Areas of Learning Get Growing!

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 1

ManagingInformation

Areas of Learning• The World Around Us• The Arts• Language and Literacy

Learning IntentionsWe are learning:• how to grow a rosemary plant

from stem cuttings; • to identify the main ideas in a

story; • to locate and describe places

using maps, atlases and globes;• about the properties of materials

and how they are related to their uses;

• that changes in materials can be either desirable or undesirable;

• ways in which animals are adapted to their habitat;

• that humans use the natural materials that make up our place and other places;

• to use drawing techniques to respond to what we see;

• that digital images can be made and manipulated on screen using software tools;

• that people choose food for different reasons, including special occasions; and

• to use a range of food preparation skills with help.

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

Get Growing!Planting and Growing Rosemary Using Stem Cuttings Explain to the children that, while the growing season outdoors has slowed right down due to the weather, we are still able to plant indoors.

Provide a basket containing five indoor herbs that thrive all year round, for example chives, oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary. Ask the children to look at and smell them, describe their appearance, taste them, and think of dishes where they could be used, for example oregano as a pizza herb. Explain that they will be planting and growing rosemary from the original plant by taking stem cuttings. Discuss the reasons for using cuttings:

• they are less expensive than seeds; and• they mature more quickly.

Discuss the uses of rosemary when cooking. (Rosemary is very versatile – it is often used to flavour poultry, lamb, pork and fish. It also goes well with tomato dishes, pasta and rice.)

Explain that a plant started from a cutting will grow successfully on a sunny windowsill – even in the winter months.

Key Using ICT Using Maths Communication

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 2

ManagingInformation

Demonstrate how to take a cutting or slip from the original plant and how to pot the cutting.

1. Choose the spring shoots from the original – the mother plant; they should have green stems and look healthy.

2. Using scissors, carefully snip off the stem approximately 15 cm from its tip.

3. Cut a few extras, as not all stems will be successful and grow roots.

4. Carefully strip off the leaves from the bottom 5 cm of the stem.

5. Put the stem in a jar of water on a warm window ledge in indirect sunlight.

6. Change the water every couple of days. After a few weeks, if successful, you should see roots develop.

7. Fill a pot with potting compost.

8. Use a pencil to push a hole in the compost.

9. Carefully ease one stem into the hole, taking care not to damage the delicate roots.

10. Cover with soil and set on a window ledge in indirect sunlight.

11. As soon as the roots have become established, move the plant to direct sunlight.

12. Cover with soil and set on a window ledge in indirect light until the roots become established and then move the plant to direct sunlight.

13. Make sure you don’t overwater the plant. As the plant grows, you will need to repot it.

14. Repeat this potting process for each cutting.

Ask each child to then make their own rosemary Christmas tree.

Ask the children to decorate their own plant pot before potting the rosemary in it. Demonstrate how they can do this either by using acrylic paints or by mixing PVA glue into poster paints and then creating a snowy winter scene.

Once the rosemary has been potted, suggest that the children:

• cover the top of the soil with moss or cotton wool dusted in glitter to finish off the snowy scene; and

• attach a gold star to the tip of the stem, using stickers or card, to create the look of a star on a Christmas tree.

Encourage the children to come up with other ideas to decorate their Christmas tree.

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 3

If giving the pots as a gift, the children could write a set of care instructions. Information to include might be:

• the species of rosemary – its name;

• when and where it was planted;

• how the slip was taken – so the new owner can do the same when the plant grows bigger;

• when it needs to be watered and the amount of water it needs;

• when it may need to be replanted; and/or

• when it could be planted outside.

ManagingInformation

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 4

Being CreativeGet Inspired!Handa’s SurpriseIntroduce the children to the book Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne. Before reading the story, ask the children to look at the title and cover. Ask them to predict what the surprise might be. Then, read out the blurb on the back cover. Ask the children if this gives any more clues about the surprise.

Talk about where the story may be set, using information from just the cover and title. Tell the children that the story is set in south-west Kenya. Help the children to locate this on a globe or interactive whiteboard and explain that Handa is part of the Luo tribe whose livelihoods depend on fishing and farming.

Read the story to the class. Ask the children how it made them feel. Recap and elaborate on the following aspects of the story:

• the custom of bringing gifts – here and in other places

• the different fruits in the story – not native to Northern Ireland, but imported

• the different animals in the story – not native to Northern Ireland, but may be seen in a zoo

• how the fruit was carried – would it be difficult to carry food on your head?

• the happy surprise at the end – were the gifts important?

Fill a flat basket with some plastic fruit and measure between two points in the classroom. Set the challenge for the children – who can walk the distance between the two points without dropping any fruit or the basket? Measure how far each child gets without dropping anything.

Ask the children to research Africa as a continent and what life is like for the Luo tribe living in Kenya. Ask them to find out about some of the everyday routines of Luo children, and compare and contrast these with the lifestyle of children in Northern Ireland.

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 5

Being Creative

Make a 3D Story Map of Handa’s Surprisecon) You can do this indoors using junk materials to construct the long grass, fruit trees and mud huts along Handa’s journey. Small world figures could be used for the characters or the children could make their own by painting wooden spoons as the various characters.

Alternatively, help the children to build the story map outdoors using natural materials. They can build the huts by making their own mud bricks.

What you need:

• Soil• Sand• Water• Weighing scales• Mixing bowl• 1 ice cube tray or egg carton• Stick• Spoon

Instructions

1. Mix soil, sand and water in a bowl to form mud.

2. Stir the mixture with the stick.

3. Carefully spoon the mixture into the ice cube tray or egg carton and press it down firmly.

4. Allow the mixture to dry before removing it carefully from the ice cube tray or egg carton.

Encourage the children to investigate which bricks will be best to build with. Explain that they should do this by first making different types of mud mixtures, for example:

• sand and water;

• soil and water;

• sand, soil and water; and/or

• sand, soil, organic material (grass) and water.

Make Mud Bricks

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 6

African AnimalsAsk the children to find out about some of the animals in the story, including where they live and what they eat. If possible, take the children on a trip to the zoo to observe some of the animals from the story.

Explore skin patterns on the animals, for example the zebra and the giraffe. Ask the children to name other animals with striking patterns on their skin, such as tigers and leopards.

Ask the children to collect images of these animals and closely observe the colours and the shapes of their different skin patterns. Help the children to identify circles, lines, polygons etc.

Discuss why these animals might have the various colours and patterns, for example camouflage. Ask the children to use a suitable drawing or painting program on a computer or tablet, or else paper, pencils and crayons, to recreate various animal skin patterns. Ask the children to identify the animal skin patterns that the others in the class have created.

Being Creative

Growingfor theFuture

Key Stage 1December

www.ccea.org.uk/growing 7

ManagingInformation

Get Cooking!Festive Baked ApplesAs it is getting close to Christmas, suggest baking a healthy festive fruit dessert. Allow the children to add a range of ingredients for a festive aroma and taste.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C, 320°F or gas mark 3.

2. Core the apples and place them on an ovenproof tray.

3. In a bowl, combine the dried fruit, spices, honey, and orange and lemon zest.

4. Put an equal amount of the mixture into the cavity of each apple.

5. Pour the orange and lemon juice onto the ovenproof tray.

6. Bake the apples for 60 minutes, occasionally spooning the juices over the top of them as they cook.

Serve with low fat fromage frais or crème fraîche.

Festive Baked ApplesIngredients (serves 4)

• 4 Bramley apples• 4 tablespoons honey• 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice• 80 g raisins• 80 g sultanas• 80 g currants• zest and juice of ½ orange• zest and juice of ½ lemon