St. George’s CE Primary School
Year: 6
Prime learning
challenge:
Learning challenge planner
Date: 9/1/17
Teacher/s: Mrs Potts
Have we always looked like this?
Present
What are they interested in? What motivates them?
The children show an interest in the past and themselves. They are fascinated by the idea that certain species, such as dinosaurs,
have become extinct and wonder why others have not. They enjoy asking and then trying to answer their own questions. They
enjoy any work related to animals and also demonstrate enquiring scientific minds, enjoying postulating theories and trying to test
these out.
Pre-learning
What do the children already know about evolution? Do
they understand that living things produce offspring of the
same kind, but that normally offspring vary and are not
identical to their parents? What is their understanding of
how plants and animals are adapted to suit their
environment in different ways?
What questions do the children want to answer and how
might we answer these?
SMSC
Social – how do humans compared to animals treat the
weaker members of the species?
Moral – genetic engineering – should we interfere with
natural selection?
Spiritual – how does Darwin’s theory of evolution relate to
religious creation stories?
Cultural – Darwin’s theory of evolution is just that, a theory.
What other theories exist and why might different cultures
believe different theories?
Wow!
What are the experiences?
Science dome workshop
Meet the ancestors video
BLP:
Questioning – what questions do we want to find the
British Values
Mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs–
Values: Thankfulness, Honesty, Love, Hope, Forgiveness, Compassion,
Friendship.
Compassion & Love – that the human species shows for each other.
Unlike many other animal species we care and look after weaker
members of our communities.
Honesty – the importance of making your own choices when
deciding which belief/theory to uphold and being able to state your
choice without being influenced by the beliefs of others around you.
Thankfulness – to God for the amazing natural world which he has
created for us.
answers to?
Revising – changing our theory depending on the
available evidence.
Reasoning – being able to explain our own thinking.
LC1
LC2
Learning challenge question
What do we mean by
inheritance?
Recognise that living things
produce offspring of the
same kind, but normally
offspring vary and are not
identical to their parents.
Do animals adapt to their
environment?
Identify how animals and
plants are adapted to suit
their environment in different
discussing how people should have a right to choose their own
beliefs.
The rule of law – how important is it to have laws governing genetic
engineering?
Subject learning challenges
(children bring in pictures of their parents)
Introduce the idea that living things produce offspring of the same kind – think about your family (grandparents,
parents, brother /sister. Look at the photos – identify what is the same eg. Hair colour, eye colour, same features
(noses etc). What is different between family members? Complete work sheet.
Look around the class. List the ways you recognise each other. Discuss the fact that although we have similar
features, we all have individual characteristics, none of us is identical.
Using oil-based products eg lipstick/margarine pupils print own fingerprint. Compare with others in the group.
Discuss similarities& differences
Conclusion – although we are of the same kind ie human, we vary from person to person. Can two parents with
blonde hair produce an orange haired child by dying their own hair orange? Why not? What does this tell you
about how characteristics are passed on from generation to generation?
Recap previous lesson (that humans produce humans, although they may vary in appearance from one
another. Look at another example – dogs. Show pictures of a variety of breeds of dogs. What do they all have in
common? How do they vary from breed to breed? Discuss selective breeding – show 3 different breeds of dogs.
How do you think it is possible for breeders to have produced these 3 varieties of dogs from the same initial
stock? Discuss how by interbreeding for several generations between animals carefully selected for their desired
characteristics (& not allowing breeding with others) it is possible to increase the proportion of the particular
genetic arrangements responsible for these characteristics. Different breeders, with different characteristics in
mind, eventually produce packs of noticeably different animals.
Play interactive ‘dog breeding’ game on Ipads
http;//pbskids.org/dragonflytv/games/game_dogbreeding.html
In learning partners choose a different animal (eg cats/horses) & investigate different breeds. Create a table of
comparison noting down the similarities and differences between the breeds. What do you notice?
Some scientists think that animals have changed (evolved) from one kind to another over time. Other scientists
think that although there is a lot of variety within a particular type, a living thing can only produce offspring of its
own kind. What does the evidence show?
http://creation.com/mutant-parade-purebred-dogs
Adaptation to cold climates – Lesson 1
Introduce theme of adaptation to pupils – living things are adapted to their habitat eg plants/animals in the UK
are used to cool, wet winters. Think about hedgehogs – how do they survive British winters? How do some British
trees cope with the cold? How do you cope with/adapt to the cold? (can you evolve long hair or a warm
coat? Go through ‘Animals over winter power point ‘ & discuss.
http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/resorce/8535/animals-over-winter-age-7-11
ways
Look at different examples of how animals have adapted to their environment – polar bear, penguin & Arctic
fox. Work with learning partner to investigate the following questions (could use websites below)
How is the polar bear best suited to its environment?
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/adaptations/polarbears.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway_pre_2011/environment/3_adapt_to_fit1.shtml
http;//adaptations.tripod.com/polarbear.html
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/wild-crew/animal-facts/polar-bear/
How is the penguin suited to its environment?
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/adaptations/penguins.htm
http://seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-infobooks/penguin/adaptations/
How is the Arctic fox suited to its environment?
http://adaptations.tripod.com/arcticfox.html
http;//www.aitc.sk.ca/saskschools/arctic/Afox.html
http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=5&deID=1
Feedback and discuss findings as a class
Adaptation to the warm/dry climate – lesson 2
Recap on previous lesson – explain that we will continue to think about how animals and plants adapt to suit
their environment. Look at another example from http;//creation.com/bears-across-the-world - variety of
different bears ( relate to lesson 1). All are bears and yet have adapted to suit the environment in which they
live, eg compare the panda to the black American bear. How are they similar? How are they different? How
have they each adapted to suit their respective environments?
How is the camel suited to its environment?
http://resources-woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/adaptations/camels.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway_pre_2011/environment/3_adapt_to_fit1.shml
http://www.vtaide.com/png/camel-adaptations4.htm
How is the giraffe suited to its environment?
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/adaptations/giraffe.htm
http://creation.com/the-giraffes-neck-icon-of-evolution-or-icon-of -creation
What would happen to a short necked giraffe if there was a shortage of food? Why? What features of the
giraffe’s design make it especially fit for survival?
LC3
What is the theory of
evolution?
Identifying scientific
evidence that has been
used to support or refute
ideas or arguments; Identify
Lesson 1
Who was Charles Darwin? What was he famous for? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmpVVJTWO8Q
Pupils complete best beak activity
http://www.kgcs.k12.va.us/instruction/SS%20Science%204_PDFs/The%20Best%20Beak%20for%20the%20Job.pdf
-showing how birds’ beaks have adapted to meet their needs in their different environments. Feedback &
how adaptation may lead to
evolution
discussion.
Pupils to design their own animal with special adaptations to cope with the conditions in which it lives. Draw and
label the animal answering the following questions:Where does your animal live?
What type of animal is it? (bird/reptile/mammal/fish/insect)
What special features does it have?
How do they help it survive?
Feedback and share ideas together.
Lesson 2
Darwin’s finches: ask pupils how long they think it takes for one ‘beak’ to evolve into another.
http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091116/full/news.2009.1089.html
Does having a different beak make it a different type of bird?
Some scientists think that animals have changed depending on the environments in which they live, and that
this is evidence for evolution. Other scientists think that animals have simply adapted in order to survive in their
respective environments. What does the evidence show?
Why do you think these scientists doubt Darwin’s theory?
http://www.dissentfromdarwin.org/index.php
Cross-curricular writing opportunity – biography of Charles Darwin
LC4
What is the evidence for
evolution?
Identifying scientific
evidence that has been
used to support or refute
ideas or arguments.
Recognise that living things
have changed over time &
that fossils provide
information about living
things that inhabited the
Earth millions of years ago
Lesson 1
Introduce the subject of fossils – brainstorm what children already know about them (eg. Dinosaurs)
Show some examples of fossils – real and pictures – discuss what can be learnt by looking at them. What do they
look like? Do they resemble anything you recognise today? Can you see any examples of half/half creatures?
(eg. Half bird, half reptile). What would happen to a bird with half formed wings?
Split the children into groups with a variety of fossils and pictures of animals/plants alive today. Create a table of
comparison between the living and the dead. What do you notice? What is the same/different?
Provide the children with some living plants for them to make a ‘fossil’ impression of (using clay/plasticine/plaster
of Paris). Compare with examples/pictures of fossilised plants and discuss how they are the same/different.
Some scientists think that fossils show us that plants and animals changed over a long period of time, so that
what we see and recognise today is different from what was on earth in the past. Other scientists think that there
is very little difference between fossils and living plants/animals of the same kind. What does the evidence show,
from what we have looked at today?
Lesson 2
Recap on previous lesson & what we learnt – the fossil record shows that plants/animals which have been
fossilised are very similar to those we see and recognise today. Explain that we will now think about how fossils
are formed.
http://www.youtue.com/watch?v=IRwNzsY_A4U
(NB Can an animal just lie there for millions of years while fossilisation occurs? If an animal died on the school
field would it change into a fossil?
http://evidenceweb.net/photo_search_results.php?p_SERIES=Flood%20Fossil%20Research%20Scotland
(Slideshow that shows evidence of rapid burial)
Some scientists think that fossilisation occurred very slowly over a long period of time. Other scientists think that
fossilisation is likely to have occurred very quickly. What does this evidence show? What do these examples tell
us about how fossils form? What could have caused this?
www.icr.org/article/classic-polystrate-fossil (article explaining trees buried vertically)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqUtY23L4iQ (video about poltstrate fossils)
Think about floods and how they can bury things rapidly. Many scientists think the evidence points to this as a
way things were fossilised so quickly. Further info at :http;//www.askjohnmackay.com/questions/answer/dinosaurs-what-real-evidence-dinosaurs-buried-rapidlynoahs-flood
Cross curricular writing opportunity – biography of Mary Anning
LC5
What is the evidence for
human evolution?
Identifying scientific
evidence that has been
used to support or refute
ideas or arguments.
Recognise that living things
have changed over time &
that fossils provide
information about living
things that inhabited the
Earth millions of years ago
LC6
What are the advantages &
disadvantages of
Homework research task over unit - How did humans evolve? What evidence is there for this?
Maladaptations
Explain that sometimes adaptations that were beneficial become disadvantages. For example, when the
adaptations?
How does human
intervention affect
evolution?
Identify how adaptations
may lead to evolution
LC7
Add
LC
climate changes and gets warmer somewhere an animal which was adapted for cold weather will overheat.
Discuss the story of the dodo. Ensure the children understand the term ‘extinct’ (Tes Mismm)
Debate – how does human intervention ( such as genetic engineering to choose certain characteristics) affect
evolution? What are the pros/cons for it?