This programme is designed to to encourage students to investigate the inter-relationships that connect life together through a habitat mapping investigation of their school grounds. Session can be focused on a mini-beast or pond invertebrate investigation to explore and discover food chains in their own local environment.
Key concepts: habitats, grouping and classification, adaptations, food chains, food webbing and energy transfer
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the programme students will be able to:
- Explain that a habitat is the home of a specific community of plants and animals.
- Explain that plants and animals are adapted to their life style and the conditions of the habitat in which they live and provide examples.
- Understand that plant and animals within a habitat interact in a number of different ways.
- Understand the terms producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore.
- Explain that all food chains start with plants that make their own food using sunlight.
Programme outline
| Learning objective | Activities |
|---|---|
| To introduce food chains and feeding relationships To assess prior knowledge and questions from the group |
Munch line monitors Children work in groups to organise food chains and to discuss terms – predator and prey. |
| To introduce the habitat concept and adaptations to survive | Habitat Game Individually, the children are asked to find four things animals need to survive. Other animals competing for food and predators are then added to the game to add a few survival challenges. |
| Explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name invertebrates Using careful observations to record and display findings |
Habitat mapping Using bug pots, trays and sweep nets, the children collect, identify and map where mini-beasts/pond invertebrates are found and map different habitats of the local area / pond zones. |
| Using observations and understanding about adaptations | Adaptations relay race Groups race to collect 3 adaptive features which match their favourite recorded invertebrate. |
| Plants and animals are linked through a series of food chains to form a web of interactions | Food web game Children create a food web taking on the roles of plants and animals found in the mapping investigation. Each is linked to a food chain and then into a complex web. Simulate effects of changes and affect on the web. |
| To assess understanding of learning points of the programme | Conclusion The children share interesting facts and discoveries. Discuss classroom follow up projects. |
This programme supports the National Curriculum programme of study for:
| Science | Year 1 and 2 | Plants, Animals, including humans, Living things and their habitats |
| Year 3 and 4 | Animals, including humans, Living things and their habitats | |
| Year 5 and 6 | Animals, including humans, Living things and their habitats, Evolution and Inheritance |