Monifieth High School physics teacher Lauren Boath, tapped into her pupils' interests in material things as a hook to explore the science behind where different materials come from.
The 'What do you want and who pays the price?' project fully embraced the key aims of Curriculum for Excellence - helping children make the links between learning and the real world, building the skills which help young people go on to further study, to secure work and to navigate through life.
With experience of making and breaking compounds, pupils were aware of how difficult it is to extract materials from the earth. They used this knowledge to consider why people have different opinions about local, community and global issues.
A 'public enquiry' role play task was developed where they had to argue for or against a gold mine being given permission to be built in a local area. Pupils were given the opportunity to question others, argue their case and to reflect on the difficulties in applying science and the impact it can have on the world.
Including social and ethical discussions within the science class ensured literacy and communication skills were fully integrated within the science curriculum.
Ms Boath said pupils had a great awareness of how science impacted on everyday life and the affect it can have on the world around them. She said: "It was fantastic to see the pupils so engaged and so enthused. I was impressed with the level of maturity and independent thinking demonstrated by the pupils; they put across well thought out and compelling arguments.
"Curriculum for Excellence has allowed us to help children to see the relevance and excitement of science."