• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Habitats and microhabitats). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which habitat is the poison dart frog best suited to? (woodland / the rainforest / the Arctic (polar) / the ocean) → the rainforestPrompt: Think about where it could find food and stay at a good temperature.
2. Why could a polar bear not survive well in a hot desert? (It cannot walk on sand. / Its thick fur and fat would make it overheat. / Deserts have no sunlight. / It needs to eat cactus.) → Its thick fur and fat would make it overheat.Prompt: What helps a polar bear in the cold?
3. Which animal lives in the rainforest? (scorpion / jellyfish / woodpecker / poison dart frog) → poison dart frogPrompt: Think about whether each animal suits cold, heat, water or trees.

• Show a picture of an unusual animal and ask where it might live and how it survives there.
• Share the objective: Match animals to their habitats. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which habitat suits this animal best: mountain goat?
• Step 1: Grippy hooves help mountain goats climb steep rocks.
• Step 2: So the answer is: mountains
• Answer: mountains
• 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. Which habitat suits this animal best: camel? (coral reef / Arctic ice / desert / pond) → desertPrompt: Think about what the animal needs: warmth or cold, water, trees or open space?
2. Which animal is best suited to this habitat: grassland (savanna)? (zebra / mountain goat / polar bear / toucan) → zebraPrompt: Which animal's body would help it survive there?

• 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.

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

1. Why do rainforests have so many different animals? (They are very cold and dry. / They are warm and wet all year, with lots of plants for food and shelter. / Animals there never eat. / They have no trees.) → They are warm and wet all year, with lots of plants for food and shelter.Prompt: Plants grow fast in warm, wet places.
2. Which animal is best suited to this habitat: grassland (savanna)? (polar bear / zebra / mountain goat / camel) → zebraPrompt: Which animal's body would help it survive there?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-2.