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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 60 minutes

Microorganisms: helpful and harmful

Animals and habitats

CCSS NGSS.5-LS2-1England: KS2 Y6 Living things and their habitats

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Microorganisms: helpful and harmful.

  • 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: Decomposers and recycling nutrients

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 · 6 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Decomposers and recycling nutrients). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Why are decomposers important for plants? (They release nutrients (minerals) back into the soil / They make plants grow faster in the dark / They give plants sunlight / They eat plant pests only) → They release nutrients (minerals) back into the soilPrompt: Where do plants get minerals from?
  2. Is a mould (mold) on bread a producer, a consumer or a decomposer? (producer / consumer / decomposer) → decomposerPrompt: Does it make food, eat living things, or break down dead things?
  3. Decomposers: which statement is NOT true? (Matter is recycled in an ecosystem. / Dead leaves just disappear on their own. / Fungi and bacteria are decomposers. / Decomposition is faster when it is warm and moist.) → Dead leaves just disappear on their own.Prompt: Why do we keep food in the fridge or freezer?

Hook · 6 min

  • Show a picture of an unusual animal and ask where it might live and how it survives there.
  • Share the objective: Microorganisms: helpful and harmful. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this microorganism helpful or harmful: yeast making bread rise?
  • Step 1: These microorganisms help us or the environment.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: helpful
  • Answer: helpful
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 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. Is this microorganism helpful or harmful: bacteria that cause food poisoning? (helpful / harmful) → harmfulPrompt: Does it help make food or recycle nutrients, or does it make people ill or spoil food?
  2. Why does bread dough rise when yeast is added? (The oven pulls the dough up. / Yeast is a kind of air. / Yeast feeds on sugar and gives off carbon dioxide gas bubbles. / Yeast makes the flour heavier.) → Yeast feeds on sugar and gives off carbon dioxide gas bubbles.Prompt: Yeast is a living fungus.

You do: independent practice · 17 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 · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. True or false? All microorganisms are harmful. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Think of bread, yoghurt, compost, germs and mould.
  2. Is this microorganism helpful or harmful: microbes breaking down compost? (helpful / harmful) → helpfulPrompt: Does it help make food or recycle nutrients, or does it make people ill or spoil food?

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: Decomposers and recycling nutrients.
  • 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-5.

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

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Microorganisms: helpful and harmful

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    True or false? Mould is a kind of plant.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

    Why is washing your hands one of the best ways to stop illness spreading?

    • A. It does not help.
    • B. It removes microbes before they reach your mouth, nose or food.
    • C. Microbes like soap.
    • D. It makes microbes bigger.

  3. Question 3

    Is this microorganism helpful or harmful: gut bacteria helping digestion?

    • A. helpful
    • B. harmful

  4. Question 4

    True or false? Decomposer microbes help recycle nutrients in soil.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    Why do we keep food in the fridge?

    • A. It makes food grow.
    • B. To make food warmer.
    • C. Cold kills all germs instantly.
    • D. Cold slows down the growth of microorganisms that spoil food.

  6. Question 6

    Is this microorganism helpful or harmful: germs that cause a sore throat?

    • A. helpful
    • B. harmful

  7. Question 7

    True or false? Microorganisms are living things too small to see without a microscope.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  8. Question 8

    Why does bread dough rise when yeast is added?

    • A. Yeast makes the flour heavier.
    • B. The oven pulls the dough up.
    • C. Yeast is a kind of air.
    • D. Yeast feeds on sugar and gives off carbon dioxide gas bubbles.

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Answer key: Microorganisms: helpful and harmful

  1. 1. B. False

  2. 2. B. It removes microbes before they reach your mouth, nose or food.

  3. 3. A. helpful

  4. 4. A. True

  5. 5. D. Cold slows down the growth of microorganisms that spoil food.

  6. 6. B. harmful

  7. 7. A. True

  8. 8. D. Yeast feeds on sugar and gives off carbon dioxide gas bubbles.