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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: an elephant's trunk? (to feel its way in the dark / to paddle through water / to sip nectar from flowers / to grab food and suck up water) → to grab food and suck up waterPrompt: Think about where the animal lives and what it eats.
  2. Which body part helps an animal breathe underwater? (an elephant's trunk / a porcupine's quills / a fish's gills / a tortoise's shell) → a fish's gillsPrompt: Picture the animal doing the job.
  3. A parrot has a short, strong, hooked beak. What is it good for? (cracking open nuts and seeds / digging tunnels / catching fish underwater / sipping nectar) → cracking open nuts and seedsPrompt: Strong and short works like a nutcracker.

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: swimming flippers? (a lotus leaf / a duck's webbed feet / a cat's eyes shining in headlights / a humpback whale's bumpy flippers) → a duck's webbed feetPrompt: 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 fish's scales / a cactus's spines / a polar bear's thick fur / 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. Which part of nature inspired this design: wind turbine blades with bumps on the edge? (burrs that stick to dog fur / a kingfisher's beak / a humpback whale's bumpy flippers / a lotus leaf) → a humpback whale's bumpy flippersPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?
  2. True or false? Swimming flippers work a bit like webbed feet. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Think of Velcro, flippers and reflectors.

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

    True or false? Engineers never learn anything from animals.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

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

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

  3. Question 3

    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 lotus leaf
    • D. burrs that stick to dog fur

  4. Question 4

    Why do engineers copy ideas from living things?

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

  5. Question 5

    Which part of nature inspired this design: hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro)?

    • A. a cat's eyes shining in headlights
    • B. burrs that stick to dog fur
    • C. a lotus leaf
    • D. a kingfisher's beak

  6. Question 6

    True or false? A helmet copies the soft skin of a jellyfish.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    Which part of nature inspired this design: wind turbine blades with bumps on the edge?

    • A. a cat's eyes shining in headlights
    • B. a lotus leaf
    • C. burrs that stick to dog fur
    • D. a humpback whale's bumpy flippers

  8. Question 8

    True or false? Road cat's eyes make their own light.

    • A. True
    • B. False

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Answer key: Inventions inspired by animals and plants

  1. 1. B. False

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

  3. 3. A. a kingfisher's beak

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

  5. 5. B. burrs that stick to dog fur

  6. 6. B. False

  7. 7. D. a humpback whale's bumpy flippers

  8. 8. B. False