SCIENCE FORWARD PLANNING DOCUMENT
TERM / WEEKS: TOPIC – Biological Sciences: Animal Adaptations
5E’s- ENGAGE (1-2 lessons)
• To capture student interest and find out what they know about
2. 1.
adaptations.
• To elicit students’ questions/ prior knowledge about adaptations. This lesson is adapted from Primary Connections, Desert
Diagnostic assessment used- in this lesson you will find out what the students already
know about adaptations. This will allow you to take account of students’ existing ideas Survivors, lesson 1.
when planning learning experiences.
GENERAL CAPABILITIES
Literacy Numeracy ICT Capability Critical and Creative Ethical Personal and Social Intercultural
Thinking Understanding Capability Understanding
CROSS CURRICULUM PRIORITIES
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia Sustainability
SCSA LINKS
Science Science as a Human Science Inquiry Skills TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES RESOURCES/KEY
Understanding Endeavour QUESTIONS
Living things have Scientific understandings, With guidance, pose questions to Introduction (10 mins) Multimedia resources (see
structural features and discoveries and inventions clarify practical problems or inform 1. Teacher will introduce the multimedia resources (see ‘Preparation’) resources on website)
adaptations that help are used to solve problems a scientific investigation, and
that directly affect peoples’
and discuss with students how early explorers, such as Burke and Wills,
them to survive in predict what the findings of an
lives (ACSHE083) ventured into the interior of Australia, ask key questions such as: (see What kinds of environments, such
their environment (ACSS investigation might be (ACSIS231)
U043)
questions in step 1 on page 17, PC). as deserts, grasslands, rivers and
Scientific knowledge is used Communicate ideas, explanations 2. Remind students that this was ‘exploration’ from a Eurocentric lakes, forests, woodland, do you
to inform personal and and processes in a variety of ways, perspective and does not always recognise the role of Aboriginal and think explorers would have
community decisions including multi-modal texts Torres Strait people.
(ACSHE217) encountered?
(ACSIS093) 3. Introduce the science journal and discuss its purpose and features (see
LESSON OBJECTIVES page 17 in PC).
4. Record students’ ideas about the explorations to the interior of
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to: Australia in the class science journal, in particular, the environment
and plants and animals. Class science journal
• Explain their existing ideas about desert environments that early explorers
might have visited. Lesson Body (35 mins) TWLH chart
• Identify challenges for survival in desert environments and pose questions 1. Teacher will introduce the TWLH chart and discuss its purpose and features
to clarify their understanding. (see page 17 in PC). Read the title and first column of the TWLH chart What challenges would plants
• Contribute to a class TWLH chart and creation of a word wall. (‘What we Think we know’). Invite students to contribute ideas about face in the desert?
Australian deserts, what they might look like and what plants and animals
ASSESSMENT (DIAGNOSTIC) What challenges would animals
might be found there. Focus on the structural features and adaptations of face in the desert?
Students will be assessed on their science journal entries, contributions to class plants and animals that they think help them survive and why.
discussions and TWLH chart. What structural features might
2. Introduce the second column of the TWLH chart (‘What we Want to learn’) help them survive?
and ask students to suggest questions they have about surviving in desert What behaviours might help them
Teacher will elicit what students already know and understand about the topic using environments. survive?
a simple traffic light style checklist based on the lesson content and the students 3. Introduce the enlarged copy of ‘Australia’s red heart’ (Resource sheet 1).
contribution. Read through with students, highlighting unfamiliar words or passages.
Identify desert characteristics mentioned in ‘Australia’s red heart’ and 1 enlarged copy of ‘Australia’s red
record them in the class science journal. heart’ (Resource sheet 1)
Closure (10 mins) Class science journal
1. Draw students’ attention to the word wall and discuss its purpose and
features (see page 18 in PC).
2. Ask students what words from today’s lesson would be useful to place on
the word wall. Invite students to contribute words from different languages
Cards or paper strips for word
to the word wall, including local Indigenous names of animals and plants if
wall labels
possible.
LEARNER DIVERSITY
Enable- tell the student they will answer the question before asking it, give them
questions that are achievable, ensure they understand the ‘Australia’s red heart’
sheet.
Extend- when asking questions direct high order thinking questions to these students.
