Publication date: Month 24, 2025
Author: Adela Craciun, SCOALA CONIL
Table of contents
Overview of Work Package 4
Work Package 4 (WP4) focused on ensuring the effective use of the newly developed educational materials on food waste prevention in primary schools across participating regions. The main goal was to support teachers by designing lesson modules, a user-friendly Teacher Guide, and training mechanisms that helped embed the topic of food waste into regular school curricula without adding extra workload.
WP4 was structured into three main phases:
- A6 – Co-Creation Phase (November 2024)
- A7 – Development of Modules & Materials (Dec 2024 – Aug 2025)
- A8 – Training & Finalization (Aug 2025 – Sept 2025)
This work package ensured that the educational resources were not only high-quality but also usable, attractive, inclusive, and easily implemented by teachers in all partner regions.
The general objective of Work Package 4 was to enable teachers to effectively integrate food waste education into their teaching practice through well-designed materials that required minimal additional preparation. Specifically, the work package aimed to identify teachers’ expectations and needs regarding food waste teaching materials through co-creation sessions, determine how the topic could be embedded in existing curricula using playful, subject-based assignments, and collect teacher input on ways to involve parents and the wider learning environment. It also sought to ensure that the three lesson modules were relevant and applicable across all partner regions, to develop lesson plans and a Teacher User Guide that were practical, attractive, and accessible, and to extend the impact of the Game throughout the curriculum so that it would not be used only once. Finally, the work package aimed to train teachers in all regions to apply the materials confidently and effectively.
A6 Co-Creation Phase
The co-creation phase of WP4 represented a foundational milestone in ensuring that the educational materials developed for the Leftover Challenge were firmly grounded in real classroom practice. During this phase, teachers from Școala Primară CONIL and the 4th Primary School of Nafplio participated in structured brainstorming sessions aimed at understanding how food waste and sustainability topics could be meaningfully integrated into daily teaching. Facilitators used a carefully designed instrument that helped guide teachers through key reflection points, including essential concepts students should learn, local and cultural food practices that could enrich lessons, and strategies for adapting materials to diverse learner profiles, including children with special educational needs. The sessions created a safe environment where teachers felt encouraged to contribute openly, share challenges, and highlight what they felt was most needed in practical educational resources.
Discussions covered a wide range of relevant themes, demonstrating the teachers’ deep understanding of both pedagogical and contextual challenges. They explored how sustainability could be connected to core school subjects such as science, mathematics, social studies, literature, and civic education, proposing hands-on activities and classroom experiments that make learning engaging and memorable. Teachers emphasized the importance of avoiding isolated “one-off” lessons, instead advocating for continuous integration of food waste topics through everyday learning routines and cross-curricular links. They also pointed out barriers such as limited teaching time, the need for age-appropriate language, and the risk of overwhelming students or teachers with additional content. Importantly, they shared practical solutions for overcoming these obstacles and ensuring that the final materials would be manageable, accessible, and inclusive without burdening existing curricula.
Another crucial insight from the co-creation phase was the recognition of the family’s role in shaping children’s attitudes and behaviors toward food. Teachers highlighted the impact of involving parents and caregivers in sustainability education and proposed concrete strategies such as take-home activities, family challenges, simple kitchen-based experiments, and participation in school-level gardening or composting initiatives. These suggestions, along with detailed recommendations captured in the comprehensive report, provided clear do’s and don’ts, examples of best practices, inclusive adaptations, and assessment mechanisms for evaluating both learning and behavioral change. Overall, the co-creation phase not only validated the relevance of the project’s educational direction but also ensured that WP4 outputs would be context-sensitive, pedagogically grounded, and capable of fostering lasting positive habits in students, families, and school communities.
A7 Development of Modules & Materials
During the development phase of WP4, the project team transformed the insights collected from co-creation sessions, teacher interviews, game-testing feedback, and the game’s educational mechanics into a coherent set of classroom-ready materials. This phase focused on building high-quality, inclusive learning resources that would allow teachers across all regions to use the Leftover Challenge Game not as a stand-alone activity, but as part of an integrated learning sequence. The materials created during A7 were designed to be easy to implement, culturally adaptable, and fully aligned with the interdisciplinary goals of the project, ensuring that sustainability and food waste prevention could be embedded naturally into everyday teaching.
Development of the Three Lesson Modules
Based on co-creation findings, three complementary Lesson Modules were developed to mirror the core sustainability principles explored in the game and the learning needs identified by teachers. Each module deepened a different aspect of sustainability—mathematical reasoning, geographical understanding, historical and cultural awareness, and creative expression—and all were constructed with differentiated SEN adaptations to ensure full accessibility.
Lesson Module 1: “Design a Tasty, Low-Footprint Menu” – Mathematics & Environmental Education
This module was created to extend the game’s core mechanic of reading and comparing numeric values related to taste and carbon footprint. Teachers had noted that students were highly motivated by this part of the game, prompting the creation of food item cards, footprint worksheets, visual icons, step-by-step calculation formats, and menu-design templates. SEN adaptations included enlarged A4 cards, number lines, counting blocks, visual checklists, simplified tasks, and group support options. The final material supports addition, comparison, and decision-making while teaching students how food choices impact the planet.
Lesson Module 2: “The Journey of a Food Item” – Geography, Writing & Environmental Education
This module emerged from teachers’ desire to help students understand where food comes from and how transportation contributes to environmental impact. To support this, we developed journey cards, map-based worksheets, sequencing visuals, story-writing scaffolds, and examples of local vs. imported journeys. The materials allow students to construct a narrative—through writing, comic strips, or oral storytelling—about how a food item travels from seed to plate. SEN supports include tactile map markers, picture sequencing strips, red-thread mapping, pre-cut story elements, and templates for guided narration.
Lesson Module 3: “What’s a ‘Normal’ Carrot or Cucumber?” – History, Art & Environmental Education
This module was designed in response to teacher feedback and game-testing observations that students often prefer “perfect-looking” foods, a mindset linked to preventable food waste. The materials include fruit-and-vegetable comparison cards, historical illustrations of markets, imperfect/“wonky” vegetable photo cards, a structured art worksheet, and gallery-display templates. Activities guide students through reflecting on natural diversity in food shapes and expressing these ideas through creative art. SEN materials include tactile produce cards, clay modelling options, textured paint, pre-cut outlines, and collage materials.
Beyond the three modules, during WP4 the consortium produced a comprehensive set of supporting resources to help teachers deliver sustainability content with minimal preparation:
- Food cards and category sets (aligned with the game’s internal mechanics)
- Worksheets for calculations, story-writing, sorting, and classification
- Accessibility adaptations, such as large print formats, step-by-step pictorial instructions, SEN-friendly worksheets, gesture-response alternatives, and simplified versions of key exercises
- Teacher guidance notes embedded within each lesson
A8 Leftover Lab – Teaching Session
The Leftover Lab – Waste Not, teach a Lot training session brought together two participants from each partner organization for a two-day, hands-on learning experience hosted at Școala Primară CONIL in Bucharest. The purpose of the Lab was to train teachers and educational staff on how to embed leftover awareness and sustainability into everyday teaching practice. The event created an inclusive learning environment where participants not only observed, but also actively practiced integrating food-waste concepts into real classroom scenarios.
The teaching sessions guided participants step-by-step through the three Lesson Modules previously drafted in WP4. They explored food footprint calculation through group math activities, mapped the journey of a food item using storytelling and geography tools, and experimented with science and art while discussing what makes a “typical” carrot or cucumber. These elements appear clearly in the program for Day 1, which includes dedicated workshops for each module, hands-on exercises, and group reflections to consolidate learning
Beyond the lesson modules, the Leftover Lab provided an opportunity to experience inclusive, experiential practices aligned with the C.O.N.I.L. pedagogical framework (Create Connection – Observe – Nurture Innovation – Integrate – Lead Change). Participants learned through movement, collaboration, and open dialogue, as shown in the training presentation, which emphasizes teacher connection activities, observing good practices across Europe, and integrating sustainability into STEAM, language, civic education, and art classes
A highlight of Day 2 was the guided garden visit, where teachers explored composting techniques, urban gardening, and practical strategies to reduce food waste within a school setting. This hands-on outdoor learning reinforced the importance of nature-based education and sustainability-focused community building. Participants also reviewed the draft Teacher User Guide, tested the Leftover Challenge Game using real curriculum examples, and provided structured evaluation feedback, all documented in the teaching programme for Day 2
Overall, the Leftover Lab was a motivating and enriching experience for all participants. They were immersed in an inclusive educational environment, learned how to work with the lesson instruments and game mechanics, observed good practices, experimented creatively, and strengthened their ability to embed food-waste concepts across school subjects. The event successfully met the WP4 objectives related to teacher training, capacity building, and preparing educators to implement the final materials confidently and effectively in their own classrooms.
Final User manual – not just game instructions but a full teaching resource
After collecting extensive feedback during the co-creation sessions and following the formal teacher training held in Romania, the project team finalized an inclusive User Manual for the Leftover Challenge. This process revealed that teachers did not need a simple rulebook for playing the game, but rather a structured, pedagogically grounded resource that would guide them in embedding food waste and sustainability education across the curriculum. In response, the manual evolved from an instructional add-on into a comprehensive teaching tool. It now reflects the core themes expressed by teachers—cross-curricular connection, accessibility, SEN inclusion, narrative engagement, and the need for materials that reduce rather than increase workload.
The completed User Manual provides a clear educational framework, including curriculum links, detailed teaching instructions, and ready-to-use class materials for all three modules. It explains how each component of the game connects to Mathematics, Geography, History, Art, Writing, and Civic Education, ensuring that teachers can integrate sustainability concepts naturally into ordinary lessons. The manual also incorporates setup guides, scaffolding techniques, differentiated worksheets, visual aids, SEN strategies, and teacher prompts developed directly from classroom observations and international testing feedback. Printable tools such as journey maps, food cards, worksheets, story templates, and reflection prompts are included to support teachers in planning lessons efficiently and confidently.
Crucially, the final User Manual can function as a full curriculum, offering multiple implementation pathways depending on school needs. Teachers can use it for a one-week sustainability project, integrate modules gradually through subject-based lessons, run the activities in after-school environmental clubs, or develop cross-curricular projects combining numeracy, mapping, art, storytelling, and civic education. The manual also provides suggestions for home-learning extensions, community involvement, and inclusive adaptations, reinforcing long-term behavior change. Through this expanded format, the User Manual ensures consistent, evidence-based, and inclusive implementation of the Leftover Challenge across all partner regions, maximizing both educational quality and impact.
