PR-6171IRE Science A STEM Approach - 1st Class

Living Things
CREATURE FEATURES IN DIFFERENT PLACES
Lesson 7
Teacher Notes
Science Inquiry Focus:
Why do plants from different habitats look different?
Skills Development/Working Scientifically:
• Questioning and predicting
• Observing
• Investigating and experimenting
• Analysing
• Recording and communicating
Science Learning Outcomes:
• Pupils observe the leaves of a plant and describe the difference
between them.
• Describe how plants are different in environments that have too
much sunlight (desert) compared to plants in environments that have
little sunlight (rainforest).
Technology/Engineering/Mathematics Links:
• Observing digital images and comparing observations of the desert
to the rainforest.
• Using a digital recording device to record observations of different
plant leaves.
Background Information
• The main parts of a plant include the roots, stem, leaves, seeds,
flowers and fruit. While all plants have these parts, they do not all
look the same.
• The leaves make food for the plant by capturing sunlight and
using it to make food through a process called photosynthesis.
Different plants have different leaf shapes, but most leaves are
green.
• The needs of a plant are sunlight (food), water, space and air.
In a desert environment, too much sunlight and not enough
water will affect the kinds of plant features found there. In the
rainforest, ample water and heat, with little sunlight reaching the
undergrowth, will affect the plant features found there.
• Desert plants have minimal leaves with little surface area to assist
with minimising water loss. Plants receive maximum sun exposure
so there is no need for large leaves or leaves at all.
• Rainforest plants have larger leaves to maximise the ability to
capture sunlight below the canopy of trees. The plants must
compete for sunlight so are only able to survive by growing tall or
having large leaves.
Assessment Focus:
• Use the video from
Step 3 as a formative
assessment of the pupil’s
ability to observe the
leaves from two different
environments.
• Use the completed
sentences from Step
6 to assess the pupil’s
understanding that the
leaves of a plant in the
desert are different to
the leaves of a plant in
the rainforest in order
for them to be able to
survive with too much or
not enough sunlight.
Resources
• Three small cactus
plants
• Three leaves from
a large-leafed plant
(like a monsteria
– often called a
cheese plant)
• Images of desert
and rainforest
environments to
compare
• Sufficient copies
of page 41
• Digital copy of
pages 42 and 43
Viewing sample
Prim-Ed Publishing – www.prim-ed.com 978-1-912760-15-2 1st Science: 39
CLASS
A STEM APPROACH