Today in HUMAN we were introduced to Case Study 3 as part of our expedition ‘Stand Up!’

First of all, we had to speculate what we thought CS3 might be about, basing our ideas on our guiding question and the key themes of our expedition so far.

Following an insightful discussion, we found out that we would be learning about modern day slavery in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  We then had to think of a title for this case study.  We chose Harvey’s idea: ‘The Past is the Present!’

Can you work out why we all agreed on this title?

We then set to, taking part in a silent conversation where we made notices, wonders and questions about different images linked to global development.

What notices do you make?

What is making you wonder?

What questions are you thinking of?

So, here we are getting started…

Later on…

We then zoomed in and found out about how development is measured and how useful the different measures can be.

Did you know that the Death Rate is not a very useful measure of development because developed countries tend to have older populations and death rates will be high, whereas, less developed countries may have a lower death rate because there are more young people?

In contrast, the Birth Rate is a more useful measure because, as a country develops, women are likely to become educated and want a career.  They marry later and have fewer children.

Super geographical work, Explorer!

In our HUMAN sessions, 7Explorer have been experiencing what it was like being part of the triangular trade system which became established during the time of the Transatlantic slave trade.

First of all the traders set sail from Europe…

First stop, Africa! Here, the European traders exchanged weapons, cigars, cigarettes, iron, steel and clothing for ivory, gold, wood, spices and slaves.

From Africa, the traders continued their voyage until they reached The Americas. Here, the American traders wanted hard-working, obedient and cheap slaves! Lots of slaves!

The European traders exchanged the slaves for goods such as raw cotton and silk, tobacco plants, indigo, rum and whale oil. They then set sail back to Europe.

The traders arrived back in Europe with the goods they wanted, having made lots of money along the way!

This week has seen 7Explorer begin Case Study 2 which is entitled ‘Say It Ain’t So!’
As part of our introduction, we have been learning about the continents, oceans and countries of the world.
We then zoomed in on the country of Africa in order to set the context for this case study.

We spent time getting to know the four key biomes of Africa. To do this, each of us had to become an expert about one particular biome and make notes about its key features.

We then had to share our expert knowledge and teach others about our biome.

It was wonderful to hear the quality of discussion and teaching that was taking place between students.

At the end of the session, students had to ‘Press Save…’ and note down two features that they had learnt about each biome.