Para falar de águas: almanaque para o ensino das ciências ambientais

Abstract

Water is essential to life and although it is a renewable natural element, it needs to be considered a limited resource, as it is at risk of scarcity due to growing environmental degradation, which affects the quality of life in cities, such as on the outskirts, where people have difficulty accessing it. With a view to deepening the debate on the subject, the general aim of this dissertation is to create an interactive almanac entitled “Waters: a path of discovery”, aimed at students in the 4th year of elementary school, for teaching environmental sciences in everyday school life. The specific objectives were: to debate the relationship between water and the city over time; to discuss the main theoretical approaches to the almanac as an educational resource for meaningful learning; to analyze the construction of the almanac in its stages, taking into account the specificities of 4th grade students in the Early Years of Elementary School; to validate the almanac prepared as a technical pedagogical product from the perspective of the students participating in the research. Considering the environmental and educational field, a qualitative methodology was used, with an exploratory and descriptive approach. As a result, it was observed that the children who came into contact with the almanac showed greater interest in the subject of water and significantly deepened the environmental debate. It should be emphasized that talking about water requires talking about the relationship between nature and society and its problems, such as guaranteeing human rights, especially for children, access to drinking water, basic sanitation, environmental racism, among others; these issues need to be widely debated in order to build sustainability, citizenship and solidarity.