Educational resources: Teaching climate and energy
Free-to-use primary school educational resources
Here you can download our wide range of free-to-use and adaptable educational resources to help teach climate change and energy in primary schools.
Our materials are suitable for children in Early Years through to Key Stage 2 and are fully editable. They cover topics like ‘What is climate?’, ‘How to save energy’, and ‘What is fuel poverty?’.
Choose your Key Stage
Select your Key Stage to see the topics we cover.
How to use these materials
Here you will find information on how to use the educational resources, including contents, introductory videos, and a useful reference document for answering more technical questions.
Contents table for the Energy Matters educational resources.
Guidance on using the Energy Matters educational resources.
Background and context for the Energy Matters educational resources.
Key terms for the Energy Matters educational resources for all years.
Energy Matters videos (YouTube links):
Introduction to Energy Matters.
Tips for teaching young people about energy and climate change.
Additional resource:
Useful videos for teachers (Word document — 2.1MB)
Early Years
In these lessons you will …
- Meet Zappy, a character who is exploring climate and energy.
- Read stories about Zappy and their friends around the world.
- Use bespoke illustrations of Zappy’s house to learn about energy use.
Key terms document for Early Years resources.
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Story and accompanying slides
- Activity instructions: animal/climate picture matching game
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Story and accompanying slides
- Activity instructions: the polar bear and the penguin
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Story and accompanying slides
- Activity instructions: wind energy craft
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity instructions: energy use in the home game
- Extra resources: energy saving poster templates
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity instructions: classroom investigation
- Activity instructions: renewable classroom craft
Key Stage 1
In these lessons you will …
- Introduce the concepts of climate and climate change.
- Begin to explore where energy comes from and how we use it in our lives.
- Start to discuss saving energy.
Key terms document for KS1 resources.
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: climate zones
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: climate change blanket demonstration
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: Zappy’s energy diary
- Activity: wordsearch
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: wind energy demonstration
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: appliances in the home
- Activity: energy detectives
- Activity: waste-a-lot house
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: letter writing
Key Stage 2
In these lessons you will …
- Build on learners’ understanding of climate and climate change to explore climate zones, carbon footprints and climate justice.
- Introduce complex concepts like energy efficiency and fuel poverty.
Key terms document for KS2 resources.
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: climate change board race
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: mapping climate adaptations in our area
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: letter writing
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: energy sentences
- Activity: energy fact file
- Extra resources: make a pinwheel instructions and wind power challenge
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: What uses watt?
- Take home activity: investigating energy at home
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Activity: make an energy saving plan
- Take home activity: home energy questionnaire
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: budgeting exercise
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
Included in this lesson download:
- Lesson plan
- Accompanying slides
- Activity: quiz
- Activity: matching game
Whole school resources
Our whole school resources include:
- A collection of interactive assemblies exploring climate change and energy.
- Tools to conduct a school energy audit and a guide on how to run an Energy Café event.
- An energy saving quiz that can be completed at the start and end of the Energy Matters programme to see what changes students have been able to make.
This assembly download includes:
- Session plan
- Accompanying slides
This assembly download includes:
- Session plan
- Accompanying slides
This assembly download includes:
- Session plan
- Accompanying slides
This assembly download includes:
- Session plan
- Accompanying slides
This whole school activity pack includes:
- Activity: pupil-led school energy audit
- Guidance for organising school energy competitions
Guidance on how to run an energy cafe event at your school.
Whole school activity: energy use quiz.
These materials were produced as part of the Merton Energy Matters project with the funding and support of the London Borough of Merton and Merton’s Climate Action Group. They have been trialled and tested with the Be Different Federation of schools and developed in collaboration with other primary schools in Merton. All images have been used with permission or with Creative Commons licensing including, Unsplash and Creazilla.
The Energy Matters logo and illustrations were created by illustrator and CSE Household Energy Services team member, Daisy. Check out more of her work here.
If you have any questions, comments or feedback regarding these materials, please email communities@cse.org.uk.