INQUIRY LEARNING PLANNER

UNIT TITLE:

The Growth & Survival of Living Things

LEVEL
4-5

TEAM
Mary, Marjorie, Peri

UNDERSTANDINGS:

TERM
2

DURATION
8 weeks

FOCUS QUESTIONS:

Year 4
Living things rely on each other and other
things to survive. A food chain exists within
the animal kingdom.
The environment and human activities has
a direct impact on the survival of living
things.

What are the basic needs of living

things to survive?
How do living things rely on each other
to survive?
How does the environment affect the
survival of living things?
How can human activities impact living
things?

Year 5
Living things have structural features and
adaptations that help them to survive in
their environment.

KEY CONCEPTS:

What are the differences in structural

features needed to survive between
various living things?
What adaptations do living things need
to make to survive? What are the
variables linked to these adaptations,
e.g. weather, presence of other living
things, habitat?

Food chains, environment and human activities,

survival, structural features, adaptations.
Thinking Processes

Communication Skills

Personal Learning

Make generalisations
on living things from
previous knowledge
and understandings.

Respond and be able to

justify answers to
questions presented
throughout the unit. This
includes verbalising
understand2ngs through
presentations e.g.
poster presentation.

Making connections
from content learnt in
the classroom to real
life.

Building on prior
knowledge in
accordance with
what is being learnt
throughout the unit.

Present new knowledge

and ideas through
discussion, and work
samples that show an
understanding of the
content.

Being able to identify

living things in the
outside environment,
and how they impact
other living things. For
example, school yard.

Interpersonal
Development
Building effective
relationships with
others that promote
learning and
understanding of the
content.
Working cooperatively
in large or small
groups to share own
ideas as well as
listening to others.

RESOURCES
Hauth, K. B. (2011). Whats for dinner?: Quirky, squirmy poems from the Animal World.
Watertown, Massachusetts: Charlesbridge
Hoare, B. (2010). Endangered animals. New York: DK Publishing
Kids Animal Channel. (2014, May 1). How Animals Adapt (Animal Atlas). [Video File]. Retrieved
from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4xFDjy3uT8
McConnon, D. [DavidMcConnon]. (2010, October 14). Animal Opinions: My environment,
my film [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2u6nHoR9N0

TUNING IN
Lesson 1:
Read the book "Whats for dinner? Quirky, squirmy poems from the Animal World
Activity 1: Build a semantic web of some of the food chains they have discovered from the story on
poster paper to display in the classroom.

Ask students which food chains they already knew about from the book and what they have found
that was interesting.
Lesson 2:
Lesson spent outside. Students will be split into groups of 3 4 and asked to give their group a
name that has something to do detective e.g. The playground detectives, the awesome
detectives. The groups will each be given a clipboard and a pen and asked to roam around a
specific (large) area writing down all the living things they can see, including flora and fauna.
Allow students a considerable amount of time (e.g. 20 mins) to walk around and really explore the
environment. Remind students to be respectful of the environment and not to move living things,
and be gentle if they are walking in gardens, touching plants, digging for worms etc.
Come together as a group outside and have one detective from each group be the spokesperson
to talk about what they found. Ensure that any questions students have are answered e.g. is this
living? What is this called? (Have iPad/s outside for research at the end if available)
Reflection
Gather the children back together once they have completed the last activity. Select a couple of
students to share their learning to the rest of the class, emphasising what they already knew, what
they have discovered (i.e. new terms, animals or plants they did not know existed, food chains they
did not know about), and one thing they found interesting.
Create a display wall area to put up the semantic web poster. The wall should display the heading
Food chains. Have a short discussion about which food chain they want to discover more about.

FINDING OUT

SORTING OUT

How can we: Take students beyond what they

already know? Challenge their ideas, beliefs and
attitudes? Enable them to use skills and
knowledge to collect new information? Provide a
range of experiences to develop our
understandings?

How will students sort out, organise, represent

and present what they have found out? How
can they communicate and express what they
know? How will they use preferred ways to
demonstrate their knowledge, skills and
values?

Lesson 3:

Lesson 5:

Activity 1: KWL charts

Activity 1: Water vs. land discussion

Watch Food chain and food web video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pasB5FxhVUk

Present class with a picture of a whale and an

elephant.
Discussion: How are they similar? How are
they different? How would the food chain differ
between animals living in water and animals
living on land? How do you think their body
parts help them to survive in their habitat?

Ask students questions about the different types

of food chains and types of consumers to
reiterate the information provided in the video
clip. List them on the whiteboard and create
definitions of key terms from the video with the
students.

Present class with a picture of a turtle and a

rabbit.

Get students to do a KWL chart to state what they

know, what they want to know and what they
have learnt so far.
Activity 2: Food chain/ food web posters
In pairs students use computers or iPads to
research a particular type of food chain or
consumer. List some of the key information that
they need to look for.

What does this animal need to survive?

What type of food chain does the animal
belong to?
What type of consumer is this particular
animal?
Does it eat more than one food?

After researching, students are to create a poster

based on their findings and present their
information to the rest of the class for 2minutes.
Reflection
Bring students back together. Choose a few
students to share their KWL charts and
emphasise what in their want to know section
have they already covered whilst doing their
research.
Have a discussion to summarise what the lesson
was about and ask students questions to extend
their thinking and wonderings:

What do you think would happen to living

things if their food started to extinct?
How will this affect the survival of animals
in the food chain?
Will there be a chain reaction?

Discussion: How are they similar? How are

they different? Are turtles and a rabbits both
part of a food chain? How do you think their
body structure help them to survive in their
environment?
Activity 2: Water vs. land investigation
Small groups of 3 4 students allocated a task
of either investigating the elephant vs. whale,
or turtle vs. rabbit.
Students are to research and document their
findings in a small presentation of their choice.
Questions to be researched will be similar to
those in previous discussion, for example

List the similarities and differences

between an elephant and a whale; and
between a turtle and a rabbit, including
habitat

List what food chains each living thing is a

part of.

List features of animals that live in water

and how these features help them to meet
their needs, and enable them to survive
e.g. fins, gills.

List features of animals that live on land

and how these features meet their needs,
and enable them to survive e.g. paws,
claws.

Reflection
Elephant/whale groups share findings with
rabbit/turtle groups, and vice versa. Group
discussion.
Flick through nature books/magazines with a
mixture of both land and water animals. Ask
students to point out the features that help
each to survive, as well as a possible food
chain, and explain their reasoning.

Lesson 4:

Lesson 6:

Activity 1: Brainstorming

Adaptations: What do living things need to

survive, apart from food

Inform students that along with animals needing

each other to survive (food chain), they also need
a healthy environment to help them in their
growth and survival. Briefly explain what
sustainability means.
On the white board, brainstorm some of the
human activities that can cause environmental
impact on the survival of animals. Discuss these
impacts on living things (i.e. deforestation, oil
spills, climate change).
Read Endangered animals by Ben Hoare.
Discuss key term endangered. Add any new
information that was not already included on the
whiteboard brainstorming activity.
Activity 2: Creating an informative video
Watch animal opinions video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=F2u6nHoR9N0
Discuss with students what were some of the
things that were happening to the environment in
the video and how did it make the animals feel?
Using iPads, students are to create their own
short video clip with the VidLab app (1.5 mins
max). The aim of the video is to inform people
how human activities and the environment can
impact animal survival. The video needs to focus
on 1 or 2 animals and their habitats and how
humans can decrease their survival and growth.
Students are to use voice over, pictures and
diagrams to explain.
Students can then pair up and share their videos
to each other.

Firstly, discuss word adaptations and explain

what it means (words such as changes,
alterations)
Watch video on adaptations animals make, in
relation to their habitat, weather conditions, for
survival, camouflage etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=z4xFDjy3uT8
Class discussion on what is remembered from
the videos. Relate back to personal learning,
make the connection between adaptations
animals make, and how humans do the same.
What types of adaptations to we make as
humans? E.g. Rugging up cold, swimming
when hot, vitamins when sick.
Students are then to individually research an
animal, either one from the video or an animal
of their choice, and make an A4 page
(including pictures) on adaptations that their
particular animal makes.

What types of adaptations does this

animal make?
E.g. camouflage, hibernation
When do they make them?
E.g. hot or cold weather
How often?
E.g. daily, once a year
Does the animal look any different from
adaptations they make?
E.g. camouflage

Reflection
Students with same animal to compare and
share information. Then, one person from each
Reflection
group will share information on their animal
Bring students back together. Choose a few
with the class.
students to share their short clips and reiterate
Create book of A4 posters to keep as class
what the main message was from each clip (go
resource.
back to brainstorm on whiteboard or the
Endangered animals book).

GOING FURTHER
How can we extend and broaden the unit? What other perspectives or dimensions can we explore? What are the ways which
students can negotiate their own personal inquiries?

Lesson 7:
Get children to imagine life without animals. What would this look like? How would this affect us as
humans?
Students create a plan to help the environment in order to prevent living things from becoming
endangered and help them survive.
Lesson 8:
What do other living things e.g. plants need to survive? water, food, light (for plants to make food),
suitable temperature, oxygen, CO2 (photosynthesis), shelter or protection from the elements.
Research an Australian flora as a class on interactive whiteboard and what it needs to survive. Is
this plant a part of any Animals food chain? E.g. Koala eating gum leaves.
Reflection
Have students made the link between both flora and fauna being living things? Do students
understand the link between food chains and interactions between various living things?

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY (ONGOING: FOR, AS and OF learning)

What are the cumulative and summative opportunities for assessment? How can teachers and students monitor progress? What
strategies can we use to cater for variance in learning styles and progress? How can we allow for expected and unexpected
outcomes? How can we provide opportunities for self, peer, teacher, and parent assessment?

INQUIRY STAGE
Lesson 1.

Lesson 2.

DESCRIPTION
Teacher asks students
questions as she reads the
book, and observe students
response based on their prior
knowledge. Teacher also listen
out for new knowledge gained
after reading the book as they
make a semantic web of some
of the food chains they have
learnt about.
Observation were students
able to identify living things in
their environment?
Were they recognizing flora as
living things?

PURPOSE
Assessment for: to gain insight
of students prior knowledge
about the topic and scaffold
their learning as we create a
semantic web poster through
discussions.

Assessment as learning:
students are sent off on their
own accord to discover what
living things they can find.
Students are encouraged to
take responsibility and ask
questions about their own

Lesson 3.

Teacher walks around the room

observing students and
listening out for their
knowledge and understanding
of the topic when completing
the KWL chart.
Collect work samples of their
posters and assess the way
they have answered the
questions provided:
What does this animal
need to survive?
What type of food chain
does the animal belong
to?
What type of consumer
is this particular animal?
Does it eat more than
one food?

Lesson 4.

Teacher listens out for

students current understanding
of how human activities can
have an impact on the survival
of other living things.
Watch the videos each student
created.
Teacher observes for
noticeable difference on
students understanding of the
difference between water and
land animals, from initial class
discussion to end discussion
on findings.
Question What are different
features?

Lesson 5.

Lesson 6.

See if students can apply

knowledge learnt from their
particular animal to other
land/water animals in
books/magazines.
Discussion on video will show
teacher if watching an
educational video on animal
adaptations is an effective way
to inform students.
Question what do you think
about the video? What was

learning.
Assessment for: To gain insight
of students prior knowledge
and to assess their
understanding of a particular
food chain.

Assessment for: To gain an

understanding of the students
knowledge of the effects of
human activity on the
environment and how this
impacts the survival of animals
and plants.
Assessment for: Clear goal for
the learning activity was for
students to gain an
understanding of the features,
habitats, food chains and other
differences between water and
land animals.

Assessment of: Have students

used their science inquiry skills
to produce their work sample?
Does the students work
samples on adaptation show
an understanding of the

most interesting?
Were students able to make
personal connections?

content? Does it meet the

AusVELS Curriculum?
Science Understanding: Biological
Sciences

Collecting work samples and

collating as a class resource
that can be used for future
reference and assessment.

Level 5: Living things have structural

features and adaptations that help them
to survive in their environment
Level 6: The growth and survival of living
things are affected by the physical
conditions of their environment

Lesson 7.

Teacher walks around the

classroom and listen out for
group discussions as students
create their plans to help the
environment and save animals.
Listen to childrens ideas and
knowledge of how animal
extinction affects the human
life.

Assessment for: To understand

students knowledge of how
humans can help the survival
of animals and scaffold their
learning as they share their
ideas.

Lesson 8

Are students able to recognize

the link between animals and
plants both being living things?
Teacher is to observe if
students gain an understanding
of what plants need to survive.

Assessment for: To understand

students knowledge of living
things, including plants

INQUIRY EVALUATION
Strengths
Tuning in activities. Students responded well to the story and outside activity. The tuning in
activities encouraged students to voice what they already knew about living things and food chains.
They were genuinely interested in both activities and were a good way for teachers to see what
understandings they already had.
Students became very engaged when ask to do their own research, and take responsibility for their
own learning.
The lessons all followed on from each other really well. Students were able to identify when we
were going to do work on living things and were seemingly excited to work on their projects, or
begin new activities and lessons within the unit.
Opportunity for possible follow-ups in all lessons, and assessment of other domains. For example
turning a presentation into a writing assessment, or writing a story about the day in the life of the
elements of a food chain.
Opportunity for assessment of, as, and for learning throughout all lessons.

Things to do differently
More work on human interaction with living things could be beneficial when next completing this
unit of work. Students were very interested in how they personally have an effect on animals, as
well as other variables such as the weather, and other environmental impacts.
More time for research in lessons that require students find their own information.
More time outside actually looking at and interacting with living things. Possibly an excursion to a
local park or botanic gardens.
Most lessons were done in group work so hard to assess students individually. Could possibly alter
one lesson slightly so assessment can be done individually. For example, Lesson 5 Activity 2,
students could be asked to present findings in a document of their choice individually, and hand in
to teacher. This way teacher can assess how students chose to present and what they presented.