A year in the life of a sugar factory
| Links to the story | Key Stage 2 and 3 programmes of study | Possible learning outcomes | Big ideas |
| A year in the life of a sugar factory | the adaptations of leaves for photosynthesis | Know that leaves make sugar from water and carbon dioxide, using the sun as an energy source Know that leaves are factories for making sugar Know that leaves have an annual life cycle Appreciate that the plant and the ecosystem recycle the molecules found in leaves |
flow and recycle organisms are organised |
I find teaching about leaves difficult, because it is so easily reduced to information: a word equation recipe and a list of incomprehensible names of cells. This is important information, of course, but it is, perhaps, easier to understand and remember if it is set in a meaningful context.
This story offers three preliminary contexts. The place of a leaf within the life of a tree and within the life of Nowhere Wood are explored. Thirdly, the metaphor of a leaf being a sugar factory is introduced. I teach this by firstly getting my students to imagine they are designing a car factory in terms of its inputs and outputs:
Then, it is relatively easy to transpose the idea across to leaves, introducing some key terms in a meaningful context. (A leaf cell storing sugar as starch is equivalent to storing manufactured cars in a warehouse.)
Finally, in the questions, the big idea of sustainability is introduced. This will be explored further in future stories from Nowhere.