Eco-Literacy for Primary Schools

This book demystifies concepts relating to ecology and sustainable development at a time when these ideas are being introduced into the primary school curriculum. Written in non-academic language, it provides a wide range of illustrative examples reflecting the everyday experiences of teachers and children. But simply explaining eco-literacy would not be enough to make a difference to teachers' practice. So the book is organized around the questions that teachers are likely to need answered, arranged in three main sections: * What is eco-literacy? Why teach it? How does it fit into what we do now? * Connections, cycles in nature, renewable energy, ethical issues * Convincing others -- using without using up, human need and human greed, money, the six Rs By embracing important social, scientific, economic and political ideas from the rest of the curriculum, the book shows how eco-literacy can be promoted through the existing curriculum structure, linking science, citizenship, geography, health education, literacy and ICT (Information Communications Technology). For their own future, children need to become capable as they mature of making informed, sustainable life choices. This book is the first step: it sets out to convince teachers of the importance of this and offers them guidance on conveying it to their pupils in the primary classroom.

Alan Peacock is Reader in Primary Science Education at University of Exeter.