New
New
Year 4

Animals in danger

I can understand that changes to environments can sometimes pose dangers to animals.

New
New
Year 4

Animals in danger

I can understand that changes to environments can sometimes pose dangers to animals.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. An animal's environment must contain all the things required for living things to survive and grow.
  2. Changes to environments can cause danger to the animals within them.
  3. Estimating the number of animals in an environment can be a challenging task and can be done in different ways.
  4. Researchers may directly observe animals in the wild, and also use technology such as drones to survey large areas.

Keywords

  • Environment - The environment is the surroundings of a living thing, including other plants or animals, and the conditions they live in.

  • Endangered - An endangered plant or animal is one that is at risk of becoming extinct.

  • Estimate - To estimate is quick calculation of what the size, value or amount of something might be.

  • Researcher - A researcher is someone who studies a subject, especially in order to discover new information or reach a new understanding.

Common misconception

Humans are separate from an ecosystem and human actions cannot affect an ecosystem.

Using the slides and secondary sources, share with pupils the many different ways that human actions can negatively impact on animals' environments and endanger the animals that live there.

Think about their own local environment; are there any animals in danger locally due to negative impacts on their environments? E.g. hedgehogs, great crested newts, natterjack toad.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Junk modelling resources to create a model environment for Task A. Task B photos are on worksheet.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What word is used to describe the surroundings of a living thing, including other plants or animals, and the conditions they live in?
An image in a quiz
habitat
home
Correct answer: environment
Q2.
Which of these might be part of a rock pool environment?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: water
Correct answer: a fish
a horse
Correct answer: seaweed
a tree
Q3.
Match the living thing to where it you might find it.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:cactus,desert

desert

Correct Answer:dolphin ,ocean

ocean

Correct Answer:frog,pond

pond

Correct Answer:ape,rainforest

rainforest

Correct Answer:zebra,grassland

grassland

Q4.
Which of these things could you use to observe an animal in the wild?
An image in a quiz
radio
Correct answer: binoculars
Correct answer: camera
Correct answer: video recorder
Q5.
Which of these human actions can cause danger to animals?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: pollution
Correct answer: deforestation
composting
recycling
Q6.
An plant or animal is one that is at risk of becoming extinct.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: endangered

6 Questions

Q1.
must contain all the things required for living things to survive and grow.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: environments, habitats
Q2.
What requirements must environments contain for the animals that live there?
An image in a quiz
music
Correct answer: food
Correct answer: air
Correct answer: water
friends
Q3.
Counting the exact number of animals in an environment can be a challenging task. Which of the following is the name of a method which is commonly used to estimate the numbers of animals?
An image in a quiz
filtering
a questionnaire
Correct answer: capture-mark-recapture
distillation
Q4.
Why might the numbers of hedgehogs be decreasing in the UK?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: habitat loss for the building of new homes
more people feeding hedgehogs in their gardens
an increase in hedgehog predators
Q5.
Why do researchers find it difficult to estimate the number of animals in an environment?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Shy or nocturnal animals can be hard to find.
No one wants to do the task.
Correct answer: Some animals live in large groups so it is hard to count them all.
Correct answer: Animals can live in difficult places for humans to reach.
People are not very good at counting.
Q6.
Which types of technology might researchers use to survey animals in large areas?
An image in a quiz
digital thermometer
Correct answer: drone
digital watch