Compost Curriculum

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Compost Curriculum Handbook

It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner, or a seasoned rotter; whether you have a ‘state of the art’ composter, or a neglected plastic ‘Dalek’ in the corner of the playground.

This handbook supports teachers to use composting as an inspiring teaching resource throughout the school year. For each month it contains a curriculum-linked KS2 lesson plan and an Eco Team activity, plus a wealth of supporting documents to bring composting to life for adults and pupils.

Chair left out in street

Furniture

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What is Furniture?

From the Cambridge Dictionary: furniture (noun): UK/ˈfɜː.nɪ.tʃər/ USˈfɝː.nɪ.tʃɚ/ things such as chairs, tables, beds, cupboards, etc. that are put into a house or other building to make it suitable and comfortable for living or working in.

Furniture is often made from wood and textiles (fabric), but also can contain plastic foam products and metal. Furniture can be glued or held together with nails and screws. When Furniture gets to the end of its life, in Waste Management terms, it is often grouped with other big household items like mattresses and fridges as Bulky Waste. Some District Councils will collect this waste from the kerbside.

Discover

Reduce

Could you Reduce Furniture Waste?

Reuse

Find out how to Reuse Furniture

Recycle

Find out about Furniture Recycling

Activities


Lesson Plans

Waste Audit Activities

Financial Awareness

3Rs Activities at Home: Rubbish Poems

9 June 2020/by Lucy Mottram

Writing Waste Poetry

Snakes and Ladders – our style!

2 April 2020/by Lucy Mottram

Shared Responsibility

Compost Life Cycle

3Rs Activities at Home: Make a junk orchestra

6 July 2020/by Lucy Mottram

Circular Economy Resource Box (KS3/4)

3Rs Activities at Home: The Reuse Olympics!

14 July 2020/by Anna Simkins

Waste Starters

Global Issues

Climate Change
Sustainable Development Goals
Circular Economy

Cardboard Worksheets

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Cardboard is one of the most useful materials in our modern world. Light, adaptable, cheap to make and easy to reuse or recycle it is ideal for jobs such as food packaging and parcel delivery. The science of materials  helps understand the life cycle, properties and recycling. These investigations will help students understand how to recycle materials safely and sustainably at the end of their lives.

The worksheets on this page will help young people understand the science behind the adaptable and useful material that is cardboard.

To find out more about card and cardboard visit our materials webpage.

Pile of cardboard

Downloadable Worksheets

Quizzes

Key Stage 1 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS1 Worksheet: Boxing up Teddy

(Word) Download KS1 Worksheet: Boxing up Teddy


Key Stage 2 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS2 Worksheet: Can you make cardboard out of cardboard?

(Word) Download KS2 Worksheet: Can you make cardboard out of cardboard?


Key Stage 3 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS3 Worksheet: The story of a cardboard box

(Word) Download KS3 Worksheet: The story of a cardboard box

(Word) Download KS3 Worksheet: Systems Thinking

Home Education Worksheet:

(pdf) Download Home Education Worksheet: : What can you make
from a cardboard box?

(Word) Download Home Education Worksheet: : What can you make
from a cardboard box?

Link to Home Education Playlist about Cardboard

Visit our Home Education pages for more Activities suitable for Home Learning.

image of the science of electrical equipment logo

Electrical Equipment Worksheets

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We use electrical equipment every day at home, work and at school. Whether a piece of toast in the morning, a nice cup of tea or photocopied worksheets, almost everything we do in the modern world relies on electricity to power it. But do we actually know how they work and what to do with them at the end of their lives? The science of electrical equipment explains how they work and helps us to dispose or recycle items safely and sustainably at the end of their lives.

The worksheets on this page will help young people understand the science behind the electrical equipment they use at home.

Electrical Equipment Worksheets

Electrical Equipment Quizzes

Key Stage 1 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS1 Worksheet: Sorting Salt & Pepper

(Word) Download KS1 Worksheet: Sorting Salt & Pepper


Key Stage 2 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS2 Worksheet: Ice Cube Tray Battery

(Word) Download KS2 Worksheet: Ice Cube Tray Battery

Link to Youtube Playlist KS2 Electricals: Science of Materials


Key Stage 3/4 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS3/4 Worksheet: The Physics of a Toaster

(Word) Download KS3/4 Worksheet: The Physics of a Toaster

Link to KS3/4 Zone YouTube Playlist about Electrical Equipment and Toasters


Home Education Worksheet:

(pdf) Download Home Education Worksheet: Design a new pylon!

(Word) Download Home Education Worksheet: Design a new pylon!

Visit our Home Education pages for more Activities suitable for Home Learning.


Link to Home Education Playlist about Electrical Pylons


Clothes and Textiles

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What are Clothes and Textiles?

Textiles are the name given to the material used to make clothes and other cloth items like bedding and towels. They are formed from fibres which are spun together into yarn and woven into fabrics. They are incredibly long-lasting if you keep them dry and clean and some can last a lifetime. Find out more below…


Discover


Wool

Angora and Cashmere

Silk

Bamboo and Bark

Flax

Cotton

Polyester and Nylon

Unusual fabrics

Reduce

Find out how to reduce Clothes and Textiles

Reuse

Find out how to reuse Clothes and Textiles

Recycle

Find out how to recycle Clothes and Textiles

Activities


Microplastics up Snowdon

Textiles Worksheets KS1

Textiles Worksheets: Home Activity

Textiles Worksheets KS2

Textiles Worksheets KS3-4

Fast Fashion

Media Literacy

3Rs Activities at Home: The Reuse Olympics!

Create your own games using reused items from around your house, garden and recycling!
14 July 2020/by Anna Simkins

Global Issues

Climate Change
Sustainable Development Goals
Circular Economy
image of science of paper

Paper Worksheets

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Paper is everywhere! From our earliest pictures stuck to the fridge by our parents to the letter telling us about the latest supermarket offers, even in our modern society, paper is still used for writing and drawing or passing on information. And who can imagine a world without toilet roll! From magazines to junk mail there are lots of ways to reduce the amount of paper we use in our everyday lives. Check out our resource pages to find out more about Paper.

Paper can be recycled everywhere in Devon from the kerbside (see our District Recycling Sheets). To find out what happens after the recycling truck leaves your doorstep watch our video about how paper is recycled in Devon.



Downloadable Worksheets and Paper Quizzes


We have created Science of Materials: Paper worksheets for all ages. Each worksheet is accompanied by a quiz to assess learning. Some also include a playlist of relevant videos.

We hope the worksheets on this page will help young people understand the science behind paper. We hope doing these activities will create better scientists and more critical thinkers. We know the wicked problems (complex and difficult issues like climate change and biodiversity loss) we are leaving the next generation will need some innovative thinking to solve them!

Why not try out our fun quiz at the bottom of the page too!

Key Stage 1 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS1 Worksheet: Tearing Newspaper

(Word) Download KS1 Worksheet: Tearing Newspaper


Key Stage 2 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS2 Worksheet: Comparing strengths of different paper

(Word) Download KS2 Worksheet: Comparing strengths of different paper


Key Stage 3/4 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS3/4 Worksheet: Making paper bridges

(Word) Download KS3/4 Worksheet: Making paper bridges

Link to KS3/4 Quiz: Making paper bridges

Link to KS3/4 Zone YouTube Playlist about Making Paper Bridges


Home Education Worksheet:

(pdf) Download Home Education Worksheet: Investigating the Absorbency of Toilet Paper

(Word) Download Home Education Worksheet: Investigating the Absorbency of Toilet Paper

Link to Home Ed YouTube Playlist about Toilet Paper

Visit our Home Education pages for more Activities suitable for Home Learning.


Microplastics up Snowdon

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Lake and mountains

This lesson plan will help students from Y5 to Y8 evaluate and assess some recent news stories from the waste industry, understanding what is going on and what might be happening behind the scenes when we read things online.

See more about improving digital and media literacy for KS2 and KS3 students on our PSHE and Life Skills related page on media literacy.

The activity here will help improve students’ critical thinking skills as they compare different types of information about microplastics found in a lake on Mount Snowdon.

Microplastics are released from plastic clothing (ie. clothes made from nylon, polyester – especially fleece – and acrylic) when they are washed, making their way into the environment through water courses and drains. Some microplastics may also be released into the air during active wear. Microplastics are invisible to the naked eye but can be seen under a microscopes. Spectral analysis can find out the type of plastic, and sometimes point to a source of the pollution.

Download Lesson Plan on Digital Literacy: Microplastics on Snowdon

Download PowerPoint for Digital Literacy Lesson: Microplastics on Snowdon

image of the science of food

Food Waste Worksheets

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We all rely on the science of materials every day as it tells us which are the best materials to use for different things – like not using chocolate to make teapots, or glass to make trampolines. It also shows us how to dispose or recycle items safely and sustainably at the end of their lives.

Food is vital and a precious resource, so isn’t it crazy that we waste about a third of all food produced! Check out our resource pages to find out more about Food Waste.

Food can be recycled almost everywhere in Devon. Most districts collect food waste in special caddies in their kerbside collections (see our District Recycling Sheets).

The worksheets on this page will help young people understand the science behind food waste. We hope doing these activities will create better scientists and more critical thinkers. We know the wicked problems (complex and difficult issues like climate change and biodiversity loss) we are leaving the next generation will need some innovative thinking to solve them!

Downloadable Worksheets

Key Stage 1 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS1 Worksheet: Making a Rot Pot

(Word) Download KS1 Worksheet: Making a Rot Pot

Link to KS1 Youtube Playlist about rot pots and composting


Key Stage 2 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS2 Worksheet: Dying eggs with food waste

(Word) Download KS2 Worksheet: Dying eggs with food waste

Link to Youtube Playlist KS2 Food Waste: Science of Materials


Key Stage 3/4 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS3/4 Worksheet:What happens to food waste? Or understanding bacteria farts!

(Word) Download KS3/4 Worksheet: What happens to food waste? Or understanding bacteria farts!

Link to KS3/4 Zone YouTube Playlist about Food Waste, Carbon, Cows & Bacteria Farts


Home Education Worksheet:

(pdf) Download Home Education Worksheet: Make your own zero-waste lunch

(Word) Download Home Education Worksheet: Make your own zero-waste lunch

Visit our Home Education pages for more Activities suitable for Home Learning.


Textiles Worksheets KS1

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Bright colourful rolled up textiles

The worksheets on this page will help Key stage 1 pupils understand the science of textiles. We hope doing these activities will create better scientists and more critical thinkers. We know the wicked problems (complex and difficult issues like climate change and biodiversity loss) we are leaving the next generation will need some innovative thinking to solve them!

KS1: Downloads

Key Stage 1 Worksheet:

(pdf) Download KS1 Worksheet: Keeping us Warm

(Word) Download KS1 Worksheet: Keeping us Warm

(pdf) Download KS1 Starter Activity: Textile Mix and Match Activity

Link to KS1 Video about winter clothes