Teachers

How to use this resource

This unit of work is designed for students learning from home in a facilitated environment. 'Habitat Heroes', aims to equip students to actively improve local habitats in their school or local area. Each lesson is approximately 30 - 40 minutes in length and the activities are either interactive components embedded within the webpage, or worksheets to download from the student's Google Classroom folder. Use the Lesson Outlines below when creating your learning sequence for the unit, which will advise when to add worksheets to the Google Classroom and when to ask students to return work evidence.

Habitat Heroes Overview

This exciting and interactive online resource will immerse your students in understanding nature and allow them to gain practical applications of their developing understanding of the features, habits and interactions of living things. Students will work scientifically as they use keys to identify invertebrates and record results of an invertebrate survey. They will also become a ‘habitat hero’ by learning how to create a frog pond, so they can get busy at school or at home creating habitat friendly environments.

Key syllabus outcomes

Science and Technology K-6

S1 - Living World

A student:

  • observes, questions and collects data to communicate and compare ideas ST1-1WS-S

  • describes observable features of living things and their environments ST1-4LW-S

  • uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity ST1-2DP-T

Inquiry focus questions.

  • What are the external features of living things?

  • How can we improve a local environment to encourage living things to thrive?

  • How do living things change as they grow?


Download worksheets for Google Classroom

Please open the relevant document, make a copy and move it into your own GoogleDrive folder before sharing with students.

Lesson Outlines

Lesson 1 - 50 minutes

Syllabus Outcomes

  • describes observable features of living things and their environments ST1-4LW-S

Identifying features of living things

Lesson one guides students through a series of drag and drop exercises with the aim they understand grouping animals based on external features. The aim is students understand you can group not only animals but also things in their pencil case, based on colour, size, shape etc. Through this process students will understand it is easier for them to tell animals differences and similarity.

Lesson 2- 50 minutes

Syllabus Outcomes

  • describes observable features of living things and their environments ST1-4LW-S

Create a creature

Lesson two aims to further the students understanding of external features of animals by creating their own model creature. This lesson is hands on and allows students to try and create an animal with its external feature with objects from outside i.e. leaves for wings, sticks for feet, pebbles for rocks etc. This lesson aims to solidify students understanding that not all animals are the same and all have unique external features that allows us to group them..

Lesson 3- 50 minutes

Syllabus Outcomes

  • observes, questions and collects data to communicate and compare ideas ST1-1WS-S

Invertebrate scavenger hunt

Lesson 3 aims to observe, search, collect and investigate common invertebrates in the local park, school or yard. Students take the worksheet around with them and tally how many are found. Students then go on to draw the external features of the invertebrate which solidifies there identification of features. Students final task is to use the 'Invertebrate Identification' chart to show observable features.

Worksheets:

Lesson 4- 40 minutes

Syllabus Outcomes

  • describes observable features of living things and their environments ST1-4LW-S


What is a habitat?

Lesson 4 aims to introduce student to 'habitats'. Students are shown two videos based habitats which outline several different animal habitats. This lesson involves students understanding what animals need in their own habitat to survive with hope students understand that all animals need shelter, air, food and water. This lesson involves students drawing their own habitat and what is included in there own.

Lesson 5- 2 hours

Syllabus Outcomes

  • uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity ST1-2DP-T


Lesson 5 aims to further students understanding of one particular animal in Australia. Through creating a diorama, students understand all the unique features that are needed for each animal to thrive in its own habitat. This lesson is one of the longest so far. Parental and teacher guidance will be needed throughout this lesson as it uses lots pf materials and tools.

Lesson 6- 40 minutes

Syllabus Outcomes

  • uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity ST1-2DP-T



Lesson 6 aims to solidify students knowledge of a habitat. Students are to create