Lessons
Juniors & Seniors (ages 5–6)
At this early stage, children start discovering the world around them, their school, their community, their country, and now, the European Union! These four lessons use simple, hands-on activities to help pupils understand belonging, teamwork, and the idea that countries, like people, can work together to make something bigger if they compromise. All lesson resources are ready-to-use and fully editable, so you can easily adapt them to your classroom needs.
Competences for Democratic Culture
Each lesson and activity supports the development of Competences for Democratic Culture, a framework developed by the Council of Europe to help pupils build key skills and attitudes for citizenship education. The four coloured boxes show which competences are developed in each lesson. Each lesson and activity have been designed to foster the development of values, attitudes, skills and critical knowledge.
Values
- Valuing human dignity and human rights
- Valuing cultural diversity
- Valuing democracy, justice, fairness, equality and the rule of law
Attitudes
- Openness to cultural otherness and to respect other beliefs, world views and practices
- Respect
- Civic-mindedness
- Responsibility
- Self-efficacy
- Tolerance of ambiguity
Skills
- Autonomous learning skills
- Analytical and critical thinking skills
- Skills of listening and observing
- Empathy
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Linguistic, communicative and plurilingual skills
- Co-operation skills
- Conflict-resolution skills
Knowledge and critical understanding
- Knowledge and critical understanding of the self
- Knowledge and critical understanding of language and communication
- Knowledge and critical understanding of the world: politics, law, human rights, culture, cultures, religions, history, media, economies, environment, sustainability
Lessons Juniors & Seniors
Each lesson includes a short explanatory video for teachers, a 4-question quiz, and a PowerPoint presentation to support classroom learning.
Lesson 1 – My Country in the European Union
This lesson introduces the idea that each country is part of something bigger: the European Union. It was originally developed using Ireland as an example, but all materials are adaptable, you can easily replace Ireland with your own country so pupils can relate it to what they already know.
Children explore local, national, and European levels through simple maps and end with the special design of the EU flag, twelve stars in a circle on a blue background.
Resources:
- Lesson Plan
- Lesson slides
- Quiz
- Activities sheet
- Activity Instruction
Curriculum Links
SPHE (1999)
- Strand: Myself
- Strand unit: Self-identity
- Strand: Myself and others
- Strand unit: Relating to others
- Strand: Myself and the wider world
- Strand unit: Developing citizenship
Geography (1999)
- Strand: Human environments,
- Strand unit: Living in the local community
- Strand unit: People and places in other areas
English (2025)
- Strand: Communicating
- Strand unit: Engagement, listening and attention
- Strand: Understanding
- Strand unit: vocabulary
- Strand unit: demonstration of understanding
- Strand: Exploring and using
- Strand unit: Requests, questions and interactions
- Strand unit: Information giving, explanation and justification
Visual Arts (1999)
- Strand: Drawing
- Strand unit: Making drawings
- Strand unit: Looking and responding
- Strand: Paint and colour
- Strand unit: Painting
- Strand unit: Looking and responding
Lesson 2 – The EU Smoothie (What is a Union?)
Children discuss what it means to belong to a club. They learn that the European Union was created so countries could work together, just like ingredients in a smoothie blend to make something new! This explains a key concept of the EU: shared sovereignty. This lesson includes a fun classroom activity where pupils make the EU smoothie.
Resources:
- Lesson plan
- Lesson slides
- Quiz
- Activity sheet
- Activity Instruction
Curriculum Links
SPHE (1999)
- Strand: Myself
- Strand unit: Self-identity
- Strand: Myself and others
- Strand unit: Relating to others
- Strand: Myself and the wider world
- Strand unit: Developing citizenship
Geography (1999)
- Strand: Human environments,
- Strand unit: Living in the local community
- Strand unit: People and places in other areas
English (2025)
- Strand: Communicating
- Strand unit: Engagement, listening and attention
- Strand: Understanding
- Strand unit: vocabulary
- Strand unit: demonstration of understanding
- Strand: Exploring and using
- Strand unit: Requests, questions and interactions
- Strand unit: Information giving, explanation and justification
Lesson 3 – Playing Shop with the Euro
Through a simple shopping role-play, pupils discover that the Euro is not used in every EU country. They practice counting, exchanging money, and identifying countries that share the Euro.
Resources:
- Lesson plan
- Lesson slides
- Quiz
- Activity sheet
- Activity Instruction
Curriculum Links
SPHE (1999)
- Strand: Myself
- Strand unit: Self-identity
- Strand: Myself and others
- Strand unit: Relating to others
- Strand: Myself and the wider world
- Strand unit: Developing citizenship
Geography (1999)
- Strand: Human environments,
- Strand unit: Living in the local community
- Strand unit: People and places in other areas
English (2025)
- Strand: Communicating
- Strand unit: Engagement, listening and attention
- Strand: Understanding
- Strand unit: vocabulary
- Strand unit: demonstration of understanding
- Strand: Exploring and using
- Strand unit: Requests, questions and interactions
- Strand unit: Information giving, explanation and justification
Maths (2025)
- Strand: Measures
- Strand unit: Money
- Strand: Number
- Strand unit: numeration and counting
Lesson 4 – Teamwork in the European Union
This final lesson focuses on the positives and challenges of working together for countries in the European Union. Using the story The Day the Crayons Quit, pupils reflect on cooperation. They need to use coloured blocks to build a tower, illustrating teamwork.
Resources:
- Lesson plan
- Lesson slides
- Quiz
- Activity sheet
- Activity Instruction
Curriculum Links
SPHE (1999)
- Strand: Myself
- Strand unit: Self-identity
- Strand: Myself and others
- Strand unit: Relating to others
- Strand: Myself and the wider world
- Strand unit: Developing citizenship
Geography (1999)
- Strand: Human environments,
- Strand unit: Living in the local community
- Strand unit: People and places in other areas
English (2025)
- Strand: Communicating
- Strand unit: Engagement, listening and attention
- Strand unit: Social conventions and awareness of others
- Strand: Understanding
- Strand unit: vocabulary
- Strand unit: demonstration of understanding
- Strand: Exploring and using
- Strand unit: Requests, questions and interactions
- Strand unit: Information giving, explanation and justification
Visual Arts (1999)
- Strand: Drawing
- Strand unit: Making constructions
Need a fun break between lessons?
Let your pupils discover the EU with Seamie Shamrock!
The KidZone features short, interactive games that make EU topics playful and easy to grasp.
Perfect for 5–12 year-olds | Just a few minutes per game
Go further with Europe Week!
Europe Day is just around the corner!
Why not celebrate it with a full week of fun and meaningful classroom activities about the European Union?
Join schools across the continent to explore, create, and connect.