Ireland · NCCA Curriculum Specifications
1st Year Young Explorers: Discovering Our World
A foundational science course for Year 1 students that emphasizes hands-on inquiry and observation. Students investigate the living world, the properties of materials, and the physical forces that shape their daily experiences.
The Living World: Plants and Animals
Students explore the diversity of living things and identify the basic needs required for survival and growth.
Distinguishing between things that are alive, things that were once alive, and things that have never been alive.
Identifying the structure of common plants and understanding the function of roots, stems, and leaves.
Investigating where animals live and how their environments provide food, water, and shelter.
Ourselves: Senses and Growth
An exploration of the human body, focusing on how we use our senses to perceive the world and how we change as we grow.
Using sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell to gather information about the environment.
Observing the physical changes that occur as humans grow from babies to adults.
Understanding the importance of food, exercise, and hygiene for maintaining a healthy body.
Materials and Their Properties
Investigating the characteristics of everyday materials and how their properties determine their uses.
Using scientific vocabulary to describe materials as hard, soft, rough, smooth, or shiny.
Exploring how materials can be changed by heating, cooling, bending, or stretching.
Applying knowledge of properties to select the best material for a specific task.
Energy: Light and Sound
Discovering the sources of light and sound and how they travel through our environment.
Identifying light sources and investigating how shadows are formed when light is blocked.
Exploring how sounds are produced by vibrations and how they can be changed.
Investigating how we hear and the difference between noisy and quiet environments.
Forces: Pushes and Pulls
An introduction to forces and how they affect the movement and shape of objects.
Identifying pushes and pulls in everyday life and observing how they start or stop motion.
Exploring the invisible force of magnetism and identifying magnetic materials.
Investigating why some objects stay on top of water while others fall to the bottom.
Earth and Sky: Seasons and Weather
Observing patterns in the weather and the environment across the four seasons.
Identifying the characteristics of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.
Observing and recording daily weather conditions and using simple tools for measurement.
Understanding the cycle of day and night and the presence of the Sun and Moon.