Free open educational resources from the University of Edinburgh to download and adapt for primary and secondary teaching.
Winner of the 2021 OEGlobal Awards for Excellence Open Curation Award for this collection of high quality student made OER on the TES platform.
Free open educational resources from the University of Edinburgh to download and adapt for primary and secondary teaching.
Winner of the 2021 OEGlobal Awards for Excellence Open Curation Award for this collection of high quality student made OER on the TES platform.
This resource is five lessons, each with a different activity; species identification, habitat, hibernation and mindfulness. These lessons have been designed to be done around the South Edinburgh green space of Blackford Hill (including the Hermitage of Braid and Braidburn), but it could be adapted to any outdoor space. The target for this resource is children of nursery age (3-5 years old).
Outdoor learning and environmental education are powerful tools used to establish human-nature connections. Raising awareness of local biodiversity and the importance of co-existing species within ecosystems can motivate intentions to care for and protect wildlife. Introducing these concepts at a young age can help foster early environmental stewardship and allow individuals to explore their feelings towards nature. The resources includes details of the relevant aims, outcomes, extra teacher information and any potential further activities. The activities are designed to be fun and engaging to help the children develop an interest in the content.
Biodiversity and Interdependence
SCN 0-01a: I have observed living things in the environment over time and am becoming aware of how they depend on each other.
Properties and uses of substances
SCN 0-15a: Through creative play, I explore different materials and can share my reasoning for selecting materials for different purposes.
Mental and emotional wellbeing
HWB 0-07a: I am learning skills and strategies which will support me in challenging times, particularly in relation to change and loss.
Listening and talking; enjoyment and choice
LIT 0-01c: I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts, sharing my thoughts in different ways.
Creating texts
LIT 0-09a: Within real and imaginary situations, I share experiences and feelings, ideas and information in a way that communicates my message.
Art and Design
EXA 0-02a: I have the freedom to discover and choose ways to create images & objects using a variety of materials.
This resource bundle includes pdf and editable versions of the following:
Teachers guide: including details of equipment, learning outcomes, instructions for the activities, teacher’s notes, potential health and safety risks.
Animal Habitat Information Guide
Plant and Flower Identification booklet
This resource was created as part of the GeoScience Outreach Course which is a 4th year undergraduate course in the School of GeoSciences aiming to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own science communication and engagement project.
This resource was originally developed for the ‘Arcadia @ Kings Buildings’ Nursery.
To find more Open Educational Resources from the University of Edinburgh, visit open.ed.ac.uk.
Author: Ellie Sutton, adapted by Alysha Wilson.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is released under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 license.
The pupils receive a distress call from an alien planet. Over the course of 3-4 lessons, pupils will learn about how life is adapted to live in different places, why water is necessary for life and the size of the Solar System by helping the aliens. The target audience for this resource is level 2 learners, corresponding to 10-12 year old pupils (P5-P7 classes in Scotland).
Pupils have the opportunity to learn more about their assigned alien world using the pre-prepared fact files. They will then share this knowledge with the rest of their class and will finally celebrate successfully saving the aliens!
Lessons in this resource:
o Lesson 1: First Contact
o Lesson 2: Lift Off
o Lesson 3: Save the Day
o Lesson 4: Celebrate
This resource bundle includes pdf and editable versions of the following:
• Lesson plans for teachers for lessons 1-4, including relevant Es, Os and Benchmarks
• PowerPoint presentations for lessons 1-4
• Fact files on Europa, Mars, Titan and Venus
• Transcripts of messages received from Europa, Mars, Titan and Venus
• Worksheet titled “Building a Scale Model of the Solar System” for lesson 2
• Instructions & Worksheet titled “Can you help the aliens?” for lesson 3
Learning outcomes in the Curriculum for Excellence:
SCN 2-01a: I can identify and classify examples of living things, past and present, to help me appreciate their diversity. I can relate physical and behavioural characteristics to their survival or extinction.
SCN 2-05a: I can apply my knowledge of how water changes state to help me understand the processes involved in the water cycle in nature over time.
SCN 2-06a: By observing and researching features of our solar system, I can use simple models to communicate my understanding of size, scale, time and relative motion within it.
MNU 2-10c: (Extension) Using simple time periods, I can give a good estimate of how long a journey should take, based on my knowledge of the link between time, speed and distance.
This resource was created as part of the Geoscience Outreach Course which is a 4th year undergraduate course in the School of Geosciences aiming to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own science communication and engagement project.
Author: Ray Honeysett, adapted by Amy Cook
Unless otherwise stated, all content is released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
This resource by Louise Litrico uses works of art to explore key concepts in ecology in an accessible way. It is comprised of 2 lessons, with a video being the main part of each. Each session focuses on different ecological notions through different pieces of art. The first session uses a painting of a dreamscape ‘Jungle’ to explore food chains, and interactions between species. The second session examines different environments through trying to grow a banana tree from Kenya in Scotland. The activities and questions posed within the video make the sessions interactive, and are in the form a worksheet which has a matching version with answers, as well as PowerPoints for use. These two sessions are aimed at second level students.
Learning outcomes
SCN 2-01a I can identify and classify examples of living things, past and present, to help me appreciate their diversity. I can relate physical and behavioural characteristics to their survival or extinction.
SCN 2-02a I can use my knowledge of the interactions and energy flow between plants and animals in ecosystems, food chains and webs. I have contributed to the design or conservation of a wildlife area.
SCN 3-01a I can sample and identify living things from different habitats to compare their biodiversity and can suggest reasons for their distribution.
EXA 2-05a Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design.
In this resource
This resource bundle includes editable versions of the following:
A teachers guide which has notes that can be read out that explain the key concepts, along with instructions for all the activities. As well as details of exact times to pause the videos for the students to go through worksheets.
Lesson 1: How species interact together to form a community
-The 15-minute videos where Louise explains key concepts and sets activities, on Media Hopper Create, the University of Edinburgh (links provided on the Teacher’s guide.)
-A PowerPoint
-A worksheet
-A version of the worksheet with answers
-a handout for activity F for session 1
Session 2: How communities change due to the environment
-The 15-minute video where Louise explains key concepts and sets activities, on Media Hopper Create, the University of Edinburgh (link provided on the Teacher’s guide)
-A PowerPoint
-A worksheet
-A version of the worksheet with answers
This resource was created as part of the GeoScience Outreach Course which is a 4th year undergraduate course in the School of GeoSciences aiming to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own science communication and engagement project.
This resource was originally developed for Mauricewood Primary School in Penicuik, as two science lessons.
To find more Open Educational Resources from the University of Edinburgh, visit open.ed.ac.uk.
Author: Louise Litrico, adapted by Alysha.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is released under a CC BY 4.0 license.