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Science lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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: a duck's webbed feet? (to keep enemies away / to paddle through water / to grab food and suck up water / to sip nectar from flowers) → to paddle through waterPrompt: Think about where the animal lives and what it eats.
  2. Which body part helps an animal grab food and suck up water? (an eagle's sharp claws (talons) / a cat's whiskers / a fish's gills / an elephant's trunk) → an elephant's trunkPrompt: Picture the animal doing the job.
  3. A hummingbird has a long, thin beak. What does this suggest about its food? (It eats leaves from tall trees. / It tears meat. / It reaches deep into flowers for nectar. / It cracks hard nuts.) → It reaches deep into flowers for nectar.Prompt: What shape of tool would you use to reach inside a narrow tube?

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 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. Which part of nature inspired this design: swimming flippers? (a duck's webbed feet / a lotus leaf / a cat's eyes shining in headlights / burrs that stick to dog fur) → a duck's webbed feetPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?
  2. Engineers want a robot hand that can grip a slippery wet bottle. Which animal should they study? (a bird's feathers / an octopus, with its suction cups / a snail's shell / a jellyfish, which has no grip) → an octopus, with its suction cupsPrompt: Which animal holds onto slippery rocks underwater?

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? Road cat's eyes make their own light. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Think of Velcro, flippers and reflectors.
  2. Which part of nature inspired this design: road reflectors called cat's eyes? (a duck's webbed feet / a lotus leaf / a cat's eyes shining in headlights / burrs that stick to dog fur) → a cat's eyes shining in headlightsPrompt: Which animal or plant part does the same job?

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

    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 snail's shell
    • C. a jellyfish, which has no grip
    • D. a bird's feathers

  2. Question 2

    Which part of nature inspired this design: self-cleaning paint that rain washes clean?

    • A. a humpback whale's bumpy flippers
    • B. a lotus leaf
    • C. burrs that stick to dog fur
    • D. a kingfisher's beak

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Velcro was invented after someone looked closely at burrs.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    A team wants a coat that keeps people warm in snow. Which animal feature could they copy?

    • A. a fish's scales
    • B. a frog's damp skin
    • C. a polar bear's thick fur
    • D. a cactus's spines

  5. Question 5

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

    • A. a duck's webbed feet
    • B. a kingfisher's beak
    • C. a humpback whale's bumpy flippers
    • D. burrs that stick to dog fur

  6. Question 6

    True or false? Copying ideas from nature is called biomimicry.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    Why do engineers copy ideas from living things?

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

  8. Question 8

    Which part of nature inspired this design: the pointed nose of a fast train in Japan?

    • A. a duck's webbed feet
    • B. a kingfisher's beak
    • C. a cat's eyes shining in headlights
    • D. a humpback whale's bumpy flippers

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Answer key: Inventions inspired by animals and plants

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

  2. 2. B. a lotus leaf

  3. 3. A. True

  4. 4. C. a polar bear's thick fur

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

  6. 6. A. True

  7. 7. B. Plants and animals have useful features that solve problems.

  8. 8. B. a kingfisher's beak