Science and Technology

Grade 1 Learner’s Book

Kutya C Martin L
19 Glenara Avenue,Eastlea, Harare
0771 247 678 | 0782 027 577 | 08677005021 | (0242) 444016-17
[email protected] | www.cps.co.zw

Grade 1 Science and Technology – Learner’s Book

© 2025

First Published July 2025

ISBN: 978 1 77928 235 4

Commissioning editor: Sophia Gwakuka

Edited by: Bridget Singizi

Artworks by: Rumbidzayi Mutasa

Joseph Mutasa
Alfas Murambiwa
Cover design by: Masimba Madondo

Text and Design layout: Blessed Noah

Printed by:

Acknowledgements
Pictures
Shutterstock: Page 4 clothing and cleanliness, page 21 food groups, page 22 fruits and vegetables, page 23 energy giving foods, page 22 body
building and protective foods, page 28 braai meat, page 31 food from animals, page 32 food from plants, page 34 garden, importance of food,
page 35 importance of food, page 37 types of plants, page 38 classifying plants, page 40 planting seeds, page 41 common garden tools, page
42 common vegetables grown in a garden, page 42 planting vegetables, page 47 domestic and wild animals, page 53 types of weather, page 59
types of soil, page 60 characteristic of different types of soil, page 63 sources of water, page 67 water conservation, page 69 common minerals,
page 70 uses of minerals, page 71 benefits of mining in the community, page 78 trees and plants, page 83 household tools, page 84 and 85 garden
tools, page 94 scientist, gardener, engineer, page 105 renewable and non-renewable energy, page 109 sunlight, wind, page 110 water, page
112 fire
Freepik: Page 5 General hygiene habits, page 9 Food storage, page 17 balanced meals, page 33 farmers market, butchery, page 50 producers
and consumers, page 50 carnivores, page 75 recreational land use, importance of land use, page 79 and 80 saving water, page 87 and 88
measuring devices, page 89 and 90 digital tools, page 91 and 92 observation tools, page 97 energy, page 103 and 104 sources of energy, page

111 hazards, floods, page 126 challenges, page 127 to 129 technological devices, page 137 safety

Wikipidea: Page 20 fruits, page 23 dairy food, page 27 cooking sadza, page 28 vegetables with peanut butter, page 29 frying method, page 49
food chain, page 113 wind, earthquake, page 122 paramedics

Clip Art: Page 117 to 119 emergency supplies, page 131 matching and sorting, page 135 robotics

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders. In the event of unintentional omissions or errors, any information that would enable the
publisher to make the proper arrangements will be appreciated. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the
copyright holder.
Contents Page

Topic 1: Health and hygiene

Chapter 1: Personal hygiene 1
Chapter 2: Food hygiene 7
Chapter 3: Environmental hygiene 11
Chapter 4: Health, wellness and disease prevention 15

Topic 2: Food and nutrition

Chapter 5: Food groups 19
Chapter 6: Food preparation 25
Chapter 7: Sources of food 29

Topic 3: Crops, plants and animals

Chapter 8: Crop plants 35
Chapter 9: Vegetable gardening 39
Chapter 10: Animals 43
Chapter 11: Food chain 47

Topic 4: Environmental awareness and observation

Chapter 12: Climate and weather 51
Chapter 13: Soil 57
Chapter 14: Water 61
Chapter 15: Minerals 67
Chapter 16: Land use 71
Chapter 17: Environmental conservation 75
Topic 5: Tools, equipment and implements
Chapter 18: Everyday tools and implements 81
Chapter 19: Measuring devices 85
Chapter 20: Digital tools 87
Chapter 21: Science and technology careers 91

Topic 6: Energy and fuels

Chapter 22: Energy and fuels 95
Chapter 23: Sources of energy 101
Chapter 24: Energy conservation 105
Chapter 25: Renewable energy technology 107

Topic 7: Disaster risk management and resilience

Chapter 26: Hazards, safety and evacuation 109
Chapter 27: Emergency supplies 115
Chapter 28: Emergency professionals 119
Chapter 29: Emotional resilience 123

Topic 8: Educational technology and innovation

Chapter 30: Everyday technology 125
Chapter 31: Educational technology interaction 129
Chapter 32: Robotics and coding 133
Chapter 33: Technology safety 135

End of term test

 Topic 1 : Health and hygiene

Chapter 1 Personal hygiene

Human body parts

Key words
body wash comb brush neat dirty smart

My body has many parts.

Activity 1.1
1. Draw a picture of a human body.
2. Label eyes, hands and legs.

1
Caring for body parts

Every day I wash my body.

I use soap, a towel and water to wash my body.

I dry my body using a towel.

2
 Activity 1.2
1. I wash my body with soap and _____.
(comb water)
2. I dry my body after bathing using a _____.
(brush towel)

Caring for our hair and teeth

Hair should be washed with soap and water.

We comb our hair after washing.
Combing hair keeps it neat.

Teeth are cleaned using a toothbrush and toothpaste.

3
 Activity 1.3
1. I wash my hair with water and ______.
(toothpaste soap)
2. We comb our _____ to keep it neat. (teeth hair)
3. I brush my teeth with a toothbrush and _______.
(soap toothpaste)

Clothing and cleanliness

Look at Kilan.
He is wearing a uniform.
His uniform is clean.
Kilan is smart.

Vivian is going to school.

She is wearing a dirty uniform.
The uniform is torn.
We must wear clean clothes.

4
 Mother is washing some clothes.
She uses soap and water.
We must keep our clothes clean.

Activity 1.4
Group activity
1. How do you wash different clothes?
2. Wash socks in groups.
General hygiene habits

What are they doing?

She is combing her hair.
We must cut our nails short.
Activity 1.5
Sing a song on healthy habits.
5
End of chapter questions
1. Label the parts of a human body.

2. We must ___our bodies every day. (soap bath)

3. Wash your_____after using the toilet.(hands legs)
4. We wear ______uniforms. (dirty clean)
5. We need _____ and water to wash clothes.
(soap stone)

6
 Topic 1 : Health and hygiene

Chapter 2 Food hygiene

Key words
store manners prepare utensils
prevent disease

We must always wash our hands.

We use soap.
We must handle food with clean hands.
We prevent diseases by washing our hands.

Activity 2.1
Wash hands using soap or ashes from a running tap.
7
Cleaning utensils
The boy is washing dishes.
He is using soap and clean water.
Utensils must be kept clean.
We must keep the kitchen clean.

Activity 2.2
1. We wash dishes with soap and ____. (water kitchen)
2. We must keep the ______ clean. (water kitchen)

Food preparation

Food must be prepared in clean pots.

Proper cooking of food is important.
8
 Activity 2.3
Clean the cooking utensils and cooking places in
your school.

Food storage

Food must be stored in a good place.

We can store food in the refrigerator.
Food can be kept safely in closed cupboards.
Plastic containers are good for food storage.

Activity 2.4
Draw pictures of where food can be stored safely.
9
Importance of safe food handling
Safe food handling is important.
Poor food makes us sick.
Do not mix raw food.
It will make you sick.

End of chapter questions

1. I wash my _____ before handling food.
(hands legs)
2. We use _______ and water to clean our hands.
(food soap)
3. Food must always be _______ well.
(beef cooked)
4. What do we use to clean utensils. (soap dish)
5. We _______ food to kill germs. (keep cook)
6. We store food in a _______. (refrigerator plate)
7. Always clean the ______ before using them.
(yard utensils)
8. Cooking places must be _________ always.
(dirty clean)
9. Never mix ________ food. (raw cooked)
10. Mixed food make us _______. (healthy sick)

10
 Topic 1 : Health and hygiene

Chapter 3 Environmental hygiene

Key words
clean safe health disease

Clean environment

That is a clean home.

We must keep our homes clean
Clean homes are good for our health.

11
Unclean environment

This is an unclean school.

Our classrooms must be clean.
We must place rubbish in the bin.
Dirt causes diseases.
Activity 3.1
Sweep your classroom.

Importance of a clean environment

Clean homes are safe.

Dirty homes make us sick.
Clean homes prevent diseases.

12
The classroom has big windows.
Children need fresh air to breathe.
A clean environment is safe to live in.

Activity 3.2
1. We must keep our environment clean.
2. Clean the school yard.

Basic cleaning tasks

What are they doing?

We must all clean our surroundings.
13
Activity 3.3
Sweep your classroom.

End of chapter questions

1. A clean environment is a place with no _______.
(dirt water)
2. It is important to keep our surrounding _____.
(dirty clean)
3. Litter makes the grounds _______. (dirty big)
4. We must place litter in a _______. (bin ground)
5. Unclean environment causes ______.
(health diseases)
6. People need fresh ______ to breathe.
(water air)

14
 Topic 1 : Health and hygiene

Chapter 4 Health, wellness and disease prevention

Key words
exercise rest cough germs

Health habits

We must keep our bodies clean.

We must eat healthy food.
We must do exercises.
We must rest after doing some work.
15
 Activity 4.1
Roleplay the following health habits
1. Combing hair
2. Good food handling habit
3. Doing physical exercises

Importance of physical activity

The children are doing exercises.

Exercises make our body fit.
We must exercise our bodies.
Activity 4.2
1. Can you dance? Dance in pairs.
2. Can you run? Go to the playground and run
in pairs.
3. Can you jump? Jump up and down.
16
Balanced meals

Name the above food.

Food keeps us healthy and strong.
We must eat balanced meal.

17
 Activity 4.3
Draw a picture of your favourite food.

Importance of sleep and rest

Our bodies get weak after work.

Sleeping and resting makes our bodies strong again.
It is good to rest after work.

Activity 4.4
1. It is ______ to rest after work. (bad good)
2. Sleeping makes our bodies______. (strong weak)
3. Do some stretching exercises.

18
Diseases prevention

The children are sick.

The girl is coughing badly.
The boy is having stomach pain.
We must prevent diseases.

Germs cause diseases.

We must keep our bodies warm.
We must eat healthy food.
19
 Activity 4.5
1. _____ cause diseases. (Food Germs)
2. We must keep our bodies _______. (warm weak)
3. Role play healthy habits which prevent diseases.

End of chapter questions

1. People must eat ______ food. (healthy bad)
2. A balanced meal is a healthy ________.
(big meal)
3. Exercise makes our bodies _______.
(weak strong)
4. After hard work we _______. (rest work)
5. We must keep our bodies ______. (warm sick)
6. Germs cause _________. (health diseases)

20
 Topic 2 : Food and nutrition

Chapter 5 Food groups

Key words
fruits vegetables proteins dairy
grain garden bones muscle

Food groups

Fruits Carrots Rape

Beef Milk Eggs

Rice Bread Sadza

Healthy food is good for our body.

21
Fruits

These are fruit trees.

We get fruits from them.
Fruits are good for our bodies.
Fruits makes us strong.
Vegetables

We grow vegetables in the garden.

Vegetables give us healthy skin.
Vegetable fight germs in our bodies.
22
 Activity 5.1

1. Name the food in the picture below.

2. Find pictures of food and paste them in the chart below.

Fruits Vegetables

Energy giving foods

This food gives us energy.

23
Grains build our body.
They make us strong.
Body building foods

This food makes us grow and repair injured body parts.

We get proteins from meat nuts and eggs.

Protective foods

Protective foods help us to stay healthy and strong.

They protect us from diseases.

24
 Activity 5.2
1. Food gives us ______. (energy strong)
2. We get _____ from hens. (eggs milk)
3. Draw and label any body building food.

Dairy food

This is dairy food

Dairy food is made from milk
It makes our bones and teeth strong
We must drink milk everyday

Activity 5.3
Collect, sort and paste pictures of different daily
products on a chart.

25
Classifying food into the five major groups

We must eat healthy meals.

A meal must have each from the food groups.
A healthy meal must have all food groups.
Activity 5.4
Using a spinning wheel labelled the 5 food groups.
Spin and give a name of food in that group.
Your teacher will assist you.

End of chapter questions

1. A ______ is a fruit. (bun orange)
2. Fruits keep our bodies ______. (bad healthy)
3. We grow ______ in the garden. (trees vegetables)
4. Vegetables fight _______ in our bodies. (germs health)
5. Grains gives us ______. (meat energy)
6. _____ is in the grain food class. (drink sadza)
7. Meat fix broken______. (bones eyes)
8. Meat from pigs is ______. (beef pork)
9. Cows give us ______. (milk water)
10. Milk makes our ______ strong. (teeth eyes)

26
 Topic 2 : Food and nutrition

Chapter 6 Food preparation

Key words
recipes fry juice grill recipe garnish

Food can be prepared in many ways.

There are indigenous ways of cooking.
These are boiling, frying and grilling.

The boiling method

Recipe for cooking sadza
Ingredients
2 cups mealie-meal
4 cups water
Instructions
1. Put the pot of water on fire
2. Add mealie-meal
3. Cover the pot and let it boil
4. Stir gradually
5. Serve

Activity 6.1
Practise cooking sadza in groups using mud.

27
People can braai or grill meat.
We use a stove to grill meat.
We can braai meat on a braai stand.

Activity 6.2
Picture collage - Recipe 2
Name food which can be grilled. Bring pictures of
people braaing or grilling food. Cut and paste the
pictures on to a chart.

Recipe 3 Muriwo une dovi

Vegetables with peanut butter are good.

We can add peanut butter to pumpkin leaves.
28
Sadza and vegetables with dovi is good.
Dried vegetables (mufushwa) with peanut butter
is healthy.

Activity 6.3
Demonstrate cooking vegetables with peanut butter.

Frying method

We can fry vegetables.

We use cooking oil, onions and salt to fry vegetables.
Fried vegetables are tasty.
Ingredients
Small bundle of vegetable leaves
Cooking oil 2 teaspoons
1 onion chopped
Salt
29
Method
1. Cut vegetable into fine pieces
2. Heat oil and fry onions
3. Add the vegetable and stir
4. Add salt
5. Serve with sadza

End of chapter questions

1. Food can be cooked in ______ ways.
(two many)
2. We can ______ vegetables. (fry recipe)
3. _______ is a way of cooking meat. (grilling drying)
4. We add _______ to food to taste good.
(sugar salt)
5. Meat can be cooked on a braai stand.
(true false)
6. What do we use to cook food? (spoon hoe)
7. Give one example of fried food.
8. Decorating food is _______. (garnishing cooking)
9. _______ can garnish food well. (pepper Sadza)
10. Fried vegetables taste _____. (good bad)

30
 Topic 2 : Food and nutrition

Chapter 7 Sources of food

Key words
source maize insects plant market foreign

We get food from plants, animals and insects.

Food from animals

beef chicken

pork
fish milk
We get these foods from animals.
We get meat from animals.

Animals give us dairy food.

31
Dairy food is good for our healthy.
It makes us strong.

Activity 7.1
Draw and label food from animals.

Food from plants

We get food from plants.

We get mealie-meal from maize.
Plant food is healthy.
Activity 7.2
Create a fruit or vegetable face using sliced fruits
and vegetables by sticking piece of fruits or
vegetables in a plate.
32
Local food sources
People get food from different sources.
Farmers market
Farmers sell their goods at a market.
People buy food from farmers at the market.
Buying at the market is cheap.
We get fresh food at the market.

Butcher shops sell meat.

They get the meat from the farmers.
Meat is good for our bodies.

33
Garden

This is a garden.
We grow food plants.
It is good to have a garden at home.

Activity 7.3
Roleplay buying food from a shop or a supermarket.

Importance of food

34
We need food to grow.
Food gives us energy.
Some foods build our bones.
Some food fight germs in our bodies.
Activity 7.4
Pick and describe game: Pick a picture of food
from the food box. Say where it is taken from and
how it helps in our bodies.

Activity 7.5
Draw and label foreign food you like.

35
 End of chapter questions
1. We get food from _______ and plants.
(farmer animals)
2. One example of plant food is ________.
3. _______ is dairy food. (Milk Bread)
4. Mealie-meal is from _______. (vegetables maize)
5. People buy farm food from the _______ markets.
(farmers field)
6. It is ________ to buy from farm markets.
(expensive cheaper)
7. In town people buy their food from the ______.
(supermarket bus)
8. ________ grows in the garden. (Peas Food)
9. People need food to _______.
(build grow strong)
10. Food from other countries is _______ food.
(foreign indigenous)

36
 Topic 3 : Crops, plants and animals

Chapter 8 Crop plants

Key words
plant grain root stem cycle

Types of plants

Name the plants in the picture.

Fruits, vegetables and grains are types of plants.
These are all crop plants.
37
 Activity 8.1
From the above picture put the plants in their groups.

Parts of a plant

Plants have three basic parts.

It has the roots. Roots drink water from the ground.
Plants have leaves. Leaves make the food.
The stem holds the plant.
Activity 8.2
Draw a plant and label the parts.

Classifying plants

38
Plants can be in three groups.
They can be vegetables like carrots and cabbage.
They can be grains like maize and rice.
They can be fruits like avocados and oranges.
Maize, carrots and mangoes are all plants.

Activity 8.3
Collect samples of grains, vegetables and fruits.
Put them in a large box.
Now classify the food as grains, fruits or vegetables.

Growth cycle of a plant

Activity 8.4
Describe the growth cycle of a plant of your choice.
39
Planting of seeds

Plants grow from seeds.

Seeds are put into the soil.
Seeds grow to become plants.
Plants give us grains fruits and vegetables.
Activity 8.5
Project work: plant seeds and observe their growth

End of chapter questions

1. Maize and vegetables are ______ plants.
(crop fruit)
2. One example of vegetable is ______.
(maize covo)
3. A ______ is a fruit. (mango carrot)
4. A _____ is the (leaves roots)
5. _____ are found in the (Roots Soil)
6. Most plants grow from _______. (water seeds)
7. Grains, vegetables and fruits are _____.
(plants trees)

40
 Topic 8 : Educational Technology and Innovation

Chapter 32 Robotics and coding

Key words
robots toys

Robotics
Robotics is making special helpers. These smart
machines are called robots. They are made to do
some tasks.
You can have a toy doll that laughs, cries and greets.
You can have a toy computer that says sounds and
sing rhymes.
Some toy cars can be controlled with a remote
control.
We call all of the above robots because they are
made to do what they do.
Activity 32.1
Play with robotic toys.
135
Coding

Coding is giving instructions that a robot or computer

can understand.
You can finish an already started pattern.
Repeating the given tasks is coding.

Activity 32.1
1. _______ are machines.
(Robots Smart)
2. Robots ________ think.(can cannot)
3. ______ is giving instructions that a robot can follow.
(Robotics Coding)

136
 Topic 8 : Educational Technology and Innovation

Chapter 33 Technology safety

Key words
safety device

Our digital tools need to be well looked after so that

they do not break easily.

Always use the devices with older people and ask

for their permission.
Safety on computers
1. Always make sure that the computer is on a flat
surface where it will not fall and get damaged.
2. Avoid dropping the computers, they will be
damaged.
3. Do not bring anything that is liquid near a computer.
No eating or drinking near a computer.
137
 4. Protect your tools with a case to avoid scratches or
damage if they fall.
5. Clean your device with a soft piece of cloth.
6. Keep your device away in a safe place like a shelf,
drawer or at a place where you will not step on it.
7. If you are done using the computer always turn it off.

Activity 33.1
1.

This is a __________.
2. State two ways to keep your computer safe.
3. Computers should be place on a ______ surface.
(soft flat)
4. You should not eat or _______ near a computer.
(drink type)
5. Turn _______ the computer if you are not using it.
(on off)

138
End of term test
1. We comb our _____ to keep it neat.
(teeth hair)
2. We wash dishes with soap and ______.
(water kitchen)
3. Litter makes the grounds _______. (dirty big)
4. _____ cause diseases. (Food Germs)
5. We get _____ from hens. (eggs milk)
6. We get food from _______ and plants.
(farmers animals)
7. We wear _______ on a cold day. (gloves t-shirt)
8. At home we get water from the ______.
9. Tools make work _________. (easier harder)
10. We use a scale to measure _______.
(length weight)
11. Gold is used to make ______. (food jewellery)
12. One type of soil is ________ soil.
13. A _______ looks after sick people.
(nurse scientist)
14. The sun gives us light and _______ energy.
(sound heat)
15. Floods, fire and _______ are hazards.
16. _________ cause floods. (Fire Heavy rains)
17. A __________ puts out fire. (nurse firefighter)

139
 18. We can play games on a _______.
(printer laptop)
19. You should not eat or _______ near a computer.
(drink type)
20. Turn _______ the computer if you are not using it.
(on off)

140