• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Compare life cycles: mammals, birds, amphibians and insects; Growing up: stages of a human life). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Are the young of this animal born live or do they hatch from eggs: frog? (born live / hatch from eggs) → hatch from eggsPrompt: Is it a mammal?
2. A salmon hatches in a river, swims to the sea, then returns to the same river to lay eggs. Which stage is this? (the larva / the egg / metamorphosis into a frog / the adult reproducing) → the adult reproducingPrompt: Laying eggs is part of which life stage?
3. Are the young of this animal born live or do they hatch from eggs: robin? (born live / hatch from eggs) → hatch from eggsPrompt: Is it a mammal?

• Ask everyone to find their pulse, then jump for 30 seconds and find it again.
• Share the objective: Compare how long mammals grow before birth. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Mice have a gestation of about 3 weeks. How does this fit the pattern?
• Step 1: Mice are tiny and have very short gestation, which fits the pattern.
• Step 2: So the answer is: Small mammal, short gestation
• Answer: Small mammal, short gestation
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Looking at dogs, humans, horses and elephants, what pattern do you notice? (Gestation has nothing to do with size. / Larger mammals tend to have longer gestation periods. / Smaller mammals always have longer gestation. / All mammals have the same gestation.) → Larger mammals tend to have longer gestation periods.Prompt: Compare the dog with the elephant.
2. Why can a newborn foal stand within hours, but a human baby cannot walk for about a year? (Foals are born more developed so they can escape predators with the herd. / Foals have more legs. / Human babies are lazy. / Human babies are born older.) → Foals are born more developed so they can escape predators with the herd.Prompt: Think about where a wild horse lives.

• 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.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Looking at dogs, humans, horses and elephants, what pattern do you notice? (Gestation has nothing to do with size. / Larger mammals tend to have longer gestation periods. / Smaller mammals always have longer gestation. / All mammals have the same gestation.) → Larger mammals tend to have longer gestation periods.Prompt: Compare the dog with the elephant.
2. Why can a newborn foal stand within hours, but a human baby cannot walk for about a year? (Human babies are born older. / Foals have more legs. / Foals are born more developed so they can escape predators with the herd. / Human babies are lazy.) → Foals are born more developed so they can escape predators with the herd.Prompt: Think about where a wild horse lives.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.