Science and technology – living world, built environments
Supports the Primary Connections unit - Schoolyard Safari
Program overview
Students explore their school grounds to investigate living things and their habitats. They use simple tools, such as magnifying glasses and colour chips, to engage their senses in exploring their local environment. They can investigate native and kitchen gardens and/or areas of bush on school grounds. Let us know if your school has worm farms or compost bins and we can incorporate them into the program.
Session details
60-90 minutes. Up to 3 sessions (one class each) per day.
Key syllabus outcomes
- Students describe observable features of living things and their environments ST1-4LW-S
Inquiry questions
- What are the external features of living things?
- How can we improve a local environment to encourage living things to thrive?
Content
External features of living things
Students:
- describe the external features of a variety of living things (ACSSU017)
- identify and group plants and animals using their external features, for example: SciT SysT
- native and introduced plants and animals
- worms, insects, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Living things live in different places
Students:
- identify that living things live in different places that suit their needs (ACSSU211)
- recognise that people use science and technology in their daily lives, including when caring for their environment and living things (ACSHE022, ACSHE035)
Learning experiences
Students participate in a range of activities, such as:
- Exploring the school grounds and gardens in camouflage bibs
- Using tools to investigate, such as miniscopes, mirrors, magnifying lenses, binoculars and bird whistles
- Capturing, observing and releasing invertebrates, with the option of observing finds under a digital microscope
- Examining compost invertebrates or worms from a worm farm (from your school grounds or we can bring samples)