MAKING SENSE OF THE LIVING WORLD: LEVEL 3

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

distinguish between living things within broad groups on the basis of differences established by investigating external characteristics, e.g., moth, butterfly, bee, fly; shark, trout, flounder; kowhai, pohutukawa, rewarewa;
investigate special features of common animals and plants and describe how these help them to stay alive, e.g., the five senses of people, feet of birds, camouflage and mimicry in insects, animals living in tidal zones, roots, leaves;
research and describe how some species have become extinct or are endangered, e.g., moa, dinosaurs, kokako, kakapo, kauri snail, mountain gorilla, blue whale, cabbage tree;
explain, using information from personal observation and library research, where and how a range of familiar New Zealand plants and animals live.

Students could be learning by:

making observational drawings of mushrooms and toadstools, identifying their characteristics;
drawing the shapes of different trees to compare and group them;
establishing a method for classifying insects according to common characteristics;
keeping a small animal in the classroom to observe how it feeds;
observing and recording the feeding habits of familiar animals;
researching the history of the moa to find out possible ways animals have become extinct;
considering the implications for wildlife of clearing native bush, forests, or wetlands;
inviting an 'expert' to talk to the class about the kiwi;
composing a chant, rap, or jingle suggesting possible solutions to the problems faced by an endangered native species;
visiting an estuary to observe the special features of plants and animals which enable them to survive in this particular environment;
viewing a videotape to clarify ideas about some common New Zealand plants and animals and learn about where they live;
developing a large wall chart about the habitats of some common New Zealand animals and plants.

Teachers and students could assess the students':

ability to recognise the characteristics of an animal group, when they describe the common attributes of the group;
ability to identify the different parts of a plant and describe their functions, when the students label, and annotate, a diagram of a flowering plant;
understanding of how plants and animals respond to environmental change, when the students debate a conservation/exploitation issue;
understanding of how plants are suited to particular habitats, when the students present information on differences in leaf structure;
understanding of the relationships between the habitat of an organism and its structure and function, when the students design an 'animal' or 'plant' for a given habitat.