Our Pets

Objectives

To observe the habitat of a woodlouse or other small insect.

Resources

Facts about Woodlice (YouTube) | The Tiger Who Came To Tea (YouTube) | Woodlice video | a transparent pot with a lid | a tray

Vocabulary

observations | prediction | habitat

Today's Lesson

What to Get Ready

Please note that if woodlice are not common where you are based, choose a different sort of mini-beast or bug that is common enough for you to find. If you are using a different sort of mini-beast, refer to that name whenever the words ‘woodlice’ or ‘woodlouse’ are mentioned in the lesson plan. If you have no outdoor area with bugs that you can observe, then please ask your child to use this Woodlice video instead.

WATCH - Woodlice video

Watch

Play the YouTube clip of woodlice in their natural habitat.

Watch the Facts about Woodlice video with your student.

Discuss with your student if they have ever seen a woodlouse and where they might have seen it.

Introduction

Plan, where outside you can go to find some woodlice, ask your student if they can add to the plan by giving ideas for where to look. If you are unable to find any woodlice nearby, please use the Woodlice video instead to observe some woodlice.

Discuss the importance of NOT DISTURBING the creatures too much as it is their home and must be protected.

Depending on your local environment you may need to be careful of poisonous or stingy creatures. Never let your student search for creatures unattended.

Practical

**Plan where outside you can go to find some woodlice, ask your student if they can add to the plan by giving ideas for where to look. Look carefully at the special places the woodlice are in and to consider:

Where do woodlice like to live?
What features of their habitat do you notice? Is it dry? Dark? Wet?

Carefully put the woodlice in the lidded pot.

Say:

‘We are going to look after the woodlice, for a couple of days.’
‘How can we make them comfortable and safe?’
‘How can we make their habitat perfect for them?’
‘What do we need to collect from the outside (leaves, twigs, moss, etc.)?’

Collect what you think you need and take it back into your home. Give your student a tray and ask them to make a home for the woodlice. They can decide what things to include, drawing on the observations they made outside.

Throughout the task continue to discuss the importance of NOT DISTURBING the creatures too much as it is their home and must be protected.

Extra Challenge

If your student is ready for an extra challenge, ask them to think of a creature that would be impossible to care for at home as a pet and explain why.

You might enjoy watching ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’ by Judith Kerr.

Citations

[1] www.youtube.com [2] www.youtube.com [3] www.youtube.com [4] www.youtube.com [5] www.youtube.com [6] www.youtube.com