- Home
- Canvas Guide
Partial Progress - Circles (browser only)
Our Pets
Objectives
To ask questions about the world around us and talk about how to find answers.
To identify living things and things that have never been alive.
Resources
Bug collecting box (e.g. small cardboard box / shoe box) | Magnifying glass | Clipboard, camera and sketch book (or plain paper) and pencil | Camera or smartphone to take photographs | 📄 Mini-beasts and their special places worksheet | 📄 Thought bubble resource
Vocabulary
notice | patterns | behaviour | habitat | living things | damp | shady | dry | vertebrate | invertebrate | backbone
Today's Lesson
Introduction
Tell your student they are going to be an outdoor adventurer and they will explore many special hiding places where creatures make their homes.
Ask them about creatures they already know that like to hide in places outside e.g., woodlice in woodpiles, birds in hedgerows, spiders in bushes, geckos behind walls. Ask them to think of places to explore where they might be able to find creatures, e.g., under stones or in a wood pile. Talk about these places together so that you have an adventure plan of where to go!
Explain the rule of needing to treat mini-beasts carefully and always to put them back in their special places. Give your student the 📄 thought bubble resource and ask them to think of any questions they might have before they go.
Practical
Give your student the bug collecting box, magnifying glass, camera and sketching paper and pencil. Give them plenty of time to explore the outdoor space. Ask them to find living things and things that have never been alive. How do they know?
When they find a mini-beast, ask them to tell you about it, remembering to talk to you about where it was found. Encourage your student to record the special place where they found the creature by taking a photograph. They could also draw a quick sketch if they would like, and use the table in the 📄 Mini-beasts and their special places resource to record the locations.
As they work, encourage your student to consider the questions:
- Where have we found our mini-beasts?
- What were the special places like?
- Were all the special places the same?
How were they similar or different? Why?
New Learning
Once they have finished their task, explain that another word for 'special place' is a habitat.
Ask:
- ‘What habitats did you find?’
- ‘What were they like?’
- ‘What were their features? Dark, dry, damp?’
Say: ‘We have found different creatures in different places. Is there anything that is the same or similar about all the mini-beasts found in one habitat? Are they all small? All dark-coloured? All wiggly? Has anything surprised you about what you have found and where you found it?’
Extra Challenge
Whilst exploring outside, if your student is ready for a bigger challenge, ask them to compare what they found with what they said they might find at the start of the lesson.
Ask: ‘How are they different? Do you know why? What surprised you about where you found these mini-beasts?’
Also challenge them by asking them to collect data on the amounts of certain mini-beasts in certain places.
Ask: ‘Are certain places more popular than others? Do you know why?’
Encourage them to use the 📄 Mini-beasts and their special places resource to record where they found their mini-beasts if they have not done so already.
If your student is ready for an extra challenge, ask them to think about what might live in a wet/damp area like a swamp. Then ask them to think about what might like to live in a dry/warm area like a desert.