Dear Tekaribwa
Many thanks for your responses. I just want to check/comment on a few things with you before I finalise the version for Kiribati.
1. For Q3: 'Another teacher's experience' Do you mean you would like us to include a brief summary of the story of Charles Darwin's visit to the Galapagos as part of the case study?
2. For Q4: Please can you check that the following transcript is now better for Kiribati? I have assumed that plants growing is also associated with the wet season, but I wasn't sure about whether to keep the part about newborn animals so I have removed that for now - I can put back in if you prefer.
Transcript
Teacher: Right, can you all sit down now? Can I have you all looking this way? Can you remember that last month we did some work on the topic “Aumeang”? Please put your pens down. Today we are going to extend that topic. I want you to listen to some music. You need to concentrate very hard, so it would be a good idea to close your eyes while the music is playing. I want you to think about the ideas and images that the music brings into your minds. Images, remember, are like pictures in your head. But before we listen to the music, can we predict what some music about Aumeang would be like? Think hard. Aumeang, what do you think?
Kaaboka: Happy.
T: Right, happy music. Can we think of other words?
Kaaboka: Fast.
T: Interesting – happy and fast. Why did you put these two words together?
Kaaboka: I was thinking of playing in the rain.
T: Right, having fun playing in the rain. When we think of Aumeang as a season, what comes first into your minds?
Kokoria: Rain.
Raatene: Plants growing.
T: Plants growing, good.
Bineta: Drinking.
T: Drinking, tell me a little more.
Bwaaraka: People catching rain from their catchment for drinking.
T: Yes, wonderful. Right, now I’m going to play the music. Listen carefully. Remember, it might be a good idea to close your eyes. At the beginning of the music, I want you to think of the beginning of Aumeang. While the music is playing, I want you to think about all the ideas, images, pictures that the music brings into your mind. I’m going to give each pair a large piece of paper. When the music stops, I want you to write down what came into your mind when you heard the music. Can you think about all the images of Aumeang that this music conjures up? Right, now I’m starting the music. If you want to close your eyes, close them now…
3. Also for Q4: For Transcript 2, towards the end of this question, you have highlighted 'stables and barns'. Is it OK to keep this or would you like to change it? The transcript currently reads:
Transcript 2
T: Yes, if we think about stables and barns, these are places that animals sometimes shelter in. Why do you think they do not always live outside?
S: Because there might be a strong wind and heavy rain.
T: Good, when is there most likely to be a strong wind and heavy rain?
S: During Aumeang.
T: Is it only during Aumeang?
S: No, strong winds can happen anytime.
T: Are there other times when animals might need shelter?
S: At night.
T: Good, why at night?
4. Q6: In answer to Anouk Bevernage's question: the text referred to is quoted material from the 'Big Ideas in Science' quoted on the previous page. The 5. refers to the fact that this is the 5th Big Idea in the list (see the preceding sentence). Regarding the capitalisation, we have to keep the original punctuation because this is from an existing source. All quoted material should be indented and with a line underneath stating the source and number of words quoted etc.
5. Q8: Regarding the mapping exercise in 'Another teacher's experience', which is not appropriate for Kiribati. This is an ideal example of what the versioning process is for - rewriting or adapting the text for local context. In this particular case, the case study needs to show the teacher using the local environment and the students' own experiences to build their understanding from familiar to more abstract ideas, but it does not need to relate to mapping or Geography, it could relate to any subject. It would be great if you would like to rewrite this case study using any Kiribati context that you feel would be appropriate and which shows the same basic ideas (using interactive methods, using the local environment in some way to build from familiar ideas to more complex or abstract ones). However, in this case, a separate 'Another teacher's experience' follows, so you may feel that using the local environment as a resource is adequately covered, in which case I could just delete the problematic case study about mapping. Let me know what you think.
All best wishes
Rachel