This week, year 3 pupils visited the River Thames to carry out fieldwork linked to their geography ‘Rivers’ unit. They were able to get a close-up look at the foreshore of the river, where they scavenged for historical artefacts such as bones, shells and pottery. They discussed what the artefacts tell us about the people that lived near the River Thames in the past. They also gained a greater understanding of the cleanliness of the river by testing out the pH levels of water samples taken from the river. They learned that the Thames today is actually much cleaner than it was two hundred years ago when sewage and industrial waste was routinely dumped in it. Finally, they took part in a classroom-based workshop where they sequenced images of the river Thames from three thousand years ago to the present, identified and sorted historical artefacts and reinforced their prior knowledge of the different parts of rivers. An engaging and experience-filled day was had by all and pupils will no doubt be applying their new-found knowledge when writing their enquiry essays later on this term.
