This strand aims at arousing students’ concern for the environment and its sustainable development. Students are expected to acquire a basic understanding of Nature and the relationships between mankind and the environment, and be willing to bear the responsibility of environmental conservation. Through enquiry learning on environmental issues, they should be guided to use information from various sources in making decisions on their actions for making good use of earth resources, protecting and improving the environment.
Learning Objectives
Key Stage One Key Stage Two
Knowledge and understanding
• to recognise the features of living things through observing and interacting with Nature
• to have basic
understanding of the life processes
• to identify the features of day and night and how they are related to people’s life patterns
• to identify simple features of weather changes
• to know the characteristic features of our immediate environment
• to understand the natural and human environment in a place and describe the environment in different places
• to identify features of animals and plants that change over time
• to recognise the interdependence of living things and their environment
• to know that different natural and human
processes are shaping the characteristics of a place
• to understand how people are affected by the natural environment and how they react to the limitations imposed by the natural environment
• to understand how the local environment influences our daily life
• to identify and describe climate and seasonal changes and their effects
Key Stage One Key Stage Two Knowledge and
understanding (Cont'd)
• to understand how local human activities and natural environment may affect each another
• to understand the need for energy conservation
• to recognise the Earth as a wealth of resources
• to recognise the effects of human activities on the natural environment
• to understand people’s responsibility of environmental
conservation, treasure and make good use of earth resources
• to understand the cost of consuming natural resources and the various ways to manage and manipulate resources Skills • to make careful
observation of our surroundings
• to identify features on maps and photographs
• to draw pictorial maps to illustrate key features of our surroundings
• to work with peers in taking care of plants
• to develop
environmentally friendly practices
• to plan and carry out simple investigations into the environment and related issues
• to draw sketches/maps and other graphical representations to display information about places
• to identify patterns shown on maps and other graphical representations
• to report on patterns of energy use in the home, school and other workplaces
• to make wise use of natural resources and develop a lifestyle which promotes sustainable
Key Stage One Key Stage Two Values and
attitudes
• to appreciate that there are similarities and differences among different types of living things
• to appreciate how living things depend on one another in the environment
• to develop a caring attitude towards animals and plants
• to show concern for the environment and make wise use of natural resources
• to show concern and readiness to take action in caring for and improving the environment
• to appreciate the wonder of Nature and show interest in exploring our environment
• to accept that birth, growth, illness and death are the major processes in the life cycle of living things
• to respect and care for all living things and show concern for endangered species
• to recognise the importance of environmental conservation, and to participate actively in it
• to be open-minded and objective towards different views
• to develop a concern for major local and national environmental issues Core Elements
Key Stage One:
❖ the existence of a variety of living things, their observable characteristics and life processes
❖ the needs of living things
❖ taking care of living things
❖ the importance of the environment in fulfilling the basic needs of living things
❖ living things in different environments and their dependence on each other
❖ features of day and night and how they relate to the patterns of our daily life
❖ weather changes and how they affect our daily life
❖ managing oneself in activities under different weather conditions
❖ characteristics of our immediate living environment
❖ how natural and human environment in the neighbouring areas affect people's life
❖ care of the environment and ways of conserving resources
❖ ways of minimising generation of waste in daily life Key Stage Two:
❖ cycles in the living world and their major processes
❖ the changing features of animals and plants in life processes
❖ simple classification of different varieties of living things
❖ interdependence and interaction between living things and the environment
❖ the adaptation of living things to the environment
❖ concern for endangered species
❖ interaction between human activities and natural environment
❖ adverse weather conditions and related safety measures
❖ the effect of natural changes of the environment and natural hazards on people and how people respond to these changes and hazards
❖ our responsibilities in environmental conservation
❖ the Earth as a source of resources
❖ renewable and non-renewable resources
❖ energy saving and good use of resources
❖ some local and national environmental issues
❖ a lifestyle which promotes sustainable development Suggestions for Extension
Since the aims of this strand are to arouse students’ concern for the environment and its sustainable development, it is desirable to provide authentic learning situations to students. For example, students can learn about Nature through outings and camping. During these activities, students of Key Stage One can select the plants they are interested in for in-depth study.
They can carry out simple experiments to find out the functions of different parts of the plants. In Key Stage Two, students can choose an environmental issue of global concern that they are interested in and conduct project learning. They can act as different stakeholders and study the issues from various perspectives. They can also hold debates on some global environmental conservation issues to develop their critical thinking skills.
When studying the sources of our resources in Key Stage Two, students can understand the importance of renewable energy to people through project learning. They can also explore the use of solar energy by designing and making a device or toy that can be driven by solar energy. They can further compare the effect of different kinds of energy used in operating the same device or toy. Students’ creativity is nurtured through interesting enquiry activities and artifact making.