Teachers’ notes – Habitats 1
Synopsis
The aim of this activity is for learners to understand what a habitat is and to plan and carry out fieldwork enquiries into different habitats. Initially, learners consider what they think a habitat is. They identify gaps in their knowledge and understanding by raising questions they would like answering about habitats. Learners search for information to answer their questions and present their findings. Using photographs they decide whether different places are habitats and consider in which habitat different animals and plants might be found. Learners consider the equipment that might be useful when studying different habitats and the possible health and safety issues that might arise during a fieldwork study. They choose a local habitat, plan an enquiry to find out about this habitat and present the main features of the habitat. Finally, learners consider what features might be different if they were to study a second habitat and how a plan for this enquiry might differ from their first plan.
Curriculum links
Interdependence of organisms:
4. through fieldwork, the plants and animals found in two contrasting local environments, e.g. identification, nutrition, life cycles, place in environment
5. the interdependence of living organisms in those two environments and their representation as food chains
6. the environmental factors that affect what grows and lives in those two environments, e.g. sunlight, water availability, temperature
7. how humans affect the local environment, e.g. litter, water pollution, noise pollution
Skills
Communication: 1, 2 & 3
Enquiry – Planning: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
Enquiry – Developing: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
Enquiry – Reflecting: 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6
Activities
Tab 1
/ The aim of this first tab is to encourage learners to share and discuss their ideas about what a ‘habitat’ is. Rollover questions are provided to support discussions. Learners might record their ideas as hard copy in the form of a mind map, for example. Ideas could be shared through an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB).Tab 2
/ This tab requires learners to build on their understanding of habitats. Initially, they identify gaps in their knowledge and understanding about habitats by raising questions aimed at finding out what else they want to know about habitats. Rollover questions support discussion about the process of gathering information. Secondly, learners are asked to present what they have learned about habitats in one minute. Learners are given a specific length of time for their presentation to encourage them to focus on the most important information to include.Tab 3
/ This tab provides learners with photographs of different places and asks them to decide whether each one shows a habitat. A randomiser generates eight images showing a range of diverse places:A stream, a wall, parkland, an elephant in a zoo, an urban landscape, a puddle, a formal garden and a railway track. This range of photographs is included to encourage debate about where plants and animals might live and a consideration of why they might live there. Rollover questions aim to support the discussion of ideas.
These photographs provide many opportunities to develop interesting discussions with learners. Asking learners to think in terms ‘natural’ habitats and habitats that have been constructed by humans might be helpful. There is a clear distinction, however, both types of location may become colonised by living things. The urban landscape can be thought of a humans’ habitat. Pets or zoo animals kept in some form of enclosure are not in their natural habitats. There may be attempts by their owners or keepers to reproduce some characteristics of their natural habitats, to ensure their well-being and comfort. Learners might be asked to consider questions such as: How successful are such practices? Can we ‘own’ animals? Do we have a right to keep them in captivity?
Some safari parks claim to provide a ‘natural habitat’ for their animals as they have large spaces to live in. Learners might consider the evidence for and against this claim.
Tab 4
/ This tab provides learners with photographs of different plants and animals and asks learners to consider the question ‘In what kind of habitat might you find these animals and plants?’ A button generates images of familiar animals and plants:Badger, daisy, fox, oak tree, spider, ladybird, newt and nettle. The aim is for learners to discuss where they might see each of these living things and what might be a suitable habitat for each one.
Tab 5
/ This tab provides learners with photographs of four different habitats that they are likely to be familiar with and might have access to in order to further explore:A garden pond, open woodland, a meadow/ open grassland, rock pools on a seashore.
For each photograph learners are required to consider what scientific enquiry equipment might be useful to carry out a fieldwork study of that habitat. They should be encouraged to explain why they think the equipment they list would be useful.
Tab 6
/ This tab presents learners with a series of photographs of scientific enquiry equipment they might use while carrying out different enquiries.First aid kit, binoculars, calculator, digital camera, compass, laptop, net, pencil and paper, stopwatch, measuring tape.
They are asked to consider how useful each piece of equipment might be when studying habitats through fieldwork.
Tab 7
/ This tab provides learners with photographs of the same four habitats used in tab 5.A garden pond, an open woodland, a meadow/open grassland, rock pools on a seashore.
Learners are required to consider the possible risks and hazards to themselves and others if they were planning a fieldwork study of each habitat. A fieldwork study of any habitat will pose a possible threat to the habitat itself and the inhabitants of that habitat. Learners might be reminded to treat habitats with respect before commencing their study, for example, not to pick wild flowers and to return any minibeasts to where they originally found them.
Tab 8
/ In this tab learners choose a local habitat they would like to study through a fieldwork enquiry. They are required to write a plan for their enquiry. Questions are provided as support for outlining a systematic enquiry of a habitat. If time constraints mean that learners are unlikely to study two habitat that they can compare then it might be worth making sure that different groups of learners study different habitats.Tab 9
/ In this tab learners are asked to present the main features of the habitat they have studied on tab 8 in 30 seconds.They are then required to choose a completely different local habitat they might study. They are asked to suggest what features might be different in this habitat and how a plan to study the second habitat might be different. Time constraints might prevent learners from carrying out their second enquiry. However, the curriculum emphasis on comparing and contrasting local environments could be met by inviting comparisons of different group’s fieldwork studies.
Background information
Information relating to Tab 1:
The ‘Interdependence of Organisms’ is part of the Range of content outlined in the KS2 Programme of Study for Science. This document uses ‘environment’ and does not refer to the word ‘habitat’. However, ‘habitat’ is commonly used in nature programmes and in everyday speech. The Oxford Concise Dictionary defines these terms as follows:
Habitat: ‘natural home of plant or animal; habitation’.
Environment: ‘surrounding; surrounding objects, region or circumstances’.
The two terms are closely linked and it is worth exploring these terms with learners throughout this Unit.
Unit 1.4.1 teachers’ notes – Habitats 11