• 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 eagle's sharp claws (talons)? (to paddle through water / to grip and carry prey / to protect its soft body / to sip nectar from flowers) → to grip and carry preyPrompt: Think about where the animal lives and what it eats.
2. Which body part helps an animal breathe underwater? (a cat's whiskers / a bird's beak / an eagle's sharp claws (talons) / a fish's gills) → a fish's gillsPrompt: Picture the animal doing the job.
3. A parrot has a short, strong, hooked beak. What is it good for? (digging tunnels / catching fish underwater / sipping nectar / cracking open nuts and seeds) → cracking open nuts and seedsPrompt: Strong and short works like a nutcracker.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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: self-cleaning paint that rain washes clean? (a cat's eyes shining in headlights / a duck's webbed feet / burrs that stick to dog fur / a lotus leaf) → a lotus leafPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?
2. Why do engineers copy ideas from living things? (Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems. / Animals ask them to. / Living things are made of metal. / It is the only way to invent anything.) → Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems.Prompt: How long have animals been solving problems like gripping, swimming and keeping warm?

• 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 engineers copy ideas from living things? (Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems. / Animals ask them to. / Living things are made of metal. / It is the only way to invent anything.) → Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems.Prompt: How long have animals been solving problems like gripping, swimming and keeping warm?
2. Which part of nature inspired this design: the pointed nose of a fast train in Japan? (burrs that stick to dog fur / a kingfisher's beak / a cat's eyes shining in headlights / a lotus leaf) → a kingfisher's beakPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-1.