Plants R Us Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 Focus: Science and Food technology

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1 Sustainable Schools Teaching Resource: Primary Plants R Us Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 Focus: Science and Food technology About this unit Plants play a vital part in our world. All the fruit and vegetables we eat come from plants, and the meat we eat comes from animals that eat plants. Clothes, toys and furniture are all made from plants to some extent. In this unit pupils explore the wide range of uses that plants have in their everyday lives, and how dependent they are on them. This unit will help pupils understand that humans depend on plants and plant diversity for many reasons. Pupils will begin to understand some of the interconnections there are between humans, plants and animals. They will also learn that all people share the same need for plants and how we can learn from others to care for and look after them. Pupils are encouraged to grow and care for plants. The Sustainable Schools unit The World on your Plate (Key Stage 2) explores where food comes from in more detail. If taught at Key Stage 1, this unit builds on the QCA science scheme of work Unit 1B Growing plants and the design and technology scheme of work Unit 1C Eat more fruit and vegetables. NB: Make sure pupils know that some plants have poisonous parts or can cause allergic reactions. Warn them not to touch strange plants, and explain that brightly coloured berries are often poisonous. Encourage them to wash their hands after handling natural things and make sure you wash fruit and vegetables before tasting them.

2 2 SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS TEACHER RESOURCE PACK: PRIMARY Intended outcomes By the end of this unit pupils will: recognise the range of things they use every day that originate from plants appreciate their own basic need for food and that this is a shared universal need be able to discuss the way they live and the food they eat, and things that they use appreciate that their need for food, clothes etc is met by people providing a range of different services appreciate and have concern for and be curious about living things, their own and other environments know that there are many different kinds of plants and animals in the local environment and in distant environments know what plants need in order to grow and thrive understand that different plants like different conditions and climates have some understanding of the causes and consequences of human activities on the environment begin to have some understanding of the concept of finite resources. Key resources Printed resources This is the Tree A Story of the Baobab by Miriam Moss and Adrienne Kennway. Frances Lincoln Children s Books (2000). The World Came to My Place Today by Jo Readman and Ley Honor Roberts, Eden Books, Transworld (2004). Why do people eat? by Kate Needham, Usborne Starting Point Science (2006). Websites Growing Schools: Nature Grid: Geographical Association: Science and plants for schools: www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/worksheets/activ/ptpts.htm The great plant escape:

3 GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL KEY STAGE 2 3 Curriculum links The Early Years Foundation Stage Activities from this unit are appropriate for children at the end of the EYFS in the reception class. Learning objectives and outcomes may need to be adapted accordingly. Area of Learning and Development Knowledge and Understanding of the World particularly the aspects below: EXPLORATION AND INVESTIGATION Development matters Look, listen and note Effective practice Planning and resourcing months Early learning goals Notice and comment on patterns. Show an awareness of change. Explain own knowledge and understanding, and ask appropriate questions of others. Investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses as appropriate. Find out about, and identify, some features of living things, objects and events they observe. Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change. Ask questions about why things happen and how things work. The changes and patterns that children notice. Instances of children identifying features of living things or objects. Ways in which children find out about things in the environment, for example, by handling something and looking at it closely. Instances of children investigating everyday events, such as why a bicycle stops when the brakes are pressed. Help children to notice and discuss patterns around them, for example, rubbings from grates, covers, or bricks. Encourage children to raise questions and suggest solutions and answers. Examine change over time, for example, growing plants, and change that may be reversed, for example, melting ice. Give opportunities to record findings by, for example, drawing, writing, making a model or photographing. Provide a range of materials and objects to play with that work in different ways for different purposes, for example, egg whisk, torch, other household implements, pulleys, construction kits and tape recorder. Encourage children to speculate on the reasons why things happen or how things work.

4 4 SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS TEACHER RESOURCE PACK: PRIMARY TIME Development matters Look, listen and note Effective practice Planning and resourcing months Early learning goals Begin to differentiate between past and present. Use time-related words in conversation. Understand about the seasons of the year and their regularity. Make short-term future plans. Find out about past and present events in their own lives, and in those of their families and other people they know. How children refer to past events, such as how long ago it was since they visited the swimming baths. How a child compares experiences in their own life with those of others, for example, comparing their own play and playthings with their grandparents experiences of play and playthings. Sequence events, for example, photographs of children from birth. Use stories that introduce a sense of time and people from the past. Encourage children to ask questions about events in each other s lives in discussions, and explore these experiences in role-play. Compare artefacts of different times, for example, garden and household tools. Make the most of opportunities to value children s histories. Involve families in sharing memories. This might include celebration of a travelling background or of African Caribbean roots. Provide long-term growing projects, for example, sowing seeds or looking after chicken eggs. Provide reference material for children to use, for example, comparing old and recent photographs. Draw on the local community to support projects about the seasons. Tap into knowledge and expertise of local farmers, gardeners, allotment holders and so on.

5 GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL KEY STAGE 2 5 PLACE Development matters Look, listen and note Effective practice Planning and resourcing months Early learning goals Notice differences between features of the local environment. Observe, find out about and identify features in the place they live and the natural world. Find out about their environment, and talk about those features they like and dislike. How children talk about the different features of the surroundings, such as the sizes, shapes, uses and types of buildings or spaces they notice on a walk to the shops. How children connect photographs to places in the environment and can work out a route, for example, from the local shop to their setting. How children talk about and evaluate the quality of their environment, by, for example, talking about how the flower baskets improve the area, and how the litter makes it look untidy. Use appropriate words, for example, town, village, road, path, house, flat, temple and synagogue, to help children make distinctions in their observations. Help children to find out about the environment by talking to people, examining photographs and simple maps and visiting local places. Encourage children to express opinions on natural and built environments and give opportunities for them to hear different points of view on the quality of the environment. Ensure all children have opportunities to express themselves and learn the vocabulary to talk about their surroundings, drawing on and encouraging the home language to support the learning of English. Encourage the use of words that help children to express opinions, for example, busy, quiet and pollution. Provide stories that help children to make sense of different environments. Provide stimuli and resources for children to create simple maps and plans, paintings, drawings and models of observations of known and imaginary landscapes. Give opportunities to design practical, attractive environments, for example, taking care of the flowerbeds or organising equipment outdoors. Further information about the EYFS is available at

6 6 SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS TEACHER RESOURCE PACK: PRIMARY Design and technology This unit provides opportunities for pupils to: explore the sensory quality of materials (2b) learn about the working characteristics of materials (4a). Geography This unit provides opportunities to develop a range of geographical enquiry skills. Pupils will have the opportunity to: make observations about where things are located (4a). Science This unit provides opportunities for pupils to: engage in scientific enquiry by learning to collect evidence by making observations and measurements (Sc1 1) ask questions, use first-hand experience and communicate what has happened (Sc1 2a, 2b and 2g) relate life processes to animals and plants found in the local environment (Sc2 1c) recognise that plants need light and water to grow, to recognise and name the leaf, flower, stem and root of flowering plants and learn that seeds grow into flowering plants (Sc2 3a, 3b, 3c) find out about different kinds of plants (Sc2 5a).

7 GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL KEY STAGE WHAT IS A PLANT? Learning objectives Possible teaching activities Learning outcomes Points to note Pupils should learn: to identify the characteristics of plants about the main plants that grow in their environment that there are different plants in their immediate environment and in other places. Bring in lots of magazines and ask the children to cut out pictures of plants and make collages to make a garden. Ask the pupils to think of questions they have about plants and write these around the collage. Explain that they are going to be learning about plants and how we use plants. Walk round the school or the local area and identify as many different types of plants as possible from trees and shrubs to flowers and grasses. Or go to the local park and mark out a small area, say 1m x 1m. Ask the children to count how many different plants they can find inside the area. Make a large plan of the school grounds and ask them to show where trees grow. Discuss how long it takes for a tree to grow. Ask them to describe and draw the plants. Ask them what makes a plant a plant (e.g. leaves, roots, they grow and change). Take photos of the main trees, shrubs and flowers. Provide a simplified sketch map of the local area and plot the photos on their locations. Explain that without plants human beings could not survive. Ask them why they think this is so. Ask the class which is their favourite plant and draw a bar graph to illustrate class favourites. Optional Read This is the Tree: A Story of the Baobab. Compare the ways in which wood is used in Africa with how it is used in the UK. Use photographs and pictures cut from magazines. Draw a large picture of a tree with room for pictures to be added. Ask the children to draw, write and stick pictures in the branches of the tree to show the things that trees give us. Display and discuss. Pupils: name the main plants that grow in their local area describe the main characteristics of plants develop questions about plants recognise and make observations about their local area. This part of the unit could be tied in with QCA Geography Unit 1, Around our school and Science Unit 1B, Growing plants. Resources Growing Schools: Homework Suggest that children visit the local library to find stories and information books about plants. Visit A local botanical garden or centres such as the Eden Project or Chelsea Physic Garden. Many run courses and workshops for pupils that are relevant to this unit. Safety Note that pupils should not pull up plants. Some children are allergic to some plants e.g. hyacinth bulbs and some plants are poisonous.

8 8 SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS TEACHER RESOURCE PACK: PRIMARY 2. WHAT DO PLANTS NEED? Learning objectives Possible teaching activities Learning outcomes Points to note Pupils should learn: to recognise that plants need light and water to grow to recognise and name the leaf, flower, stem and root of flowering plants to monitor and record changes in a plant. Tell the children that they are going to grow some plants and ask them what they think plants need. Go to plant/needs1.html which shows light, air, water and soil as the four things plants need. Ask them where they should grow the plants and what they need to do to help them grow. Grow plants, for example sunflowers monitor and record changes twice a week. For more information on how to grow plants visit Ask the pupils to record the growth of the plants by measuring, taking photos and drawing. Compare different rates of plant growth. Explain what a root, stem, leaf and bud are. These are explained at www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/docs/p4pp/ptpts/ptpts_e.pdf providing simple explanations of each. Ask the pupils to annotate the drawings they have made. Pupils: grow plants record and monitor their growth identify the main parts of a plant. This section of the unit can be expanded by following sections from QCA Science Unit 1B Growing Plants. Visit www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/docs/ p4pp/ptpts/ptpts_c.pdf and www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/docs/p4pp/ ptpts/ptpts_f.pdf for a range of card games to help children identify different parts of a plant.

9 GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL KEY STAGE WHAT GOOD ARE PLANTS? Learning objectives Possible teaching activities Learning outcomes Points to note Pupils should learn: nearly all the food they eat comes from plants which plants provide our main food. Ask the children how we use plants. You could start by asking them what their favourite food is and to draw it. Point out how much of it comes from plants or from animals that eat plants. Make a display of the children s drawings in the middle and bring in pictures from magazines or from the internet to show the plant that it comes from. Stick these around the children s drawings and draw lines linking the food to the plant it comes from (e.g. mash potatoes, pizza tomatoes and wheat for the bread, mince cows grass, etc). Point out some things that they might not have thought of such as cocoa for chocolate. Ask the pupils to try to develop a menu that does not include food from plants. Point out that most of the animals we eat also eat plants. Show the children pictures of wheat growing in a field, and a tomato plant. Explain that the bread in a pizza is made from flour which is made from wheat, which is a plant. The tomato paste is made from tomatoes which are also from a plant. Draw a large plant on a large sheet of paper and in front of the children draw in the roots, seeds, leaves, fruits, flowers and stems. Explain that we eat every part of the plant. Give examples of each. Go to which shows what parts of the plant we eat. Go to and ask the pupils to complete the quiz to find out which part of a plant we are eating when we eat certain foods. Pupils: identify the plants that provide their main food realise how important plants are in our diet relate the food they eat to the plants it comes from. Resources Why do people eat? by Kate Needham, Usborne Starting Point Science (2006). Extension Some pupils could play the Tropical Rainforest Food Web Game at passporttoknowledge.com/scic/foodwebs/ educators/trfoodwebgame.doc A website on healthy and unhealthy food available at, tiki.oneworld.net/food/ food6.html Visits Local environmental groups or wildlife centres to explain what they do and why it is important to care for plants.

10 10 SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS TEACHER RESOURCE PACK: PRIMARY 4. WHAT ELSE CAN WE USE PLANTS FOR? Learning objectives Possible teaching activities Learning outcomes Points to note Pupils should learn: that plants have a wide range of uses in our everyday lives which parts of plants are used for different purposes about the importance of textiles and clothes. Ask pupils what else comes from plants. Ask them to write a list of non-food things that come from plants. Show pupils a range of objects, including e.g. a cotton t-shirt, a piece of rope, a rubber ball, a wooden box, a book, as well as e.g. a tin can and a glass bottle. Ask them which come from plants. Show photos to illustrate and identify the different parts of the plant that are used. Optional This could be enhanced by starting the activity with reading The World Came to My Place Today. Explain how important plants are for producing textiles from which we make many of our clothes. Ask the pupils what it would be like if we didn t have clothes. Show the pupils a selection of different textiles e.g. cotton, wool, leather and ask which would be suitable for what kind of clothing. Explain that some of the plants we eat and use for other things come from other countries. Plot some of these on a world map (e.g. bananas, cotton, cocoa, wheat, rice, pineapples, oranges, beans). Pupils: identify non-food items that originate from plants describe which parts of plants are used understand that the plants we use come from all over the world. Resources Clothes and Food (Early Years Wishing Well) by Gill Walton, Scholastic (2001). Extension Pupils can explore the nature of materials in more depth at resources/key-stage-1,586,na.html and download the PDF, What can you learn from a textile tree?

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