This article explains the formation of Foulden Maar, the remains of an ancient lake formed by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago. As layers of silica-rich mud built up over thousands of years, it provided perfect conditions for fossilising the remains of plants and animals that fell to the bottom of the lake. However, the silica also has commercial value. The article explores the perspectives of a range of stakeholders who have different opinions about the future of the maar. It prompts critical thinking and finishes with a call to social action.

This pack contains wide range of response activities including:

• A guided reading plan exploring key literacy elements including inference and deduction, language use, making connection and text organisation, along with key questioning to promote emotional intelligence, metacognition and compassionate inquiry. 
• An independent learning contract complete with explainer videos for activity clarity
  
• A wide range of response activities to support developing and embedding key literacy skills including sentence and word work, spelling, and cloze activities.