Skills and concepts development
A sense of place
The child should be enabled to
- Become aware of and explore some of the distinctive
features of the locality myself, my family, my friends, members of the
school community, people who live in
and work in the local community, home, area around home, classroom, school and
play areas, homes and other buildings, natural features such as Swords Estuary
- Develop some awareness of people and places in other
areas
A sense of space
- Discuss and record the relative location of familiar
human and natural features in the locality in simple language near, in
front of, at the corner
- Discuss and record in simple terms journeys to and from
places in the immediate environment home, play spaces, school and class
room, shops, churches, supermarkets, Estuary, Swords Pavilion
- Give and follow directions to places in the immediate
environment places in the school building (IT Room, Principals
Office, General Office, Reading Room and playground)
Maps, globes and graphical skills
Using pictures, maps and globes
- Record areas in the immediate environment and places in
stories using simple picture maps and models my room, my home, the
housing estate, my way to school and to the shops
- Explore the outlines of small everyday items pencil
case or box, model buildings from toy farm or train set
- Develop awareness of maps (Maps of Swords are available
from Archives, aerial photograph of Swords also available)
- Explore directions in the classroom using simple
signpost maps
- Identify land and sea on maps and globes
- Use maps of Ireland and the globe to develop an
awareness of other places
Geographical investigation skills
Questioning
- Ask questions about natural and human features in the
immediate environment
What animals and plants live here? Examine pictures of
Swords over the past 100 years
Observing
- Observe, compare and discuss natural and human features
in the local environment
Predicting
- Suggest outcomes of an investigation based on
observation
Investigating and experimenting
- Carry out simple investigations
and collect information from a variety of sources
Direct observations in the environment; classroom
investigations; books, information and ICT
Estimating and measuring
- Begin to use simple methods to estimate, measure and
compare observations use non-standard units of length to measure
distances, use balance to compare weights of samples collected
Analysing
- Sort and group people, features, events and natural
phenomena people who work in shops, offices, factories, living things on
the seashore, on the farm
- Begin to look for and recognise patterns and
relationships in the environment connection between dark clouds and
rainfall; links between homes of people and climate
- Draw conclusions from simple investigations
Recording and communicating
- Describe and discuss observations orally
- Represent findings pictorially or using other media
friezes, pictograms, ICT
Human environments
Living in the local community
My family and community
- Explore and discuss membership of the family, school
and local community
- Become aware of and learn to value the diversity of
people who live in the local community
- Begin to recognise the interdependence of individuals
and groups in the local community
- Develop an awareness of people loving in other areas
and of the links between them and the local community
Homes
- Recognise that people live in a variety of homes
- Describe own homes, location and surroundings
- Record some of these features using simple drawings,
plans, displays, models and sketches
- Investigate materials used to construct homes and
identify materials of local origin (teachers residences on North
Street and Seatown Road are of Feltrim Stone)
- Discuss and record simple journeys to and from homes
- Develop an appreciation and an awareness of different
types of homes in the locality
- Develop an awareness of homelessness
- Describe areas within the home
People at work
- Investigate the work of people in a range of locations
within the locality home, schools, factories, farms, garda station,
hospital, health centre, hotels, airport
- Investigate the work of people involved in transport
and communications
- Discuss and record the buildings and places where
people work in the locality Dublin Airport,
Swords Pavilion, Fingal County Council Offices, Supermarkets, Bayer, Swords
Laboratories, Evode
- Discus and record journeys to work-places
- Become aware of the work of people in other areas who
supply food and other products to us
People at play
- Appreciate the roles of people who help at play
- Describe the location and features of play spaces
- Discuss and record journeys to and from play spaces
People and places in other areas
- Become familiar with some aspects of the lives of
people in Ireland, Europe and other areas
- Appreciate
ways in which people in different areas depend on one another and on people
loving in other parts of the world
Natural environments
- Identify, explore and discuss aspects of some major
natural features in the local environment Swords Estuary names,
location, appearance, flora and fauna; Hills: Spital Hill, Pipe Hill,
Gallows Hill, Pennock Hill; Lambay, Irish Sea
- Observe, discuss and investigate water in the local
environment
- Observe, collect and investigate a variety of natural
materials in the local
environment
- Record and communicate experiences and observations
using oral language and pictures
Weather
- Observe and record varying weather conditions using
appropriate vocabulary and simple equipment
- Begin to associate cloud cover and other conditions
with different types of weather
- Begin to make and test simple weather predictions
- Identify ways in weather influences the lives of people
- Contrast weather in the locality with that in other
areas
Planet Earth in space
- Recognise that sun is a source of heat and light
- Identify the sun, moon, stars, day and night
- Develop familiarity with the spherical nature of the
Earth
Environmental awareness and care
Caring for my locality
- Identify, discuss and appreciate the natural and human
features of the local environment environmental impact of M50
crossing Swords Estuary
- Observe and develop an awareness of loving things in a
range of habitats in local and wider environments
- Observe similarities and differences among plants and
animals in different local habitats
- Develop an awareness that air, water, soil, living and
non-living things are essential to the environment
- Realise that people, animals and plants depend on each
other
- Realise that there is an individual and community
responsibility for taking care of the environment
- Identify, discuss and implement simple strategies for
improving and caring for the environment caring for toys and other
possessions, keeping classroom and school
tidy and safe
- Identify and help to implement simple strategies for
protecting, conserving and enhancing the local environment plant some
flowers, develop a school garden, anti-litter campaign
- Become aware of ways in which the environment can be
harmed or polluted
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