What is the common link between chocolate biscuits and orangutans? In this activity aimed at ages 8-9, children learn about rainforests, their location, structure and some of the animals and plants that live in them. They look at rainforests in Sumatra and how deforestation has occurred in order to grow oil palm...

This Barefoot Computing resource for upper-primary computing lessons uses the creation of a Scratch maths quiz as a basis for learning about algorithms using selection.

Children are asked to create an algorithm that...

This Barefoot Computing resource builds on the ‘Maths quiz with selection’ learning activities which should be undertaken first.

It involves improving an existing Scratch maths quiz and adding score-keeping using...

This activity allows students to investigate how images are produced from data streams by using first a spreadsheet and then an image-processing program. They then go on to see how the usefulness of such a monochromatic image may be enhanced by using lookup tables and calibration. The materials used focus on the...

In this resource designed by the IET, students explore statistics and use them to decide on a ranking of football players. Football players are ranked in different ways and there are a variety of awards they can be presented with. For example, each year the Ballon D’Or is awarded to the player judged to be the ‘...

A cross-curricular programming activity, using loops in Scratch to draw patterns. Learners first design an algorithm to draw a simple 2D shape, and then use the 'repeat' block to generate artwork. It is advised that children have some prior experience of programming in Scratch. Experimentation and debugging is...

In celebration of its founder, Fritz Schumacher’s centenary year Practical Action have created Small Is...Challenge. Schumacher’s philosophy was based on the idea that even a small change can have a big impact on people’s lives. The challenge for students is to look at technologies from the last 100 years and...

Aimed at primary aged students, this STEM project provides a real-life context to explore the health and environmental problems faced by the 3 billion people globally who cook on open fires or traditional cooking stoves. Children are introduced to a family in Nepal and learn about indoor air pollution from their...

Using spellings of familiar words this Barefoot Computing unplugged computing activity for younger primary children introduces algorithms as rules that are followed, and which may require decisions and exceptions. From the Barefoot Computing project, this short lesson asks children to deduce spelling rules uses...

This Practical Action resource presents a fun hands-on and brains-on challenge for Key Stages Two to Five.

The problem:...

Stop the spread is a new STEM challenge for students aged 7 to 16. Highlighting the global issue of infectious disease students design, build and test a model of a hand washing device and produce educational materials for children in Kenya to encourage hand washing. It is accredited for the British Science...

This resource, aimed at primary level, helps to develop an understanding of pollination and how flowers attract insects. Linked to the topics of lifecycles, plants and living things and their habitats, it provides an opportunity to identify and name wild flowers, whilst investigating the frequency of different...

This activity supports learning in science and history, using the context of Dr Edward Jenner’s work on developing a vaccine for Smallpox.
Using a wide range of secondary sources of information children find out about different people’s views on vaccination in the early 1880’s. Using this information they can...

This activity supports learning in history and English, using the context of the context of Dr Edward Jenner’s work on developing a vaccine for Smallpox. It introduces the concept of historical evidence and helps children start to use primary and secondary sources to respond to simple history questions. The...