Year 1 Science: Animals Resource Pack - Core Knowledge UK

Year 1Science: AnimalsResource PackIncluding lessons on:Exploring different types of animalsSorting and grouping animalsKeeping animals as petsWhat animals eat

Amazing Animals Some animals live in water, some live on land,some fly in the sky.Animals have special features that help themto survive.Animals can be grouped according to theirfeatures.Amphibians are cold blooded animals that livein water and also on land. They lay eggsunderwater.Mammals are warm blooded animals givebirth to live young.What Animals Eat & Keeping Pets Animals that eat other animals are calledcarnivores.Animals that eat plants are called herbivores.Animals that eat both plants and other animalsare called omnivores.Some animals are suitable for keeping as pets butsome are not.Pets need food, water, space, shelter andmedicine.Animals that are not pets are known as wildanimals.Information Texts– Animals Core Knowledge Animals and their NeedsGive children an opportunity to sharewhat they already know about animals.Record this through writing/drawing/ICT etc.Show children images of a range ofanimals including birds, fish,amphibians, reptiles, mammals andinvertebrates. Children could make ananimal gallery on a display board.Discuss and create a presentation forone animal in detail explaining that itsfeatures help it to survive.Birds have beaks to help them eat, wingsto help them fly, claws on their feet tohelp them grip and feathers to helpthem keep warm.Science Unit Overview– Year OneAmazing Animals Some animals have similarities, someare very different.Fish have gills to help them breathe, finsto help them swim and scales to protecttheir bodies.Information Texts– AnimalsCreative application ofknowledge Looking after pets RSPCA education online– How to look afterpets.Design a guidebook for looking after petsVisit from a pet owner (check safety of pet)to discuss responsibilities.Sort which animals would be suitable forkeeping as pets and which would not.Create a video explaining what pets need. Children will write a description of atleast two animals. (see resource) This canbe differentiated to support less ablewriters and to extend the more able.If there is curriculum time available,children could complete a booklet with avariety of different animals included.Children could present their informationto another class or in an assembly.Children could be recorded talking abouttheir animals and the clips put togetherto make a short film.

Lesson 1. Amazing AnimalsThis lesson is the first in a series that introduces children to the world of animals. In this lesson, teachers will find out whattheir pupils know already about animals. They will then teach relevant vocabulary in order for children to identify a rangeof common animals. Teachers will then introduce the idea that animals can be grouped according to particular features.See Page 261 of What Your Year 1 Child Needs to KnowLearning ObjectiveTo name anddescribe a variety ofanimals.Core KnowledgeThere are many differenttypes of animals.Some animals live in water,some live on land, some flyin the sky.Activities for Learning- Give children an opportunity to share-Animals have specialfeatures that help them tosurvive.-what they already know about animals.Use this information to pitch yoursubsequent lessons. (resource 1)Show children images of a range ofanimals including birds, fish, amphibians,reptiles, mammals and invertebrates.Ensure children become familiar with thenames of these animals.Discuss one animal in detail explainingthat its features help it to survive. Eg apolar bear has thick fur and a layer of fatto keep it warm. It has sharp teeth andclaws for catching animals to eat. It hasfur on the soles of its feet to keep themfrom freezing on the ice.*Children do not necessarily need to understand thedifferences between mammals/reptiles etc at this stagebut they should find out about a range of animals.Related VocabularyAssessment QuestionsAnimal namesincluding:Birds: blackbird,seagull, pigeonFish: salmon, tuna,mackerel, goldfishAmphibians: Frog,toad, salamander,newtReptiles: crocodile,turtle, alligator,snakeMammals: mouse,lion, dog, deer,humanInvertebrates:worm, jellyfish,spider, lobsterWhat can you tell meabout birds?What animals mightyou find underwater?Can you describe ananimal that hasspecial features thathelp it to survive?

Prior learning assessmentDate:What I Know About Animals

Lesson 2. Grouping AnimalsThis lesson introduces the concept of sorting animals according to their features. Children will understand that scientistsgroup animals according to their features. Scientists look at similarities between different animals and use certainsimilarities to group them. For example, amphibians spend some of their life underwater and some of their life on land. Butamphibians always lay their eggs underwater. Reptiles can also live on land or underwater, but they always lay their eggson land.Learning ObjectiveCore KnowledgeTo understand thatwe can group animalsaccording to theirfeatures.Animals can begrouped according totheir features.Amphibians are coldblooded animals thatlive in water and alsoon land. They layeggs underwater.Activities for Learning--Mammals are warmblooded animals givebirth to live young.-Give children images of many differentanimals including birds, fish, amphibians,reptiles, mammals and invertebratesExplain that we can group animals accordingto their features. Ask children to discuss howthey might group the animals provided. Allowchildren to explore sorting animals and discusshow they decided to sort e.g 4 legs, wings etc.Explain that scientists use special categories tosort animals. Teach children the wordsamphibian and mammal as two examples ofanimal groups. Give lots of examples of each,explaining why they are a mammal or anamphibian. See resource.Children to record their sorting either throughdrawing or writing animal names in relevantcategories.Link: mals-pets-kids/reptiles-kidsRelated VocabularyAssessment Questionssorting, grouping,features, legs,wings, fur, tail,underwater, air,amphibian,mammalHow do scientistsgroup animals?Why do you think itmight be helpful forscientists to groupanimals?Can you describe onegroup of animals thatyou know about?How is a mammaldifferent to anamphibian?

AmphibiansMammalsAmphibians live on land and inwater.Green Tree FrogThey lay their eggs in water.Most mammals live on land, butsome, like whales and dolphins,live in the sea.ElephantThey all have a spine.They usually have soft skin.They are all warmblooded.They all have a spine.Red SquirrelCommon Reed FrogThey are all cold-blooded.Fire SalamanderMammals give birth tolive young and feedthem milk.Human

Lesson 3. Hungry AnimalsIn this lesson children will be taught that animals eat different things. Scientists group animals into three different groupsaccording to what animals eat. These groups are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. Carnivores eat other animals,herbivores eat plant material including fruit, leaves, vegetables, omnivores eat a mixture of meat and plant material.Learning ObjectiveTo understandthat we can groupanimals accordingto what they eat.Core KnowledgeAnimals that eat otheranimals are calledcarnivores.Animals that eat plantsare called herbivores.Animals that eat bothplants and other animalsare called omnivores.Activities for Learning--Show children pictures of animal teethand discuss what the animals might eat.Teach children the words: carnivore,herbivore and omnivore. (carnivorecomes from the Latin words for flesh anddevour; carno and vorare)Ask children to sort animals into a venndiagram.Have reference books and the internetavailable to children if possible so thatthey can research if required.Play animal diet game (link below)Complete resource- What do I eat?Link: idscorner/games/animaldietgame.htmRelated VocabularyAssessment Questionsteeth (incisors,canine, molars),sharp, carnivore,herbivore, omnivore,dietCan you describehow animals can begrouped according towhat they eat?What do we callanimals that only eatplants?

Date:LO: To understand that we can group animals according to what they eat.CarnivoreHerbivoreOmnivore

Name:Date:LO: To understand that we can group animals according to what they eat.I am a .I like to eat .I am a .I like to eat .I also know that

Lesson 4. Animals as PetsPets rely on their owners for all the things they would normally find for themselves if they were living in the wild. Apartfrom feeding, pets need shelter, veterinary treatment and exercise. Some pets will require a specific sort of environment inwhich to live, possibly a certain humidity or temperature. In order to keep a pet healthy, its owners must replicate as far aspossible, the natural environment in which that animal would live. This environment must also be kept clean; if bacteriafrom waste builds up it can make animals ill.See Page 262 of What Your Year 1 Child Needs to KnowLearning ObjectiveTo describe theneeds of a pet.Core KnowledgeSome animals are suitablefor keeping as pets butsome are not.Pets need food, water,space, shelter andmedicine.Animals that are not petsare known as wildanimals.Link: tivities for Learning---Sort animals into two groups; suitable fora pet and not suitable for a pet. Discusswhy animals were sorted in a particularway.Explore the resources here www.rspcaeducation.org.uk/teachersRelated Vocabularysuitable, pets,domestic, wild, food,space, shelter,medicine, water,care, responsibilityDesign a leaflet explaining to potential pet Pets: dog, cat, fish,owners what their animal will need.rabbit, guinea pigAsk a pet owner to come in and discussthe responsibilities involved with lookingafter an animal.Assessment QuestionsCan you describewhat a pet needs?Why is it a bigresponsibility to owna pet?What happens whena pet’s needs are notmet?

Date:LO: To understand that some animals are not suitable for pets.PetsWild AnimalsSome wild animals are kept as pets. Why might this be difficult? What do you think about this?

Lesson 5. Researching animalsThis lesson will continue to build children’s vocabulary in this area of Science. They will be taught specific vocabulary fordescribing a fish before researching other terms used to describe animals. It is important to ensure children are explicitlytaught any unfamiliar vocabulary and are also given lots of opportunity to use these new words.Learning ObjectiveCore KnowledgeActivities for Learning-To describe ananimal usingscientific words.Fish have gills to helpthem breathe, fins to helpthem swim and scales toprotect their bodies.Birds have beaks to helpthem eat, wings to helpthem fly, claws on theirfeet to help them grip andfeathers to help themkeep warm.--Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/Explain to children that we have handsand feet, but that we use different wordswhen we describe animals. For example acat has paws.Show them a picture of a fish. Askchildren to name any of the parts of thefish. Teach vocabulary: gills, fins andscales. Repeat with a picture of a bird.Children independently research ananimal of their choice and explore thevocabulary required to describe them.Give children many opportunities to saynew words aloud to help them rememberthe new vocabulary.Children can draw and label an animal oftheir choice into their science books.Related Vocabularyscientific, describe,descriptionFish: gills, fins, scalesBirds: beaks, wings,claws, feathersInclude any otherspecific animals yourclass are interestedin.Assessment QuestionsCan you describe afish using scientificwords?Can you describe abird using scientificwords?What other animalscan you describe?