Science lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 30 minutes
Reduce, reuse or recycle?
Ecosystems and food chains
CCSS NGSS.K-ESS3-3England: EYFS Understanding the World: The natural worldEngland: KS1 Y2 Uses of everyday materials
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Reduce, reuse or recycle?.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: no earlier skill in the map; start from what students know.
Leads to: Sort waste into the right recycling group; Actions that help or harm the environment
Materials: Food web cards, Arrows to build chains, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval: three short questions students should already manage. Answers on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Is this reducing, reusing or recycling: sending old newspapers to be made into new paper? (reduce / reuse / recycle) → recyclePrompt: Reduce = use less. Reuse = use again. Recycle = make into something new.
- Which of these is a way to reuse? (switching off lights when you leave a room / putting empty cans in the recycling bin / giving outgrown clothes to a friend / turning off the tap while you brush your teeth) → giving outgrown clothes to a friendPrompt: Is the item used less, used again, or turned into something new?
- A class drinks from paper cups and throws them away every day. Which change makes the biggest difference? (Everyone uses their own refillable bottle. / Use a new cup for every sip. / Throw the cups away twice as fast. / Use bigger paper cups.) → Everyone uses their own refillable bottle.Prompt: Which choice means fewer cups are thrown away?
Hook · 3 min
- Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
- Share the objective: Reduce, reuse or recycle?. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Is this reducing, reusing or recycling: using a jam jar to store pencils?
- Step 1: Reuse means using something again instead of throwing it away.
- Step 2: So the answer is: reuse
- Answer: reuse
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Is this reducing, reusing or recycling: putting empty cans in the recycling bin? (reduce / reuse / recycle) → recyclePrompt: Reduce = use less. Reuse = use again. Recycle = make into something new.
- Which of these is a way to recycle? (switching off lights when you leave a room / putting glass bottles in the bottle bank / buying fruit without plastic wrapping / printing on both sides of the paper) → putting glass bottles in the bottle bankPrompt: Is the item used less, used again, or turned into something new?
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which of these is a way to reuse? (using a jam jar to store pencils / buying fruit without plastic wrapping / switching off lights when you leave a room / turning off the tap while you brush your teeth) → using a jam jar to store pencilsPrompt: Is the item used less, used again, or turned into something new?
- Why is it good to recycle plastic bottles? (Recycled plastic turns into food. / It makes more plastic in the sea. / Less rubbish goes to landfill and the plastic can be made into new things. / It makes the bottles heavier.) → Less rubbish goes to landfill and the plastic can be made into new things.Prompt: Where does rubbish go if it is not recycled?
Watch out for
- Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
- Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"
Support and stretch
Support
- Use concrete materials: food web cards.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Sort waste into the right recycling group; Actions that help or harm the environment.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/kindergarten.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder