Primary School Programmes
Creating a culture of enterprise in the school system, from Senior Infants to Leaving Certificate classes, Junior Achievement programmes use hands-on activities to help young people understand the economics of life.
Primary Programmes are 5-6 weeks in duration. As a business volunteer you visit the classroom once a week for 5-6 weeks and teach a structured programme. Each lesson is hands-on and activity based. The teacher supports you throughout the programme.
Both business volunteers and teachers are invited to
a half-day training seminar before the programme
commences. The training covers classroom management,
teaching techniques and each module of the programme.
It also gives the business volunteer and the teacher a
chance to meet to discuss the class and arrange a time to
visit each week that suits both parties.
| Programme | Number of weeks | Duration | Age Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ourselves | 5 weeks | 30 minutes | 5–6 Years |
| Our Families | 5 weeks | 30-35 minutes | 6–7 Years |
| Our Community | 5 weeks | 45 minutes | 7–8 Years |
| Our City | 5 weeks | 45 minutes | 8–9 Years |
| Our Region | 5 weeks | 45 minutes | 9–10 Years |
| Our Nation | 5 weeks | 45 minutes | 10–11 Years |
| Our World | 5 weeks | 45 minutes | 11–12 Years |
| Our Universe | 5 weeks | 45 minutes | 10–12 Years |
Ourselves (5–6 Years)
Story time and small children. JA uses compelling stories about helping, working, earning, and saving along with hands-on activities to engage the students.
Ourselves introduces the economic roles of individuals.
Our Families (6–7 Years)
Small children like to do things by themselves. But as children grow, they discover that our society and our economy depends on people working together. And it all starts with the people with whom we live. JA volunteers use a combination of pictures, stickers, and flashcards to engage students in activities about needs, wants, jobs, tools, skills, and interdependence.
Our Families discusses the role of families in the local economy.
Our Community (7–8 Years)
What lies beyond your front door? Let’s explore it! JA volunteers display a poster of a typical community, and the students meet some of the people who live and work there. Through hands-on activities, the students learn about workers, the work they perform, why workers are paid, what taxes are and how they are used, and where to save money.
Our Community examines responsibilities and economic opportunities available within a community.
Our City (8–9 Years)
A city is a place where a lot of people live, work, play, and go to school. So JA classroom volunteers help students build a city! The students construct paper buildings, map out a city, write newspaper articles, plan their own restaurants, and examine why banks are important.
Our City considers economic development, local businesses, and career opportunities.
Our Region (9–10 Years)
Where does grocery shops’ produce come from? Who grew the fruits and vegetables? How did they get there? In this programme students discover the natural, human, and capital resources in their city or county and in regions of Ireland. JA classroom volunteers show how resources are combined to create goods and services that individuals, businesses, and organizations provide to consumers.
Our Region explains the economic/business resources found in local and regional economies.
Our Nation (10–11 Years)
It’s all about Irish business. In this in-depth and action-packed programme, students role play business ownership, interview for jobs, produce a product using different methods of production, create product advertisements, and conduct an annual shareholders’ meeting.
Our Nation studies business operations and economic issues in Ireland.
Our World (11–12 Years)
Choose two or three products within your reach and check to see where they were made. When students do this in the classroom, they begin to see our global economy at work. JA classroom volunteers introduce students to imports and exports, world currencies, and issues that affect trade.
Our World surveys world resources, economic systems, monetary exchange, and trade.
Our Universe (10–12 Years)
The exciting world of science is all around us! Students learn through hands-on activities to value and understand the scientific world that surrounds them. They are introduced to the role science plays in industry in Ireland today and career opportunities available to them in the future.
Our Universe explores the world of science and engineering in a fun and exciting way.