INTRODUCING THE PROJECT: ALEX AND JOHN VISIT SIR JOHN BARROW

When we made the first of our  school visits to Sir John Barrow  we were a little nervous..would the boys and girls like our idea? Would they find it interesting and make something of their own from it?
We were hoping that each school would bring something different to the project, and that after an introduction from Alex and me, they would "take over" and surprise us with their ideas and knowledge of the town. We began by looking at the maps and aerial photos supplied by Alex, and then the group closed their eyes and traced the walk from school to Tesco in Ulverston town centre, passing over zebra crossings, shops, lampposts, cars, trees,houses and gardens...

We looked at the way these object and places are described using symbols and shapes on Ordnance Survey ( OS) Maps. Using strips of fabric, we marked out the main roads through Ulverston on our 4"X4" baseboard,and added the landmarks we had passed during our imaginary walk using appropriately coloured or textured pieces of fabric, paper and other materials. For instance, the pale blue plastic strip in the upper right hand area of picture below represents Ulverston canal..the piece of rolled fabric at top left is Hoad Hill and the Sir John Barrow Monument...and the Zebra Crossing  over the A590 speaks for itself.

So....we were very pleased by the way the session went. It was great to see so much enthusiasm, and to see everyone thinking and making suggestions .We left with lots of ideas, and  are looking forward to seeing the boys and girls again at the Coro.