Classroom Without Walls: Families: 4th grade: Boyacá

Boyacá 

This CWW LET’S GET CURIOUS ABOUT CAMPESINO CULTURE is all about how things go from being raw material in the fields of Boyaca to turning into something that is sold in the best restaurants and stores internationally and even used by some of the superstars of Hollywood. Boyaca is incredible and students are going to have unique experiences in parts of Boyaca less frequently explored. We are going to visit Mongui with its famous soccer factory where we will have a tour of the process and even make our own small soccer ball. We will then move uphill to Duzgua where we will camp overnight in a beautiful space and meet one of the many local families we will meet on our journey. We will walk the historic salt trail between Mongui and Mongua in the company of a local poet. We will visit Iza to understand more about the process of design and exportation of local wool products with our very special hosts from rebanca who focus on fair trade for their community. We will visit the farm of Don Jose with Silvino and Francisco from Rebankaca and will have an incredible hands on day learning how to use an Huso to spin wool, how to felt, how to make arepas and even have a chance to sit and try out one of the oldest weaving looms in the region. There will be time for a soak in a very well known thermal pool (El Batan) and then we will meet on the last night in Paipa, ready for our now iconic talent show. On our way back to Bogota we will have a final stop in Ventaquemada where we will learn all about heritage potatoes and campesino potato culture from Pedro Briceño. We will visit his small museum, have a chance to dance in a traditional manner and understand more about the importance of saving our heritage crops as he shares his work of the last many years with us. The four days are really focused on meeting the local Boyacense population ranging from students of their age through to grandmothers who will all share their culture with them. There will also be focus on how raw products are turned into usable items through various production processes often based around innovation.

Discover all the details about this program:

FLIER (English version)

CIRCULAR (Spanish version)

Learn more about Zambo, the company we collaborate with for this CWW program.

Introductory Video

Webpage

Scope and Sequence

• There are many connections between this journey and class starting with the travel journal they will use throughout the experience which is designed as a folktale to support their folktale unit. There are also strong links to their previous poetry unit with opportunities to listen to a real live poet in the paramo and also the chance to write their own poetry in this special habitat. This journey has other strong curricular links to the classroom with a focus on inventions, technology and trade. It also looks at how physical geography affects a society. The concepts of kinetic and potential energy are introduced throughout their hiking experience. 
• We are going to focus on being community builders for their learner profile as this connects so well with the different people they will meet on their journey and the incredible work they are doing to advance campesino knowledge. 
• There will be a core value focus on caring and a success skill focus on collaboration throughout the four days. More specifically guidance and attention will be given to flexibility, teamwork, empathy, compassion and inclusion (how to get on with peers). There will also be a lot of work around resilience during the hike and with possible bouts of homesickness.
• Outdoor skills in fourth grade are focused on sleeping overnight in a tent; hiking approximately 1.5 hours and following video instructions and a checklist (with the support of a packing workshop and parental supervision when completed) to pack a multi day overnight bag. We will also introduce students to the concept of hotspots (how to identify a possible upcoming blister).
• The SDG (sustainable development goal 8) focused on in this program is decent work and economic growth. This matches perfectly the concept of raw materials and how they change into products.