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Science lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 45 minutes

Animal homes: nests, burrows, hives and more

Animals and habitats

CCSS NGSS.K-ESS3-1CCSS NGSS.K-LS1-1England: EYFS Understanding the World: The natural worldEngland: KS1 Y2 Living things and their habitats

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Animal homes: nests, burrows, hives and more.

  • 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: What animals need to survive

Leads to: Animals that live on land, in water or in both

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 (What animals need to survive). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. How does a fish get the oxygen it needs? (from the food it eats / it does not need oxygen / by jumping out to breathe air with lungs / from the water, using its gills) → from the water, using its gillsPrompt: Fish have special parts on the sides of their heads.
  2. What animals need: which statement is true? (Animals only need food, never water. / Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants. / Animals need water to survive. / Fish do not need oxygen.) → Animals need water to survive.Prompt: Think about what you need to live.
  3. What animals need: which statement is NOT true? (Many animals need shelter from weather and predators. / Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants. / Animals need air to breathe. / Animals get energy from their food.) → Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants.Prompt: One sentence is a mistake.

Hook · 5 min

  • Show a picture of an unusual animal and ask where it might live and how it survives there.
  • Share the objective: Animal homes: nests, burrows, hives and more. 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: Where does a rabbit live?
  • Step 1: Rabbits dig burrows underground to hide and stay safe.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: burrow
  • Answer: burrow
  • 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. Where does a bat live? (anthill / cave / burrow / den) → cavePrompt: Think about what this animal builds or finds to stay safe.
  2. Which animal lives in this home: an empty shell? (rabbit / bear / hermit crab / spider) → hermit crabPrompt: Picture the home: is it underground, in a tree, in water or made of silk?

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. Why do bees build their hive in a hollow tree or a box rather than out in the open? (to keep the honey, young bees and wax combs dry and protected / because they like the dark more than food / because bees cannot fly in the open / to stay away from flowers) → to keep the honey, young bees and wax combs dry and protectedPrompt: What would rain and wind do to a hive in the open?
  2. Where does an ant live? (anthill / nest / web / hive) → anthillPrompt: Think about what this animal builds or finds to stay safe.

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: What animals need to survive.
  • 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

  • Move on to: Animals that live on land, in water or in both.
  • 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/kindergarten.

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

eurekami

Animal homes: nests, burrows, hives and more

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Why do animals need homes (shelter)?

    • A. to stay safe from danger and bad weather
    • B. so they can watch television
    • C. because homes give them food from the Sun
    • D. to make the weather warmer

  2. Question 2

    Where does a rabbit live?

    • A. web
    • B. nest
    • C. burrow
    • D. hive

  3. Question 3

    Which animal lives in this home: web?

    • A. ant
    • B. bear
    • C. bat
    • D. spider

  4. Question 4

    Why do birds build nests high in trees?

    • A. to keep their eggs and chicks away from animals that might eat them
    • B. because grass is too soft
    • C. because it is warmer at the top of trees
    • D. so the eggs can fly

  5. Question 5

    Where does a beaver live?

    • A. hive
    • B. den
    • C. anthill
    • D. lodge

  6. Question 6

    Which animal lives in this home: anthill?

    • A. ant
    • B. beaver
    • C. rabbit
    • D. bat

  7. Question 7

    A rabbit's burrow is underground. How does that help the rabbit?

    • A. It can fly away faster.
    • B. It can see further.
    • C. It can hide from foxes and keep warm.
    • D. It gets more sunlight.

  8. Question 8

    Why do bees build their hive in a hollow tree or a box rather than out in the open?

    • A. to stay away from flowers
    • B. to keep the honey, young bees and wax combs dry and protected
    • C. because they like the dark more than food
    • D. because bees cannot fly in the open

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Answer key: Animal homes: nests, burrows, hives and more

  1. 1. A. to stay safe from danger and bad weather

  2. 2. C. burrow

  3. 3. D. spider

  4. 4. A. to keep their eggs and chicks away from animals that might eat them

  5. 5. D. lodge

  6. 6. A. ant

  7. 7. C. It can hide from foxes and keep warm.

  8. 8. B. to keep the honey, young bees and wax combs dry and protected