Year 5 Sustainable world: does it matter how we live? worksheet

“What does sustainable mean?” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 5 geography unit “Sustainable world: does it matter how we live?”, for children aged 9 to 10, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 25 to 30 of the year, 6 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

What does sustainable mean?

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 5 · Geography · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can explain what sustainability means and why renewable does not mean limitless.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which direction is missing on this compass?
NSEW
2.
What symbol is in square C2?
treehousepondchurch
3.
Which month had the most rain?
JanFebMarApr

B Watch me, then you4 min

A village wood has trees. Each year 30 trees are cut down and 20 new trees grow back. Is the wood sustainable?

A small village wood with tall trees beside a dirt path, no people

Watch me

Cut down: 30. Grow back: 20.

30 is more than 20, so the wood is getting smaller each year.

Not sustainable, because trees are used faster than they grow back.

Now you

1.
In a made-up pond, 40 fish are caught each year and 25 are born. Is the fishing sustainable? Yes or no.
YesNo

C Your turn7 min

Each bar chart shows trees cut down and trees that grow back in a made-up wood. Is the wood sustainable? Yes or no.

1.
10 trees are cut and 20 grow back. Is the wood sustainable? Yes or no.
YesNo
2.
25 trees are cut and 20 grow back. Is the wood sustainable? Yes or no.
YesNo
3.
20 trees are cut and 20 grow back. Is the wood sustainable? Yes or no.
YesNo
4.
40 trees are cut and 30 grow back. Is the wood sustainable? Yes or no.
YesNo

Say it out loud: Which bar is taller in each chart? What does that tell you about whether the wood can keep going?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A wide river valley with green fields and a winding river, no people

Ali says: “Water is renewable, so we can use as much as we like and never run out.”

1.
Write one sentence saying what is wrong with Ali’s idea.

E Think deeper3 min

A home kitchen with a dripping tap, a fruit bowl and a bike by the back door

1.
Make up one choice a family could make at home, such as what to eat or how to travel. Say whether it helps or harms the future, and why, in two sentences.

How did it feel?

Which part of today was easiest? Which part was hardest? Tell your grown-up one thing you now know about sustainable.

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

What does sustainable mean? · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. S

2. house If your child names the tree or the pond, they have read the wrong square. Say the letter along the bottom first, then the number up the side.

3. Mar

B

1. No

C

1. Yes

2. No If your child says Yes, they may be comparing the bars by eye. Ask which bar is taller and whether trees are lost faster than they grow back.

3. Yes If your child says No, ask: does the wood get smaller, bigger or stay the same size each year?

4. No If your child says Yes, they may have only looked at the grow back bar. Ask which bar is taller, then compare it with the other one.

D

1. Look for: Says that renewable does not mean unlimited, for example that water can run short or be polluted if it is used faster than it recovers. If your child agrees with Ali, the misconception is still there. Ask: what would happen to a river if we took water faster than rain refilled it?

E

1. Look for: A choice judged as helping or harming the future, with a reason that links to using resources such as water, fuel or food.

Words to use

Say“Which bar is taller, and what does that tell us about whether the wood can keep going?”

Instead of“Tell them the answer is No because 40 is more than 25, and move on without looking at the bars.”

After the sheet

Walk round the home and look at the tap, the bin and the fridge. Together, name one thing each uses that comes from the Earth, and say whether it could run out.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

5 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Carbon footprints(with a plan)
Using energy wisely(with a plan)
Food Choices and Carbon(with a plan)
Counting kinds, not creatures(with a plan)
Greener Cities(with a plan)

Every Year 5 geography worksheet

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