• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Reduce, reuse or recycle?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Is this reducing, reusing or recycling: printing on both sides of the paper? (reduce / reuse / recycle) → reducePrompt: Reduce = use less. Reuse = use again. Recycle = make into something new.
2. Which of these is a way to reuse? (putting empty cans in the recycling bin / printing on both sides of the paper / turning off the tap while you brush your teeth / giving outgrown clothes to a friend) → giving outgrown clothes to a friendPrompt: Is the item used less, used again, or turned into something new?
3. Why is it good to recycle plastic bottles? (It makes the bottles heavier. / 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.) → Less rubbish goes to landfill and the plastic can be made into new things.Prompt: Where does rubbish go if it is not recycled?

• Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
• Share the objective: Actions that help or harm the environment. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Does this help or harm the environment: picking all the wild flowers in a meadow?
• Step 1: These actions waste resources or hurt living things.
• Step 2: So the answer is: harms
• Answer: harms
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Does this help or harm the environment: dropping litter on the beach? (helps / harms) → harmsPrompt: Would animals, plants, water or air be better off or worse off?
2. Turtles in the sea can get tangled in plastic bags. What is the best way to help? (Use cloth bags and put rubbish in a bin. / Leave plastic bags on the beach. / Throw more bags into the sea. / Paint the turtles.) → Use cloth bags and put rubbish in a bin.Prompt: How could we stop plastic reaching the sea?

• 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. True or false? Rubbish dropped on the ground disappears by itself in a day. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Think about animals, plants, water and air.
2. Does this help or harm the environment: leaving the tap running? (helps / harms) → harmsPrompt: Would animals, plants, water or air be better off or worse off?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/kindergarten.