Key Stage 1

Curriculum links: Geog 5a-b. Sc2 5c. En3 1a, d-e.

What to do: Explain how pollution and rubbish dumped into our rivers turns into a dirty sludge that can stop the water from flowing and destroy the river and its wildlife. Make some samples of what this sludge might look like. You can use pulp made from torn up newspaper and water, wallpaper paste, jelly, rice pudding, the flesh from the inside of a pumpkin, cold over-cooked spaghetti – anything that would feel slimy! Let the children mix some of these things up with their hands so that they can feel just how slippery and slimy they are. Then add a few drops of green food colouring to make them look more realistic and put some in a jar as a sample of river sludge.