The Bay of Santander

Venue for port-related activities

Panoramic view of the port

Educational justification

A wide range and variety of human activities take place in the Bay of Santander. Before starting, it is a good idea to locate the Bay of Santander, pointing out where different rivers flow into the bay. Using a map, this can help us to understand the Bay of Santander's large size, so that we can then look in detail at the variety of activities that take place in the bay. As we look at and identify this wide range of activities on a map, we can also use photos and a student visit to specific places or towns that border the Bay of Santander, so that later on, the students can find out what port activities there really are and what they consist of.

It is good to help the students discover the large area occupied by the Bay of Santander, as many of them will not be aware of its full size. Using the space occupied by the bay as a starting point, we can spark the students' creativity by thinking about the surrounding environment and the activities that most likely take place there. All of the activities that take place in the bay have come about as a result of a process; they aim to meet specific needs and, most importantly, they are undertaken by people. It would be a good idea for the students to consider each of these stages and to discover the different resources, people, infrastructures, etc. involved in the bay and port activities.

Piece of work linked to the following stage areas:

Knowledge of the surrounding area, Spanish language, Maths, Art and Environmental Education.

return  top

Panoramic view of the Port

Description of the work to be undertaken:

How?: This activity has a number of sections; the first step is to use a map of the bay so that the students, together with the teacher, can talk about the things they recognise and know and about the location of beaches, rias (tidal estuaries), the mouths of rivers, etc.

Following this, an aerial photo of the bay is used so that the students can place different stickers on the photo with the names of environmental disasters, which will help the students to learn these disasters and to locate them in specific areas that they perhaps already know. It is a good idea to visit the bay so that the students can think about these environmental disasters in their original location.

Another section includes finding out the depth of the sea and to do this, the chapter in the student guide provides a picture of the bay empty of water, so that they can see the unevenness of the ocean floor. In addition, the students can learn some of the concepts that explain the unevenness they observe.

Following this and using the map, they can look for the towns located on the shore of the Bay of Santander, so that they can then go on to discover the main methods of transport in these towns.

The next step aims to help the students locate the port facilities within the bay and to discover the area that they cover, which is around 277 football pitches laid next to each other. One possible idea is for the students to find out how big their classrooms are, so that they can then find out how many classrooms would be equivalent to the size of the port. On a new map, the students can see the difference between the bay's original surface area, the area taken from the bay and the port area.

Where?: In the classroom and on a visit to the area surrounding the Bay of Santander.

When?: Before, during and after the visit.

Using what?: The relevant file and possibly a map of Santander.

Assessment: For the teacher to decide.

Activity objectives:

To enable the student to recognise the main activities taking place in the Bay of Santander.

To enable the student to locate the most important towns in relation to port activities.

To enable the student to understand different concepts that relate in some way to the bay's surrounding area.

return  top