All days are bespoke for each school which will build on previous learning and skills.

Humanities days can take place in a range of locations around Gower.

An example of activities available are outlined below.

Themed field days:

Themes: Our World, Sustainability, weather and seasons, coastal landscapes and processes, Navigation, pirates.

Location: Beach, sand dunes.

Outline of themes:

Exploring our coastline and seeing how waste and climate change is affecting the coastal environment.

Activities:

• Scavenger hunt to look for man-made and natural materials on the strand line.

Depending on the age group the materials will be sorted using criteria to support sorting, maths such as Venn diagrams and Carroll diagrams, dichotomous keys.

Cross curricular links: Use the materials to generate stories, create art, design and make structures, investigate sustainability.

Exploring the local landscape: field sketching, undertaking enquiry and data collection, creating models of landforms, map skills, weather and microclimate study, habitats including plant and animal investigations,

Themes: Our world, water, rivers, adaptation, navigation.

Location: River

Outline of themes:

Walking the length of a river from source to mouth investigating river features, processes and undertaking enquiry and practical data collection.

Activities:

• Measure characteristics of the river, data collection.

Depending on the age group the data can be linked to pupil generated enquiry questions and methods designed by the pupils.

Exploring the river environment: River dipping for animals, data collecting, identification, adaptation, measuring physical attributes of the river environment, e.g temperature, current, clarity, chemical composition, energy. Field sketching, map skills.

Cross curricular links: Poetry and art inspired by the river environment, data analysis, adaptation of animals,  sustainability,

Activities:

• Navigation.

Learn how to use compasses and read maps to follow a trail.

I will demonstrate how the new Welsh Curriculum’s Four purposes and AOLEs can be achieved through the use of outdoor learning and using the outdoor environment. But how do you translate that into classroom learning? I can provide INSET training to help integrate the outdoors into your school’s curriculum through meaningful experiences.

Individual investigation planning and data collection opportunities in a range of environs on Gower. Students will spend a day being introduced to the location and taught a range of data collection skills and techniques sited to the location.

The day is based in your school grounds and involves taking a walk around the school grounds to identify possible places where scientific enquiries can take place.

This activity covers all the aspects required in the teaching or hydrology at GCSE level. From source to mouth the river is visited along its course so that variations in width, depth, speed and bed load can be observed. The river is also prone to flash flooding and so has a number of flood defensive techniques along its course.

A detailed investigation into how a rural village has changed over the last 100 years. Students will investigate changes in building materials, design of houses, location of houses, services and residents occupations. The day will also build on map reading skills, using keys and using baseline maps to look at changes over time.

Gower is a perfect location to undertake the practical aspects of fieldwork enquiry of any Geography syllabus.

Fieldwork methodology:
Use of Transects. – 2020

Geographical flows – 2021

Changes over time – 2022

Use of Transects. – 2023

Qualitative – 2024

Conceptual frameworks.
Sphere of Influence – 2020

Mitigating Risk – 2021

Sustainability – 2022

Inequality – 2023

Cycles and Flows – 2024

Undertaking field trips to Nature Reserves, the park, beach or local woods are essential when undertaking outdoor learning in schools. To ensure the field trip is effective and to maximise learning a certain degree of planning and skill is involved.

The Curriculum for Wales has a great emphasis on outdoor learning and using the outdoor environment, but how do you translate that into classroom learning? Nature days can provide INSET training to help integrate the outdoors into your school’s offer.

The Countryside Council for Wales is funding 10 visits to Oxwich National Nature Reserve to undertake field trips.

Nature Days has produced a teacher’s pack for Oxwich NNR and each field trip will be supported with pre and post visit work to be undertaken within the school.

Field trips available include;
Scientific enquiry,
Habitats,
Adaptation,
Food webs,
Geographical techniques – compass work, map work, grid references,
Art,
Sustainability – erosion, human impact, management and conservation.

Each trip will include a copy of the teacher’s pack and all necessary resources including identification guides and worksheets.