studies of society and environment: activities to promote environmental awareness in young children

The material on these pages has been prepared to supplement lectures, workshops and text for students enrolled at James Cook University in ED3001 Early childhood curriculum and teaching studies 1 and ED3101 Primary curriculum and teaching studies 1

Herman, Passineau, Schimpf & Treur (1991) argue that, before children can develop an ethic of ecological sustainability, they need opportunities to explore, experience and delight in their natural environment with enthusiastic caring adults. Goal from national statement: Students "can explain the features of places and environment and the ways in which people interact with them" (Australian Education Council, 1994, p. 4). Outcomes from preschool guidelines: Children ... demonstrate curiosity and enthusiasm, as they investigate similarities, differences, patterns and change in environments that surround them. Children are beginning to show respect, responsibility and appreciation for both natural and built environment as they develop an understanding that people impact on these environments just as these environments impact on people (Queensland School Curriculum Council, 1997, p. 57) These activities could also be part of an active social investigation unit in which children are investigating a key question. 1. Play hide-and-seek with the children imagining themselves to be local native animals hiding from predators. A variation can be habitat hide- and-seek where children in groups select an animal that the children are familiar with and create a home for it. When others find it, they have to guess which animal the home represents. 2. Make up and tell a story about a local "monster". Go on a "nature walk" with kids and encourage them to look for "evidence" of the monster. eg., bark falling from a tree may be where the monster brushed against it. 3. Make a water slide but encourage children to slide down it as if they were an appropriate local species, eg., barramundi, crocodile 4. Play tag where you are "safe" when you are touching a nominated species of tree or bush. 5. Find where you can pick your own fruit or vegies and organise a picking excursion then use what you pick in a variety of ways back in the classroom. 6. Have a scavenger hunt where the clues come from specific features in the environment eg "next clue can be found at the base of a bottle-brush". 7. Take photos of the different birds that come into the school environment. Get kids to "adopt" specific birds and record their comings and goings, habits etc. Encourage kids to be "advocates" for their own species. Do similar things with other species. eg lizards, ants. 8. Track the growth of and changes in specific plants in the playground. 9. Go on a micro-hike along a one or two metre piece of string. Think and look small and look for tiny animals, plants and features, - insect trails, pollen, veins on leaves - maybe with a magnifying glass. 10. Of course, plant a garden. Grow some plants for their smell and encourage children to identify different plant smells. 11. Observe different features of the world, eg, a tree, a cliff, a pond, from a bat's view, worm's view, wallaby's view, etc. 12. Turn all sorts of things into compost. Look at leaf litter under trees. 13. Follow a toy boat down a creek and notice where it goes fast, where it gets trapped etc. 14. Use materials collected from the bush in art activities - collages, printing, sculptures - provided collecting is sustainable in the area. Alternatively do some texture rubbings on things that won't be damaged by rubbing and bring them back to class and make collage from them. 15 Organise a bush tucker expedition with appropriate local Aboriginal /Torres Strait Islander people, especially family members. 16. Examine something dead, eg. a log, insect, animal, to see what happens to it. 17. Have snack time /lunch time picnics in different parts of the school environment and experience their differences. 18. Introduce children to some scientific language so they can describe what they observe. Note: children may be doing many similar activities with their families that you could make use of. However, by doing them as class activities you will have more opportunity to use them as a basis for developing the children's school based knowledge. References: Australian Education Council (1994) A statement on studies of society and environment for Australian schools. Carlton: Curriculum Corporation. Herman, M., Passineau, J., Schimpf, A., & Treur, P. (1991) Teaching kids to love the earth. Duluth, MN: Pfeifer-Hamilton. Queensland School Curriculum Council (1997) Preschool curriculum guidelines. Brisbane: Queensland Government.

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