At this moment, Year 5 is immersed in an interdisciplinary project that explores the relationship between humans and the city, focusing on our beloved São Paulo. Children are being inspired to look critically and curiously at the urban space, reflecting on the city’s heritage, memory and geography.
The group’s teacher, Letícia Araújo, explains that the project is part of the Social Sciences curriculum, but also involves Natural Sciences, Portuguese Language and Arts, creating a broad approach to the learning process “We are looking deeply at the city, at the relationships we have established with it, and at the stories we have built within this space. The class is reflecting on the concept of heritage, investigating what São Paulo is preserving and what has been erased over the years” – says the teacher.
Letícia says that the children started the project by investigating the channeled rivers of São Paulo and the historical erasures that occurred with urban expansion. In a second moment, upon returning from vacation, each child was invited to present their travel experiences, discussing the geographical and historical aspects of the cities they visited. The idea, in this case, was to sharpen the students’ gaze beyond São Paulo, promoting an analysis of different urban contexts.
Recently, the project culminated in the experience of exploring the city beyond the walls of the school, through a pedagogical outing using public transportation. The destination chosen for the on-site research was the exhibition “Stefania Bril: “Disobedience through affection,” on display at the Moreira Salles Institute, located on Avenida Paulista. The Polish photographer’s work examines how people relate to cities, in line with the aim of the project, which is precisely to encourage the class to sharpen their gaze on the urban environment and its nuances. In addition, the pedagogical outing complemented the work that students are developing in Arts, where they are studying light and photography for the school’s Arts and Sciences Exhibition (MAC).
The teacher explains that the choice to use buses and subways had a clear pedagogical purpose: to encourage children to observe the city in a new way, without the filter of a car window. “Increasingly, children move around the city in cars, shielded from urban landscapes and interactions with these landscapes. The idea of getting out of public transport is to create an opportunity for them to expand their view and move around the city with a new perception,” explains Letícia.
On the way out, the group itself was responsible for planning the route, choosing whether to go by subway or bus, and even writing the route. “They guided the adults to the exit point, which was an important experience for building autonomy and developing active citizenship,” says Letícia.
The teacher reiterates the importance of field trips for the development of children. “It is an experience of thinking of oneself as a citizen, of being present in the city autonomously. The outings stimulate looking outward and enable experiences that we cannot offer within the school environment,” she reflects.
This project has provided Year 5 children with a meaningful experience of what they are studying. At the same time, it presents the city as a space for constant learning, stimulating in the children a sense of belonging and responsibility towards their surroundings.
