KS2-Designing for sustainability and the environment
This list supports learning about sustainability and the environment with 7 - 11 year olds. It provides ideas for ways of introducing concepts including sustainability, environmental issues, the 6 Rs, energy and waste, along with more complex concepts such as the circular economy. Activities will help pupils consider the wider impact of design and technology, including within their own designing and making. Resources also help pupils consider the role they might play when working towards a better future for all.
A future without waste
In this collection of resources, pupils will explore how we can design, make, and use things in new ways to help reduce waste, pollution and depleting natural resources, bringing benefits to both people and planet. They will create imaginative solutions to real-world challenges and share their ideas with others. The resources are organised around the basic principles of the circular economy, with sessions focused on three key principles: eliminating waste and pollution, keeping products and resources in use and regenerating nature.
The Environmental Curriculum - EYFS and primary
This teacher handbook looks at opportunities for educators to introduce environmental education across the EYFS framework and primary national curriculum for England. It looks at the curriculum and gives examples and case studies of how teachers can explore environmental issues with their students, including within D&T.
Exploring Energy
Ten activities for primary pupils that investigate environmental issues including: the greenhouse effect, recycling, sustainable energy sources and thermal insulation. The activities promote investigative work and communication skills and include: carrying out an energy audit, recreating the greenhouse effect, making recycled paper, investigating insulating materials and carrying out a traffic survey. Teachers' notes are provided within the pack.
Food Waste Challenge
Through this challenge pupils will develop their understanding of how food waste contributes to climate change. Pupils will have the opportunity to identify potential problems or areas where an invention could help reduce the amount of food we waste, before designing their own invention and evaluating and suggesting improvements to it.
My Green City
This resource provides a series of four lessons in which children work in teams to design a sustainable city. They explore examples of sustainability in existing cities around the world and consider the needs of citizens and the challenges of supporting a growing urban population. Children then plan their city and create a model of it. They share their designs with each other explaining how inhabitants can live sustainably.
Waste Investigators
This pack contains a range of activities based on the theme of waste including: the environment and pollution, recycling, separating materials, waste degradation, and digestion.
Renewable Energy Posters
From Practical Action, these posters show examples of how renewable energy sources are used in developing nations. They show how mp3 players can be powered by solar photoelectric cells, small-scale hydroelectric in Kenya, a wind turbine and biogas digested in Nepal.
Renewable Energy Wordsearch
From Practical Action, this wordsearch is an enjoyable way of engaging students in the subject of renewable energy.
Impact of Solar Power
Produced by Solar Spark, this activity allows students to consider the impacts of an available source of electricity on communities in developing nations. People who have unreliable or no access to electricity find their lives changed for the better if they do have access to reliable electricity. One of the ways of providing them with reliable electricity is for them to be able to generate electricity from renewable sources such as wind turbines or solar photovoltaic panels. The activity can be used to consider
- solar power
- wind power
- renewable energy
Practical Action: energy
This collection of resources on energy draws from Practical Action's renewable energy work in developing countries around the world. Resources include those on different types of renewable energy, as well as design activities.
Plastic challenge
Practical Action resource designed to extend students’ knowledge and understanding of plastics and plastic waste on a global scale. Activities include identifying plastics based on their properties, plastic production, making plastic in the classroom, comparing oil-based and bio-plastics and their environmental impact, which materials take the longest to decompose and the efficacy of recycling plastic. There is also a series of activities which involve designing, making and evaluating products from waste plastics, for a UK or international market.
Small Is...Challenge
Practical Action based on Fritz Schumacher’s philosophy that even a small change can have a big impact on people’s lives. The challenge for students is to look at technologies from the last 100 years and invent a product that could contribute towards a more sustainable future.
Recycling - concept cartoon
This cartoon help pupils explore issues around how recycling and reusing products can benefit the environment. The cartoon is designed to provoke discussion and leave pupils wanting to know more.
EON Energy and Environment Resources
Materials produced by EON with a range of activities that look at the use of energy and the need for sustainable energy. The resource includes information on energy generation, energy and the environment, and different types of renewable energy.
World's Largest Lesson
This website promotes the use of the 17 global goals for sustainable development in learning so children can contribute to a better future for all. The website includes resources and activities for teaching each of the 17 global goals.
Practical Action
This website has a wide variety of resources on different issues relating to sustainability and the environment.
Explore the Global Goals – 17 activities for Primary Schools
These teacher notes and classroom handouts designed for primary schools will support understanding of the 17 global goals for sustainable development.
Material life cycle
This series of activities encourage creative thinking about novel ways to use materials, to build a house for example, as well as matching commonly found materials to where they have come from. Pupils learn about the materials life cycle, where raw materials come from, how to reduce waste and how raw materials may be used and recycled.
