Guiding Question: How can I impact the world?
Curriculum Seam: Protecting Our Planet
Year Groups: Key Stage 1 – Year 1 and Year 2
Subjects: Science, Geography and Art, with English woven throughout
The Story of the Expedition
Our expedition The Blue Planet — How Can I Impact the World? invited children to explore one of the most important environments on Earth: the world’s oceans. Through the lenses of Science, Geography and Art, pupils investigated the beauty and diversity of marine habitats while also confronting a growing global challenge — plastic pollution.
Throughout the expedition, children considered an important idea: even small actions can make a difference to our planet. Through storytelling, research, scientific investigation and creative expression, pupils learned how human behaviour affects the oceans and how they themselves could take action to help protect them.
The expedition began with an immersive Hook Week built around the powerful story The Blue Giant. This text introduced children to the issue of pollution in the oceans and the devastating effects plastic waste can have on marine wildlife. Pupils compared images of clean and polluted oceans, discussed how litter travels from land to sea, and explored the responsibility humans have to care for the natural world.
Immersion activities encouraged children to think creatively about environmental responsibility. Using recycled materials, they took part in a collaborative “scrap heap challenge,” transforming discarded objects into imaginative pieces of artwork inspired by the ocean. These activities helped children view waste differently and begin to understand how reducing and reusing materials can help protect the planet.
Throughout the expedition, pupils returned to the guiding question: How can I impact the world? By the end of the journey, children understood that protecting the environment is not only a global issue but also something they can influence through their everyday choices.
Case Studies: Science, Geography and Art
Science: Living Things and Their Ocean Habitats
The first case study focused on Science, where children explored the characteristics of living things and the habitats they depend upon to survive. Pupils investigated the differences between things that are living, dead and those that have never been alive before learning how animals are suited to the environments in which they live.
Through the context of ocean habitats, children identified and classified a wide range of animals including fish, mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates. They explored how animals obtain food and how simple food chains operate within marine ecosystems.
Scientific discussions helped children understand the basic needs of animals — including water, food and air — and how pollution can disrupt these needs. Pupils also investigated everyday materials, considering which materials break down in the natural environment and which remain in the ocean for long periods of time.
This learning helped children understand the real impact of plastic pollution on marine life and provided the scientific foundation needed to think critically about protecting ocean ecosystems.
Geography: Exploring the Blue Planet
Geography provided the global context for the expedition as children explored the Earth’s continents and oceans and developed an understanding of the world’s marine environments.
Using maps, atlases and globes, pupils identified and located the world’s seven continents and five oceans. They explored how oceans connect the world and support diverse habitats and wildlife.
Building on prior learning inspired by Paddington, children compared the United Kingdom with the contrasting non-European country of Peru. This comparison allowed pupils to explore similarities and differences between environments around the world and understand how geography influences the way people and animals live.
Through this geographical lens, children began to understand that ocean pollution is a global issue — one that connects communities across continents.
Art: Celebrating the Creatures of the Ocean
Art played a central role in allowing children to celebrate the beauty of marine life while also communicating the importance of protecting it.
Drawing on artistic skills developed in previous expeditions, pupils experimented with a wide range of creative techniques to represent sea creatures and underwater environments. They explored collage, mixed media, printing and painting, combining materials and textures to create vibrant and imaginative artwork.
Children investigated how artists use colour, texture and layering to represent underwater scenes. They responded to visual stimuli, explored ideas and refined their artistic choices as their work developed.
Through this process, pupils created a collection of sea creature artwork that captured both the diversity and fragility of ocean life. These pieces formed the visual identity of the expedition’s final product.
Fieldwork and Expert Experiences
A key moment in the expedition was a fieldwork visit to The Deep, one of the UK’s leading aquariums and marine education centres.
During the visit, children explored the aquarium independently, observing marine animals and learning about the habitats they depend upon. This real-world experience helped pupils connect classroom learning with living ecosystems.
Children also took part in the educational workshop “Caring for Our Oceans,” which focused on the impact of plastic pollution on marine life.
Through storytelling, pupils followed the journey of a killer whale travelling across the world’s oceans and encountering animals affected by pollution. Interactive activities allowed children to investigate how long different materials take to decompose in the ocean, explore how plastics move through marine food chains and record information using tally charts.
The workshop concluded with pupils becoming “Planet Protectors,” identifying practical actions they could take at home and at school to reduce their impact on ocean plastic.
English: Stories That Inspired Change
Literature played an important role throughout the expedition, helping children engage emotionally with the themes of environmental care and responsibility.
Alongside The Blue Giant, pupils explored the story Somebody Swallowed Stanley, which introduced the issue of plastic waste in the ocean through a narrative that was both accessible and thought-provoking.
Later in the expedition, children studied The Tin Forest as a model for descriptive storytelling about environments. Inspired by this text, pupils wrote their own imaginative setting descriptions titled “The Tin Ocean,” combining creative language with their knowledge of marine habitats and pollution.
These writing opportunities allowed children to express both their scientific understanding and their hopes for a healthier planet.
Final Product
The expedition culminated in the creation of a reusable water bottle designed by the children.
Each bottle featured a professionally printed label showcasing the pupils’ ocean-themed artwork. The designs celebrated the beauty of marine life while also promoting an important environmental message: reducing the use of single-use plastics.
By creating a practical, reusable product, the children demonstrated how creativity and design can help encourage more sustainable choices. The bottles were produced for sale, allowing the children’s message about protecting the oceans to extend beyond the classroom and into the wider community.
Presentation of Learning
The expedition culminated in a Planet Protectors Event, where children took on the role of teachers and shared their learning with their families.
During the event, families rotated around a series of stations led by the pupils themselves.
At the Ocean Food Chains station, children explained how plastic pollution can travel through marine food chains and affect ocean animals. At the Plastic Investigation station, families explored different materials and guessed how long they take to break down in the ocean.
At the Ocean Habitats station, pupils shared their knowledge about marine animals and explained the environments in which they live. Finally, at the Art Studio station, children worked alongside their families to create sea creatures using recycled materials, reinforcing the importance of reusing and reducing waste.
The evening concluded with families signing a Planet Protector Pledge Wall, committing to small changes they could make at home to reduce their use of single-use plastics.
This celebration allowed children to proudly share their learning while encouraging the wider community to think more carefully about how everyday choices can impact the planet.
Impact
The Blue Planet — How Can I Impact the World? helped children recognise their role as caretakers of the environment.
By exploring ocean habitats, investigating the effects of pollution and expressing their ideas through art and storytelling, pupils developed both knowledge and a growing sense of responsibility for the natural world.
Most importantly, the expedition helped children realise that protecting the planet is not something reserved for scientists or world leaders. Through small everyday actions — reducing waste, reusing materials and making thoughtful choices — every individual has the power to make a difference.
For our youngest learners, this expedition planted the seeds of environmental awareness and empowered them to believe that their actions, however small, can help protect our Blue Planet.
