�

Basic Civic

Education

Teacher’s Guide 1FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

B J ObebeF J Muazu

H O C Ambassador-BrikinsS O Koledoye

UBE Edition

��

Longman N�ger�a PlcHead officeFelix Iwerebon House52 Oba Akran AvenueP.M.B. 21036IKEJA, Lagos State, NigeriaPhone: +234 01-7403967 +234 01-4393111Fax: +234 01-4964370Email: longman@longmannigeria.comWebsite: www.longmannigeria.com

Area offices and branchesAbuja, Agbor, Akure, Enugu, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jos, Kano, Owerri and Zaria with representatives throughout Nigeria

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Longman Nigeria Plc 2009First published 2009

ISBN 978 978 026 942 5

���

Introduction 1

Theme one: Meaning of civic education 11 Advantages of civic education 11Ways through which civic education can be learnt 12

Theme two: People, places and things to respect 13What is respect? 13People to respect 13Some places to respect 13Some things to respect 14Ways of showing respect to people 14Ways of showing respect to places and things 15

Theme three: Rules and regulations 16Meaning 16Rewards for obeying rules and regulations 16Consequences of disobeying rules and regulations 17

Theme four: Health issues 18Sanitation 18Keeping the toilet clean 18Keeping our surroundings clean 19Consequences of using dirty toilets 20

Theme five: Personal hygiene 21Meaning of personal hygiene 21Why we should keep our body clean 22Rules and regulations for taking substances into the body 22Things you must not do 23

Contents

iv

�

What civic education isAt a workshop organised by the NERDC in January 2007 at its head-quarters in Abuja, a group of social studies teachers drawn from across Nigeria, worked to disarticulate elements of Civic Education from Social Studies. After a week of serious interactions centred on looking at elements of Civic Education in Social Studies, a definition of Civic Education was arrived at as:

The process of inculcating in the individual his rights and responsi-bilities to himself, society and government, as well as the desirable knowledge, attitudes, norms, values, morals and actions necessary for the survival and sustenance of society.

Just as is the case with Social Studies, the syllabus arrived at for Civic Education as a core subject for the Universal Basic Education adopts the problem–inquiry approach to the study of decision-making processes. It was identified that for one to become a functional citizen, one has to be able to make vital decisions after examining all the issues involved in one’s environment.

Purpose and plan of this bookThis Teacher’s Guide has been designed to ease the teacher’s work of effectively guiding the learners in their teaching and learning activities. It is with the hope that teachers of Civic Education will also be teachers of Social Studies. There is a need for the transfer of training and learning for both teachers and pupils. Civic Education should be taught in a democratic atmosphere, where the teachers and pupils are free to exchange ideas in the form of questions, answers and comments. The teacher should not appear as the main source of information for knowledge and content of Civic Education. The subject, as it is conceived, should be seen as relevant to our daily living activities. The evaluation process should not be on the cognitive level alone. There should be practical work on values and skill development. This can be achieved through involving the pupils in demonstration, drama and games that are Civic Education related.

Introduction

�

Syllabus planning for primary Civic EducationCivic Education was formerly taught in schools through other subjects, called ‘carrier subjects’, such as Social Studies, Citizenship Education, Government, and History. But recently the importance of Civic Edu-cation in developing in children and youths of our society skills that would aid them in becoming responsible national and international citizens became prominent. The new Basic Education structure was to make Civic Education a core subject. The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council was mandated to assemble specialists and professionals in subjects such as Social Studies, Citizenship Education and Civic Education to disarticulate Civic Education contents from these subject areas, as well as topics from materials used by the NOA, and SSS/SOS. They were then to select relevant materials for teaching Civic Education on its own. The thematic approach to content integration in Civic Education was recommended by the NERDC. This approach allows the integration of new and emerging issues of local and global concern. Thus, Civic Educa-tion has been structured as follows:

Primary One or Basic One 1. Civic Education—Meaning of Civic Education 2. National symbols—People, places and things to respect3. Good social behaviour—Rules and regulations 4. Health issues—Sanitation—Personal hygiene—Rules and regulations

for the intake of substances into the body

Primary Two1. Civic Education—Importance of Civic Education2. The school—School rules and regulations—Duties and qualities of

class monitors and prefects3. The community—Our community—Our community leaders4. Health issues—Keeping our surroundings clean—Sanitation (Toi-

lets)

Primary Three1. Civic Education—Components of Civic Education 2. National consciousness—National identity—National symbols3. Duties and responsibilities—Respect for constituted authority4. Health issues—Personal hygiene—Sanitation facilities—Drug laws

and their enforcement—Preventing drug abuse

�

Primary Four1. Our values—Attitude towards cultural diversity—Respect for other

people 2. Citizenship—Community leadership—Local government—State

government3. Duties and responsibilities—Responsibilities of members of a fam-

ily4. Civic values—Civic values 5. National consciousness—Ethnicity—Nation 6. Government—Types of government 7. Constituted authority—Duties of citizens to constituted authority8. Social issues —Traffic regulations —Attitude to accident victims9. Health issues —Personal hygiene (Clothes)

Primary Five1. Our values —Why many people could not own homes—Values in

house construction2. Citizenship—Government main services—Problems created by bad

leadership3. Duties and responsibilities—Attitude to victims of natural disas-

ters4. Civic Education—Meaning and parts of Civic Education—The im-

portance of Civic Education—Why study Civic Education 5. National consciousness—Meaning of loyalty 6. Government—Our duties and obligations to government—Arms

of government—Importance of government—Functions of govern-ment

7. Representative democracy—Defending democracy and social justice (Pressure groups)—Communicating social injustice to leaders

8. Civil society and popular—Civil society and moral instruction par-ticipation

Primary Six1. Civic Education—National honours awards2. Values—Valuing Nigerian goods—Values that promote peace3. National consciousness and identity—Nationalism and patriotism —Citizenship and naturalisation 4. Government—Government policies and programmes—Importance

of government programmes to Nigerians—Government institutions in Nigeria

5. Civil society and popular participation—State and civil society par-ticipation

�

6. Social issues—Moral aspect of drug education—Drug laws and their enforcement—Trafficking in dangerous drugs and the law

The structure is made up of themes broken into topics. Basically, there are twelve themes from Primary One to Primary Three, broken up into 21 topics; whereas, there are twenty-three themes for Primary Four to Six, broken into forty-two topics. There is a re-occurrence of themes and topics with increasing levels of difficulty, designed to ensure mastery of the ideas throughout the primary school years. This is similar to the design of Social Studies curricula. We must re-emphasise that Civic Education was given birth from Social Studies as a major source, while Citizenship Education and other available related documents were consulted for enrichment purposes. In putting the curriculum together, the planners were mindful of the new structure of lower basic curriculum of primaries 1–3; middle basic education of primaries 4–6 and upper basic education of JSS 1–3. At each level, their design is such as to make our youths become functional and well informed citizens of Nigeria and the world at large. The National Council on Education (NCE) at its meeting in Calabar from 26 Novem-ber to 1 December 2006 underscored this when it directed that the Basic Education curriculum content should be increased from 19 to 20 to ac-commodate Civic Education and that it should be accorded the status of a core subject. As a result, at the lower basic and middle basic levels, the emphasis is on:1. Good moral behaviour in the community 2. Our duties to ourselves as individuals, our communities, the state

and the nation at large3. Developing positive attitude to managing resources4. Obeying rules and regulations5. Obeying constituted authority6. Functioning as informed citizens of a nation and making positive

contributions to the survival of the nation At the upper basic level (JSS 1–3), the points of emphasis are:1. Our duties as educated citizens to our community and the nation at

large2. Keeping our societal values to promote national unity3. Knowing our rights and respecting those of others4. Understanding how to live in a democracy5. Promoting national unity through democratic governance6. Developing right attitude towards work and participating in electoral

processes

�

We agree totally with these areas of emphasis as necessary contents of the Civic Education curriculum. We are, however, mindful of those to deliver the goods – the Teacher. For now, Nigeria doesn’t have pre-pared or qualified teachers to teach Civic Education as prepared and presented. We are aware that, meanwhile, teachers of Social Studies will be the vanguard in the teaching of Civic Education. So we expect the teacher to explain Civic Education to her pupils to the best of her ability, by giving concrete examples in the lessons, and leading discussions in a democratic and friendly environment. The teacher should employ the use of photographs, posters, and other appropriate materials to involve her pupils in the learning and teaching situation. Pupils should be encour-aged to answer the teacher’s questions and ask the teacher questions in areas that they need assistance.

Detailed structure of Civic Education syllabus

The Civic Education curriculum for the Primary classes is structured into about 35 themes broken into 57 topics as follows:

Primary I — Four themes broken into six topics Primary II — Four themes broken into seven topicsPrimary III — Four themes broken into eight topicsPrimary IV — Nine themes broken into fourteen topicsPrimary V — Eight themes broken into sixteen topicsPrimary VI — Six themes broken into twelve topics

As we have just seen, there are more topics from the themes in the upper classes than in the lower classes.

Arrangement of themes

Each theme has a central issue to be addressed in each class. For ex-ample, Primary I — What is Civic Education? Primary II — Importance of Civic Education Primary III — Components of Civic Education Primary IV — Our values – attitude towards cultural diver sity Primary V — Citizenship: Government main services to its citizensPrimary VI — Nationalism and patriotism

�

Structure of each theme

Each theme is broken into topics. For each topic to be well addressed by the teacher, performance objectives are indicated in terms of what pupils should be able to do at the end of each unit. The contents are suggested and are to be enriched by the teacher through her own resourcefulness. Teachers’ and pupils’ activities are suggested. Teaching and learning materials are also listed, together with a suggestion on evaluation items on each topic. We shall give a detailed example from Primary Three Civic Education thus:

Theme 1: Civic Education

1. Topic Components of Civic Education2. Performance Objectives: Pupils should be able to: i) Identify components of Civic Education ii) Explain the dimensions of Civic Education3. Course content to be taught: i) Components: Rights and responsibilities, talent fulfilment, freedom of the citizen, open-mindedness, healthy competition, democratic practices, and academic freedom. ii) Dimensions: Political, legal, social, economic and cultural.4. Activities for teachers and pupils: The teacher is to lead the pupils to

identify from relevant sources the components of Civic Education. She should guide the pupils and explain the dimensions of Civic Education to them. The pupils, on their part, engage in identifying the components of Civic Education. They participate in explaining the dimensions of Civic Education. They can take part in role playing to explain the dimensions of Civic Education.

5. Teaching and learning materials suggested include, among others, posters, pictures and video clips.

6. Evaluation guide: The teacher is expected to ask pupils questions to find out the extent they have followed her teaching. That is, she should ensure that they can identify the components of Civic Educa-tion, and be able to explain the dimensions of Civic Education.

�

Conclusion The Civic Education syllabus, like the social studies syllabus, is compre-hensive. Emphasis is on developing positive attitude in the children and the youths. It is expected that the end of their exposure to Civic Education, the children, who will have turned into youths, become informed citizens of the nation. They will have been taught how to think and reason out alternative solutions to the problems in their environment.

Classification of instructional techniques for Civic Education

The teacher of Civic Education is expected to use, for the teaching of Civic Education, practical, concrete methods suggested on Page 7 of Social Studies Handbook, for the teaching of Social Studies, by the NERDC. More importantly, however, the teacher must encourage democratic teaching and learning processes, in which the pupils are the centre of activities in the class.

Specimen lesson plan on components of Civic Education

1. Theme: Civic Education 2. Topic: Components of Civic Education 3. Objectives: At the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to: a) Identify components of Civic Education. b) Explain dimensions of Civic Education. c) Demonstrate through role playing the components and di-

mensions of Civic Education.4. Contents of the lesson Rights and responsibilities of the individual in society a) Freedom of expression in society b) Democratic practices – the right to vote and be voted for c) Dimensions – political, economic and cultural activities in

soci ety, and the roles of individuals in them5. Materials suggested for teaching: Posters, pictures, video clips, and of

course, pupils’ demonstrations in class during teaching and learning engagement.

6. Evaluation: Pupils should answer questions from the teacher. Pu-pils should also ask questions on topics for clarification from the teacher.

7. Assignment: Pupils are assigned practical work to be done to illus-trate the lesson delivered by the teacher.

�

Conclusion

In a Civic Education class, emphasis is on pupils’ participation in a democratic environment. The teacher should not be the only source of information for the pupils. Rather, both the teacher and the pupils should be involved in activities designed to realise the objectives of every topic.

Inquiry techniques

Inquiry is the best method of teaching. As a method, it has many alterna-tive techniques which may be grouped into three:1. Research activities2. Oral activities 3. Creative activities

Research activities

Research is a fundamental activity involving finding out and organis-ing information. There are many activities related to research, including reading, interviewing, observing, collecting, listening and experimenting. Emphasis is placed on student discovery. This demands the involvement of students in the world beyond the classroom and a student-teacher relationship of shared activity. A teacher might initiate a research activity by putting the right ques-tion to the class. This question may be a result of a lesson, or a news item from the media. For instance, after a lesson on agriculture in Nigeria, the teacher may ask: ‘How many types of locally produced farm crops are available in the nearby market?’ The teacher may proceed by asking for a show of hands and then tally the results on the chalkboard. Then, she can ask some more ques-tions such as:1. Why have the students provided various answers?2. What techniques might we use to verify our answers to the ques-

tion?3. Where can we go for further information?4. How can we present our findings? After the class has come to some agreement on these four questions, it may be divided into groups to carry out research on the different areas, or to carry out different phases of the research. When the results

�

are reported, a discussion will be necessary to decide on the meaning of the results. Such a discussion may revolve around these and other questions:1. What do the results mean to you?2. What might the results mean to other people? Field trips, either local or distant, are also worthwhile research activi-ties.

Oral activities

Civic Education, like Social studies, lays a lot of emphasis on the overall development of the child. Communication skills are part of the total personality. Oral activities are part of communication skills, and are very important in everyday life. Individual assessment of students is sometimes best achieved when they are performing oral activities. A careful observation can be made of the individual under these conditions. Notes can be written on their performance into the teacher’s mark-book as part of the continuous assessment. The types of oral activities that are available for student participation include role-playing, oral book reports, panel discussion, debate and drama. Here is a brief demonstration of role-playing as a class activity. Four students can be selected, or four volunteers can be got from the class to play the role of four Nigerians. The classroom teacher will play the role of a questioner and an umpire. The four students will play the following roles:

• A northern Nigerian politician• A southern farmer in the village• A northern trader in a market• A southern Nigerian student

The entire class should pretend that they were living in Nigeria in 1976 when Abuja was to be chosen as the new Federal Capital of Nigeria. The teacher begins the role-playing situation by asking: ‘Why do we need to change Nigeria’s seat of government from Lagos to Abuja?’The question sets up the dilemma: To choose Abuja or to remain in Lagos. Speaking as a politician, a farmer, a trader and a pupil, the pupils should be able to give the teacher a variety of answers. At the end of the role-play, which should not last longer than five minutes, there must be a discussion session or a debriefing.

10

Creative activities

Students learn a great deal at home and at play through creative activities. Therefore, the enjoyment of learning through creative activities should be brought to school. Creative activities allow the teacher to tap the various talents among the students in the classroom. Some of these creative activities are writing, speaking, drama, simu-lation game, music and model construction. Some art activities might include drawing, carving and painting. Constraints on the use of some creative activities are the availability of materials and the amount of time they take. Another difficulty has to do with students’ seriousness in the conduct of these activities. They must be made to realise that creative activities are as valuable to learning as any other activity.

Conclusion

The three groups of learning techniques are not discrete. They can be combined to teach a single lesson or a series of lessons on a theme. For instance, a lesson on ‘Air transportation in Nigeria’ to JSS 2 students, can, in addition to normal oral teaching, be supported in the following way:1. Paying a visit to an airport or airfield, or collecting pictures of an

airport, aviation magazines, etc.2. Based on the visit or the picture, having the students construct a

simple model of an airport (working in groups of about three).3. Having the students prepare a map to show the locations of Nigeria’s

airports.4. Having the students prepare oral reports about services provided

by airlines.5. Having the students compose songs or stories about airplanes.

��

Theme one

Meaning of Civic education

The teacher should guide the pupils to give the meaning of civic educa-tion. She should explain to them that, as members of society, we have duties to perform. So also the government has some duties to perform. The teacher should then lead the children to the definition or meaning of civic education. Civic education is the subject in which we learn our duties towards the government and our community. We also learn the duties of the government towards us.

Advantages of civic education

The teacher should lead the pupils to identify the advantages of civic education. She should, with the pupils, look at the picture on page 4 of the Pupils’ Book. It shows people obeying traffic lights. The teacher should ask them to explain what they see, and the meaning. This will enable the children to see the advantages of civic education by them-selves. She should then make them know that the advantages of civic education include the following:1 It makes us obey rules and regulations in our community.2 It helps us to know what our rights are. For example, we have the

right to live wherever we like in our community.3 It helps us know our duties. For example, we should pay tax to the

government.4 It helps us live as brothers and sisters, and to work together.5 It helps us become good members of the community, because it

teaches us how to make our community better.6 It helps us learn what the government or community should do

for us. This is good, so that when we grow up and become good leaders, we will be able to assist our community to develop.

7 It promotes peace. When we all know our rights and duties, we will understand each other’s rights and duties, we will understand each other better, and then we would live peacefully.

The teacher should ensure that the children contribute to the discus-sion by asking them various questions that will elicit responses relevant to the topic being discussed.

��

Ways through which civic education can be learnt

The teacher should guide the pupils to discuss the following ways of learning civic education:1 Listening to our parents and teachers, and obeying them. They are

wiser than we are. So we should learn from them.2 Reading newspapers, books and magazines that carry information

on government activities.3 Listening to radio programmes and watching television.4 Visiting elders in the community to tell us stories about how they

have helped the community.

��

Theme two

People, places and things to respect

What is respect?

The teacher should ask the children to explain what respect is, and guide them to see that respect is to admire someone (or a place or thing) because you think they are important and special. Respect also means polite behaviour towards or care for somebody, thing or place you think is important.

People to respect

The teacher should, with the pupils, look closely at pictures of an el-derly couple, children and their parents at home, a teacher instructing pupils, a traditional ruler in his palace, and a political leader inspecting a bridge project ,which are on pages 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the pupils’ textbook. The teacher should explain that everyone is important, so everyone de-serves respect. However, the following are people that deserve special respect in society:1 Older people. They are usually kind and they know many things

which we can learn.2 Our parents. They love us and look after us. They want us to grow

up and become better than themselves.3 Our teachers. They teach us many things. They love us and want us

to be disciplined so that we would become leaders in future.4 Our school. They are our leaders in the school.5 The head teacher of our school. He/She is our parent in the school.

They spend a lot of time looking after us.6 Our political leaders. They are working hard to make our country bet-

ter. Examples of political leaders are traditional rulers, and political leaders such as the president and governors.

7 All the people around us. Everybody is special, because God created us all.

Some places to respectThe teacher should ask the pupils to mention places they think we should respect in society, and guide them to identify the places.

��

Among the places to respect are the following:1 Our house. We must be well behaved at home and keep the home

clean.2 Our school. We must be polite at school because we learn there.3 Our place of worship. We must be quiet and prayerful in God’s

home.4 The government house. We must be polite and calm because our lead-

ers work there.5 The stadium. We must be careful, so that no one would be injured

during sports.6 The ruler’s palace. We must be polite and orderly there.7 Our community. We live there. We should not throw litter around. Also, we must take care of the environment. The teacher should look at the various pictures in the Pupils’ Book, under ‘Places to respect’, and ask the children questions, based on what they see.

Some things to respect

The teacher should show the children the national flag, the coat of arms, the Constitution, various national currency notes, and other national sym-bols. She should guide the children to identify these as things we should respect in society, and list them on the chalkboard as they discuss. Things to respect include the following:1 The national flag. We must treat it with respect, because it is the

symbol of our great country.2 Nigeria’s Constitution. It is a special book that contains the laws of

the country.3 The coat of arms.4 The national anthem.5 We must respect time. We must learn to keep time always. We should

wake up on time, eat on time, bathe on time, get dressed on time, go to school on time, and do our work on time.

Ways of showing respect to people

The teacher should ask the children to mention ways of showing respect to people, and guide them properly in the discussion. She should specifi-cally direct the attention of the pupils to the picture on page 15 of the Pupils’ Book, of a child serving drinks to older people.

��

Ways of showing respect to people include the following:1 We should greet those around us.2 When greeting older people, we should be calm and polite. Gener-

ally, in the country, the boys bow and girls curtsy, while greeting elders.

3 We should help our elders by running errands for them.4 When elders are talking to each other, we should not interrupt them.

We should discuss with them if and when they invite us to do so.

Ways of showing respect to places and things

The teacher should, together with the children, look at the pictures under ‘Ways of showing respect to places and things’ on pages 15, 16 and 17 of the Pupils’ Book. She should ask them to explain what they see from the pictures and guide them in their attempts. Way of showing respect to places and things include the following:1 We should keep our community clean.2 We should keep the school clean.3 We should be quiet and prayerful in places of worship like churches

and mosques. God is there to answer our prayers.4 We should stand at attention when reciting the pledge and singing

the national anthem.5 If we have the opportunity of holding the national flag, we must

handle it with great care.

��

Theme three

Rules and regulations

Meaning

The teacher should lead the discussion on the meaning of rules and regulations, and call on pupils to give examples of rules and regulations in the school. Rules and regulations are statements which tell us what we must do and what we must not do. Rules and regulations help people to do things properly. They also help us to live peacefully with the people around us. The teacher should show the children the picture of policemen lead-ing away criminals, on page 18 of the Pupils’ Book. She should ask them to say what they understand from the picture.

Rewards for obeying rules and regulations

The teacher should make the pupils appreciate the fact that there are rewards for obeying rules and regulations. The teacher should also dis-cuss the prize giving day at school, to reinforce the concept of rewards for obeying rules and regulations at school. Rewards for obeying rules and regulations include the following:1 The nation will be safe. If we all kept away from crime, for instance,

everyone would be safe because there would no criminals to frighten or harm people.

2 The government will provide us with amenities like electricity and good roads. If we all pay our taxes, there would be funds to make these things available.

3 There will be peace in society if we all obey rules. 4 Road accidents will reduce. When people obey traffic rules, the

roads would be freer, and accidents would be much fewer.5 Awards are given to best behaved children at school.6 School authorities would commend obedient pupils.7 Members of the community could honour citizens who obey the

rules of the country. The government also gives awards to such people.

��

The teacher should draw the pupils’ attention to the picture of a driver that has stopped at a zebra crossing for pupils to cross the road, on page 20 of the Pupils’ Book.

Consequences of disobeying rules and regulations

The teacher should bring to the class, and show to the pupils, drawing of children suffering from the consequences of disobeying rules and regulations. She should guide the class to see that there are indeed consequences of not obeying rules and regulations. Pictures of prisons, warders and prisoners may be shown to the children, and the teacher then asks the children to explain or interpret the pictures. The consequences of disobeying rules and regulations are many. Among them are the following:1 People lose their freedom. For example, those who steal would

be taken to prison. Also, those who commit other crimes may be imprisoned.

2 Disobedient people get arrested by the police. Also, people who disturb the peace of the community may get arrested.

3 Disobedient children get punished at home by their parents. They also get punished at school by their teachers.

4 Criminals and other disobedient people do not have friends among good members of society, because they are rejected by decent people.

5 Sometimes, when people break the law of the country, the court makes them pay a fine.

��

Theme four

Health issues

Sanitation

The teacher should ask the children to say what people normally do on days declared as environmental sanitation days. This is in order to understand what sanitation means to the children. The teacher should show to the class pictures of people cleaning markets and other public places. Sanitation means keeping our environment clean. One of the ways in which we can keep our environment clean is to provide public toilets for people to use. A toilet is a place where people pass solid waste. The teacher should show the children pictures of different types of toilet facilities in the school/community. She should guide the pupils to mention the different types of toilet. These are the traditional, bucket, and modern toilets.

Traditional toiletsThere are two kinds of traditional toilets. They are:1 The pit toilet. A hole is dug in the ground for people to pass waste.2 The bucket toilet. A special bucket is placed somewhere for people to

pass waste. Special sanitation workers are paid to empty the buckets regularly. The pit toilet and the bucket toilet are built outside the house.

The modern toilet This is the kind of toilet which many people in the cities use now. It is usually built inside the house. It has a porcelain bowl on which the user sits. The bowl has a cover. A tank with water is attached to it. After use, the user flushes the toilet by using the handle at the tank. The waste passes through a pipe to the septic tank outside the house. The teacher is to show the children the school toilet in order to reinforce the lesson.

Keeping the toilet clean

The teacher should ask the children to say how the toilet can be kept clean, while she guides them in the discussion.

��

The toilet must be clean all the time. We can keep it clean by doing the following things:1 Wash it everyday.2 Sweep the floor everyday.3 Flush it after use4 Cover it after use.5 Sprinkle it with disinfectant such as Detol.6 Place an air freshener there if you can afford one.7 Always shut the toilet door. The teacher, with the pupils should look at the picture on page 26 of the Pupils’ Book, of a boy washing the toilet with a toilet brush. Let there be a discussion on this.

Keeping our surroundings clean

The teacher should ask the children to say how our environment can be kept clean, while she guides them. Ways of keeping our environment clean include the following:1 Sweep the floor everyday.2 Use the waste basket, instead of throwing refuse around.3 Cut the grass around the house.4 Clean the gutters.The teacher should ask the pupils to mention the materials used to clean the environment. As the children mention them, let the teacher write them on the chalkboard. Materials used for cleaning the environment include these:1 Brooms2 Rakes3 Cutlasses4 Buckets5 Soap6 Disinfectant7 Water Let the teacher take the children round the school premises where they can do some cleaning. She should, after this, ask the children to mention the consequences of living in a dirty environment, and guide them as they do this. The teacher should list the pupils’ points on the chalkboard. The consequences include the following:1 Mosquitoes will bite us and trouble us very much.2 We could have malaria.3 We could suffer from typhoid fever.

�0

4 Flies will be round us all the time.5 We could suffer from cholera.6 Our homes will smell badly.7 Decent people will not visit us if we live in a dirty place.8 We may die from disease.

Consequences of using dirty toilets

The teacher should show to the children the picture on page 30 of the Pupils’ Book, of a child stooling and vomiting at the same time. The teacher should then ask the children to mention consequences of using dirty toilets, as she guides them in the discussion. Some of the consequences include the following.1 We could have typhoid fever.2 We could suffer from cholera.3 We could spend a lot of money on drugs and hospitalisation.4 We could suffer from serious diseases, and may even die.5 Our homes would smell badly.

��

Theme five

Personal hygiene

Meaning of personal hygiene

The teacher should ask the children to say what personal hygiene means, by asking them these questions:1 How do you take care of your teeth?2 What do you do before wearing your school uniform?3 How often do you use soap and sponge?The teacher should ask them many other questions that are likely to bring out clearly the meaning of personal hygiene; that is personal hygiene is the practice of keeping our body clean. The teacher should ask the children to mention materials used in keeping our body clean, or for personal hygiene. Let her guide them as they identify these materials, and write them on the chalkboard. Materials used for personal hygiene include the following:1 Toothbrush2 Toothpaste3 Chewing stick4 Nail clippers5 Hair clipper6 Soap7 Sponge8 Water9 Comb10 Hair oil The teacher should ask the children to mention the uses of each of the items listed. She should also ask the pupils to mention ways of keeping our body clean. Let the teacher guide them as they discuss the topic. The teacher should write the various ways on the chalkboard, and explain them thoroughly to the children. Here are some ways in which we can keep our body clean:1 We should take a bath at least two times daily.2 We should brush our teeth in the morning and at bed time.3 Boys should have a haircut regularly, and girls should plait their

hair regularly.4 We must wash our hands after visiting the toilet.

��

5 We should not stick our fingers into our nostril.6 We should wash our hands before and after meals.7 We must wear clean dresses and clean underwear.8 We must cut our nails regularly.9 We must polish our shoes.

Why we should keep our body clean

The teacher should ask the children to say why our body should be kept clean. Let her guide the discussion. She should attempt to teach them a poem or song which lays emphasis on the importance of cleaning the body. Also, the teacher should list the children’s reasons as to why we should keep our body clean on the chalkboard, as the points are being made. Some of the reasons are as follows:I We need to keep germs away. Germs like to live in dirty places. If

we are clean, germs will have nowhere to hide on our body.2 We need to avoid skin diseases and rashes. If our body is clean all

the time, we would not easily have skin disease.3 We need to stay healthy. Those who are dirty fall sick easily.4 We should look smart and decent.5 Practising personal hygiene now will help us to grow up as dis-

ciplined people. Then, as disciplined adults, we would become leaders.

The teacher should go through the various pictures on pages 35, 36 and 37 of the Pupils’ Book, with the pupils, and reinforce to them ad-vantages of keeping our body clean, as well as the consequences of not doing so.

Rules and regulations for taking substances into the body

Let the teacher explain the meaning of substances to the children, as she shows them substances like soft drinks, tablets, etc. She should then ask them to mention other substances they know. Some substances are:1 Medicines2 Soft drinks3 Kolanuts4 Fruits and vegetables5 Alcohol6 Cigarettes7 Snuff

��

The teacher should emphasise to the children that we should not take dangerous or harmful substances, as they may impair our health. Let the teacher explain to the children that substances could be taken by mouth, snuffed, smoked or inhaled into the body.

Things you must not do

The teacher should ask the children to explain things they must not do with substances and guide them as they express themselves. Let the teacher show the children the pictures on page 41 of the Pupils’ Book, of the medicine hawker, and the person vomiting after taking drugs bought from a street vendor. Let the teacher explain the implications of such an action to the children. The teacher should write the following things they must not do on the chalkboard, and discuss each item in as much detail as possible.1 Do not buy medicines from street vendors.2 Do not treat yourself when you are ill.3 Do not accept anything from strangers.4 Do not take or eat anything without permission from your parents

or teachers.5 Do not eat anything that is spoilt.6 You must not eat kolanuts, smoke cigarettes, or drink alcohol.7 Do not go out with bad friends, because they may deceive you into

taking harmful substances. The teacher should also ask the children to mention things they must do and guide them as they discuss. Let the teacher show the children the picture on page 42 of the Pupils’ Book, of a doctor attending to a sick person. The things which a child must do include the following:1 Quickly tell your parents or teachers if you are sick.2 Accept things only from people you know and trust.3 Take medicines that are given to you at the hospital or by your

parents or teachers.4 Go to school regularly, because you learn many things there.5 Make friends with only good children. The teacher should explain to the children why they must obey such rules. These include the following:1 Some of the substances are not good for the health.2 They can make people sick3 They can even kill people.