The subject of our project is connected with minerals and rocks and it will enable the participants to learn the concepts regarding the structure of the Earth. It will also show them how important stone was in the history of mankind and make them realize how important it is to protect inanimate nature.During the execution of the project, the children will seek treasures or the philosopher’s stone. To make the search effective, the students will have to understand what the stones “tell” them and be able to “read” the messages included in the rocks. To achieve this, they will learn to recognize several minerals and rocks most common in the local environment. Under the guidance of their teachers they will search for information about the Stone Age (Paleolithic and Neolithic Age). They will take part in trips to nature reserves or National Parks, make lists of natural monuments, making use of the clumpy character of soil they will build a prototype of a wastewater treatment plant, create a rock garden, learn about the uses of certain minerals and rocks (salt, coal, metal ores, construction stone, etc.), get to know the jobs connected with stone processing. They will make artefacts using clay and salt dough as well as plaster. Cooperating with the students of the partnering schools our children will learn to perceive the beauty and diversity of the regions where the schools participating in the project are situated.The students will create collections of minerals and rocks in their schools. In order to enrich their collections they will exchange samples of rocks with their colleagues from the partnering schools. Participation in the project may give rise to an interesting hobby.The students will also collect samples of literature connected with the subject of the project, prepare their reports in the form of texts, photos, drawings and films, and then they will display them on their web pages. Later, comparing the works of other schools they will get to know the regions of their partners, learn about their culture and discover similarities and differences. We do hope that the young participants of the project will understand that they have found a treasure, namely, the knowledge about our planet and new friends made during the work on the project. The project will be of an interdisciplinary character, since the works executed by our students will regard natural science, geography, history, fine arts and history of art, artisanship, architecture, literature (stone in stories, legends and proverbs) as well as foreign languages.The results of the students’ work will be published on the project website, on the websites of particular schools, exhibited in the Regional Library and in the local government offices, they will be described in the mass media, and the information about them will be sent to the education officials, the school management and the schools of the Civic Education Association in Poland. Representatives of the local media will be invited to the exhibitions concluding particular stages of the project. At the end of the project an exhibition will be organized by representatives of all partnering schools, and an album documenting the students’ work will be published. It will be distributed in the partnering schools and their regions. Highly precise and demanding work of the teachers will require searching for and implementation of educational strategies aimed at achieving of the highest efficiency of teaching and learning so that our students could achieve the greatest heights. The project will increase the students’ motivation to foreign language learning and development of direct communication between the teachers and students of the partnering schools. The work on the project will not only expand the knowledge of our students as regards minerals and rocks, but it will also motivate them to reading and writing in their native languages as well as in English, and encourage them to learn another foreign language. Working in several languages during the project will allow them to discover similarities in the vocabulary connected with rocks and minerals, e.g: granit (Polish), granite (English), granite (French).Thanks to the projects the students will acquire an instrument that will enable them to ask questions and exchange information in a way different than that used during regular lessons. We do hope that this way of acquiring knowledge will increase their motivation to learn within school and beyond it. The project is addressed to students aged 6 to 11 years. It is important that about 80 students from each partnering school should take part in the project. However, certain project works, like, e. g., fine arts, will involve all the students of our schools.
The project was aimed at children's interest in building the Earth and increasing awareness of the protection of the planet in accordance with the principle of sustainable development. The subject matter of stones is a neglected area in the field of environmental protection and science about it. Over the several decades, man disturbed the Earth's balance, which was 4.5 billion years old. The students learned how the environment was created and what its history was. They understood the "speech" of stones as geologists, archaeologists and sculptors do. The project made it possible to instil in students the habit of searching for knowledge, fulfilling leisure time with constructive activities that bring satisfaction and teaching teachers to develop effective educational strategies. Five primary schools from Poland, Bulgaria, France, Italy and Portugal participated in the project. Activities were divided into 6 stages. 1 The students mastered the geological structure of our regions. They learned how to recognize the basic minerals and rocks and learned about the age of the Earth. They learned how to take samples of rocks and fossils and describe them properly. They collected specimens for collections in their schools, but also for their colleagues from partner schools to enrich their collections. 2 Archeology, history and art history. Students discovered the use of rocks, eg: clay, coal, salt, marble, ores, precious stones and their role of stone in human life from the stone age to the present day. They found information about life in caves and mud huts. They met sculptors and their works. They learned what and how glass was created and participated in glass painting workshops. They extended this knowledge during the exchange in Sicily, participating in pottery workshops and decorating the earthenware. In schools, competitions were organized, the subject of which were rocks. The author of the book "KamiennyKraków", prof. Jacek Rajchel, guided students around Krakow, indicating which rocks were used in various periods to build the city. He showed that history and politics affect the type of building material used, eg in the interwar years, basalt cubes imported from Wolyn were used for street paving. 3 Soil and its components, soil-forming processes and variability of soils and their functions in shaping the natural environment and landscapes. Participants learned about the importance of humus for soil fertility, made soil maps, analyzed soil properties, conducted experiments regarding their aeration and soaking in plant-growing aspects, and illustrated the dependence of occurrence of plant species on the type of soil. They set up rock gardens and constructed prototypes of sewage treatment plants using rocks for filtration purposes. During the exchange in Portugal, they established a European garden. 4 Diversity of the landscape, with particular attention to the shape of the surface and tourist values of the regions. The students prepared lists of inanimate nature monuments and made mock-ups of important places in their regions. During the exchange, they discovered the history of Krakow during the field game and visit to the underground medieval city. In the Jagiellonian University they saw the instruments used by Copernicus and the first map on which America was marked. They got to know the history of Krakow Jews on the basis of matzevot sculptures (Remuh cemetery), and in the synagogues they read symbolism connected with Jewish culture and tradition. During the workshops, they made Krakow's cribs mapping architectural details of Krakow's buildings. In Salt Mine in Wieliczka they learned the genesis of halite and the importance of the mine for Poland throughout history. They observed karst phenomena in the Ojcow. Exchange participants prepared an international program and celebrated the National Education Day together. The choir sang in French, the functions of compere was conducted in Polish, French and English, Italian played on Tarantella fiscaletto and the whole meeting was crowned with a pantomime performance - “The legend of the Wawel Dragon". 5 The literary stage. Students searched for legends, fairy tales, where the theme was rock. They wrote scenarios of theater plays about the search for a philosopher's stone. They put on plays, for which they invited friends and family. 6 Developing their own initiatives and creativity, the children held an international debate on "Our ideas and actions for the future." They made posters calling for wise management of the Earth's resources. They wrote letters to the authorities, informing them about their observations and appealing for help. These lists were read in Bulgaria in the presence of the city authorities and returned to the magistrates of the partner cities and other people responsible for the environment. We have developed a “Guide to Good Practices” with examples of activities in the form of lesson plans for general use by European theachers.