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Science lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 45 minutes

Inventions inspired by animals and plants

Animals and habitats

CCSS NGSS.1-LS1-1CCSS NGSS.K-2-ETS1-2England: KS1 Y1 Animals, including humansEngland: KS1 Design and technology links

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Inventions inspired by animals and plants.

  • 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 · 5 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 bird's beak? (to grab food and suck up water / to feel its way in the dark / to protect its soft body / to pick up and eat food) → to pick up and eat foodPrompt: Think about where the animal lives and what it eats.
  2. Which body part helps an animal protect its soft body? (an eagle's sharp claws (talons) / a cat's whiskers / a tortoise's shell / a butterfly's long tongue (proboscis)) → a tortoise's shellPrompt: Picture the animal doing the job.
  3. Why do fish have fins and a tail? (to swim and steer in water / to breathe air / to see in the dark / to keep warm) → to swim and steer in waterPrompt: How does a fish move forward and turn?

Hook · 5 min

  • Show a picture of an unusual animal and ask where it might live and how it survives there.
  • Share the objective: Inventions inspired by animals and plants. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which part of nature inspired this design: self-cleaning paint that rain washes clean?
  • Step 1: Water rolls off lotus leaves and carries dirt away.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: a lotus leaf
  • Answer: a lotus leaf
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 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. Which part of nature inspired this design: the pointed nose of a fast train in Japan? (a duck's webbed feet / a kingfisher's beak / a humpback whale's bumpy flippers / a cat's eyes shining in headlights) → a kingfisher's beakPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?
  2. A team wants a coat that keeps people warm in snow. Which animal feature could they copy? (a polar bear's thick fur / a cactus's spines / a fish's scales / a frog's damp skin) → a polar bear's thick furPrompt: Which animal stays warm on the ice?

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Engineers want a robot hand that can grip a slippery wet bottle. Which animal should they study? (a snail's shell / a jellyfish, which has no grip / a bird's feathers / an octopus, with its suction cups) → an octopus, with its suction cupsPrompt: Which animal holds onto slippery rocks underwater?
  2. Which part of nature inspired this design: self-cleaning paint that rain washes clean? (a lotus leaf / a duck's webbed feet / burrs that stick to dog fur / a cat's eyes shining in headlights) → a lotus leafPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?

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-1.

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

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Inventions inspired by animals and plants

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Which part of nature inspired this design: the pointed nose of a fast train in Japan?

    • A. a kingfisher's beak
    • B. a duck's webbed feet
    • C. a cat's eyes shining in headlights
    • D. a lotus leaf

  2. Question 2

    Engineers want a robot hand that can grip a slippery wet bottle. Which animal should they study?

    • A. a snail's shell
    • B. a bird's feathers
    • C. an octopus, with its suction cups
    • D. a jellyfish, which has no grip

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Swimming flippers work a bit like webbed feet.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    Why do engineers copy ideas from living things?

    • A. Animals ask them to.
    • B. It is the only way to invent anything.
    • C. Living things are made of metal.
    • D. Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems.

  5. Question 5

    True or false? Velcro was invented after someone looked closely at burrs.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    Which part of nature inspired this design: swimming flippers?

    • A. a lotus leaf
    • B. a duck's webbed feet
    • C. burrs that stick to dog fur
    • D. a humpback whale's bumpy flippers

  7. Question 7

    A team wants a coat that keeps people warm in snow. Which animal feature could they copy?

    • A. a cactus's spines
    • B. a polar bear's thick fur
    • C. a frog's damp skin
    • D. a fish's scales

  8. Question 8

    True or false? Copying ideas from nature is called biomimicry.

    • A. True
    • B. False

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Answer key: Inventions inspired by animals and plants

  1. 1. A. a kingfisher's beak

  2. 2. C. an octopus, with its suction cups

  3. 3. A. True

  4. 4. D. Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems.

  5. 5. A. True

  6. 6. B. a duck's webbed feet

  7. 7. B. a polar bear's thick fur

  8. 8. A. True