ing
Groow
f r the
Future
Key Stage 1
May
Get Growing!
Areas of Learning
• The World Around Us
• The Arts
• Personal Development and
Mutual Understanding
• Language and Literacy
Garden Wildlife
Thinking,
Problem-Solving,
and Decision-Making
Did you know?
There are some flowers that we can eat and they give us added flavour and colour
to our food. The most popular edible flowers are:
Learning Intentions
We are learning:
• how food chains work;
• that there are natural ways to
control pests in the garden;
• about wildlife that visits our
gardens;
• to use simple tools and materials
when making;
• to recognise and taste a range of
healthy ingredients; and
• to use a range of food
preparation skills with supervision.
• Nasturtium which are orange and yellow; and
• Violas which are purple and yellow.
Why not grow edible flowers in school
What you need:
• Nasturtium/Viola seeds
• Watering can
• Garden tools
• An area of soil in the sun
Method
Throughout the activities links to
the curriculum skills have been
signposted.
1. Dig over the soil and moisten
2. Plant the seeds according to the packet instructions
3. Water the seeds regularly
4. Keep checking for and pulling out any weeds
Over time, many wildlife habitats like native wildflower meadows and hedgerows
have been destroyed. Discuss the wildlife that can be attracted to the garden by
leaving space for wildflowers, long grasses and native plants.
Show the children that everyone can get involved and help their local wildlife.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has lots of ideas on its website about
how to give nature a home in your garden. Allow the children to find out about
garden activities to support wildlife. Where available, watch videos demonstrating
these activities. Retrieve information about different ideas. Let the children go
outside and explore the area available to decide which ideas will work best. Discuss
what they can do to help wildlife in their gardens.
Key
Using ICT
www.ccea.org.uk/growing
Using Maths
Communication
1
ing
Groow
f r the
Future
Key Stage 1
May
How to create a wildflower areas
Don’t worry if space is limited in your school. Wildflower areas can be grown any type of
container, for example, re-use a tyre, old drainage pipes, large tub etc.
• Find grassy spaces of at least 1 metre square, the more weeds the better! This area/s
should be marked off to make sure they are not mowed.
• Plants such as primroses, heather, poppies, daisies, jacob’s ladder and forget me not can
all be planted in this area and left to grow.
• Leave the area/s to grow wild until the end of September before it can be cut.
Remember! Poor soil is easier to manage so make sure that when the grass is mowed in
September, the cuttings are removed to help keep down the soil fertility.
Why not make a quadrat by tying four straight pieces of wood/twig together, approximately
75 cm square. Place this on the ground in the wildflower area. How many different plants and
animals can you find in this space? Use magnifiers to observe closely.
www.ccea.org.uk/growing
2
ing
Groow
f r the
Future
Key Stage 1
May
Get Growing!
Thinking,
Problem-Solving,
and Decision-Making
Food Chains
Go to www.sciencepoems.net and use the Food Chain poem in the Biology section to
introduce and explain the term food chain.
On completion of this activity, the children should be able to understand and explain
that a food chain is a linear network of links showing how plants and animals need each
other. There are many ways that you can explore the food chain together. For example,
display the animals from the poem out of sequence on the whiteboard. Ask for volunteers
to move each character into sequence and write its name underneath the picture. Finally,
draw arrows to show the direction the food chain goes. Explain that food chains provide
a natural way to control pests in the garden. Natural (biological) control can be very
effective in controlling pests; for example, ladybirds eat aphids such as greenfly.
www.ccea.org.uk/growing
3
ing
Groow
f r the
Future
Key Stage 1
May
Get Inspired!
Natural Pest Control -–Controlling Greenfly
Display a photograph of a greenfly on the whiteboard. Describe how greenfly harm plants
in the garden by sucking sap from their leaves, roots and stems. Ask if the children have ever
spotted a greenfly before. Bring them outside to check plants for these unwanted pests. Do
they get the all clear, or do the children find a pest problem? Back in the classroom, explore
how we can use what we know about food chains to control greenfly naturally. Research
garden wildlife that eats greenfly, for example ladybirds and blue tits.
Help the children design a food chain to keep greenfly under control in the garden. Again,
use the whiteboard and refer to the food chain poem from earlier as a guide. Start with the
garden plant, follow with the greenfly and finish with the ladybird.
www.ccea.org.uk/growing
4
Thinking,
Problem-Solving,
and Decision-Making
Extension Exercise
Explore rhyming words
to identify words that
rhyme with ‘greenfly’ and
‘ladybird’. Write a simple
food chain poem.
ing
Groow
f r the
Future
Key Stage 1
May
Get Cooking!
Managing
Information
Harvesting Herbs
Go out into the garden to harvest any herbs you have been growing. Allow time for pupils
to look, touch and smell/taste the herbs. Encourage them to use sensory adjectives to
describe them, for example, rough, smooth, hairy, feathery, minty, lemony, fresh, shape
and colour of leaves etc.
Explain that herbs are used by people around the world to add flavour to food, for
example:
Italy: basil used in salads and pizza
France: sage in stews and breads
India: coriander in curries
Greece: mint in dips and as marinades
Once you have harvested your herbs, these can be used in the recipe below.
Method
Herbed Yogurt
Dip Recipe
1. Mix together the yogurt, mint, parsley, dill, garlic,
lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
2. Stir and serve with crudités such as carrots, cucumber
and celery cut into sticks.
Ingredients
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• Zest of 1 lemon plus juice of ½ lemon
www.ccea.org.uk/growing
5