Circular economy bitesize resources

Forever foods

Find out more about how long foods last for. How long do you think you can keep honey for? How long does salt last? Once you have looked at the different foods answer the questions. This resource involves literacy and numeracy skills and considers health and well-being.

Suitable for: P6 - S2

Approximate time: 15 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 1-35a, HWB 2-35a, LIT 3-14a / LIT 4-14

Meta-skills: Critical Thinking: Logical Thinking. Focussing: Sorting, Filtering.

Why do apples turn brown?

This is a science experiment that you can do in your kitchen, all you need is: ·

• A sliced apple;
• A sealed container;
• Something to wrap a slice in e.g. beeswax wrap or clingfilm (only if you can’t find a reusable or recyclable option);
• Kitchen roll, a tissue;
• Optional lemon juice (this will test the effect of acid);
• Small space in the fridge.

Place sliced apple in different environments as described in the table, record and observe what happens with time. What is the best way to store sliced apple to keep it fresh for longer? This resource involves maths and science skills

Suitable for: P6 - S2

Approximate time: 20 minutes to set up and 10 minutes the next day

Curriculum links: SCN 3-19a, MTH 2-21a, 3-21a

Meta-skills: Curiosity: Observation, Problem Recognition. Focussing: Attention, Filtering. Critical Thinking: Logical Thinking, Judgement. Creativity: Idea Generation.

Microbes Heroes or Villains?

Use this resource to learn more about the different types of microbes that exist and how they are used. This resource involves literacy skills and considers topical science.

Suitable for: P7/S1/S2

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Curriculum links: LIT 3-05a, LIT 4-05a, LIT 3-06a, LIT 4-06a

Meta-skills: Focussing: attention, Curiosity: observation.

Creative piece about food waste

Use the ‘Food we waste in Scotland’ fact sheet and any information about food waste to create a rap, poster, video or newspaper article about the issue. Think of ideas about how to reduce food waste. You could search the internet to find out more information. This resource involves literacy, expressive arts, technology and topical science skills.

Suitable for: P6 - P7

Approximate time: 40 minutes

Curriculum links: EXA 1-02a, SOC 1-08a, TCH 1-03a / TCH 2-03a

Meta-skills: Curiosity: observation, questioning, problem recognition, information sourcing, Creativity: imagination and idea generation, visualising, maker mentality

Reimagining food

Use PowerPoint to discover cultures and dishes from around the world. Consider the food items on the final page - can you create your own dishes to use the items up? this resource involves literacy skills and social studies. 

Suitable for: P6-P7

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 2-34a, SOC 1-08a, SOC 2-19a:

Meta-skills:

Primary litter quiz

Try our litter quiz to see what you know about the issue of litter. This resource involves literacy skills and topical science.

Suitable for: P6 - P7

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Curriculum links: SCN 2-20b, LIT 2-14a

Meta-skills: Focussing: attention and filtering, Critical thinking: logical thinking

Food preservation

This resource explores the history of food preservation. First, read the PDF to find out about the different types of food preservation and plot them on the timeline by their date of discovery. It involves literacy, science and numeracy skills.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 40 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 1-35a / HWB 2-35a, SCN 3-12b

Meta-skills: Focussing: attention, sorting, Critical thinking: logical thinking

Food Cost

Use the information provided in the table to calculate the price per portion of each food group. This task involves numeracy skills.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 40 minutes

Curriculum links: MNU 3-01a, MNU 4-07a, MNU 4-20, MNU 3-08a

Meta-skills: Social intelligence: feeling, Innovation: curiosity

Bin it or eat it

Use the images to decide what the best thing to do with the food would be. Should you bin it or eat it? Could you make older fruits into a smoothie rather than binning them? You will become more aware of the benefits of preventing food from going to waste rather than binning avoidable food waste. It involves

topical science and skills to express your opinion using the images.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Curriculum links: LSCN 4-20b, SCN 3-20a

Meta-skills: Critical thinking: judgement, Sensemaking: opportunity recognition, Creativity: idea generation

11 things you can do about flytipping

Read the article about 11 things that can be done to reduce flytipping. Then rank the actions from ‘will make the most difference’ to ‘the least difference’. Create a poster, newspaper article or poem about the most important action. It involves literacy and numeracy skills and health and well-being.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 40 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 2-13a, HWB 3-13a, HWB 4-13a

Meta-skills: Critical thinking: judgement, Sensemaking: opportunity recognition, Communicating: storytelling

Snakes and Ladders

Roll the dice and play a game of snakes and ladders. Use the statements to consider the issue of food waste and discuss your views on them. You will become more aware of the benefits of preventing food from going to waste and recycling rather than binning unavoidable food waste. Snakes – these represent the more negative facts and actions associated with wasted food in Scotland. Ladders – these represent the more positive facts and actions associated with wasted food in Scotland. It involves topical science and skills to express your opinion using the statements.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 40 minutes

Curriculum links: LIT 2-26a, SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills: Focussing, sorting, sense-making, logical thinking, judgement

Hierarchy of waste

Use the statements to consider the hierarchy of food waste and use this to consider what action you could take to reduce your food waste. It involves literacy skills and environmental science.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: LIT 2-29a, SCN 2-20b, SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills:Innovation: curiosity, critical thinking. Self-management: focusing

How long does litter take to break down

This resource looks at the issue of litter and how long litter takes to decompose. It involves literacy and numeracy skills and considers environmental science.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time:

Curriculum links: SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills: Social intelligence: feeling, Innovation: curiosity

Portion poem

This resource looks at how big your portions should be to have the right amount of food and avoid wasting food. It involves literacy skills and considers health and wellbeing.

Suitable for: P1-3

Approximate time:

Curriculum links: LIT 1-04a, TCH 0-02a

Meta-skills: self-management – integrity and adapting

Food waste super saver

This is a literacy task to learn more about Scotland’s issue of food waste and how to reduce it. Look at the slides and answer the questions.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: LIT 2-29a, SCN 2-20b, SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills: innovation: curiosity, critical thinking. self-management: focusing

Litter quiz

This resource looks at the issue of litter through a quiz, you can use the fact sheet, PowerPoint and the internet to find the answers to the questions. It involves technology and literacy skills and considers environmental science.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time:

Curriculum links: SOC 3-08a, LIT 4-13a, LIT 3-06a / LIT 4-06a

Meta-skills: Self-management: Focussing, Innovation: Curiosity, Critical thinking and Sensemaking

Indirect costs of littering

Match the indirect litter cost with the keyword in blue. Order the costs related to indirect littering from highest to lowest.

Create a rap, newspaper article or poem about these indirect costs of littering. It involves literacy and numeracy skills and explores science, health and well-being topics. 

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 40 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 2-13a, HWB 3-13a, HWB 4-13a, SOC 2-08a, SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills:Innovation: Curiosity, Creativity, Critical thinking. Social intelligence: Communicating

Build a roll

This resource explores how food is made and uses literacy skills to use keywords accurately. It involves literacy skills and health and wellbeing. 

Suitable for: P1-P3

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 0-30a, SOC 0-07, LIT 1-20a / LIT 2-20a

Meta-skills: Self-management: Focussing

Taste test

This resource explores food tastes. You can use the table to do taste test foods that are available in your own house already. E.g. Could you blend old fruit into a smoothie, how does it taste? It involves literacy skills and health and well-being.

Suitable for: P1-P3

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 0-30a

Meta-skills: Innovation: Curiosity, Sensemaking. Self-management: Adapting.

Stop littering creative piece

This resource requires young people to think about the issue of littering. It is a literacy task that uses digital literacy to prepare a creative piece. It explores topical science and people, place and environment. Note- reference previous litter resources to support this work.

Suitable for: Aimed at S1/S2 but could suit P4-S2

Approximate time: 45 minutes

Curriculum links: SOC 2-08a / SOC 3-08a / SOC 4-08a, LIT 2-26a, TCH 2-01a / TCH 3-01a / TCH 4-01a

Meta-skills: Social Intelligence: Communicating, Innovation: Curiosity, Creativity, Critical thinking, Sensemaking.

Plate promise word search

This resource considers keywords for food and food storage. It involves a word search to find the keywords and a literacy task to use the words within a sentence. It explores health and well-being and involves literacy skills.

Suitable for: P4-P6

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 1-35a, HWB 2-35a, LIT 1-06a

Meta-skills: Self Management: Focusing

Food waste facts quiz

This resource considers the issue of food waste. It involves a short quiz followed by revealing the correct answers on completion. It considers topical science and environmental issues. It involves literacy, IT and numeracy skills.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 10 minutes

Curriculum links: SOC 3-08a, SCN 2-20b

Meta-skills: Self-Management: Focussing. Innovation: Curiosity, Critical thinking

Litter Facts: True or False Litter Quiz

This resource explores the issue of litter. First, read the factsheets and then complete the short true/false quiz. It involves literacy skills and numeracy skills. 

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: SOC 3-08a, SCN 2-20b

Meta-skills: Self-Management: Focussing, Innovation: Curiosity, Critical thinking

Storage Snap Matching Exercise

This resource considers how to store food and think about reducing food waste. It involves matching the pictures to the right storage area and teaches us about how we can prevent food waste and the science behind food storage. For top tips check out the Storage Snap song first!

Suitable for: P1-P3

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: MNU 0-20b, HWB 0-30a, HWB 1-35a

Meta-skills: Social Intelligence: Communicating Innovation: Critical thinking, Sensemaking

Crunching numbers

This resource uses numbers to explore the issue of food waste. It involves maths and literacy skills. 

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Curriculum links: MTH 2-21a, MTH 3-21a, MTH 4-21a

Meta-skills: Self-Management: Focussing, Innovation: Critical thinking

The food waste diary

This resource encourages you to think about your own food waste and what you can do to reduce this. It involves literacy, science, social science and maths.

Suitable for: ALL

Approximate time: 15 minutes a day for a week

Curriculum links: LIT 2-29a, SCN 2-20b, SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills: Social Intelligence: Communicating Self-Management: Integrity Innovation: Curiosity, Creativity, Critical thinking, Sensemaking

Scotland's Waste - Matching

This matching activity encourages you to think about waste and Scotland’s litter problem. It is a social science and science task.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 10 minutes

Curriculum links: SOC 3-08a, SCN 2-20b

Meta-skills: Focussing: Sorting, Attention.

How big is Scotland's litter problem

This quiz encourages you to think about waste and Scotland’s litter problem. It includes science, literacy and social science.

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time:15 minutes

Curriculum links: SOC 3-08a, SCN 2-20b

Meta-skills: Focussing: Sorting, Attention.

How to reduce energy at home

This is a literacy task to learn some tips to reduce your energy usage at home. Analyse the text below and identify the small changes that you can make to reduce your carbon footprint and save money whilst working from home. 

Suitable for: S1-S2

Approximate time: 20 minutes

Curriculum links: LIT 2-29a, SCN 2-20b, SOC 3-08a

Meta-skills: Social Intelligence: Communicating, Leading Self-Management: Focussing, Adapting Innovation: Critical thinking, Sensemaking

The lifecycle of a strawberry

This resource explores the journey of food from how and where it is grown to how it arrives on your plate and how to limit food waste. It is a literacy task that enables young children to use images to tell a story.

Suitable for: P1-P3

Approximate time: 15 minutes

Curriculum links: HWB 0-35a and HWB 1-35a

Meta-skills: Focussing: Attention, Sorting, Filtering. Sense Making: Opportunity Recognition. Critical Thinking: Logical Thinking. Creativity: Idea Generation. Innovation: Critical thinking, Sensemaking.