particular issue arising from the way land is used(4)
• To know some of the environmental problems associated with disposing waste in landfill. (3)
• To know that waste building and construction materials can be reused or recycled.(3)
• Discuss with the children how the issue is expressed, eg complaints to newspapers, local protests, meetings, accidents statistics, people’s own experience.
• To use and understand a “flow diagram” and know that it is a useful way of explaining a process • summarise and categorise the range of views involved

LEARNING OBJECTIVES POSSIBLE TEACHING ACTIVITIES LEARNING OUTCOMES POINTS TO NOTE
CHILDREN SHOULD LEARN CHILDREN
How did the issue arise? (Covered in lesson 1)

• to use secondary evidence to compare before and after (1) • Ask the children to investigate how the structure was used and what the area was like before redundancy began. They could use maps, photographs, old newspapers, documents and oral history in their research. • identify environmental changes arising from the redundancy of the structure

What are the groups involved in the issue and what are their views? Lesson 5: What do other people think?

• how people affect their environment (4 and 5)
• that different people hold different views about an issue(5) • With the children’s help, devise and carry out a questionnaire survey of the main groups involved. • know the views of different people about the issue
• know who are likely to gain and lose from the issue Environmental education: this work links to conflict resolution.

lesson to this unit
• how and why people seek to manage and sustain their environment
• This is the important concluding lesson for the adapted unit. Lesson plans are not provided as adequate information is supplied here. • Divide the children into small groups and ask each group to analyse the data collected in the questionnaire survey. Ask them to use the results of their analysis to suggest ways the issue might be resolved. They could use ICT to present their suggestions.
• Conduct a role play of a public meeting, concluding by asking groups to decide what they think should happen next. • play a role in a simulation of a public meeting
• suggest ways in which the issue might be resolved
• express and justify their own views on the issue Citizenship: through these activities, children will begin to understand how decisions are made at the local scale.


SAFETY – All off-site visits must be carried out in accordance with LEA and school guidelines.

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Lesson 1:.Where is the structure?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
The knowledge that children need to have acquired is identical to the QCA unit. I.e. it is helpful if the children have:
• Studied aspects of their own and other localities;
• Developed map, photograph and fieldwork skills;
• Been introduced to some patterns and processes relating to the physical and human landscape.
In addition it would be helpful if children knew how to use a thesaurus.

Learning Objectives:

• To identify and locate the position of a redundant structure on local maps and plans.
• To understand in basic terms the original purpose of the structure and why it was built.
• To imagine and explore feelings and ideas,

Subject Links:

• English; writing (POS 9a)
• History (POS2a)

Resources:
• Local maps or plans.
• Photographs of the structure in its existing state.
• If possible photographs of the structure when it was being used for its intended purpose
• If possible old maps, plans, newspapers etc. that show the structure and its surrounds when it was in use.
• Copies of a thesaurus.
• A flipchart or white board.

Background Information:
This lesson will depend on the teacher finding adequate information about the original purpose and some of the reasons for the demise of a particular local structure. Local people, newspapers, libraries, historical and special interest societies are the obvious sources for this information.
Activity:
Tell the children that they are going to take part in a project where they can design and perhaps help create a better environment.
Show the children pictures of the redundant structure.
Together identify the site of the structure on local maps or plans.

Discuss the original purpose of the structure listing key words on a flipchart or white board.
Show the children any evidence of the structure’s original state and purpose by using old maps, plans, newspapers etc.

Together add words to the list on a flipchart or white board that might have been used to describe the building or structure when it was first built. These may include: useful, helpful, valuable, new, modern, brand new, original, smart, neat, tidy, clean, spotless, unpolluted, fresh, dirt-free.

Now, together create a list of words that describe the state of the structure now.
You could suggest a few words to help the children with this activity. Words might include: redundant, derelict, dilapidated, ruined, neglected, abandoned, deserted, disused, surplus, unneeded, unnecessary, tatty, scruffy, shabby, decrepit, worn out, weather beaten, dirty, filthy, grimy, mucky, polluted, stained and soiled.
(Whilst creating the word bank you might give children the chance to expand the vocabulary list by asking them to look for similar words to a particular suggestion in a thesaurus.)

Now ask the children to think about one of the following. Either the:
• People who designed or built the structure;
• People who used the structure;
• Or, if the children are capable of this empathy, the structure itself.

Using the word list as a visual aid, ask the children to think and write two paragraphs about what they might have felt about the structure:
1. When it was built and first used;
2. Now, when it is derelict or redundant.

In a plenary session, read some of the children’s descriptions to the class.

Mount and display some of the children’s work alongside pictures and maps of the structure ready for the next lesson.

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Lesson 2: Who is affected and what do they think?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
It would be useful if the children had experience of the process of preparing and conducting interviews with people.
Learning Objectives:

• To identify key human and physical features on a map and possibly in the field.
• To identify those who have an interest in the existing structure.
• To understand how those features impact on the derelict or redundant structure.
• To carry out an interview.
Subject Links:

• English: speaking and listening. (POS 2b, 2a, 3a, 3d)
• Citizenship: seeing things from another point of view

Resources:

• Local maps and plans.
• Some photographs of the redundant structure and children’s writing from lesson 1.
• Local person or people who are neighbours or are particularly affected by the structure.
• Perhaps a tape recorder or similar and/ or clipboards.

Background Information:
The teacher will need to identify people who are particularly affected by the redundant structure and who are willing to answer children’s questions. These people could include the owners, the owner’s agents, neighbours, former workers or users, local historians or politicians. Make arrangements so that some or one of these people can meet and discuss the structure with the children either in school or as part of an out of school visit.

Activity:
Remind children of the derelict or redundant structure in lesson 1 using maps, photographs and the children’s work. Tell them that they are going to try and find out who is particularly affected by the structure.
Show the children the local maps. Together identify:
• The structure;
• Local relevant human and physical features;
• The people who might have an interest in changing and improving the space occupied by the structure.

Tell the children who you have arranged to meet the children to discuss the structure.

With the children, discuss and list the questions the children could ask the above person/people.
Ensure that they ask questions that:
• Increase knowledge about the use and demise of the structure;
• Suggest alternative uses for the structure or the site in the future.

Either take the children to the site of the structure or, if not possible, stay in school. Interview the above person/people.

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Lesson 3: What’s going to happen to it? “Knock it down!”

Prior Knowledge / Work:
It would be useful if the children had a basic understanding of:
Some of the recycling processes of materials they use (E.g. paper or glass.);
The way some items are commonly reused. (E.g. clothes in a clothes banks)
Learning Objectives:

• To know some of the environmental problems associated with disposing waste in landfill.
• To know that waste building and construction materials can be reused or recycled.
• To use and understand a “flow diagram” and know that it is a useful way of explaining a process.

Subject Links:

• Mathematics: Processing, representing and interpreting data. (POS Ma4 2a,2c)
• Education for sustainable development.

Resources:

• ICT, the Virtual Quarry and the four visual aids supplied for this lesson downloaded from this website. A picture of the redundant structure needs to be pasted onto each visual aid.
• An enlarged paper copy of Visual Aid 4.
• A copy of Worksheet 1 for each child.

Background Information:
This lesson uses a progressively developing “flow diagram” to explain what happens to materials removed from a demolished structure.
The flow diagram
The flow diagram uses:
• Rectangular “text boxes” to explain the processes in each stage of the operation;
• Rhombus shapes to indicate where decisions in the process are taken.
Reuse or recycle
Some children interchange the terms reuse and recycle.
Reuse is used to describe particular objects that are used again, without substantial change, for either an identical, similar or different purpose to that which was intended. Examples:
• Glass milk bottles are reused many times for their intended purpose;
• Wooden pallets can be reused for transporting “palleted” items or reused as the sides of a compost heap.
Recycle is used to describe materials that are processed back into an original state for processing into new, maybe different objects.
An example would be a used children’s school exercise book. This could be recycled and then used to make a newspaper.

Recycling the construction and building waste.
There are many ways of recycling building and construction waste. A comprehensive collection of case studies can be viewed on www.aggregain.org.uk/demolition/demolition_new_build_best_practice/index.html
Many of the different ways to recycle and reuse building and construction waste is a significant part of the companion Geography unit The Sustainable Olympics on this website.
One method of recycling this discarded material begins by screening the construction waste in a working quarry. The waste passes on a conveyor in front of a team of workers who manually remove wood, plastic and metals to be reused, recycled or, as a last resort, committed to landfill.
The remaining waste of brick, stone, concrete etc. is then crushed and sorted in the same way as primary (new) quarried materials. It can be incorporated in blends with new materials.
The larger sized particles are now extensively used in asphalt, road and building foundations, concrete etc.
Children will be interested to hear that the smaller particles can be blended into soils which are often used in reinstatement projects in urban or post industrial settings. These “Manufactured soils” conserve agricultural soils which may have previously been removed for these purposes. The soils have been used in such high profile places as the Millennium Dome in London and the Eden Project in Cornwall. The latter, built in a former china clay quarry, imported soil made from different blends of recycled building and construction waste, clay, sand, bark chippings and organic matter. www.hanson.co.uk/Products-Services/Aggregates/Recycled

This recycling process described above is also carried out in locations other than quarries. Mobile recycling facilities are often taken to demolition sites. It makes better environmental and economic sense to recycle building and construction waste into aggregates and use it again on site.

Some children will have seen mobile recycling facilities operating on local roads. When the road surface is re-laid the existing surface is planed off and removed. The road becomes a temporary horizontal quarry as the “planings” are recoated with bitumen and incorporated into the new road surface.

Reusing Building and Construction waste
Only about 6% of the annual building and construction waste is reused whereas nearly 50% is recycled. In the hierarchy of waste minimisation strategies reuse is usually preferable to recycling because there is often less energy expended in producing a useful end product.
Reusing building and construction waste has been hampered by two linked problems.
1. Most buildings are not designed to include end of life dismantling. Although it may be relatively easy to dismantle and reuse timber, plastic and some kinds of boarding, other materials such as plaster and tiles are much more difficult to remove and reuse. Materials, such as plaster, can actually contaminate the brick or block surface to which they adhere and make even recycling difficult.
2. Demolition contractors assert that it can take between two and ten times as long to deconstruct a structure rather than demolish it. In addition, there may not be a market for some of the items that have taken time to remove. So, as long as labour costs remain higher than landfill disposal charges demolition will be the preferred option. www.greenspec.co.uk
However developments to alleviate some of these problems are taking place. For example,
Laser technology has been developed to more speedily separate bricks from cement mortar. In addition, both the costs of landfill and energy are likely to increase, making the reuse of building and construction materials more economically viable. www.umist.ac.uk/news/articles

Activity:
Tell the children that they are going to think about some of the things that could happen to the redundant structure.
Show the children Visual Aid 1.
Explain that:
• Decisions will need to be taken about what to do with the structure;
• It can be useful to show these decisions on a diagram as shown in the visual aid;
• In this diagram decisions will be shown in rhombus shapes;
• The first decision will be whether the structure is knocked down or reused.
Tell the children that this lesson will just look at what might happen if the building is knocked down. They will think about ways to reuse the structure or the space in another lesson.

Show the children Visual Aid 2.
Explain/discuss that:
• If the structure is knocked down a decision will need to be taken about what to do with the materials that are left after demolition;
• If the materials are to be “thrown away” they will probably go to a landfill site.
Discuss the reasons why:
• Landfill has been the preferred destination for so much of our waste;
• There is a need to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.
Elicit the information that many landfill sites are disused quarries and that much of the waste from the demolished structure would be returning back to the ground from which it was quarried.

Show the children Visual Aid 3.
Explain/discuss that:
• If demolition materials are not thrown away in landfill there is another decision to be taken;
• Some parts of the structure( Bricks, wood, stone etc.) can be cleaned up and reused;
• Some materials that are not reused can be recycled. A small amount has to go into landfill;
• There are environmental benefits and implications for employment if objects are reused or materials recycled.
To reinforce the difference between the terms reuse and recycle discuss in terms of children’s daily experience:
• Other objects that are reused (Clothes, milk bottles, etc.) or could be reused if people chose to do so (Plastic shopping bags, school worksheets etc.).
• Materials that are recycled (Glass, aluminium, steel, some plastics. etc.).

Show the children the enlarged paper copy of Visual Aid 4.
Explain/discuss that if demolition materials are to be recycled they can be:
• Processed on site by mobile recycling machinery;
• Taken to a place such as a quarry where recycling machinery has been installed.

Show the children the Virtual Quarry. The complete sequence will reinforce the information that many construction materials are originally obtained from quarries.
Focus on the sequence in the Virtual Quarry that shows:
• Demolition materials entering the quarry;
• Mixed materials being screened and sorted to eliminate materials to be recycled elsewhere or discarded into landfill;
• Bricks, stone, concrete and glass being separated and crushed;
• The crushed material being sieved and sorted by size;
• The recycled material being sold or incorporated with virgin (new) rock material for use in new products.

Now use Visual Aid 4 to revise this sequence.
Explain how the recycled materials are used in soil, concrete, fill, foundations, etc.

Give each child a copy of worksheet 1.
Show them how they can use the Visual Aid to help them answer each of the three questions.
Discuss a full and comprehensive solution to the first question as an example.
Let the children complete the worksheet.

In the plenary session role play the parts of the landfill site owner and the two buyers. Ask the children the questions on the worksheet.
Get different children to read their answers, helping children to verbally clarify any written answers that don’t seem clear.

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Lesson 4: How can we reuse it?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
This follows the previous lesson and uses the same flow diagram methodology to begin the lesson.
Learning Objectives:

• To understand the range of possible land uses for the redundant structure or the land on which it stands.
• To understand that different people have both different preferences and points of view.

Subject Links:

• Mathematics: Processing, representing and interpreting data. (POS Ma4 2a,2c)
• PSHE and Citizenship. Discuss and debating issues, looking at alternatives and making choices.
• English: Listening plus group interaction and discussion.

Resources:

• ICT and Lesson 4 Visual Aid downloaded from this website.
• A copy of worksheet 2 for each group of children.
• A flipchart or whiteboard.

Background Information:
This lesson guides children into selecting possible uses for either the redundant structure or the land on which it stands.
The National Land Use Data Base (www.nlud.org.uk ) encourages organisations that are discussing the way in which land is used to employ a consistent vocabulary. The range of terms used in this lesson has been taken from that data base but has been reduced and simplified to make it easier for Year 5 children to handle.
Recreation and Leisure
This includes: outdoor amenity spaces (parks), monuments, amusement and show places, libraries, museums and galleries, sports grounds (ball game pitches, athletic tracks, target sports, vehicle race tracks, animal competing places, swimming and bathing, water sports), allotments.
Residential Use
This includes: homes, hotels, community homes and non medical community homes.
Community Services
This includes: medical and health services, churches, mosques, synagogues, school, colleges and other education establishments, community centres, village and community halls, police and fire stations and public conveniences.
Retail and Industry
This includes: shops, supermarkets, banks and building societies, restaurants and cafes, public houses and night clubs, factories, offices and warehouses.
Agriculture and Forestry
This includes: farms, glasshouses, nurseries, market gardens, managed and unmanaged woodland.
Transport and other useful things
This includes: roads, tracks, bus and train stations, car parks, lorry parks, power stations, water supply and treatment, waste disposal and recycling sites, postal sorting offices, telecommunication centres (TV, radio, and phone), cemeteries and crematory.

Activity:
Show the children Lesson 4 Visual Aid.
Discuss/ explain the outcomes of the decision Shall we knock it down?
If the answer is:
• yes then the land on which the structure stands can be reused;
• no then the structure itself can be reused.

Now direct the children’s attention to the list of categories of land use on the visual aid.
Explain that each of these terms gives a clue to the way the redundant structure or the land on which it stands could be reused.
Then, discussing each category in turn, elicit:
• The meaning of the term;
• Some of the range of land uses that could be included in each category.
List each category and the children’s suggestions on a flipchart or whiteboard.

Let the children work small groups. Give each group a copy of worksheet 2.
Tell the children to:
• Look at the list of land use categories and the range of possible uses on the flipchart or whiteboard;
• Brainstorm, and list the ways to reuse the land or the structure. Encourage the children to extend the list onto the back of the worksheet.
• Finally to choose from their list what they think is the best way to a) reuse the land or b) reuse the structure. Ask them to explain the reasons for their choice on the worksheet.

In the plenary list each group’s “best” proposals on the flipchart or whiteboard and discuss the reasons for their choice.

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Lesson 5: What do other people think?

Prior Knowledge / Work:
This is the final lesson in the series.
Learning Objectives:

• To take part in a democratic process.
• To identify people who are likely to gain and lose from a potential redevelopment.
• To develop a questionnaire to find out other people opinions about a possible redevelopment.

Subject Links:

• PSHE and Citizenship. Discuss and debating issues, looking at alternatives and making choices.
• English: Listening plus group interaction and discussion.

Resources:

• Flipchart or whiteboard of the children’s best proposals for the reuse of the redundant structure or the land on which it stands. (Lesson 4)

Background Information:
This lesson and the subsequent lesson alluded to in the activity below, closely follows the methodology in the original QCA unit.
Prior to the lesson you will need to:
• Identify and prepare cogent and sensitive explanations for any of the children’s proposals which seem unrealistic or impracticable;
• Identify those who might be interested in the children’s ideas for proposed redevelopment of a redundant structure (E.g. residents, planners, local politicians.);
• Plan how a children’s questionnaire on the subject could be disseminated. E.g. it could be distributed on a school website, promoted to parents at a Parents Meeting, through the PTA or maybe through a local newspaper etc.

Activity:
Show the children the flipchart or whiteboard of the children’s best proposals for the reuse of the redundant structure or the land on which it stands. (Lesson 4)
Introduce and explain the term redevelopment.
If there is a large list of proposals, in a sensitive and democratic way, discuss whether:
• It would be sensible to reduce the range of suggestions of proposed redevelopment;
• Any suggestions for proposed redevelopment on reflection seem unrealistic or impracticable and can be eliminated from the list.

With the remaining list of suggestions:
• Review the reasons in favour of the proposed redevelopment;
• Identify those groups of people who are likely to gain and likely to lose from each proposal.

Discuss how the children can find out other people’s feelings about any proposed redevelopment.
With the children’s help, devise a questionnaire survey of the main groups involved.
Discuss how the survey is to be carried out.

In a subsequent lesson:
• Divide the children into small groups and ask each group to analyse the data collected in the questionnaire survey. Ask them to use the results of their analysis to suggest ways the issue might be resolved. They could use ICT to present their suggestions.
• Conduct a role play of a public meeting, concluding by asking groups to decide what they think should happen next.

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Worksheet 1
Use the information on “What happens if we knock it down?”
Write how you would answer these questions.

1. You are driving a lorry for a demolition company to a landfill site.
The Landfill site owner asks “What’s in your lorry and why are you bringing it here?”

2. You are selling recycled bricks.
A buyer asks “How did you get your bricks and where did they come from?”

2. You are selling soil that includes recycled materials.
A buyer asks “Where does that soil come from?”

Worksheet 2
How can we reuse it?
If we knock this down we can reuse the land.
If we leave it standing we will have to find another way to use it.
1. Brainstorm!
List down all the ways you could either reuse the land or the structure.

2. From your list choose the best way to a) Reuse the land b) Reuse the structure.
Explain why you think these are the best ideas.
The best way to The reasons are
a) Reuse the land is

b) Reuse the structure is

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