# Lesson 158: Protecting the environment

🔬 SCIENCE (40 Lessons) • 🟠 E. Science Projects

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## Objective

I can explain, in simple words, what the environment is, name actions that hurt and actions that help our planet, and plan one small thing I can do to protect the environment.

## Materials

- Pictures of clean and messy places (park, beach, classroom)
- Coloured pencils or markers
- Scrap paper, old magazines, or packaging for sorting and collage
- Glue stick and safety scissors (with adult support)
- Notebook or science journal for an environment action plan

## Mini-lesson — What does it mean to protect the environment?

The environment is everything around us: air, water, plants, animals, and places where people live and play. We share our environment with many living things.

Why does the environment need care?

- Plants and animals need clean air and clean water to live.
- People need clean places for playing, walking, and growing food.
- When we look after the Earth, it can stay beautiful and safe for a long time.

Things that can hurt the environment

- Throwing litter on the ground or into water.
- Leaving taps running and wasting water.
- Leaving lights or devices on and wasting energy.
- Breaking plants, cutting flowers for no reason, or frightening animals.

Things that can help the environment

- Putting rubbish in the bin.
- Recycling paper, plastic bottles, and cans where your area allows it.
- Turning off the tap when brushing teeth.
- Turning off lights and devices when you do not need them.
- Walking, cycling, or using a scooter for short trips when it is safe, instead of always using a car.
- Planting and caring for trees and flowers.

Small actions, big difference

- One child picking up litter in a park makes the park nicer.
- One family saving water and energy helps the whole planet.
- When many people do small, kind actions, the Earth gets a lot more help.

Protecting the environment means making kind choices for the Earth every day.

Picture strip: Clean and messy park, small helpers

Park before and after

Small Earth helpers

## Guided Practice — Our class plan to help the Earth

You will look at pictures, talk about what hurts and what helps the environment, and make a simple class plan.

1. Look and sort: With an adult, look at pictures of a clean place and a messy place. Point to things that are helpful (trees, bins, flowers) and things that are harmful (litter, broken plants).
2. Say the action: For each picture, say a sentence such as "Throwing litter on the ground hurts the environment." or "Planting trees helps the environment."
3. Make a class list: On a board or big paper, make two columns: "Hurts the environment" and "Helps the environment". Add ideas from the discussion.
4. Choose three actions: As a class or family, choose three actions you want to try this week, such as "Turn off lights when we leave a room" or "Use both sides of the paper".
5. Draw your promise: On a small card, draw yourself doing one of these actions and write a few words below, like "I pick up litter".
6. Use the tracing pad: Choose words such as Earth, clean, recycle, water, trees, or protect and trace them slowly.
7. Say an Earth helper sentence: After tracing, say a sentence such as "I can help the Earth by saving water."

Tracing Pad
Lines
Trace
Pen

## Practice 1 — Sort helping and hurting actions

Decide which actions help the environment and which ones hurt it.

1. Draw two big boxes on a page. Label one "Helps the environment" and the other "Hurts the environment".
2. Think of actions such as: picking up litter, dropping rubbish, turning off lights, wasting water, planting a tree, breaking branches.
3. Write or draw each action on a small card. Talk with an adult and decide which box it belongs in.
4. Check your boxes. Are there more helping or hurting actions? What could you change?
5. At the bottom of your page, write one sentence, such as "I will try to do more actions that help the environment."

## Practice 2 — Design an Earth helper badge

Create a small badge or sticker design that shows you are an Earth helper.

1. On a new page, draw a big circle or shield shape. This is your Earth helper badge.
2. Inside the badge, draw a picture that shows one way you protect the environment, such as: recycling, saving water, turning off lights, planting trees.
3. Add a short message like "I care for Earth" or "I pick up litter".
4. Colour your badge with bright, clean colours.
5. Show your badge to a friend or family member and explain what your picture means.

## Practice 3 — My environment action plan

Make a short plan of three things you can do this week to help the environment.

1. Draw three small boxes on a page and number them 1, 2, and 3.
2. In each box, draw yourself doing one Earth helper action, such as putting paper in the recycling bin, watering plants carefully, or turning off the tap while brushing teeth.
3. Under each picture, write a short sentence starting with "I will…", for example: "I will turn off lights when I leave the room."
4. Put a small tick or sticker next to each box when you do the action during the week.
5. At the end of the week, talk with an adult about which action was easiest and which one was hardest.

## Quick Check — Protecting the environment

Answer each question about caring for the Earth and protecting the environment.

1) What is the environment?

Only toys and games inside your house. The air, water, plants, animals, and places around us. Just one big tree in a park.
The environment is everything around us, including air, water, plants, animals, and places.

2) Which action helps the environment?

Throwing rubbish on the path. Leaving the tap running for fun. Putting rubbish in a bin.
Using a bin keeps places clean and protects the environment.

3) Which action can hurt animals and plants?

Dropping plastic and bottles in a pond. Planting flowers in a garden. Gently watering a tree.
Litter in water can harm animals and plants.

4) How can you save water at home?

Let the tap run while you play. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth. Spill water on purpose.
Turning off the tap while brushing saves water.

5) Which picture would show someone saving energy?

Lights on in every room all night. Television on when nobody is watching. Turning off lights when leaving a room.
Turning off lights when you leave saves energy.

6) What does it mean to recycle?

Use some materials again instead of throwing them away. Throw everything into one big bin. Break toys when you are finished with them.
Recycling means using materials again, like bottles or paper, instead of wasting them.

7) Which sentence is true?

Only adults can help the environment. Children can help the environment with small actions every day. No one can help the environment.
Children can also help the environment with small, kind actions.

8) Which action helps keep a park clean?

Leaving snack wrappers under a bench. Drawing on trees with markers. Picking up litter with an adult and putting it in the bin.
Picking up litter keeps the park clean and safe.

9) Why is planting trees helpful?

Trees give shade, homes for animals, and help clean the air. Trees make more litter on the ground. Trees use up all the water.
Trees are helpful because they give shade, homes, and cleaner air.

10) Your friend throws a bottle on the ground. What is a kind way to help?

Ignore it and walk away. Say, "Let us put it in the bin to help keep the park clean." Shout at them in an unkind way.
A kind reminder and helping them put it in the bin protects the environment.

11) Which list shows actions that help the Earth?

Littering, wasting water, leaving lights on. Breaking plants, scaring animals, throwing rubbish. Recycling, saving water, turning off lights.
Recycling, saving water, and saving energy all help the Earth.

12) What could you do with scrap paper to help the environment?

Use both sides before recycling it. Throw it away after one tiny drawing. Tear it into very small pieces and drop them outside.
Using both sides of paper and then recycling it reduces waste.

13) Which sentence best matches the word protect?

"I throw rubbish in the river." "I keep the river clean and do not drop rubbish in it." "I never think about rivers."
Protecting the river means keeping it clean and safe.

14) Which set of words all match this lesson?

Rocket, moon, astronaut. Chef, kitchen, recipe. Environment, recycle, water, trees.
Environment, recycle, water, and trees are all part of protecting the Earth.

15) Why is it important to learn about protecting the environment?

So we can help keep the Earth safe and healthy for people, plants, and animals. So we can make more litter. So we can waste as much water as we want.
Learning to protect the environment helps keep Earth safe and healthy for everyone.

## Assessment (parent/teacher)

Student can explain in simple words what the environment is. Student can name at least two actions that hurt the environment. Student can name at least two actions that help protect the environment. Student can describe one small change they can make at home or school to help the Earth. Student uses words like environment, litter, recycle, and protect correctly in discussion.

## Exit ticket (student)

😀 I know many ways to help the environment and I already do some of them. 🙂 I know some ways to help the environment but I need more practice. 😅 I still find it tricky to remember how to help the environment.

#### This week I will…

Put rubbish in the bin and pick up litter with an adult. Save water by turning off the tap. Turn off lights and devices when I do not need them.
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