Australia and New Zealand will co-host the ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. 32 teams will compete, up from 24 at France in 2019.

When is the Women’s World Cup 2023?

The Women’s World Cup 2023 takes place between 20th July and 20 August 2023.

Women’s World Cup 2023 reading challenge

Join the National Literacy Trust and Lioness Leah Williamson at a free online Great FIFA World Cup 2023 Reading Challenge event on Thursday 20th July 2023.

Pupils will engage in fun and interactive reading and writing activities and will have the chance to submit questions.

Make World Cup predictions using real-time stats

With major sporting events come great opportunities to bring the rich world of statistics into the primary classroom. Football provides vast amounts of data with which many children will already be familiar – top goal scorers, league tables, numbers of passes, red cards.

Maths lessons are the perfect opportunity to harness the enthusiasm for the game in order to challenge mathematical thinking. Download Aidan Severs’ KS2 football statistic maths lesson plan.

Disney Shooting Stars training

Help girls unlock their inner superheroes and get lost in the magic of Disney storytelling, all while getting physically active.

Designed to be delivered at breakfast club, lunchtime or after school, The Disney inspired Shooting Stars training course from the FA is free for primary school staff and comprises an online training course made of five separate modules:

• Introduction
• The fundamentals
• Put it into practice
• The Disney experience
• Bring it to the playground

Free KS1 football poetry resource pack

Harness pupils’ enthusiasm for football by reading the football poem included in this free Plazoom KS1 World Cup resource pack. They’ll look at how verbs are used, before writing their own poems.

The download contains teaching notes and slides, a poem, football images, a poetry planning sheet and themed writing paper.

KS2 World Cup oracy activities and worksheets

This Key Stage 2 World Cup resource pack from Plazoom asks pupils to create an oral commentary to accompany images from football matches, clips of football matches or school football activities.

They’ll explore the language commentators use and identify how they show enthusiasm when speaking, before writing a short sports article that takes into account different viewpoints.

Describe settings with Frank Lampard

Written by Frank Lampard, the Frankie’s Magic Football series is the perfect combination of magic and football to inspire creative writing. With each adventure taking place in a different location (from the prehistoric land of dinosaurs to the jungles of Brazil), the books prompt children to consider the idea of setting in story writing.

This KS1 football literacy lesson plan encourages children to think about the techniques involved in good descriptive writing and how powerful language, adjectives and sensory description can create different effects.

Motivate footy fanatics with pop art

It’s tempting to think that using the World Cup to engage children’s learning has to involve copious amounts of PE. However, making links between football and other subject areas can be a powerful motivator for children whose main interest is sports.

This KS2 football art lesson plan shows how the movements of favourite footballers, combined with pop art, can inspire an eye-catching art project.

KS2 book topic – Kick by Mitch Johnson

Kick by Mitch Johnson focuses on young boy Budi who lives in Jakarta, Indonesia. Instead of going to school he has to work at the local factory making football boots.

This special book covers poverty, child labour and crime, while maintaining an undertone of humour, hope and bravery.

Read the book in class and use these cross-curriculular UKS2 activity ideas to extend children’s understanding of the novel.

Develop decision-making in games

This KS3/4 PE lesson plan is based around improving students’ decision-making skills no matter how chaotic a game gets.

It helps boost skills, confidence and character, while thinking about game-winning tactics as well as technique.

The physics of football

In 1997, Brazilian football player Roberto Carlos’ free kick hooked dramatically to the left and landed in goal. How did he do it?

Watch the video then answer quiz questions and learn more at TEDEd.

Football School writing resources

These KS2 resources were created for the 2018 World Cup but can easily be adapted.

The authors of the Football School series have set pupils an exciting challenge to write a lesson for their favourite subject, but with a World Cup twist. 

Head to the National Literacy Trust website to get the resource, handouts, a poster and printable certificates.

You can also download a Football School activity kit so children can design their own team kit, mascot, crest, stadium and more.

KS3 maths worksheet – percentage changes

This KS3 maths football worksheet asks students to use calculate percentage changes in footballers’ salaries over time.

More ideas and resources

Football reading lists

Check out the National Literacy Trust’s list of recommended football reads for children aged 0-12. We’ve also got our own list of football book recommendations here.

Using football to improve behaviour

Read about how Chris Baylis used Premier League Primary Stars to improve the behaviour of KS1 boys, focusing on the values of respect, fair play and teamwork.

What England footballer Leah Williamson learnt at school

Arsenal and England defender Leah Williamson looks back on the efforts her school made to help her realise her footballing ambitions.

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Maths is a personal passion of mine. In fact, leading maths was my first step into school leadership.

As such, I agree with some of your hypotheses. I think there is a culture of greater acceptance around struggling with maths.

And, partly as a result of this, we have too many adults who do not have the numeracy skills and knowledge required to thrive in their day-to-day lives. 

As I say, I chose this career to change lives. This is also the reason I chose primary over secondary: the earlier we intervene, the greater the chance of success.

Unsurprisingly, I believe the bulk of any work to address the challenges you’ve rightly identified needs to be focused on children as early as possible.

Not just because this is where you will impact the mindset and culture. But because, except in a minority of specific cases, if children do not have the core fundamentals in maths they need for life by age 11, something has gone seriously wrong. 

Importance of maths

First and foremost is what we teach.

If we look at our aim – to ensure people are sufficiently numerate for life and that there is a positive culture around maths – I would argue that a key barrier is the amount of content in the primary curriculum. Particularly in Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2.

We need children to be leaving primary school positive and enthused about maths.

They need to have the foundations in place to go on and experience further success at secondary school; deepening their knowledge and applying it to a wider-range of practical contexts as these become conceptually relevant.

No child (who doesn’t face a specific learning challenge) should leave primary without a strong grasp of number, place value and calculation.

These are the core building blocks and the vast majority of what we need in life.  

Maths national curriculum

We have embraced the concept of a mastery approach in this country. And yet, the curriculum itself does not match the theory.

Even by seven years old, the breadth of what we expect children to know is overwhelming.

It means teachers have to move through the curriculum too fast to cover too much content. Inevitably, then, too many children do not have sufficient time to fully master the concepts they so desperately need.

Once this has happened, it starts to be compounded year-on-year. Children develop increasingly negative attitudes – fear, embarrassment, anxiety – around maths. By secondary school, this is incredibly hard to undo, let alone by 16. 

At Kensington Primary, we have reorganised the curriculum to address this challenge and we are beginning to see the impact.

However, it will take time and it is despite the system not because of it.

We need a fundamental rethink of what it is all children (and adults) need in maths for daily life.

Doing this would both ensure everyone has the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, and impact the culture so that more people would be enthused about the subject and choose to pursue maths to 18, developing the specialist skills and knowledge needed for specific career paths.  

Maths in real life

Maths also needs to be relevant.

Too often, maths is seen to be about the right answer. However, we know it is so much more than that: problem solving; strategic thinking; paying attention to the detail; and resilience are all skills the subject teaches us, that we can use in numerous other areas of life.

This will build greater enthusiasm and shift attitudes. It will also improve people’s experience of success, further improving the culture around maths.

Unfortunately, SATs do not prioritise this. Instead, too often, children are taught to the test and maths is boiled down to a very simplistic equation – EXS or not. 

With the right focus and commitment, I am confident that we can significantly change the narrative around maths.  

Thank you for your support with this. I hope we see some further solutions to boost maths knowledge and skills and change attitudes from an early age very soon. 

From, Ben. 

Ben Levinson, OBE is headteacher at Kensington Primary School. Learn more about the school on Twitter @KensingtonSch and at kensington.newham.sch.uk 

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With all due respect to the PM, I hope his ‘benign advice’ meets with widespread resistance from secondary leaders and maths teachers.

Maths is a vital subject, of course. We should teach it – arithmetic, especially – as well as possible, for as long as possible. However, any suggestion that maths is somehow ‘superior’ to the rest of the curriculum is misplaced.

The jewel in our educational crown is the solemn promise we make to sixth-formers that we will honour the subject choices they make that best suit their talents. Teachers should never be asked to break that promise.

Hearts and minds

The late Sir Ken Robinson spoke eloquently about the way in which intelligence is diverse, dynamic and distinct. Countless educators admire his ‘Do Schools Kill Creativity?’ TED talk for a reason. His message was a simple, yet profound one. It was that we should nurture students’ imaginations and let dancers be dancers, musicians be musicians and artists be artists.

Listening to both the hearts and minds of teenagers is a crucial pedagogical skill; we don’t just function from the neck upwards.

When we respect teenagers for who they are and what they might one day become, what you’ll often find is that they manage to forge their own pathways to happiness and success. As Oscar Wilde once sagely advised, ‘Be yourself; everyone else is taken.’

As things currently stand, we typically teach school students maths in some capacity virtually every day for a span of 11 years. If, after that much time and combined effort, a child still doesn’t secure a 4 or 5 in their GCSE maths exams, we should perhaps accept that forcing them to acquire higher maths skills regardless could significantly distract them from the more specialised studies they’ll be moving on to.

Let’s not blame maths teachers or students for those GCSE failings, as to do so would be unfair. Most teenagers wouldn’t see themselves as ‘anti-maths’, or indeed ‘pro maths’. They likely aren’t clamouring for opportunities to study further maths.

If it’s the case that a student simply doesn’t find maths as enjoyable a subject as drama, art, history, music or politics, that’s simply a preference – not a crime.

Maths until 18 and prejudice

Instead, why can’t we recognise and celebrate the sheer diversity of our collective teenage talents? I’d argue that doing this could even be crucial for our efforts at maintaining a vibrant democracy.

Many years ago, I taught RE to a rare, bona fide philosophical genius in Y11. She went on to became the school’s head girl. The sole blight on her otherwise stellar CV was a lower-set placing in maths.

“Why can’t we recognise and celebrate the sheer diversity of our collective teenage talents?”

As brilliant as she evidently was, neither she nor anyone else could quite understood why she struggled as much as she did with maths. She was an archetypal overachiever, but one who worked hard for an overall ‘D’ grade in maths that she was deeply ashamed of. She would frequently punish herself for her ‘failures’ by refusing food.

At the heart of every prejudice lies reductionism. It’s ignorance that compels some people to reduce others to little more than their sexuality, race, age, colour, ethnicity or religion, or any other personal quality. My fear is that insisting on teaching post-16 maths to everyone amounts to naked prejudice, rather than positive discrimination.

Why focus on what teenagers don’t excel at, rather than fostering their unique talents?

Early excitement

We don’t need to be skilled mathematicians to make our mark in life. Even if we insist that every student studies maths to 18, those who barely scrape through their GCSE exams will rarely become A Level maths hotshots. We don’t usually excel at subjects we hate.

I believe Mr Sunak is staring into the wrong end of the telescope. Aristotle was recorded as saying, ‘Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man’. We need to focus far more on exciting our primary school children in maths earlier on, so here’s a thought. Why not enlist a major media company or two and task them with creating a popular superhero who solves global problems with their advanced maths skills?

Well, I’ve calculated my angles and can’t wait to pitch my own ‘Fraction Man’ creation to Mr Sunak and assorted Disney executives…

John Lawson is a former secondary teacher. He now serves as a foundation governor while running a tutoring service. He’s the author of the book The Successful (Less Stressful) Student (Outskirts Press, £11.95). Find out more at prep4successnow.wordpress.com or follow @johninpompano

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Keen to quickly find an answer, pupils will often skim-read the information given in a question, focusing mainly on the numbers provided.

They look for the first clues as to the correct operation to perform, often making errors or missing important steps. 

In contrast, an expert problem-solver may take longer processing and representing the information that is given in a question.

They can consider whether an answer is realistic. They may even have the capacity to course-correct if they make a mistake. 

Worded maths questions

The research paper ‘Removing opportunities to calculate improves students’ performance on subsequent word problems’ (Givvin, Moroz, Loftus & Stigler, 2019) has helped me to see how all children can learn to break down word questions.

If pupils are given all the information in a word question in full, they have a lot of data to process all at once, which can be a significant barrier.

Also, children often don’t think about the mathematical structure of the question as they quickly try to calculate the answer.  

But what if the information in a worded question was revealed more gradually? This limits the amount of detail that needs to be processed in any one moment.

Also, by making it impossible to calculate an answer straight away, children are forced to think about the structure of the question.

They can predict the extra information that they might need. Or given all the information, children can guess what the question could be.

We might not show numbers, so children can calculate different possible answers.

Suddenly, what was previously a closed question becomes an interesting, open task! 

Let’s consider an example ‘slow reveal’ prompt, where to begin with we’ve concealed parts of the question behind coloured bars, like this: 

Step 1

Pencils: 20p Rubbers: 15p 

Here, I can start by reading the information and asking, ‘What could the question be?’ and, ‘If that’s the question, what would the information be?’ 

The children might suggest it’s, ‘How much does it cost?’ or, ‘How much change does she get?’.

We can model some simple question-answer combinations as examples. 

Step 2

Pencils: 20p Rubbers: 15p 

How many rubbers can Jen afford? 

The question is revealed. To be able to answer this question, what information is needed? What could the missing information be? 

At this stage, we can recognise that we will need to know how much money Jen has.

We might ask a question like, ‘If the missing information is Jen has 50p, what would the answer be?’ 

Step 3

Pencils: 20p Rubbers: 15p 

Jen has £1. She buys ___ pencils and some rubbers. 

How many rubbers can Jen afford? 

Now we have all the information, but one number is still hidden. This allows us to calculate different possible answers. Some children might find all the possible answers!  

We could represent one example answer with a bar model: 

Jen could buy 4 pencils and 1 rubber 

Step 4

Pencils: 20p Rubbers: 15p 

Jen has £1. She buys 3 pencils and some rubbers. 

How many rubbers can Jen afford? 

Finally, we can reveal question in full. By now, all children have a much deeper understanding of the question. 

Division KS2

A classic division context for children in KS2 maths is to explore is eggs in egg boxes.

Typically, for a given number of eggs, we will ask, ‘How many egg boxes do we need?’.

Often, we want pupils to identify from the context what to do with any ‘remainder’ eggs.

Are they supposed to round up or round down? Here’s an example of how to explore this context.

At each stage, you can use counters to model the calculation if required. 

Step 1

The farmer packs ____ eggs into boxes. 

Each egg box can hold 6 eggs. 

Here, we can ask, ‘What could the question be?’ or, ‘What different questions could be asked?’. 

Step 2: 

The farmer packs ____ eggs into boxes. 

Each egg box can hold 6 eggs. 

How many egg boxes can we fill? 

Now that children know the question, they can give a possible answer. Often, they will choose to work in a number range that is comfortable for them, for example choosing 12 eggs. 

Step 3

The farmer packs ____ eggs into boxes. 

Each egg box can hold 6 eggs. 

How many egg boxes can we fill? 

Answer: 3 boxes 

This time, rather than giving the number of eggs, we could give children the answer and ask, ‘How many eggs could there be?’.

Now there are different possible answers. Can children find them? There could be 18 eggs. But there could also be as many as 23 eggs! 

Step 4

The farmer packs ____ eggs into boxes. 

Each egg box can hold 6 eggs. 

How many egg boxes do we need to hold all the eggs? 

Answer: 3 boxes 

For the final step, we make a slight change to the question. Now, if there are any remaining eggs, we round the answer up.

By making only a small change to the question, and by keeping all the other information the same, children can see the difference between the two questions.

You can change the challenge in the number range used as appropriate, and again the answer(s) can be modelled using counters. 

By revealing the information in word questions slowly, or by making small changes from one version of a question to the next, we help to slow down children’s thinking and create rich opportunities for discussion.

In using this technique, I have seen pupils experience less anxiety when working through word questions, as they have had more time to process the information.

It can also support children with English as an additional language (EAL) to identify the meaning of key terms.

Finally, it helps all pupils to understand and explain the process of breaking down a multi-step question.

I hope it’s a useful tool for you too! 

Gareth Metcalfe is director of I See Maths Ltd. Follow him on Twitter @gareth_metcalfe  

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Look at the four pairs of simultaneous equations below:

Which ones could you solve by adding the equations together? Which ones could you solve by subtracting one equation from the other? Students may be unsure and not know how to decide.

The solution

Don’t worry about solving the equations just yet. All I want you to do is simply add together each pair of equations. And also subtract each pair of equations. See what you get.

By adding, students should obtain the following:

And by subtracting the second equation from the first equation:

Students may not bother to write the 0𝑥 and 0𝑦 where there are no 𝑥 and 𝑦 terms, and this is fine.

They may make errors, particularly when subtracting the negative terms – so for the subtractions, they may end up with the wrong answers shown in red below:

Writing out the difficult subtractions explicitly may help:

When does adding eliminate an unknown?
This happens when two terms are equal in magnitude, but of opposite sign
(e.g., 2𝑦 and –2𝑦).

When does subtracting eliminate an unknown?
This happens when two terms are equal in magnitude, and of the same sign
(e.g., –3𝑦 and –3𝑦).

Sometimes, it can help if students remember the following: When the Signs are the Same you Subtract.

Can you find a pair of equations where either adding or subtracting will lead to elimination of one of the unknowns?

An example would be 3𝑥 + 2𝑦 = 11 and 3𝑥 – 2𝑦 = 7.

The solution to all of these pairs of equations is 𝑥 = 3, 𝑦 = 1.

Checking for understanding

To assess students’ understanding, ask them to create four pairs of simultaneous equations of their own, two of which can be solved by adding the equations, and two of which can be solved by subtracting the equations.

They should label clearly which are which.

Colin Foster (@colinfoster77) is a Reader in Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics Education at Loughborough University and has written numerous books and articles for mathematics teachers; for more information, visit foster77.co.uk

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Coronation of King Charles III – fun, free celebration-themed activities

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is bringing the Coronation celebrations to your classroom through the wonder and excitement of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths).

Our resources are packed full of free themed activities to keep children engaged in the run-up to the big day. Join in and find tea party ideas to inspire numeracy and design and technology skills with your 4–11 year olds.

The activities for both KS1 and KS2 are mapped to the curricula with lesson plans and presentations alongside the printables, so you’ll have everything you need to hand. Why not get your whole school and PTA involved?

Certificates to congratulate your students and posters to brighten up your classroom

Are you looking to reward your students for their hard work? Did you know that we have a range of freely downloadable certificates to award achievements in maths, science and technology, or left blank for you to fill in another subject?

Or if you’re interested in adding a bit of colour to your classroom, we have a number of posters available to print. Show children the amazing possibilities that a career in STEM has to offer with this free 100 jobs in STEM poster, or brighten up your room with this poster showcasing the real-world use of robotics.

Maths resources – the Pi’s the limit with these ideas for KS1 and KS2

Maths plays a key part in all of our lives so we have grouped some of our most popular maths resources here for you.

Don’t forget that our resources are free and easy to use and customise within your lesson plans. Many are cross-curricular too, so will include an element of maths within them to help your students understand how it underpins so many of our actions every day.

Why not grab a ‘pizza’ the action to understand fractions through a pizza-cutter approach or solve multiplication problems with a fun bingo activity? Explore the free maths resources now!

If your pupils try any of our activities, we’d love to see your final creations or ideas, so please share your pictures with our social media channels, tagging @IETeducation. We can’t wait to see them!

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Earth Day happens every year on April 22nd to raise awareness for environmental concerns.

The first Earth Day was held in 1970. It’s now a popular hook for schools to use to have conversations with pupils around climate change.

Celebrations include various events coordinated globally by earthday.org. Around 1 billion people in more than 193 countries take part.

The official theme for 2023 is Invest in Our Planet.

When is Earth Day?

This year, Earth Day is celebrated on 22nd April 2023.

KS2 maths lesson

This free KS2 maths lesson plan will help you to look at the important issue of single-use plastics with your class. You’ll cover key aspects of the maths curriculum in a practical, real-world way by delving into real data.

Climate change debate reading and writing activity

This free resource pack for KS2 includes a story about the heatwave of 2020 from The Week Jr newspaper, plus a sheet of activities designed to get children talking, thinking and writing about the world around them.

KS2 book topic

October, October by Katya Balen explores our connection to the natural world, making it a great choice for Earth Day. Every page of this wonderful book will give your class lots to think about. Use this free plan to explore the book in a cross-curricular way.

KS2 RE medium term plan

Lots of subjects lend themselves to climate discussions, including RE. This free medium term plan by Adam Smith explores stewardship in Islam, how the Hajj pilgrimage is being affected by the climate and more.   

How to teach about the climate

Want to engage your pupils with the crisis without scaring them? Try these ideas from Nicola Penfold to show children the happy side of environmentalism…

1. Find relevant books 

There are many brilliant, engaging, thought-provoking stories out there to capture your students’ imagination and interest, including The Last Bear by Hannah Gold, Where the River Runs Gold by Sita Brahmachari and The Last Wild books by Piers Torday.

For younger children, there’s a raft of picture books about protecting nature and plastic in the ocean, etc.

These titles generate conversation and empower change. They can also be prompts for creative writing.

A ‘climate-fiction’ story provides an intriguing setting and a ready-made goal (finding clean water / air / land / food / justice). Pupils can write survival stories, journeys and revolutions. 

2. Get gardening 

The nature crisis comes hand-in-hand with the climate crisis. Teach them together. Schools can make a big difference to biodiversity locally.

If every school encourages wildlife into its grounds – wildflowers, log piles, bird feeders, ivy screens separating playgrounds from roads – this adds to nature corridors up and down our country and allows more species to thrive.

It enables all pupils to play a part in protecting their local environment, too, whether they have outside space at home or not. 

3. Go outside 

Being in nature is good for us. The evidence is overwhelming. It makes us happier, healthier, calmer, even kinder.

Make time to take your class outside to any wilder areas in your school grounds, or visit local green spaces.

Enjoying being in the natural world is a gift you can give your pupils that, like reading for pleasure, they can benefit from their entire lives.

“Enjoying being in the natural world is a gift you can give your pupils”

The climate and biodiversity crisis are the biggest challenges we face, and there are difficult times ahead, especially for younger generations.

Many young people know this and are frightened. Equip them with the solace nature can provide. 

4. Model eco-friendly behaviour  

Reducing waste, encouraging recycling, introducing meat free days, avoiding single use plastic, starting a school compost heap – these habits spread out to families and the benefit goes well beyond the classroom.

Don’t underestimate the power of what you model and teach. One of my daughters learned about palm oil and orangutans at school and this directly changed our family’s shopping habits. 

5. Stay tuned to current events 

Many organisations reach out to schools with climate education tools, for example WWF has free live lessons you can register for online.

All these things increase around Earth Day in April. Celebrate it in your school.

You can also have a go at identifying wildlife you see outside.

It doesn’t matter if your starting point is ignorance; show curiosity and learn alongside your pupils (or from the more nature-literate ones among them). 

6. Find out about natural climate solutions  

What is rewilding? What natural habitats capture and store carbon? It goes way beyond trees. When researching my book I was fascinated to learn about the part whales play in the climate.

They feed in the depths of the ocean, but return to the surface to poo. Their excrement feeds vast plumes of phytoplankton, which in turn captures carbon dioxide (four times as much as the Amazon rainforest!).

When a whale dies naturally, it sinks to the ocean floor and the carbon in its enormous body is locked away for centuries.

Knowing that the natural world has in-built climate solutions can give us hope, and also make us double down on our efforts to protect it.  

Nicola Penfold is author of Beyond the Frozen Horizon (£7.99, Little Tiger). 

Using trees to teach climate change in KS3

We hear from Forestry England how a discussion of trees can be the springboard for some powerful lessons on climate change…

Trees play a vital role in tackling the climate emergency, by absorbing carbon dioxide and storing it as carbon in the form of wood. They can also play an important role in reducing flooding and keeping our air clean.

Introduce your students to the role that well-managed forests play in tackling the climate emergency by watching the below video.

Whether your school is located near a forest or not, trees can still be used to spark useful discussion. The cross-curricular activities below can be completed sequentially over a number of weeks.

Remember that it’s important to reassure your students that actions they take now can have an important positive impact in future.

1. Get outside

Take students outside and ask them to hug a tree in the school grounds or your local area – it’s a fun way to introduce the topic.

Discuss the tree’s natural and seasonal processes. How does it function? Where does it store carbon? What role does it play in absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen?

2. Talk it through

Lead a discussion on how planting more trees can help ease local issues. Topics that could be covered here include sustainable timber, wildlife habitats and the wellbeing benefits of spending time in green spaces.

3. Self-reflect

Ask students to calculate how much carbon a specific tree can store, using this carbon capture activity sheet. Then ask students to research how much carbon they use themselves each day or week – this carbon footprint analysis table can provide a good starting point.

How many trees would you need to plant to offset this carbon, both individually and for the whole class?

4. Carry out an audit

Discuss whether there’s enough land to keep planting more trees to sequester our carbon needs. What else does your class think we could do collectively to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions?

Split students into smaller groups and ask them to walk around the school, carrying out an audit of small changes that can be made to help reduce carbon emissions.

Focus on areas such as energy, water, food, sustainable materials, waste, transport and biodiversity.

5. Weigh up the solutions

Review the groups’ audits during an open discussion, encouraging students to consider which suggestions are most cost effective versus those that will have the biggest impact.

Don’t forget to consider negative outcomes and mitigation tactics.

6. Draft a pledge

Use the information your students have gathered to draft a class pledge to tackle your school’s carbon footprint. Make sure it’s achievable and measurable, so that your class can see what difference they’re able to make.

Reassure your students that as individuals, we can have valuable impact – but that collectively, we can achieve so much more.

Forestry England’s climate change resource hub contains a range of free, curriculum-linked KS3 resources, including videos, case studies and student investigations.

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Early Years colouring sheets for Easter

Get into the Easter spirit with these themed colouring sheets for children in the early years. There are five designs, featuring Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs.

Footprint bunny picture

Example from ssww.com

This one is a sentimental treasure for the family. Paint each child’s feet and have them do two sets of footprints on paper – these will form the ears and feet of the bunny.

Then take a photo of each child’s face. Give each child a card bunny shape which they can then coat with cotton wool balls, scraps of wool or faux fur fabric.

Once these are dry, stick the child’s photo on the face of the bunny shape, one set of footprints to the head for ears, and the other set at the bottom of the bunny to make its feet.

Free Easter Egg hunt resources

Celebrate Easter by using this free EYFS pack from Plazoom. Design your own Easter egg using the template and search for the eggs in the Find the Easter Egg worksheet.

Next you can hide the eggs children have created around your setting and let the chaos begin!

Easter-themed maths worksheet for KS1

This single-page illustrated activity sheet has an Easter theme. Pupils are tasked with entering the missing numbers below a series of egg baskets, so that the two numbers underneath each basket add up to 10.

Early Years Easter colour-by-number sheets

Invite your early years charges to practise their colouring skills and number recognition with these Easter-themed colouring sheets. There are four unique designs, featuring Easter Bunnies and chocolate eggs. Children can follow the colours suggested or express their creativity.

Carrot footprint Easter craft ideas

Example from brisbanekids.com.au

You won’t need many materials for these speedy Easter craft ideas. They are such sweet and easy things to make. Paint each child’s feet with orange paint and have them do a pair of footprints on a piece of card or paper.

Cut out once dry. Then have the children cut some strips or fringes of green paper, which they should then stick to the top of their orange footprints. Attach a loop of ribbon to make it a hanging decoration or write a nice Happy Easter message on the other side. There you have it!

Paper mache eggs

Example from handimania.com

These simple and fun treat eggs are great to be given as presents, or for children to enjoy themselves.

Start with some small individually wrapped chocolates and insert a small handful into a balloon (this can be a bit tricky, so do this part for them), then inflate and tie them.

Hand these out to your students and have them paper mache them, and then decorate them once they are dry, with paints, sequins, glitter and such.

Once the finished products are dry, pop the balloons with a pin and pull the scraps of rubber out.

Easter egg cookies

Another easy idea that is fun and very creative. If you have the facilities at school to allow children to bake as well as decorate their cookies then fantastic – if not, you could always pre-bake egg-shaped cookies and bring them in for your students to make pretty and later take home.

Provide plenty of nice vibrant ingredients for them to decorate with, like icing tubes, sprinkles, edible glitter and chocolate chips.

Once the cookies are finished and the decorations dried, put each one in a cellophane bag and tie with a curl of coloured ribbon, ready to take home.

Easter egg picture

Example from 2createincolor.com

Here children can have collage fun that will end up Easter-shaped.

Get lots of different coloured paper, with patterns if possible, and cut into strips. Then give each child a sheet of card and let them go wild with sticking, and invite them to make the brightest pattern they can think of with the variety of prints and colours.

Once the whole surface is covered and the glue has dried, take another sheet of card the same size with an egg-shaped hole cut into the middle. Use it as the frame and mount it on top of the collage, which will produce a vibrant collage Easter egg.

Salt dough decorations

Example from thedesperatecraftwives.blogspot.co.uk

Prepare a batch of salt dough and use cookie cutters to stamp out some egg shapes, and remember to pierce a hole near the top.

Once they have dried, hand them out to your students and provide them with a bunch of decorating materials, like paints and glitter.

Allow them to dry and thread a loop of coloured ribbon through the hole to complete your egg decorations.

This is just the start of Easter crafting. There are so many ways in which you can have fun with art and make some lovely keepsakes for children to share with their families and friend.

Look around at this time of year for other inspirations – shop windows and displays are great places to look for Easter craft ideas that children will enjoy making and enjoy taking home.

Easter-themed tuff tray

You’ve probably got a number of Easter items available, so why not use them to enjoy some sensory play and incorporate them in an Easter-themed Tuff Tray like this one from Learning and Exploring Through Play?

Easter craft ideas using carrots

What’s the perfect art material for some Easter art? Carrots, of course! Experiment with different ways to make your mark this Easter.

Craft idea for scrap paper

A useful Easter craft idea to use up patterned colouring pages or patterned paper suitable for any age group.

Sew a spring egg cosy craft project

A cute egg cosy sewing craft suitable for stitching or gluing, includes a printable to scale template. Children will love making these cosies and would make an excellent Easter or Spring craft project.

Spring chicken card and 3D paper crafts

A set of three chicken-inspired papercrafts suitable for younger children. The set includes two card ideas, one 3D cockerel craft and printable template design. It’s a perfect Easter, Spring or farmyard craft that children will love.

Thank you to Charlotte Baldwin from IQ Cards for some of these lovely Easter ideas.

The post Easter craft ideas – Best activities for Early Years and KS1 appeared first on Teachwire.

Earth Day is back on 22nd April. So, why not take the opportunity explore our world in terms of numbers and data?

This lesson will help you to look at important issues affecting the Earth right now – such as single-use plastics – whilst covering key aspects of the maths curriculum in a practical real-world way.

It will also get kids thinking about issues that can affect their everyday lives. Ask questions like ‘how many plastic do we use each year?’.

So, without further ado, delve into real data and test out their numeracy skills in context…

Starter activity

Begin by explaining that we use plastic every day, and that it is all around us.

Encourage pupils to look around the classroom and see how many items they can find that are made from plastic.

Explain that some items, such as plastic bags, plastic bottles and straws, we often only use once and then throw away. These are called single-use plastics.

Next, discuss the fact that plastic doesn’t naturally decompose. So, when we throw it away it fills up landfills, litters the Earth and even ends up washed into the ocean.

Approximately 80 million tons of plastic are currently destroying our oceans! Animals can become tangled in plastic or swallow it.

What they’ll learn

• To analyse real-life data
• To create bar graphs and pie charts
• Investigate how many plastic bags we use each year
• Find out how much money people spend on plastic bags
• Learn what happens to the money made on purchasing plastic bags

Use this lesson plan to help explore Earth Day activities with your children, and develop their maths skills at the same time.

Catherine Casey is a former teacher, and is currently a freelance educational resource writer. Follow her on Twitter @cathcasey21 and see more of her work at catherinecasey.co.uk.

Browse more resources for World Environment Day.

The post Earth Day activities – the maths of plastic bags appeared first on Teachwire.