ATTAINMENT TARGETS LEVEL B

ACTIVITIES FOR PUPILS /TEACHERS

Give some of the more obvious distinguishing features of the major invertebrate groups

• Make a collection of cleaned shells e.g. mussels, whelks, limpets, barnacles, sea urchins, dried starfish.

• Discuss the feel and describe the shape.

• Look at snails and slugs moving in a plastic sheet to see the muscular ‘foot ‘.

• Observe common invertebrates from a garden, pitfall trap or a pond dip.

• Demonstrate a model of a spider leg made with kitchen roll cardboard tubes.

• Sort invertebrates in different ways.

Name some common members of the invertebrate groups

• Identify a variety of invertebrates  in pond and leaf litter from commercial keys.

• Collect, identify and count organisms collected from pitfall traps or pond dipping.

Give examples of how the senses are used to detect information

• Teacher’s activities on smell, touch, seeing and hearing. See teacher notes.

Recognise the stages of the human life cycle

• Complete the My Timeline activity.

• Bring in different photographs of family members at different stages of the lifecycle.

• Organise cuttings from magazine into different stages, babies, children, teenagers, adults, middle aged, old.

Recognise stages in the life cycles of familiar plants and animals               

• Grow beans and observe plant life cycle.

• Hatch butterfly eggs.

• http://store.yahoo.com/insectlore/butterflies.html

• Observe pictures/models of frogs eggs developing.

Identify the main parts of flowering plants

• Use models/diagrams to identify plant parts.

• Observe examples in school grounds.

• Give pupils a variety of vegetables to identify and name the plant parts.

• Children observe birds or insects feeding in the garden and their pets.

• Make annotated drawing to show how the animal eats.

• Make collage of pictures showing animals with the food they eat. 

• Group according to what they eat.

• Trace the food source of several animals as far back as possible.

• Discuss where the food comes from to begin with.

• String together pictures of the organisms in their food chains and display as mobiles.

ATTAINMENT TARGETS LEVEL C

ACTIVITIES FOR PUPILS /TEACHERS

Give some of the more obvious distinguishing features of the five vertebrate groups.

• Observe models or pictures of human beings and other animals.

• In groups, children research one of the five vertebrate groups and prepare a short presentation to be delivered to the class.

Name some common members of the vertebrate groups.

• Taking turns, children name a vertebrate and identify which group it belongs to.

• Discuss ‘unusual’ vertebrates e.g. birds that cannot fly, bats which are mammals and can fly, marsupials whose babies are tiny and develop in a pouch, a duck-billed platypus is a mammal which lays soft shelled eggs.

• Use reference material to find answers to a quiz on vertebrates.

Name some common animals and plants using simple keys

• Use simple keys to identify common invertebrates from pictures or minibeasts collected from the garden.

• Collect and press leaves from different trees. Use simple keys to identify.

• Use key to identify Liquorice Allsorts.

Name the life processes common to humans and other animals              

• Use the activity, ‘I am a …………… and I am living because I can …………….’ encouraging children to use human, animal and plant examples.

• Discuss the children’s responses.

Identify the main organs of the human body

• Draw an outline of a child’s body. Make cut-out shapes of the main organs and stick them in place.

• Label the torso.

Describe the broad functions of the organs of the human body

• Each group to research the function of ears, brain, eyes, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, kidneys, bladder, muscles and skeleton and make a poster to be presented to the class.

• Measure your pulse rate. What is your pulse rate and how is it affected?

Describe the broad functions of the main parts of flowering plants

• Use QX3 microscope and icam to observe pollen and other small parts of plants.

• Choose a flower from a bunch and identify the parts. Stick and label them on a poster.

• Look at a variety of plant material (flowers and fruits). Identify the fruits. Discuss how each scatters its seeds.

• Flowering plant reproduction drama.

Give examples of living things that are rare or extinct

• Discuss and find examples of plants and animals e.g. orchids in the wild, giant pandas, elephants, tigers etc.

• Make posters or design leaflets about local and world-wide endangered species.

• Discuss extinct living things and elicit ideas about why they have become extinct.

Explain how living things and the environment can be protected and give examples

• Seek local information about people and groups trying to protect their environment.

• Discuss children’s personal responsibilities for protecting the local environment and how school initiatives could also help.

• Examine household products packaging for evidence of ‘environmentally friendly’ ingredients, or look for biodegradable or recyclable packaging.

ATTAINMENT TARGETS LEVEL D

ACTIVITIES FOR PUPILS /TEACHERS

Give the main distinguishing features of the major group of flowering and non-flowering plants

• Group plants into those with long narrow leaves with parallel veins and those with leaves of a variety of shapes with veins forming branching patterns. Draw and label examples of non-flowering plants.

• Sort pictures into different plant groups.

• Extend the activity to real examples. Encourage pupils to discuss their decisions about grouping.

Describe the role of lungs in breathing

• Take a deep breath and blow air into a balloon. Tie the neck. Write your name on a luggage label and tie to the neck of the balloon. Make a wall/ceiling display.

• Bell jar model to illustrate the action of the diaphragm.

• Large upturned bottle filled with water. Insert a tube into the bottle and blow. By blowing into the tube, water will be displaced by the air from the lungs thus showing lung capacity.

Outline the process of digestion          

• Pupils could arrange paper cut outs of the digestive system in their proper places.

• Pupils make a game of the digestive system.

Describe the main changes that occur during puberty

• Use ‘Living and Growing’ complimentary lesson pack.

Describe the main stages in human reproduction

• Use the interactive whiteboard with Activ Primary software.

• Label a flow diagram of the reproductive cycle.

• Use Living and Growing complimentary lesson pack.

Describe the main stages in flowering-plant reproduction

• Label a large model of a flower and identify the function of each part.

• Use fresh flowers such as lilies and tulips to identify male and female parts. Make a record of the parts using fresh material. Compare different flowers.

• Grow pollen tubes in a sugary solution.

• Place cards in the correct order to show the stages in plant reproduction.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/life_cycles.shtml 

Describe examples of human impact on the environment that have brought about beneficial changes, and examples that have detrimental effects  

• Newspaper reports could be used as a stimulus. Look at their local area; consider where new developments are taking place. Look at the impact on the environment of increasing traffic.

• Display items with ‘green’ labels and words such as ‘environmentally friendly’ written on them.

• Useful sites www.naturegrid.org

• http://www.defra.gov.uk

Give examples of how plants and animals are suited to their environment

• Research using internet sites such as The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust - http://www.wwt.org.uk/

• Using a set of cards describing various habitats and a set describing animals, match animals to correct habitat.

• Design an organism to match a given habitat.

• Design a poster of a chosen animal/plant showing how it is suited to its environment.

Explain how responses to changes in the environment might increase the   chances of survival.

• Use choice chambers to look at responses of woodlice to different conditions, such as wet/dry, warm/cold, light/dark; and also food preferences.

• Investigate the growth of cress under different conditions; in the dark, lit from above, lit from the side, full light, in the fridge, without water.