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Science lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 30 minutes

Internal and external structures of animals

Animals and habitats

CCSS NGSS.4-LS1-1England: KS2 Y4 Animals, including humansEngland: KS2 Y3 Animals, including humans

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Internal and external structures of animals.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Animal body parts and the jobs they do

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Animal picture cards, Habitat maps, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Animal body parts and the jobs they do). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What job does this body part do: a fish's gills? (to breathe underwater / to sip nectar from flowers / to keep enemies away / to grip and carry prey) → to breathe underwaterPrompt: Think about where the animal lives and what it eats.
  2. Which body part helps an animal breathe underwater? (a duck's webbed feet / an eagle's sharp claws (talons) / a bird's beak / a fish's gills) → a fish's gillsPrompt: Picture the animal doing the job.
  3. A hummingbird has a long, thin beak. What does this suggest about its food? (It tears meat. / It cracks hard nuts. / It eats leaves from tall trees. / It reaches deep into flowers for nectar.) → It reaches deep into flowers for nectar.Prompt: What shape of tool would you use to reach inside a narrow tube?

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a picture of an unusual animal and ask where it might live and how it survives there.
  • Share the objective: Internal and external structures of animals. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this an internal or an external structure: a turtle's shell?
  • Step 1: External structures are on the outside, where we can see them.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: external (outside the body)
  • Answer: external (outside the body)
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this an internal or an external structure: a turtle's shell? (external (outside the body) / internal (inside the body)) → external (outside the body)Prompt: Could you see it without looking inside the animal?
  2. What does this internal structure do: skeleton? (pumps blood around the body / take in oxygen from the air / breaks down food / supports and protects the body) → supports and protects the bodyPrompt: Think about what keeps an animal alive: blood, air, food, control, support.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. A shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, not bone. Is it internal or external? (internal / it is made of scales / sharks have no skeleton / external) → internalPrompt: Feel the tip of your nose: that bendy material is cartilage.
  2. What does this internal structure do: gills? (pumps blood around the body / controls the body and processes information / take in oxygen from the air / take in oxygen from water) → take in oxygen from waterPrompt: Think about what keeps an animal alive: blood, air, food, control, support.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Animal body parts and the jobs they do.
  • Use concrete materials: animal picture cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Internal and external structures of animals

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Is this an internal or an external structure: the brain?

    • A. external (outside the body)
    • B. internal (inside the body)

  2. Question 2

    A crab sheds its shell as it grows. Why?

    • A. To change colour.
    • B. It is too hot inside.
    • C. The hard external shell cannot stretch, so it must be replaced by a bigger one.
    • D. Its shell is made of skin.

  3. Question 3

    What does this internal structure do: lungs?

    • A. take in oxygen from the air
    • B. controls the body and processes information
    • C. supports and protects the body
    • D. take in oxygen from water

  4. Question 4

    Is this an internal or an external structure: a turtle's shell?

    • A. external (outside the body)
    • B. internal (inside the body)

  5. Question 5

    Insects have no bones. What holds their bodies up?

    • A. their wings only
    • B. air inside them
    • C. a hard outer covering (exoskeleton)
    • D. nothing; they are floppy

  6. Question 6

    What does this internal structure do: brain?

    • A. controls the body and processes information
    • B. breaks down food
    • C. pumps blood around the body
    • D. take in oxygen from water

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Answer key: Internal and external structures of animals

  1. 1. B. internal (inside the body)

  2. 2. C. The hard external shell cannot stretch, so it must be replaced by a bigger one.

  3. 3. A. take in oxygen from the air

  4. 4. A. external (outside the body)

  5. 5. C. a hard outer covering (exoskeleton)

  6. 6. A. controls the body and processes information