1. Nutrients For Growth Starter Activity: Collect three study cards.
Show me boards or post it notes to collate pupil responses
Collect three study cards.
Use your notes to come up with three questions related to the nitrogen cycle.
Write a question AND an answer on each card. 1

2. Fertilisers Learning Intention:
To understand how we can change the environment to help plants grow.
Success Criteria:
Explain the importance of fertilisers to the growth of crops
Give examples of natural fertilisers
Give examples of artificial fertilisers
Describe the good points and bad points about the different types of fertilisers

3. Twig Video Clip: What Plants Need to Grow
What is a fertiliser?
Watch this short video clip:
Twig Video Clip: What Plants Need to Grow
Think: Can you describe what a fertiliser is?
Pair: Agree on a description with your partner
Share: Write your ideas on a Show Me Board

4. What is a fertiliser?
A fertiliser is a substance that helps plants grow.
It provides the nutrients needed for healthy growth.
It replaces nutrients that are lost from the environment when plants are removed during harvest.

5. Think  Pair  Share What are nutrients and why are they important?
What does harvest mean?
What happens to the recycling of nutrients when crops are harvested?

6. Why are fertilisers important?
When crops are harvested the nitrogen taken out of the cycle needs to be replaced.
Nitrogen can be added to the soil in the form of nitrate fertilisers.

7. Nitrogen
A lack of nitrogen means the plants have small yellow leaves

8. Phosphorus
A lack of phosphorus causes small roots, which makes the plant smaller

9. Potassium
A lack of potassium causes poor flowers (or fruit) to develop

10. Applying Fertilisers
Fertilisers can be:
powder
liquid
granules

11. Experiment
You are going to use this equipment to plan an experiment to see how different levels of minerals effect overall plant growth.

12. Your task… Natural Fertilisers V’s Artificial Fertilisers
Types of Fertilisers
There are two main types of fertilisers:
1. Artificial – Man made chemicals
2. Natural - Found in the environment and made by living things
Your task… Natural Fertilisers V’s Artificial Fertilisers
Use the fertilisers information sheet to produce a fact sheet to compare the two different types of fertilisers.

13. Artificial Fertilisers

14. Natural Fertilisers
Manure
Bone Meal
Compost

15. Fertilisers Factsheet
Skill Area
Evidence
Planning
A clear statement of what your factsheet is about
A sentence about the importance fertilisers
Researching
Select the appropriate information from the worksheet
Try to find out some more information by yourself
Presenting information
Your factsheet must include at least one of the following:
A graph, a table of information, a diagram or a flow chart
Explaining impact
A description of what fertilisers are and why they are useful
Description of how fertilisers can be harmful to the environment
Communication
Produce an A4 factsheet that you can talk about

16. Fertilisers Learning Intention:
To understand the effects fertilisers can have on the environment
Success Criteria:
Explain how fertilisers can pass into the environment
Explain the effects of fertilisers in aquatic environments
Give examples areas affected by fertiliser pollution

17. Effects of Fertilisers
Fertilisers can have negative effects on our environment.

18. Leaching
Fertilisers can leach from the soil into nearby water. This can happen when heavy rain washes excess fertiliser off the soil. This means that the water is now rich in nitrates which algae love to feed on.

19. Algal Bloom
Nitrogen in fresh water increases algal growth, blocking out the light. This causes death of organisms, decrease of oxygen and means less life can be supported.

20. Algal Bloom in China

22. Effects of fertilisers
Water Pollution

23. Blue Flag Beaches
The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to more than 4000 beaches and marinas in 49 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.

24. Examples
Toronto's Blue Flag Beaches
Ireland's Blue Flag Beaches