Active learning ideas
Caring for Our Environment is a key part of the 'Developing citizenship' strand, focusing on environmental care. For Senior Infants, the goal is to foster a sense of wonder and responsibility for the natural world. They learn about simple, practical actions like recycling, reducing waste, and saving energy, which are essential for a sustainable future.
Activity 01
Set up stations with different bins (Paper, Plastic, Compost, Landfill). Students rotate through with a bag of clean 'rubbish' and must decide where each item belongs, explaining their choice to their group.
Why should we put our rubbish in the bin?
Activity 02
Students walk around the classroom in pairs to find things that use electricity or water. They discuss and mark these with 'Save Me' stickers to remind everyone to turn them off when not in use.
How can we save water and electricity?
Activity 03
Using 'grabbers' or gloves, students do a controlled litter pick in a designated area of the school grounds. They then categorize what they found and discuss how it got there and how to prevent it.
What can we recycle in our classroom?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
If I throw something away, it just disappears.
Young children don't often think about where 'away' is. Using a simulation or a story about a landfill helps them understand that rubbish stays on the earth for a long time.
One person can't make a difference for the environment.
Students may feel overwhelmed by the scale of environmental issues. Highlighting small, collective actions (like the whole class recycling) shows them the power of working together.
Methods used in this brief
My School Community
Recognizing the different people who work in the school and how they help. Understanding classroom rules and responsibilities.
8 methodologies
Media Awareness
Beginning to explore the role of media and technology in daily life. Differentiating between real life and what is seen on screens.
8 methodologies