UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 121
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Subject: Science
Class: JHS 1
Term: 1st Term
Week: 1
Grade code: B7.2.4.1.2
Strand code: 5
Sub-strand code: 5
Indicator code: B7.2.4.1.2
Theme: HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 114
Subtheme: UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 121
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Understanding the environment helps learners to know what surrounds them, how living things depend on it, and how human activities can improve or destroy it. In Ghana, our daily life depends on the environment: clean water for drinking, fertile soil for farming, trees for shade and rainfall, and clean air for good health. When we understand the environment well, we can make better choices about sanitation, farming, mining, building, and waste disposal. > Alignment to Indicator (B7.2.4.1.2): This lesson focuses on helping learners identify and explain the components of the environment and how they interact, including how humans affect these components.
2.1 Meaning of Environment Environment is everything around us that affects living things. It includes: Living things (plants, animals, humans, microorganisms) Non-living things (air, water, soil, sunlight, rocks, temperature) Human-made things (houses, roads, farms, factories, drains)
Example (Ghana context): A learner’s environment may include: the classroom, school compound, trees, dusty road, stream, market, toilets, farms, mosquitoes, and waste dump.
2.2 Components of the Environment The environment has two main components: A. Biotic Components (Living) These are living organisms. Producers: make their own food using sunlight (photosynthesis) Examples: maize, cassava, mango tree, grass, algae in a pond Consumers: depend on other organisms for food Examples: humans, goats, cattle, fish, birds, insects Decomposers: break down dead plants/animals to return nutrients to soil Examples: fungi (mushrooms), bacteria, termites, earthworms
Why decomposers matter: They help keep the environment clean by breaking down dead matter and they improve soil fertility. B. Abiotic Components (Non-living) These are non-living factors that support life: Air (oxygen, carbon dioxide) Water (rivers, rain, wells, dams) Soil (sand, clay, loam) Sunlight Temperature Rocks and minerals Wind and humidity