Science lesson plan · Kindergarten (Reception and Year 1 in England) · 45 minutes
What animals need to survive
Animals and habitats
CCSS NGSS.K-LS1-1CCSS NGSS.K-ESS3-1England: KS1 Y2 Animals, including humans
Objective and success criteria
Students will: What animals need to survive.
- 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: Living and non-living things
Leads to: Herbivores, carnivores and omnivores; Habitats and microhabitats; What plants and animals need to stay alive
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 (Living and non-living things). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Is it living or never alive: rock? (living / never alive) → never alivePrompt: Does it grow and need food?
- Which of these is living? (oak tree / teddy bear / rock / toy car) → oak treePrompt: Living things grow, feed and have young.
- Living things: which statement is true? (A teddy bear is alive because it looks like a bear. / Trees are not alive because they do not move around. / A rock is not alive. / Clouds are alive because they move and grow.) → A rock is not alive.Prompt: Living things grow, feed and have young.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a picture of an unusual animal and ask where it might live and how it survives there.
- Share the objective: What animals need to survive. 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: Why does a rabbit need a burrow?
- Step 1: A burrow keeps the rabbit safe from predators and bad weather.
- Step 2: So the answer is: for shelter and to stay safe
- Answer: for shelter and to stay safe
- 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.
- A pet hamster needs… (only food / only water / food, water, air and a safe cage to shelter in / nothing, it looks after itself) → food, water, air and a safe cage to shelter inPrompt: Pets need the same basic things as wild animals.
- What animals need: which statement is true? (Fish do not need oxygen. / Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants. / Animals only need food, never water. / Animals need water to survive.) → Animals need water to survive.Prompt: Think about what you need to live.
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 6 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.
- What animals need: which statement is NOT true? (Animals need water to survive. / Animals need air to breathe. / Animals get energy from their food. / Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants.) → Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants.Prompt: One sentence is a mistake.
- What animals need: which statement is true? (Animals need air to breathe. / Animals only need food, never water. / Animals can make their own food from sunlight, like plants. / Fish do not need oxygen.) → Animals need air to breathe.Prompt: Think about what you need to live.
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: Living and non-living things.
- 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: Herbivores, carnivores and omnivores; Habitats and microhabitats; What plants and animals need to stay alive.
- 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