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Project Earth Rock and the new model music curriculum

Tue, 04 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Project Earth Rock is an innovative music education resource about climate change and sustainability which is a welcome addition to every primary school’s kitbag. Using it in your classes will support all children with accessing high quality music education, so helping achieve the ambitious aims of the new model music curriculum. Project Earth Rock assists schools with teaching the following areas that the curriculum focuses on; singing, listening, skill development and performing. Staff who don’t feel confident in their music leading skills can use the videos to teach the songs to the class. The songs vary in style and will help your pupils explore musical dynamics as well as learn how to sing in a round. The importance of warming up your voice is practiced at the beginning of each video. Listening skills are developed by a teaching method consistently used throughout the resource. Project Earth Rock enables your pupils’ performance with lyric sheets, piano music, guitar chords, as well as backing tracks. Whilst all this great musical learning is happening, your geography and science curriculum is being supported through the teaching of many eco themes including rainforests, sustainable travel and recycling.

Elaine Parmiter, the teacher responsible for music at Kemble Primary School says:

“I have loved using Project Earth Rock with our pupils. The songs are engaging and interesting and support well what we are trying to achieve through the music curriculum. The lesson plans are clear and easy to use and challenge the children’s thinking on a range of environmental issues.”

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Jess Gold attends the Teach the Future Parliamentary launch

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

On 26 February 2020 Jess Gold from Project Earth Rock attended The Teach the Future parliament event. Teach the Future is a youth-led campaign to repurpose the entire education system around the climate emergency and ecological crisis. Young people led the way by offering a draft English emergency education bill which embodies their key demands.

Jess Gold said “It was fantastic to be amongst so many like-minded people who want climate education to be placed at the core of our schools. We launched Project Earth Rock in 2014. It’s been a struggle to get this innovative arts sustainability resource into schools as climate change doesn’t currently feature on the curriculum. If this draft becomes adopted as a private members bill it would be a real game changer. It would give pupils and teachers the licence they need to integrate climate change and sustainability wisdom into the curriculum and the day to day life of their schools. Children and young people are demanding it, it is long overdue.”

The campaign is run jointly by the UK Student Climate Network, best known for the school climate strikes, and the National Union of Students' climate charity offshoot, SOS-UK. The event was fittingly hosted by Nadia Whittome MP, the youngest MP in parliament.

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Project Earth Rock evaluation by the University of Sheffield

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Dr Caroline Oates of the The University of Sheffield Management School has secured ESRC funding to examine how children learn about sustainability and the potential for reverse eco-socialisation - the extent to which children can influence their parents’ sustainability behaviours. The University has chosen to focus on Project Earth Rock (PER) as an educational tool due to its comprehensive approach and unique multimedia format. The researcher, Victoria Circus, is assessing both the efficacy of PER as a tool for teaching sustainability, as well as whether it is able to help students drive changes at home.

Over the first half of 2019 Victoria observed Project Earth Rock being taught in two different primary schools in Gloucestershire. She also met with families of some of the children from the classes. Victoria said:

"It has been a privilege to watch the Project Earth Rock lessons being taught to classes of school children. It has been a fascinating experience witnessing the children acquire new knowledge, make connections and ask critical questions about different environmental topics, as well as sing and dance along to the Project Earth Rock songs and often eagerly request to watch the animations!"

Victoria is due to complete her research by September 2020. She is happy to hear from anyone who would like to find out more, vecircus1@sheffield.ac.uk.

Jess Gold, Project Director said

“Project Earth Rock is in around 200 schools now, feedback from schools is consistently positive. This University of Sheffield research will give us a broader perspective on our impact and will help us to improve our offer to schools. We will be well prepared for the inevitable moment when climate change is given its rightful place on the school curriculum. More pupils will then be able to enjoy the Project Earth Rock songs and animations"

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Project Earth Rock wins Energy Institute Award

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Project Earth Rock was awarded first prize in the communications category of the Energy Institute Awards in November 2017.

The EI Awards is a competition run by the Energy Institute for those shaping the world's energy future. The awards celebrate the achievements of the energy industry across the globe, giving recognition to individuals and organisations who take an innovative and responsible approach to solving the industry's challenges of providing society with clean, sustainable, low cost and dependable energy.

The winners of the 2017 EI Awards competition were announced on 9 November at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel in London in front of an audience of hundreds of industry leaders. The celebrations, which included a formal dinner in recognition of all of those shortlisted, were hosted by former England Rugby star and A Question of Sport team captain, Matt Dawson MBE.

Adam Garfunkel of Junxion, a supporter of Project Earth Rock, received the award on behalf of Big Green Machine. He said:

"We know that major shifts are required in how we generate energy and in reducing the amount that we use. It's vital the vibrancy of children and young people is harnessed to help bring about this shift. It was great being at the awards and seeing the energy industry recognise the huge potential of Project Earth Rock to inspire children to get involved.”

Jess Gold said:

"We started creating Project Earth Rock, a multi media scheme of work for sustainability in 2010. Whilst we hoped we would be enthusiastically received by the education sector as we have been, we never dreamed that the energy sector would recognise our achievements in this way. We are thrilled to receive this accolade."

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London Sustainability Exchange research results

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Recent research by the London Sustainability Exchange (LSX) to evaluate Project Earth Rock has been carried out across 4 London boroughs. After using the resource, teachers provided the following feedback:
- The resource was described as “fun” and “interactive” by both teachers and pupils.
- 75% of the teachers said the children engaged with the materials “a lot” or “quite a lot” during the lesson.
- 75% of the teachers thought that the lesson plans and extra teaching resources (such as music videos) were useful.
- The versatility of the resources was noted as a great strength, as it allows this resource to be integrated into dynamic curriculum structures and lesson plans.
- The karaoke videos and animations work on a stand-alone basis, and can be used to fill in 5 minutes at the end of the day, or as part of an assembly.

The University of Sheffield has secured ESRC funding for a 3 year research programme that will build on the findings of the LSX and study in more detail how Project Earth Rock is able to have a positive impact on sustainability behaviour in the home.

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Project Earth Rock wins commendation at 2017 Rushlight Awards

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

On Wednesday evening Project Earth Rock received a commendation at the Rushlight Awards in the Sustainability Initiative category. This award is for the most significant programmes that help facilitate or advance the adoption of clean energy and other sustainable solutions across a community. Project Earth Rock is a multi media education resource for primary schools, launched in partnership with Camden Council in October 2014. Now at the end of its pilot phase it is in 120 primary schools. Big Green Machine, the producers of Project Earth Rock, were delighted that the judges recognised the importance of climate change education in primary schools even though it is not currently an obvious curriculum topic. Director Jess Gold, said: "We know that fighting climate change is essential and that education will enable children to play their part and help ensure that their parents get on board as well. Teachers and pupils have told us that they really enjoy using Project Earth Rock and the commendation of the Rushlight award judges will enable us to reach more UK and International schools "

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Launching Project Earth Rock

Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to Project Earth Rock and Big Green Machine. We are delighted to be launching our new resource at the start of this academic year. We will use this blog to keep you posted about environmental projects and ideas that will be of interest to you and your pupils.

This new resource couldn’t have come at a more important time. Earlier this year Michael Gove threatened to remove climate change as a topic from the Key Stage 3 curriculum. More than 65,000 people signed petitions in protest and enabled him to change his mind, a great result for collective passion and commitment.

So it seems that a topic as important as climate change does not come with a lifelong curriculum guarantee. On the other hand schools have control over a significant proportion of the curriculum, particularly at the primary level.

We have created Project Earth Rock to give teachers the tools that they need to embed climate change and sustainability into the curriculum, importantly, in a fun and engaging manner. You can use Project Earth Rock to help children understand all the aspects of sustainability that can be found dotted about the curriculum.

Over the last 5 years we have been using our songs and animation in primary schools to help teach about sustainable transport and other sustainability topics. They have been enjoyed by many hundreds of children. We are excited that we are now able to make them available nationally for schools.

So download the free sample and get singing and let us know how it goes!

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