Discovery

EXPLORE THE ENVIRONMENT, by Jean Bennett; Heinemann, 1995; 80 pps; $19.95

This book is packed with simple, interesting educational activities for studying environmental issues. Although aimed more at primary schools, the activities could easily be modified to suit secondary.

A nice feature is that the activities focus on the school environment rather than having to take students out somewhere. The individual and group activities are straightforward, requiring little in the way of sophisticated equipment or planning. Much of the learning takes place through investigation, encouraging student decision-making. Through these activities students should gain an appreciation of the difficulties involved in dealing with environmental issues and the hard decisions society has to make to protect our environment.

The activities are written in a clear, concise manner, are easily read and make good use of graphics. I was encouraged to read the pages due to the layout and simplicity of design. A useful feature is the links that various activities have with other curricula such as mathematics, art, social studies and language, allowing an integrated approach to student learning. An appendix provides information and addresses for obtaining extra environment education resource material in both Australia and New Zealand.

Greg Walker, NZSM