FSC Projects

Border Crossings

About the Project | Teaching resources

About the Project

Opportunities for cross-curricular work in schools abound and yet, for a number of reasons, teachers have primarily focused on teaching within their own subject curriculum. However, recent changes to the Key Stage 3 curriculum, particularly in Science and Mathematics, have created new opportunities to explore the potential for cross-curricular work.

Border Crossings is designed to explore some of these new opportunities for science and mathematics teachers to cross their traditional subject borders. It builds on the success of earlier projects Let's Think Through Science (aimed at teachers of science at KS2), London Outdoor Science, Thinking Beyond the Urban Classroom and Trailblazers (a well-established and highly successful outdoor learning programme involving schools throughout Hampshire).

Border Crossings is funded by the AstraZeneca Science Teaching Trust.

The outcomes of Border Crossings will be:

1. A pack of 8 innovative teaching resources incorporating best practice in terms of assessment for learning and cognitive acceleration which can be used by both mathematics and science teachers in ways which promote cross-curricular work.
2. 100-125 student teachers of mathematics and science trained in using the new activities.
3. 20-40 trained teachers of mathematics and science in London and Hampshire.
4. A set of training materials, based on the project’s outcomes, that can be used by teachers new to the project as well as by those already trained.
5. An evaluation report identifying the effectiveness of the resources as perceived by experienced teachers student teachers.
6. Research papers and other material that can act to disseminate the project’s methods and findings (e.g. workshops at the ASE Annual Meeting and Science Learning Centres).

Teaching resources

Short skill activities

1. Framing and describing the outdoors

Teacher Guidance (35 kb)

2. Looking and observing

Teacher Guidance (29 kb)

Full lesson plans

1. Back to the sun

In this activity, students will think about the impact of sunlight, or energy from the sun, on their environment. In their groups, they will look for evidence of the sun’s impact (e.g. a puddle that has evaporated) in and around the school’s grounds.

Teacher Guidance (40 kb)

2. The egg box

This activity focuses on developing group work and working in the outdoors with pupils for the first time. Pupils will be asked to find one object that they consider is a good example for each of six categories.

Teacher Guidance (56 kb)

3. Forces all around us

In this activity, students will show and develop their understanding of balanced and unbalanced forces by looking for, and recording, examples of forces in action within their school playground.

Teacher Guidance (54 kb)

4. Materials in our school

In this activity, students will gather data about the materials that are used for buildings and structures in and around their school. The process encourages them to notice the material, its condition, the properties of that material and what function(s) that material has. Back in the classroom, the students will then compare their findings with secondary data generated from a different area entirely.

Teacher Guidance (56 kb)

5. Our school: the urban jungle

This activity will encourage students to consider local habitats and evidence necessary to support their claims.

Teacher Guidance (59 kb)

6. Seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses

In this activity, students will identify what colours they see as they walk along a route in and outside the school. In pairs, at particular points, they will compare what colours they see with and without filter glasses. This will feed into a discussion to consider what they think the glasses do. This activity will help students to reveal what they understand about how we see colour and how coloured filters work in this process.

Teacher Guidance (41 kb)

7. Turning over a new leaf

In this activity, the students identify variation within a sample of leaves from one particular holly or ivy bush (i.e. leaf colour, surface area, number of prickles, density of parasites). Their challenge is to think about why this variation may occur and what kinds of external factors (variables) might be influencing this difference (e.g. pH, aspect, sunlight).

Teacher Guidance (45 kb)

8. Air pollution

In this activity, students will consider methods to measure air pollution. They will investigate the range of air pollution levels within their school grounds. They will decide on the best place to locate an open-air café, within the grounds, using data collected to support their decision.

Teacher Guidance (60 kb)

For more information about Border Crossings, contact Project Officer Melissa Glackin.