Look around this room for a moment. Which things are using energy right now? Which ones might still be using energy even when nobody needs them?

The same kinds of lights, heating and chargers work at home too, but today we audit energy use and waste around our school, meet one clean energy source used in Ireland, and design one saving action we could really try.

On the walk we only need two labels. Energy use is where energy is needed to make something work, such as lights, heating or devices. Energy waste is energy used when nobody needs it, or more than is needed, such as lights left on in an empty room.

We'll meet Irish clean energy and invent one saving action after we come back. On the walk, notice where energy is used and where it might be wasted.

Before we leave the room, decide with your group: which place in our school do you think wastes the most energy, and why?

Also choose two waste-sign types your group will prioritise spotting on the walk (for example empty-room lights, heating with a window open, idle devices, or doors left open to a heated space).

Be ready to share one prediction with the class. Predictions are the start of the science, not answers to get right.

We are going on a short energy walk around agreed parts of the school. At each stop, notice what is using energy and what looks like waste. Keep your group's two priority waste signs in mind, and still note any other clear waste you see.

On your Investigation Journal page, record for each stop: the place, what is using energy, any waste you notice, and a simple tally of waste signs.

At doorway stops, the front spotters call out what they can see; we agree the class notes together, then everyone records the same place row before we move on. Stay with your group, keep voices low, and do not touch switches, plugs or heating controls unless an adult asks you to.

Back in class, we pool our tallies. For each stop on our walk, we will enter the place name and how many waste signs the class found.

Watch the chart appear. Which bar is tallest? What does that tell us about where energy is wasted in our school right now?