The map of our neighbourhood
“How does the Nilüfer stream pass through our neighbourhood?”
Spring term 2025–2026Year 44 weeks
Year 4 researched the stream and the neighbourhood around the school; compared old maps, built a cardboard model and wrote a letter to the municipality about cleaning the stream.
The project began with a walk. The class walked around the school for an hour, noted what they saw, and when they reached the stream the first question came: "Where does this water come from, and where does it go?"
Old city maps were studied in the library and an expert from the municipality visited the class. The children built a cardboard model of the neighbourhood; the stream, bridges, school and their own homes took their places.
At the end of term the class sent their suggestions for cleaning the stream to the municipality in a letter and displayed the model at the school entrance.
Week by week
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Question Week 1
Where does this water come from?
An hour's walk around the school. When we reached the stream the question came by itself; back in class we wrote it on the board.
— Zeynep Uçar -
Research Week 4
Old maps
In the library we found a city map from the 1980s. We compared it with the stream's course today; the children noticed it had changed in two places.
— Hakan Durmuş -
Making Week 8
A cardboard neighbourhood
In the woodshop we built the bridges from ice-cream sticks. Every child placed their own home on the model.
— Recep Kılınç -
Exhibition Week 10
A letter to the municipality
We wrote our suggestions for the stream as a formal letter and sent it. The model now stands at the school entrance.
— Zeynep Uçar
Come and sit in one of our classes one morning.
A school visit takes 45 minutes; you see the classes, workshops and garden while lessons are on.