Year Topic No. Topic Name Lesson No.

Lesson Name
5 1 Plant adaptations 1 Habitats around the
world
Curriculum objectives B5.1A – Understand that different habitats and microhabitats have different environmental conditions
Learning focus Habitats around the world

Key vocabulary habitat; rainforest; temperate; oceans; seas; salty; freshwater; aquatic; desert; grassland; savanna
Book references Textbook pages 4–5 Workbook pages 4–5
Resources supplied N/A
Other resources needed Globe or world map
Individual or paired access to research materials about different habitats – reference books, online resources, etc.
Optional: A3 poster paper with pencils/pens/crayons
Lesson Outline

Before you teach:

In this lesson you will introduce a variety of habitats and develop independent research, such as investigating the habitats described and/or those
listed on textbook page 5. You can approach the lesson content in several different ways; for example, you may choose to focus more on types of
habitat that are geographically closer to you or give those mentioned equal coverage. Later in the topic there is an opportunity to contrast features of
a more local habitat with one or more habitats in a climatically different location, so avoid doing that in this lesson. Learners will be more motivated
to learn more about a habitat that they have chosen for themselves, even if most of the class research the same few so, ideally, allow them a free
choice of which habitat to research further.

Although constructing a summary table together as a class will slow the overall pace of the lesson, learners will get more from the interactive nature
of this than if you prepare the list beforehand – also see the ‘Support’ section.

Plan ahead for being outdoors in the next lesson.

Introduction:
Remind learners that a habitat is the place where animals and plants live, and that habitats differ around the world. The type of habitat affects the
animals and plants that can live there.

Main activity:
Following on from your introduction, discuss the animals and plants that are found in your part of the world that may not be found in other habitats,
and discuss why. For example, ask: Is it too hot? Too cold? Too wet? Too dry? Collectively, learners may not know all the answers to these questions,
but by posing them you are pointing out that many factors influence where animals and plants can live, which is why it is important to look at what
different types of habitat are like.

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Look at textbook pages 4 and 5 together. Introduce these habitats in turn, grouping as indicated.
 Forest habitats, for example, rainforest and temperate forest
 Aquatic habitats, for example, saltwater ocean/sea and freshwater ponds/lakes
 Hot, dry desert
 Grassland/savanna

As you do so, make a summary table on a whiteboard or similar to indicate for each habitat whether it is hot/cold/wet/dry. For some, one word will
suffice, but for others you may need to write (for example) ‘warm in summer; cold in winter’.

Using the globe or world map, discuss parts of the world where different types of habitat are found. Point out that although ocean habitats are
obviously wet and salty, the water temperature will vary in different parts of the world (point to examples), so the animals that can survive in the
water will still vary.

Learners should now complete question 1 in the workbook pages 4 and 5.

Individually, or in pairs, give learners an opportunity to research a particular habitat further. Set the minimum requirement of workbook question 2
but leave the maximum more open. Learners could go on to make a poster about their chosen habitat to display extra information.

Workbook:
Complete workbook pages 4 and 5.

Plenary:
As a group, ask each learner to share one fact that they have found out about a habitat they have researched.

Support Tabulating the key features of each habitat together will assist learners who would otherwise find extracting the
information from the textbook by themselves too challenging.
Extension Make a classroom display of different habitats to include learners’ own research.
Homework / Follow-up Continue/complete today’s research and poster-making tasks.

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Year Topic No. Topic Name Lesson No. Lesson Name
5 1 Plant adaptations 2 Microhabitats

Curriculum objectives B5.1A – Understand that different habitats and microhabitats have different environmental conditions
LSE3.2 – Investigating: Make systematic and careful observations
LSE3.2 – Investigating: Take measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and
precision
LSE3.3 – Obtaining and presenting evidence: Record data using scientific diagrams, keys, tables, bar graphs and line
graphs
Learning focus Microhabitats all around us

Key vocabulary microhabitats; light; cooler; shady; sheltered; sunny; light intensity; light meter
Book references Textbook pages 6–7 Workbook pages 6–7
Resources supplied ip_pips_lp_y5_tp1_rs1 Microhabitat record sheet
Other resources needed Equipment for class use to take outdoors:
pencil and notebook/clipboard with table provided (see resource sheet ‘Microhabitat record sheet’) – one set per
learner
thermometers
light meter(s) or light meter app(s)
soil moisture meter(s), if available
anemometer, if available
Lesson Outline

Before you teach:

Make today’s lesson on microhabitats more locally focused than the previous lesson. Bring in worldwide examples, as shown in the textbook, but try
to make sure that learners see the relevance to their locality too.

There are many light meter apps available for use on a mobile phone. Wind speed and direction can also be measured digitally, or by using a
description from the Beaufort Scale, or by using a simple handheld windmill in different places and comparing subjectively.

A copy of the table from workbook page 7 is provided (see resource sheet ‘Microhabitat record sheet’), if you prefer to take this into the field to
complete. If so, prepare these in advance.

Introduction:
Remind learners that a microhabitat is a smaller part of a habitat where the conditions differ in some way to the bigger habitat around it. For
example, the microhabitat may have more water, more shade or be more sheltered from wind. It could be a crack or a hole or just a sheltered place

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under a fallen tree.

Main activity:
Look at textbook page 6 together and consider the different microhabitat examples. Point out that a crack in a rock or paving will allow water to run
into it, whereas water may run off or evaporate quickly in a bigger habitat. Refer to the rainforest habitat discussed in the previous lesson and point
out that the forest floor is very dark. Ask: Why is this? (The trees are tall and dense.) Explain that small plants growing on the branches of trees will
be able to absorb more light than if they grew on the forest floor.

Prepare learners to go outdoors by discussing light and shade. Ask learners to predict where the temperature will be cooler, with a reason, and give
them the opportunity later to find this out practically. Look at workbook page 7 and explain how to complete it, showing learners the relevant meters
as you do so. If using the resource sheet ‘Microhabitat record sheet’, distribute this. Now go outdoors and look for microhabitats on the way to, and
inside, a local habitat. Give learners time to compare the temperature in sunny and shady places, individually or with you, as appropriate. Learners
should record their results in the workbook or on the resource sheet. Use a light meter to measure light intensity under trees and in more open
areas. Measure wind speed and direction in the same areas too if you can. In addition to measuring the temperature in light and shade to confirm or
refute their earlier predictions, try to also measure light and shade in microhabitats for comparison.

Return to the classroom to complete the remaining workbook tasks.

Workbook:
Complete workbook pages 6 and 7.

Plenary:
Discuss the measurements taken today by comparing the sunny and shady parts of the habitat. If you were able to take measurements in a
microhabitat, ask: How did it differ from the main habitat? Was it more like the sunny places or the shady places? Also discuss any plants that you
saw, and where these were situated. This will provide a good transition to the next lesson’s work on plants.
Support Ensure that support is available to assist reading of the equipment scales.
Extension Visit the same habitat at a different time of day or weather condition and make similar measurements for comparison.
Homework / Follow-up Look for microhabitats in your garden or near your home, ensuring that an adult knows where you are and what you are
doing. Take photographs if you can and bring these to show in the next lesson.

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Year Topic No. Topic Name Lesson No. Lesson Name
5 1 Plant adaptations 3 Plants need water,
oxygen and light
Curriculum objectives B5.1B – Understand that plants obtain water via their roots and that the availability of water may affect the pattern of
root growth
B5.1C – Understand that both plants and animals require oxygen from the air for respiration
B5.1D – Understand that plants require light and that the availability of light affects their distribution
B5.1E – Describe ways in which plants are suited to the environment in which they are found
Learning focus What essential things do plants need?

Key vocabulary store; reduce; water loss; cacti; spines; deep; underground; wide; oxygen; life process; respiration; air; breathe; muscles;
mangrove; submerged; producers; sunlight; bright
Book references Textbook pages 8–13 Workbook pages 8–13
Resources supplied N/A
Other resources needed None

Lesson Outline

Before you teach:

Learners may bring photographs of microhabitats – see ‘Homework/Follow-up’ section from the previous lesson (Lesson 2). Prepare in advance how
you will obtain these from them to show to the class as a set.

In this lesson you will develop the pathway of water introduced in Year 4 and plant growth responses to light, also met in Year 4. Link today’s work to
the data collected in the previous lesson to show how abiotic (non-living) factors such as light affect where plants can grow.

Be language aware and correct active references to roots, for example, ‘looking for’, ‘searching for’ or ‘trying to find’ water by replacing these with
‘can take in’ or ‘can absorb water from’.

So far, we have described living things needing ‘air’ to stay alive, and this is continued in the ‘Introduction’ section below. In the ‘Main activity’,
however, this is refined to naming oxygen as the gas required for respiration in both plants and animals. Do not confuse learners by including the
need for carbon dioxide for photosynthesis; this is well beyond the iPrimary curriculum. By saying that air provides oxygen we can assume, without
the need to say so, that it also provides carbon dioxide.

Introduction:
Refer to the fieldwork completed in the previous lesson and direct learners to look at the completed table of data on page 7 of their workbooks.
Emphasise that plants need water, air and light to grow well and that the availability of these factors in a habitat affects which plants can grow there.
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Main activity:
Look at the needs of plants in these three distinct sections, starting with the need for water.

Water: Look at textbook pages 8 and 9 together. Point out that all plants need water, so they must have a regular supply or be able to store it. Look
at the examples shown in the illustrations, and work through the following steps:
 Explain that the availability of water may affect the pattern of root growth because water enters the plant here.
 Revisit the pathway of water through a plant and explain that in hot, dry habitats a plant cannot afford to lose a lot of water by evaporation
from its leaves if it has a limited supply to take in through its roots as replacement. Having smaller leaves helps to reduce water loss, for
example, see cactus spines.
 Compare patterns of root growth – wide, shallow roots can take in water near the surface before it evaporates or drains through sandy soil,
whereas long roots can take in water from deep underground.

Oxygen: Look at textbook page 10 together and explain the following points:
 All living things need air and oxygen is the gas in the air that is needed for the life process of respiration.
 When we breathe in air, it is the oxygen in it that we use too. Refer back to Year 4 by saying that we use this oxygen to do other life
processes, such as allowing muscles to contract to help us move.
 Plants have tiny holes through which air can enter and exit their leaves. Oxygen found in this passing air is used by plants for respiration.

Look at textbook page 11 together, particularly the examples shown in the illustrations, and work through the following steps:
 Remind learners that overwatering can kill plants as well as underwatering – they saw this in Year 4.
 Look at the adaptations of mangrove trees – the extent of detail here can be varied according to your location and how familiar such trees
with submerged and aerial roots are. There is a further mangrove image on textbook page 3.

Light: Look at textbook pages 12 and 13 together. Refer to the light and shade data collected in the previous lesson and work through the following
steps:
 Remind learners that plants are producers so they need sunlight to make their own food.
 Point out that some plants grow best in high light intensities (or describe this as some plants need bright light), whereas others grow best in
shady areas with lower light intensities. This will affect their distribution between and within habitats, as seen in the previous lesson.
 The availability or direction of light may also affect the angle or pattern of growth of plant leaves. This, in turn, affects how shaded the ground
below them will be and whether other plants can get enough light to survive there.

Workbook:
Complete workbook pages 8 to 13.

Plenary:
Look back at the diagram on textbook page 12 together to summarise the key requirements of plants studied today.

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Support Nothing specific required.
Extension Research a specific tree that grows locally and make an annotated drawing or annotate your own photographic image
electronically.
Homework / Follow-up Finish any incomplete workbook tasks from today’s lesson.

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Year Topic No. Topic Name Lesson No. Lesson Name
5 1 Plant adaptations 4 More plant adaptations
and uses for water
Curriculum objectives B5.1E – Describe ways in which plants are suited to the environment in which they are found
Learning focus A closer look at water and minerals

Key vocabulary overlap; flat; attract; float; extra; fertilisers; closes; quickly; few; breaks down
Book references Textbook pages 14–17 Workbook pages 14–17
Resources supplied N/A
Other resources needed Optional: Display examples of fertiliser(s)
Optional: Insectivorous pot plants, as available
Lesson Outline

Before you teach:

Up to this point, learners have found out how plants take up water and learned about the route of water through a plant before it evaporates from the
leaves. In this lesson you will introduce some of the many roles of water in plants.

Learners have not yet met the idea of dissolving or a solution so, rather than digress into introducing this concept (which is met in Topic 4 later this
year), simply refer to minerals entering roots ‘with the water’ for now. You can then refine this when doing an end-of-year revision, if you wish.

Adaptations of insectivorous plants are included here to introduce a new type of plant and new adaptations so that learners’ knowledge is broadened,
rather than using the same examples every year. This could be an interesting topic for further individual research, especially to challenge more
confident learners.

Plan ahead in case you wish to go outdoors in the next lesson and/or acquire materials for dry gardens.

Introduction:
Refer back to the previous lesson where you discussed the need for light, air and water by plants: light is absorbed to make food; air moves in and
then out again – this was so that the plant could use the oxygen in it for the life process of respiration. Remind learners of the pathway of water
through a plant. Explain that this is important because plants use water in many ways, and if plants did not use the water for some purpose(s), there
would be no reason for water to go into the roots and back out through the leaves again. There would also be no need for plants to have adaptations
that store water, prevent water loss by having small leaves or grow long or wide roots to ensure that water was taken in. Explain that today you are
going to look at how plants use water.

Main activity:
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Ask: How do humans and other vertebrates support their body? (skeleton/bones) Explain that many invertebrates that learners have met have hard
outer body coverings to keep them in shape because they do not have bones for support; link this to the fact that plants need support too. Discuss
how trees and bushes have wood to help support them, but that leaves are not woody and neither are other types of plant – they rely on water for
support. Remind learners about the wilted plants they looked at in Year 4; these plants did not have enough water to support them so they could no
longer hold their stem and leaves up properly.

Explain that plants living in habitats where water is limited must have adaptations to obtain and retain it so that they do not wilt. But plants living
where there is a lot of water do not need to do this. Furthermore, they can also use the water for support. Liken this to objects floating in a swimming
pool – leaves can float on long thin stems if they are in an aquatic habitat. Look at textbook pages 14 and 15 together for examples of this. Explain
that the leaves of these aquatic plants float on the surface of the water. This means that they can have very large, flat leaves, which do not overlap
and thus absorb a lot of sunlight. Use the example of a bird standing on a leaf to show how much support is given by the water. These plants also do
not have the problem of water loss that requires cacti to have small leaves; freshwater plants have lots of water readily available. Water also helps to
keep plants cool, so plants with these big leaves can survive in water although the air temperature above may be much higher.

Next, look at textbook pages 16 and 17 together and recap on minerals and the use of fertiliser from Year 4. Define minerals as extra nutrients that
plants need to grow well. Explain that minerals are (dissolved) in the water that enters the roots of a plant. This is another very important reason why
plants need water – to take in minerals. Remind learners that fertilisers, whether natural or human-made, supply extra minerals to plants growing in
soils that do not contain enough of all the minerals they need. Explain that fertilisers are especially important for crop plants that may be lacking
certain minerals. The correct balance of minerals (liken this to a balanced diet in humans) ensures that the grower can produce more fruit/vegetables
and therefore humans and animals also have more food.

As this section of work is about plant adaptations, one natural solution to a lack of minerals is included too. Show examples of any insectivorous
plants you have brought, alongside the pictures on textbook pages 16 and 17. Bear in mind that learners have met the idea of mineral intake in a
human diet, so are probably comfortable with the idea that insects will have minerals in their bodies too. Explain that insectivorous plants can survive
in habitats where there may be few soil minerals or where some are in very low concentrations. They do this by having adaptations to entice insects
into the plant. The plants trap the insects and break down their bodies to obtain their minerals. Adaptations, such as pools of liquid, will be made
using some of the water the plant takes in. This is yet another use for water you can point out before learners start the workbook tasks.

Workbook:
Complete workbook pages 14 to 17.

Plenary:
Ask learners to recall as many plant adaptations relating to water as they can, compiling a list on a whiteboard together. Do the same to make
another list of uses for water in plants.

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Support Nothing specific required.
Extension Research a specific insectivorous plant and make an annotated drawing or annotate your own photographic image
electronically.
Homework / Follow-up Finish any incomplete workbook tasks from today’s lesson.

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Year Topic No. Topic Name Lesson No. Lesson Name
5 1 Plant adaptations 5 Comparing and
predicting habitats*
Curriculum objectives B5.1F – Compare features of plant adaptations in two contrasting habitats
B5.1G – Predict the likely habitats of a variety of plants from the adaptations that they show
Learning focus Comparing and predicting habitats

Key vocabulary seashore; temperature; increasing; gravel; patterns; similarities; fleshy; succulents; flexible; supported
Book references Textbook pages 18–21 Workbook pages 18–23
Resources supplied ip_pips_lp_y5_tp1_rs1 Microhabitat record sheet
Other resources needed Equipment for class use to take outdoors on habitat visits:
pencil and notebook/clipboard with table provided (see resource sheet ‘Microhabitat record sheet’) – one set per
learner
thermometers
light meter(s) or light meter app(s)
soil moisture meter(s), if available
anemometer, if available
Materials for making dry garden per pair:
access to horticultural sand/grit/gravel and cactus compost or similar
small stones or similar for drainage layer
small, safe to handle cacti and/or small succulents
shallow plant pot, tray or dish with drainage holes and saucer or tray underneath
Lesson Outline

Before you teach:

*You may wish to split this lesson into two or three lessons if you intend to visit two different habitats some distance apart and/or
construct dry gardens in addition to the classroom work.

Today you will give learners the opportunity to compare two distinctly different habitats, either by visiting them or by looking at information and
images about them. If a hot, dry desert is chosen as a habitat, learners could make their own indoor dry garden in a container to demonstrate this
and compare it with another habitat they might visit, such as a freshwater pond. If making a dry garden, ensure that any cacti chosen are not overly
spiny for handling. You could use the plants you buy this time to make new plants for next year’s learners.

If doing the comparison in the classroom, prepare the reference materials and access to online resources in advance. If you offer more variety of
pairings, this may help to spread resource materials but have a prepared list of pairs of habitats that would contrast well.

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If going outdoors, you may wish to prepare the resource sheet ‘Microhabitat record sheet’ (from Lesson 2) again for learners to record their
observations and data. Select two habitats to compare. If going into the field, then these habitats will need to be the same two for everyone.

Now that learners are more familiar with a range of different habitats and the living things found there, use the remaining time to see whether
learners can predict the habitat of different plants, using the examples detailed in the second half of today’s ‘Main activity’.

Introduction:
Re-engage learners with the different habitats you looked at in Lesson 1 by asking: Can you name some different types of habitat? List them on the
whiteboard, or similar, and add a few key words beside each such as ‘hot’, ‘wet’, ‘dry’, etc.

Main activity:
Introduce the idea of making a comparison. Explain that to do this effectively you need to look at the same feature or environmental factor and
describe what it is like in each place. Ask: Is it the same? Does it differ? If it differs, how does it differ? It will be helpful to write this on the whiteboard
and look at an example as you read textbook pages 18 to 21 together to show what you mean, looking at vocabulary as you do so.

Then proceed as follows (depending on whether you are going outdoors or remaining classroom-based).

Outdoors: Give out the equipment needed, including the writing materials (see ‘Other resources needed’ section), and ask learners to measure the
same set of abiotic factors in different parts of each habitat. Give learners time to make observations and drawings to stick in or transfer to workbook
pages 18 and 19, or use the resource sheet ‘Microhabitat record sheet’. Direct learners to make drawings that you know will be comparable to ones
they will be able to make in the other habitat, for example, types of tree or trees/no trees or water/no water. Complete one habitat sheet for each of
the places visited.

Indoors: Look at textbook pages 18 and 19 together and refer to the information on textbook pages 4 and 5. Allow learners to select two habitats to
compare. Tell them to start by making a plan on rough paper with two headings (the names of the two habitat types), under which they list all the
words they can think of that apply to those habitats. This will help them to look for similarities and differences in advance of writing about and
drawing them on workbook pages 18 and 19.

As they finish the comparative, give learners time to optionally make their dry gardens and then to complete the activities on workbook pages 20 and
21.

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Workbook:
Complete workbook pages 18 to 21.

Plenary:
Look at textbook pages 22 and 23 together, then give learners a short time, individually or in pairs, to look at the images, before discussing them as
a whole group.
Support Nothing specific required.
Extension Go back to the key vocabulary on workbook page 3 and complete the task there, either before or after the ‘Plenary’
section.
Homework / Follow-up Complete the self-assessment task on workbook pages 22 and 23. If doing a topic test, consolidate learning and key
vocabulary.

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