Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 2December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 1

Areas of Learning• The World Around Us• Mathematics and Numeracy

Learning IntentionsWe are learning:• that plants can be influenced over

time by environmental change (soil);

• about the importance of crop rotation;

• to plan for planting in the new season;

• to use scale in simple maps and drawings; and

• to interpret situations mathematically using appropriate symbols or diagrams.

Throughout the activities links to the curriculum skills have been signposted.

Get Growing!Crop Rotation Tell the children that this is the time to think about planting for the next season in the school growing area, explaining that it is important to rotate crops from season to season.

Ask the children if anyone can explain the term ‘crop rotation’.

Explain that rotating crops means changing the crops you plant in each part of the growing area each season.

Ask for suggestions as to why crop rotation is so important.

Explain that different plant families use particular nutrients from the soil and return particular nutrients to it. When you rotate the crops, you help the soil to keep its nutrients at optimum levels. As well as this, plants that are related tend to have the same pest and disease problem. If you rotate the crops, you avoid the build-up of these pests and diseases.

Ask the children to work in small groups to create a plan for crop rotation over four years using the headings: • legumes;• leaves;• fruits; and • roots.

Tell the children that during their planning, they need to consider the importance of not planting fruits and vegetables in the same place two seasons in a row because they are very demanding on the nutrients in the soil and use many more than legumes or root vegetables.

A sample crop rotation suggestion is provided in Resource A.

See the December section of the Growing for the Future website at www.ccea.org.uk for further information on crop rotation.

Key Using ICT Using Maths Communication

Thinking, Problem-Solving,

and Decision-Making

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 2December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 2

Invite each group to draw a plan of next season’s growing area.

Bring measuring tapes, a compass, squared paper, clipboards, pencils and tracing paper outside to the growing area.

Invite the children to work in groups to measure the boundary of the school growing area. They should also use the compass to determine orientation of the area.Help the children to determine the scale for the drawings, for example 2 cm on paper = 1 m of growing area.

Remind each group to note the compass points on their drawing before drawing the boundary shape. Encourage them to then identify features in the area, measure their distance from the boundary and accurately place them on their drawing. Examples of existing features might include a pond, fruit trees, raised beds, a birdhouse, stone sculptures, a wildflower area etc.

Ask the children to then place tracing paper over their drawing and work together to suggest a plan of crop rotation for the following season.

Take time to discuss everyone’s plans, including their justifications, and agree one plan to work from in preparation for the new growing season.

Thinking, Problem-Solving,

and Decision-Making

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 2December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 3

Get Inspired!Food PreservationMicroorganisms are tiny living things, so small they cannot be seen by the naked eye. They are found everywhere on earth. In fact, our body is home to somewhere in the region of 100 billion microorganisms! Many of them are essential for our survival, carrying out important functions. Microbes are used in food production such as cheese, yogurt and bread. They occur naturally in our gut to aid digestion and in the soil to aid decomposition. However, some microorganisms are harmful to us. One example of this is food spoilage.

Explain to the children that food waste due to spoilage is an age old problem.

Spoilage is damage caused to food by micro-organisms, which results in food being harmful to eat. We refer to food in this state as ‘gone off’. When food is spoiled, it is wasted. We can increase the longevity of food by controlling:• Moisture• pH• Temperature• Oxygen availability

Ask the children to form small groups to discuss why they think these factors help to prevent or slow down food decay.

As living things, microorganisms need:• water to aid digestion, as without moisture they cannot grow;• oxygen as fuel for energy, as without energy they cannot survive; and• an ideal temperature to survive.

Tell the children that in the past when people harvested and stored the foods they grew, they had to be inventive in finding ways to preserve foods so that they would last through the Winter months. Ask the children to suggest some methods that may have been used in the past to preserve food, for example:• Drying• Salting• Sealing• Pickling• Cellaring (controlling optimum temperature,

humidity and light when storing food: modern day version of cellaring is the fridge)

Encourage the children to consider which factors each of the methods suggested control.

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 2December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 4

Food preservation is still an important business, not least because we import and export food, so it needs to have a longer shelf life. Advances in technology mean we have developed new methods of preserving food. Ask the children to suggest some of these methods. Examples include:• Refrigeration• Freezing• Canning

Collect a range of food packaging and, as a class, discuss the various preservation techniques used to extend the shelf life of the contents.

Explain to the children that in some parts of the world face famine and hunger. Some people do not have access to fridges. They rely on inventing technological solutions to preserve food.

Encourage the children to watch this short video from the practical action website about how people in some African countries have developed their own refrigeration technique by making Zeer Pots. After watching the video, ask the children to form small groups. Give each group the following questions and encourage them to discuss and record their thoughts:

What did you see?

How is it made?

What does it do?

What is its impact?

Allow the children to make Zeer Pots?

Before starting this activity, you may find this ‘how to’ video useful. It is available on YouTube.com.

Invite the children to think of investigative questions to consider:• Does the size of Zeer Pot affect the drop in temperature?• If the inner pot is glazed, will the drop in temperature be greater or smaller?• Does different types of sand make a difference to the drop in temperature?

If the children take photographs throughout the process, they could use ICT to describe how to make a Zeer Pot. They could also record their questions, results and conclusions, using, for example, the Explain Everything app. Alternatively, they could explain how the process of evaporation makes the Zeer Pot work.

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 2December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 5

Get Cooking!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C or gas mark 5.

2. Place muffin cases on a baking tray.

3. Sieve the flour, spices and baking powder into a large bowl.

4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix.

5. In another bowl, beat the milk, egg and oil together.

6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, but don’t overbeat or mix them. The mixture may look uneven.

7. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, divide the mixture equally among the muffin cases.

8. Place the muffins in the oven for 20–25 minutes until they’re golden brown and well risen.

9. Remove them from the baking tray and cool them on a wire rack. Eat them while they’re fresh.

Think of other ingredients that you could add to flavour the muffins.

Apple and Cranberry MuffinsIngredients (serves 6)

• 150 g plain flour• 1 teaspoon mixed spice• 1 teaspoon cinnamon• 1 level dessertspoon baking powder• 75 g soft brown sugar

Cranberries are produced in the United States and Canada. They are grown in bogs and float in water, which makes them easy to harvest. They are in season from October to December. They are considered to be a superfood as they have a lot of health benefits from exposure to sunlight as they float on the water.

Cranberries are associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas – why do you think this is so? Can you think of other fruits and vegetables that we associate with special events and festivals?

• 1 eating apple, peeled and chopped• 150 g dried cranberries or other dried fruit• 1 tablespoon semi skimmed milk• 1 egg• 50 ml sunflower or olive oil

ManagingInformation

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 2December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 6

Resource A

Simple Crop Rotation System

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4

legume root fruit leaf

Year One

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4

leaf legume root fruit

Year Two

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4

fruit leaf legume root

Year Three

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4

root fruit leaf legume

Year Four