Plants and animals in microhabitats
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify and name plants and animals found in microhabitats.
Key learning points
- A habitat is where a group of plants and animals live.
- A habitat provides the things that an animal or plant needs to survive.
- A microhabitat is a smaller area where a plant or animal lives.
- Examples of microhabitats can be rock pools or a log.
- Smaller plants and animals can be found living in microhabitats.
Keywords
Plant - A plant is a living thing that often has roots, stem and leaves.
Animal - An animal is a living thing which moves and eats other animals or plants.
Habitat - The place where a plant or animal lives is called its habitat.
Microhabitat - A microhabitat is a very small habitat. It might be just under one tree or log or a single rock pool.
Minibeast - You can call very small creatures, such as insects or spiders, minibeasts.
Common misconception
All habitats are microhabitats. All minibeasts are insects.
Clear explanation and definition of what a microhabitat is and how it differs from other habitats, e.g. ocean, forest, Arctic, desert etc. Examples of a variety of minibeasts including insects and non-insects.
Teacher tip
Find local microhabitats or look online for videos or live streams of microhabitats, e.g. rock pools. Using hand lenses may help pupils to observe accurately. Remind pupils to return any minibeasts they find to where they found them.
Equipment
Hand lenses if available, pencils, paper.
Content guidance
Exploration of objects
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Living things live in different ...
Q2.Which of these habitats provides the things that a water lily needs to survive?
Q3.True or false? Living things cannot be suited to the habitat in which they live.
Q4.Which of these plants is suited to an Arctic habitat?
Q5.Different plants live in different habitats depending on their basic needs. What are the basic needs of a plant?
Q6.Match these plants to the correct habitat.
woodland
desert
ocean
the Arctic
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A woodland is a place where many different plants and animals live. This is called ...
Q2.A habitat provides the things that a plant or animal needs to survive. What does survive mean?
Q3.A rock pool, under a log and on a leaf are all ...
Q4.Which of these is a microhabitat?
Q5.Which of these is not a microhabitat?
Q6.Which of these animals and plants can be found in a microhabitat?
To help you plan your 2 science lesson on: Plants and animals in microhabitats, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 science lesson on: Plants and animals in microhabitats, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 science lessons from the Living things and where they live unit, dive into the full primary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.