Beavers in London: Thinking Classroom version

Short description

Our capital has been rewilded - with beavers. Eologists hope they will help reduce flood risks. But not everyone supports their arrival.

In this activity, students use evidence collected from a previous beaver rewilding project to persuade people they will have a positive effect on the environment. Students can peer or self-assess their work using the rubric.

The new version integrates practices from Peter Liljedahl's Thinking Classroom, with a 3-part structure to support student thinking in collaborative groups:

• CARE: Students are introduced to the issue and posed a question
• KNOW: Students review the prior knowledge they will need to complete the task
• DO: Students work in groups to analyse data that they can use as evidence

Curriculum link 

• Interdependence (Blueprint year 7)
• Weigh evidence to support a claim

Running Notes

Slide 2: Display the news story and click on the link to show the video clip. Show them a comment from someone against the rewilding of beavers and the question the students will be answering – ‘will beavers have a positive impact on the environment in London or not?’
Slide 3: Set the tasks. Clicking on the slide images will allow you to zoom in. Give pairs/small groups a copy of SS1. Some groups may also have SS2. The evidence on this sheet is more challenging to interpret. Ask students to look through the evidence and decide if it supports beaver rewilding in London, or not. Go through the evidence with the class.
Ask students to use this evidence to write an argument persuading people that rewilding beavers in London is a good idea. They should present their answers as claim, evidence, reasoning.

Weblinks

CONNECT

This activity is adapted from the Connect project, funded by the European Commission.  

This is a short version of a longer activity called Rewilding, which offers more scientific knowledge and skills learning opportunities, activities to carry out at home with family members and scientist interaction. 

Download other Connect activities here: https://shop.masteryscience.com/collections/connect