Teaching ScienceHelp for trainee Science teachers

Launched in 2005, Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) was one of the first primary school based growing projects. Since then it has become the largest of its kind with almost 1 million children signed up for 2010 learning where potatoes come from, how they grow and that potatoes are a healthy food. Its simplicity and the fact that GYOP is a hands on activity makes it perfect for young pupils.

The twelve potato-based lessons are organised under the following headings:

• Growing potatoes
• Knowing potatoes
• Healthy eating and potatoes
• Cooking potatoes

The lesson notes are designed to provide the basic structure and content for lessons, but will need to be tweaked to meet the needs of individual classes.  Under the ‘task’ section there is a suggested task for children aged 5-7 and one for children aged 7-11 years.

Worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, factsheets, recipes, video clips and games are available to support the lessons.

Find out more here.

Produced by the Field Studies Council, Where We Live is a practical guide for anyone who wants to educate and empower people to improve the environment of their community.

It provides a structure that allows people actively to investigate and examine the environmental issues in their own community and initiate practical local improvements.

It is about nurturing the values, understanding and skills needed to create a group of responsible, knowledgeable and active citizens who have the capacity to bring about change in the community.

The activities in Where We Live can be used with groups of different ages and abilities.

http://www.field-studies-council.org/resources/wherewelive/index.aspx

Get ready for Great Plant Hunt Week 17 – 22 May 2010! This is a great way of getting your students participating in real scientific research. Take part in this special thinking walk activity between the 17th and 22nd May, looking for 10 easy to spot plants and simply take a photo of the ones that you find in flower!

With schools across the UK uploading these photos to a map on the website, you can look at how the flowering in this small snapshot of time may differ geographically – maybe look to see if the dandelions are flowering in your neighbouring school? You can also compare this year’s data to last, click here to see the results from the same week last year, do you think there might be different results this year?

Visit the Great Plant Hunt Week website to find out more: http://www.greatplanthunt.org/gphweek

New Resources for Foundation Stage

The Great Plant Hunt website has added to its range of primary school activities and has released a set of new activities for 3-5 year olds.

Now freely available for download from the website, along with supporting materials, these three activities will get your foundation classes out exploring the natural world, getting creative and preparing for a colour themed party! As always the activities enjoy close links to the curriculum in areas such as observation, colour, counting, sorting and creative development.

Find out more about these brand new resources and get your class plant hunting – you’re never too young to learn from the great outdoors!

Resources for all other key stages, and also teachers guides, can be found on the main site: http://www.greatplanthunt.org

Get ready for Great Plant Hunt Week 17 – 22 May 2010 The Great Plant Hunt Week Phenology Activity is a great way of getting your students participating in real scientific research. Take part in this special thinking walk activity between the 17th and 22nd May, looking for 10 easy to spot plants and simply take a photo of the ones that you find in flower! With schools across the UK uploading these photos to a map on the website, you can look at how the flowering in this small snapshot of time may differ geographically – are the dandelions flowering in your neighbouring school?

How about on the other side of the UK? You can also compare this year’s data to last, click here to see the results from the same week last year, do you think there might be different results this year?

To mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, commissioned and funded by the Wellcome Trust, has created The Great Plant Hunt. This project will encourage Primary school children to explore the natural world around them and join other schools in the biggest ever school science project.

The Great Plant Hunt invites primary school children to follow in the footsteps of Darwin by going on nature walks in and around their school grounds. They’ll find out more about plants and in the process learn key scientific skills. There is a lot more information, and links to resources in the Teacher Area of the site.

In addition to the activity ideas, there are also interactive resources to use on an IWB such as Plant or Not?, Herby Havoc and Sunflower Survival.

All teaching materials and resources are available to download – so you can make your own Treasure Chest of resources to run The Great Plant Hunt completely free.

If you want advice and ideas for using Plants in the classroom, then the SAPS website is well worth bookmarking. (Science and Plants in Schools)

You can download a pdf version of their booklet – Living Processes and What Plants Need to Grow from this page. (download each section separately)

Also look out for

Plants for Primary Schools – a series of booklets

Parts of a Plant and their functions

Reproduction and Life Cycles 1

Reproduction and Life Cycles 2

The BBC have launched an area of their gardening website aimed at children. There’s some nice ideas for gardening projects both indoors and outdoors. Take a look and see if any could be used with your class.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_with_children/homegrownprojects_index.shtml