Mad about Wildlife
School Activities
Mad about Wildlife
Downloadable Resource
Image of teachers guide
Minibeast maths
Consequences
4
KS2 ENGLISH En3
KS2 GEOGRAPHY
KS2 MATHS
KS2/3 SCIENCE Sc2 Life
processes and living things
KS2 GEOGRAPHY
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 ART and DESIGN
Food chains: Pond
animal fact file
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 ENGLISH En3
Adaptation: Who am I?
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 ENGLISH En3
Adaptation: Guess the
animal
Food chains: Make a
foodchain mobile
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
Adaptation:
Camouflage in the
classroom
KS2/3 SCIENCE Sc2 Life
processes and living things
KS2 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
Adaptation: Kestrel
mobile
Food chains: Make
foodchain cubes
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
Adaptation: Dressing
up
3
2
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 ENGLISH En1
Adaptation: Move like
a ...
Curriculum area
Activity Worksheet
Adaptation: Vocabulary KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 ENGLISH En3
Worksheet
1
A number activities related to woodland wildlife.
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Summary
Unit
3/4 Places, patterns and processes, environmental
change and sustainable development
10 Writing to help organising and learning
2b Appropriate fieldwork techniques
4a Solving numerical problems
4a-c Variation and classification
5d-e Living things in their environment: Feeding
relationships
5d-e Living things in their environment: Feeding
relationships
2 Working with tools, equipment, materials, and
components to make quality products
5d-e Living things in their environment: Feeding
relationships
2 Working with tools, equipment, materials, and
components to make quality products
10 Writing to help organising and learning
5b-c Living things in their environment: Adaptation
10 Writing to help organising and learning
5b-c Living things in their environment: Adaptation
5b-c Living things in their environment: Adaptation
2a-f Working with tools, equipment, materials, and
components to make quality products
5a-b Living things in their environment: Adaptation
5b-c Living things in their environment: Adaptation
5b-c Living things in their environment: Adaptation
2e Humans and other animals: Movement
4a Drama
10 Writing to help organising and learning
5b-c Living things in their environment: Adaptation
Where
Indoors
Outdoors
Indoors
Indoors
Indoors
Indoors
Indoors
Indoors
Indoors
Outdoors
Outdoors
Indoors
When
All year
POST VISIT
All year
PRE/POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
PRE/POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
PRE/POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
Link to Wyre education programme
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Find Out About Forests
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS3 Sustainability
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS3 Sustainability
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Find Out About Forests
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 Plants in the Forest
KS2 Animals in the Forest
KS2 Ponds and Minibeasts
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
Hibernation
Minibeasts: Wood Ant
research
Minibeasts: Habitats
Minibeasts: Worms
6
7
Mad about Wildlife
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
KS2 SCIENCE Sc2 Life processes
and living things
Animals in the forest
5
Curriculum area
Activity Worksheet
Worksheet
Downloadable Resource
A number activities related to woodland wildlife.
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Summary (cont.)
Where
5a-f Living things in their environment: Adaptation and
feeding relationships
2 Working with tools, equipment, materials, and
components to make quality products
5a-e Living things in their environment: Adaptation and
feeding relationships
4a-c Variation and classification
5a-f Living things in their environment: Adaptation and
feeding relationships
Living things in their environment: Adaptation hibernation
Indoors
Indoors/Outdoors
Indoors
5b-e Living things in their environment: Adaptation and Indoors
feeding relationships
Unit
All year
PRE/POST VISIT
All year
POST VISIT
All year
PRE/POST VISIT
Autumn
PRE/POST VISIT
All year
PRE VISIT
When
KS2 Minibeasts
KS2 Animals in the forest
KS2 Minibeasts
KS2 Animals in the forest
KS2 Animals in the forest
KS2 Seasons
KS2 Animals in the forest
Link to Wyre education programme
Download now
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 1
Activity 1 - Adaptation: vocabulary
What is adaptation?
Adaptation, in biology, is the process by which a living thing becomes better suited to its environment. The
term is also applied to the results of the process. In many organisms there are structural, functional, and
colour adaptations, and in animals there are also adaptations in instinctive (unlearned) behavior.
Structural Adaptations
The extensive root systems and the needles common to many conifers are good examples of structural
adaptation. Such roots enable the plants to collect more of the available moisture from their dry
environment. Small leaves, since they provide little surface area for evaporation, reduce loss of water. The
powerful forelegs and out-turned palms of the mole are structural adaptations for burrowing.
Functional Adaptations
The ability to complete its growth cycle in a short growing season is a functional adaptation that enables a
tree to survive in northerly latitude forests such as the Wyre Forest.
Colour Adaptations
There are three general types of colour adaptation: (1) protective coloration, (2) warning coloration, and (3)
mimicry.
Protective coloration enables an animal to blend in with its background. The animal is thus less likely to
be seen—and, therefore, less likely to be eaten by its enemies. Protective coloration can also help make it
easier for an animal that is hunting to approach its prey. Most moths in Wyre blend into the tree trunks they
rest on.
Warning coloration occurs in certain poisonous or unpleasant-tasting animals. For example, Peacock
butterflies have big white spots on their wings which look like eyes, to put off predators.
In mimicry, a relatively defenseless animal (called the mimic) has a superficial likeness to an animal (called
the model) with qualities that cause predators to avoid it. In Wyre, hoverflies mimic wasps.
Behavioral Adaptations
Examples of behavioral adaptation can be readily found in areas where there is a marked seasonal
change in the weather. Squirrels store nuts for the winter. Many birds migrate to the south to avoid cold
northern winters. Hedgehogs and dormice hibernate when cold weather arrives and food becomes scarce.
Adaptation and Survival
An environment tends to eliminate living things that are not suited to it. A plant that was not adapted to
conserve moisture would soon die in the desert; an animal that stood out from its surroundings would be
the most likely to fall prey to its enemies.
Which word is being defined?
Look at the following definitions. Can you fill in the blank titles using the words below:
Predator
Inborn behavior/instinct
Camouflage
Survival
Mimicry
Adaptation
Prey
Environment
Habitat
____________________
A body part, body covering, or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment.
____________________
The actions of an animal.
____________________
A colour or shape in an animal’s body covering that helps it blend into its environment.
____________________
Everything that surrounds and affects a living thing. It includes non-living things, such as
water and air, as well as other living things.
____________________
The place where an animal lives. The physical characteristics of an animal’s surroundings.
____________________
A behavior an animal is born with and does not have to learn.
____________________
An adaptation in which an otherwise harmless animal looks like a harmful animal in order
to protect itself.
____________________
An animal that hunts and eats other animals for food.
____________________
An animal that is taken and eaten by another animal (predator) for food.
____________________
Using adaptations to continue to live.
Activity 2 - Adaptation: Move like a . . .
Birds and animals have adapted to move in different ways. This activity is designed to get
pupils thinking about that how they move and why.
You will need:
A set of animal cards (next page)
Pupils take it in turn to come forward and collect a secret animal card. They then have to
impersonate the animal without using words paying particular attention to the way the
animal moves. The rest of the group has 10 attemps to guess what animal it is. eg:
What muscles are you using?
How tiring is it?
What strength is needed?
Why have these animals adapted in this way?
Afterwards download the spotters guides and try to tick as many animals as possible.
Dormouse
Fallow Deer
Fox
Badger
Lemon Slug
Ant
Rabbit
Gatekeeper
Butterfly
Sparrowhawk
Great Spotted
Woodpecker
Activity 3 - Adaptation: Dressing up game
Collect a series of objects and place them around the floor in a large circle. Get
everyone to walk around the edge of the circle holding hands and reciting the following
adaptation poem.
I need to adapt to live in my home
So I’ll change how I look wherever I roam
Do I live in the desert or far out at sea?
Do I live in the ground or high up in a tree?
At the end of each verse the teacher will shout out the name of a habitat eg “tropical
sea”.
At this point there is a mad dash to find the object that will help them to survive in that
habitat. eg: snorkel, facemask, sun tan lotion, flippers etc. There will not be enough
relevant objects for everyone so use a score system (You will need an assistant to
keep score - or give out a token to each person that has an object.)
Habitat
British woodland
Tropical sea
Desert
Temperate sea
Tropical woodland
Peat bog
Objects
Camouflage trousers, camouflage jacket, blanket,
walking boots
Snorkel, facemask, sun tan lotion, flippers, spear
Sun tan lotion, wide brimmed hat, water bottle
Wetsuit, snorkel, facemask, flippers, fishing rod
Mosquito repellant, sun tan lotion, hat, camouflage
trousers, camouflage jacket, Bright colours
Wellies, mosquito repellant
Activity 4 - Adaptation: Kestrel mobile
Kestrel
The most common of all the birds of prey, the Kestrel is often seen hovering over
motorway verges. It even nests in towns where it eats small birds like sparrows. In the
countryside it’s more likely to catch mice and voles. It nests in holes and crevices in
trees, buildings or rocks, but does not use nesting material. It has longer, more pointed
wings than the Sparrowhawk and a longer tail with a black band on its tip. The male
has a reddish-brown back with a blue-grey head; the female is browner, and they both
have pale, streaked breasts.
You will need:
Scissors
Needle and cotton
Colouring pencils
Thin card
Kestrel and mouse drawings
To make the mobile:
Colour the Kestrel in the appropriate colours for its back. Also colour the mouse.
Glue the pictures to a piece of thin card.
Cut out when dry, then colour the underside of the bird and mouse.
Fold along the dotted lines as in the small diagram.
Using a needle, thread 3 pieces of strong cotton of equal length through the 3 marked
X’s on the bird’s back.
Knot each end underneath.
Tie the other 3 ends together to make the bird balance as if hovering.
Tie another piece of cotton to the mouse, and thread the other end through the circled
X and knot on top of the Kestrel’s back.
Activity 5 - Adaptation: Camouflage in the classroom
Students will demonstrate their understanding of camouflage by designing a butterfly that
blends into a classroom “habitat.”
You will need:
An outdoor grassy area or large piece of fabric or Astroturf
Paper butterfly patterns for each student
Butterfly pattern
Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
Coloured toothpicks or paper clips
6cm lengths of wool in assorted colours - 10 of each colour (green, blue, brown, red, yellow,
grey)
Instructions:
1. Place the coloured wool randomly around your chosen area.
2. Give the students 60 seconds to collect as many coloured wools as they can.
3. Count the number of each coloured wools that the students retrieve. Compare this to your
original count. Which colour wools were the easiest to spot and collect? Which were less
obvious? Why?
4. Introduce the concept of camouflage as an animal adaptation.
Explain that many animals have colours or markings on their fur, feathers, scales, or skin
that enable them to blend into their habitat (the place where the animal lives).
Ask the students, “How might camouflage help an animal to survive?” Can they think of any
examples? (A motionless green frog at the edge of a pond is almost impossible for
predators and prey to spot. The drab feathers of most female birds help them go unnoticed
as they sit on their eggs. Arctic hares and weasels change colour with the season,
becoming white in winter and brown in summer.)
Student Activity:
1. Give each student a copy of the butterfly pattern.
2. Ask them to pretend that their classroom is a butterfly habitat. Each student will need to
look around the room and select a specific home or habitat for his or her individual butterfly.
3. They then colour their butterfly pattern with markers, crayons, or colored pencils so
that it will be camouflaged in this habitat.
4. Ask your students to place the butterflies in their habitat without hiding them. The
butterflies must be out in the open, but well-camouflaged.
5. Invite students from another class to see how many butterflies they can find.
(Source: Los Angeles Zoo Web site: http://www.lazoo.org/camo.htm)
Activity 6 - Guess the animal
Below are some verses about adaptation in big cats. Now can you make up your own
verses about the adaptation of the wildlife in Wyre? Here’s one about Bats to get you
started:
I have sharp pointy teeth
and come out at night.
My small flappy wings
Can give you a fright.
I live in the woodlands
But also in towns.
But unlike most wildlife
I hang upside down.
Big Cats
1
I’ve got a strong body
And very large paws,
Teeth made for killing
And powerful jaws.
When it’s time for a hunt
The females take charge,
And the prey they go after
Are usually large.
4
I’m active at night
But may sleep through the day,
And my fur has dark spots
On a background of grey.
I eat all kinds of prey
Including goats called markhor,
But unlike other big cats
I’m unable to roar.
2
On padded tiptoes
I move without sound.
I can jump twenty feet
In only one bound.
I often go swimming
Or lie under a tree.
And the stripes on my back
Make me harder to see.
5
It’s Latin America
Where I always roam.
The tropical forests
Are the place I call home.
My light-coloured coat
Is all covered with spots.
And within my rosettes
There are even more dots.
3
In dark Asian forests
I ambush my prey.
And my dark-colored coat
Doesn’t give me away.
Like all other leopards
I have spots on my back
Though you can’t always tell
‘Cause my coat is so black.
Can you tell which big cat is referred to in
each poem?
1 __________________________
2 __________________________
3 __________________________
4 ___________________________
5 ___________________________
Activity 7 - Adaptation: Who am I?
Fill in the gaps (answers at the bottom):
According to the law of aerodynamics, I can’t fly.
Luckily nobody has told me yet.
_______________________________________
I breathe through my armpits and eat my own droppings.
_______________________________________
I can make something stronger than steel!
_______________________________________
Depending on my family, I survive the winter as an adult, a larva, or a pupa.
_______________________________________
I live with lots of my relatives and can be very acidic to those I don’t like!
_______________________________________
Each of my eyes has 30,000 lenses. I can fly at 30km/hr.
Each of my wings moves independantly, so I can hover, fly backwards and come to an
instant stop.
_______________________________________
Extend this activity by asking children to work in groups to create their own quiz along the
same lines and then ask the rest of the class to find the answers.
Bumblebee, Woodlouse, Spider, Butterfly, Wood Ant, Dragonfly
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 2
Activity 1 - Foodchains
This activity teaches pupils about the relationships between predator and prey and the
foodchains and food webs that result.
Background:
You eat food to get energy. This energy helps you grow, run, jump, play and reproduce. The
surplus is stored as fat. Most people eat lots of different meats and vegetables. People are
called “omnivores”
All animals get energy from food. Some animals only eat meat. They are called “carnivores”.
Some animals only eat plants. They are called “herbivores”
Plants use energy from the sun to fuel a process called photosynthesis, through which they
make their own food from water and carbon dioxide. The order that animals feed on other
plants and animals is called a “food chain”
Eg: sun - plant - grasshopper - frog - snake - owl
When lots of different food chains are joined together it is called a “food web”
You will need:
Printed copies of cube template
Scissors
Glue or sellotape
Work in groups of 6
Print out the template to make up a paper cube. (3 per group)
Ask pupils to cut out the shape and make up into cubes.
Ask them to think of 6 different foodchains with 3 levels in each.
Write all the top levels on cube 1, all the middle levels on cube 2 and all the bottom levels on
cube 3.
Suggestion - each group has a different coloured felt tip to write with so that you can identify
which cubes belong to which group. Ask each group to make a note of their food chains on
a separate piece of paper.
Pass cubes around the groups. Each group has to line up the cubes 6 times, matching the
faces to find the 6 different foodchains. Write them down.
There will probably be a lot of repetition. To reduce this, ask them to be quite specific ie: not
just “bird” but “Jay” This will involve more research to find out what specific species they eat.
Activity 2 - Foodchains: Mobile
In this simple foodchain, the owl eats the mouse which had eaten an acorn.
Colour, cut out and suspend each part of the mobile inside the animal which eats it using
cotton.
Activity 3 - Foodchains: Fact file
Print out a Pond Animal Fact File for each student and ask them to fill them in like a
passport. Ask them all to choose a different animal.
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 3
Activity - Minibeast maths
You will need:
4 x straight branches over 1m long
String
Make a 1m square (quadrat) by tying together the 4 corners with string at 1m length each
side
Pick an area of leaf litter and lay down the quadrat. Spend 15 minutes counting the number
of plant and animal species you find inside the grid. (It is OK to count any that walk into the
grid). Do not pick the plants or collect the animals.
Group your findings into leaves, seeds, insects etc.
What is the area of The Wyre Forest?
Based on your sample work out how many of each species there are in the entire Wyre
Forest.
Pace out an area of woodland 50m x 50m. Mark this with a tape. Count the number of trees
in this area and then use this to approximate the number of trees in the Wyre Forest.
Questions:
There are 30 species of butterfly in the Wyre Forest. If you can find 5 - what fraction of the
butterflies have you found?
Using the information gathered, make a chart or graph to show the numbers of different
groups eg: trees
How accurate do you think this is?
What will affect the results? (eg soil type, contours)
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 4
Activity - Consequences
You will need:
paper
pen
Each pupil starts with a piece of paper. At the top of the paper write down the name of an
animal or bird.
Fold the paper over (so the next person can’t see what you have written) and pass it to the
person next to you.
Underneath this write down a type of animal home (eg; nest, sett)
Fold the paper over (so the next person can’t see what you have written) and pass it to the
person next to you.
Underneath this write down a habitat (eg; woodland, desert)
Fold the paper over (so the next person can’t see what you have written) and pass it to the
person next to you.
Underneath this write down something that has affected that habitat (eg; destroyed by fire,
drained)
Fold the paper over (so the next person can’t see what you have written) and pass it to the
person next to you.
Underneath this write down what the consequence is of the change to that habitat.
Fold the paper over (so the next person can’t see what you have written) and pass it to the
person next to you.
Now unfold the piece of paper you have been given and take it in turns to read out what
has been written, trying to turn it into a believable story even though it will probably be
nonsense!
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 5
Activity - Animals in the Forest
Print out the sheet with animals on. Ask students to do their own research into the following species;
Thrush
Fox
Fallow Deer
Badger
Rabbit
Squirrel
Owl
Hedgehog
Wood Mouse
Stoat
Mole
Bat
They should try to answer the following questions about each;
Where does it live?
What does it eat?
What special adaptations has it made to live?
As a post activity to the same programme students could then use the same species sheet to work out as
many different food chains as possible.
Thrush
Fallow Deer
Fox
Badger
Grey Squirrel
Tawny Owl
Rabbit
Hedgehog
Wood Mouse
Stoat
Mole
Pipistrelle Bat
MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 6
Activity - Hibernation
Pre visit - focus on Dormice. Ask the children to read the information provided about Dormice in the
Wyre Forest.
DORMOUSE LIFECYCLE and SIGNS
The Dormouse is one of Britain’s most endangered
mammals. This is because much of its habitat of
deciduous woodland and hedgerows have been
lost. Competition by Grey Squirrels for food
may also be a contributing factor.
Dormice do live in the Wyre forest!
Dormice have been monitored in conifers
by the Forestry Commission for the last 17 years
in various parts of the forest.
Radio tracking and microchipping
have been used in an attempt to unlock some of the
secrets of these elusive, nocturnal creatures.
They are easily recognised by their rounded shape, gingery coat, furry tail and prominent black
eyes. However, you are unlikely to find them because they are very shy and nocturnal, and
hibernate for a long time over the winter.
In summer dormice live in woodland shrubs and bushes or amongst tall hedges or dense scrub.
They come out only at night to feed on insects, flowers, nuts and berries amongst the trees and
bushes.
Dormice breed once or twice a year usually producing 4 young which are independent in about
2 months. Their nests are often built of grass interwoven with honeysuckle. The nests can be
anywhere from a metre or so above the ground in brambles to high up in the forest canopy.
In the autumn hazelnuts can be a very important source of food as Dormice have to build up their
fat reserves in order to hibernate over winter. In fact the Dormouse can hibernate for as much as
three quarters of a year if the weather is bad! They hibernate on the ground, rolled tightly into a
ball in a nest of leaves and grass. Their body temperature and heart rate are lowered and they
become torpid and cold to the touch. Hibernating enables them to survive by “shutting down”
during cold weather and they can even do this in spring or summer. Thus they have long periods of
inactivity which probably contributes to the long life span of 5 years.
Dormice are protected by law and you may not disturb or handle them.
Dormice like to eat hazelnuts and if you examine a hazelnut
shell it is possible to tell for certain whether or not it has been
eaten by a dormouse. Look at the picture of the hazelnut shell.
It has been eaten by a Dormouse. The characteristics are a
neat smooth circular cut to the inside of the opening and tiny
radiating teeth marks on the outside.
Woodmice also like hazelnuts and eat them in a similar way
but the inside of the cut shell is not smooth, as woodmice
gnaw across the cut.
Also:
Squirrels just crack the nuts open with their powerful jaws.
Empty hazelnut shells found scattered under a hazel tree are
likely to have been scattered by dormice because they eat the
nuts up in the branches (whereas the remains of hazelnuts
eaten by other mice are found near the base of the tree in
groups).
So remember, a smooth circular cut with tiny radiating teeth
marks is the sign of the Dormouse!
Ask students to find out which other animals in The Wyre hibernate and why. Use the word
search on the following page to help find:
Hedgehog
Bat
Snake
Dormouse
Some minibeasts and butterflies also hibernate. Further research could be done to discover
which
Post visit - focus on hedgehogs. After your visit to Wyre further research can be done and a
project set up in your school to help hedgehogs or other wildlife over the winter.
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/hedgehog_homes.htm
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/FAQS/helping_hedgehogs.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/uk/getinvolved/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/uk/indepth/wildlife-gardening.shtml
Hibernation Wordsearch
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How many of each of these hibernating Wyre wildlife species can you find?
Hedgehog
Bat
Snake
Dormouse
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MAD ABOUT WILDLIFE - Worksheet 7
Activity 1 - Minibeasts: Wood Ant research
1 Pre visit - focus on Wood Ants. Ask the children to do some research into Wood Ants. Can
they find 10 fascinating facts?
2 Use the drawing of a Wood Ant provided and get them to fill in the different parts using
the names supplied. Now play the following game: A day in the life of a worker ant.
Head
Antenna
Abdomen
Thorax
Legs
Activity 2 - Minibeasts: habitats
Post visit - Focus on minibeasts and do further research to design a project to create
habitats for minibeats either within the school grounds or at home. Monitor the habitats to
see how successful they are. Here are a few ideas to get started:
Log piles - woodlice, centipedes, slugs and spiders
Short bamboo sticks tied together - Lacewings
Plant pots upside down - bees
Wildflower meadow - flying insects like butterflies and bees
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/uk/indepth/wildlife-gardening.shtml
Use the following Minibeast identification sheets to help identify what you find
Beetle
Ant
Earwig
Butterfly/moth
Fly
Bee/wasp
Spider
Harvestman
2
How many parts
to its body?
Insects
There are many different
types of insects including:
1
8
6
Woodlouse
14
Centipede
1
Millipede
2
How many pairs
of legs does it
have on each
part?
More than 14
How many legs does it have?
How to identify your minibeast
Worm
YES
Snail
YES
Slug
NO
Is the body
divided into
segments?
NO
Does it have a
shell?
None
Minibeast Identification - SIX LEGS
Beetles
Soldier beetle
Rove beetle
Ground beetle
Ladybird
Weevil
Larvae
Ground beetle larva
Caterpillar
Bugs
Plant bug
Shield bug
Froghopper
Ant
Bristletail
Other insects
Aphid
Minibeast Identification - NO LEGS
Slug
Snail
Earthworm
Minibeast Identification - EIGHT LEGS
Orb web spider
Wolf spider
Harvestman
Minibeast Identification - MORE THAN EIGHT LEGS
Woodlouse
Centipede
Minibeast Identification - OTHER MINIBEASTS
Millipede
Activity 2 - Minibeasts: passport
Minibeast passport - ask each student to decide which is their favorite minibeast. Then give
them a passport to fill in. They may need to do some research to find out the answers. Find
a picture or draw a picture to add to the passport. Use the ID guides provided to help.
Photograph of children
Wyre Forest
Minibeast Passport
Name ___________________________________
Photograph of passport holder
Address ________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Age _________________
Job _____________________________________________
Please describe yourself. Draw a circle
around the right answer or fill in the space.
What do you need to go on holiday?
Tick the boxes
How many legs do you have?
0
6
8
14
more than 14
Food: Plants
Do you have wings?
Yes
No
What colour are you?
_______________________________
How many eyes do you have?
0
2
8
more than 8
How do you eat?
Scrape suck crunch lick munch
or meat
Other: Air
Water
House
How do you plan to travel?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Activity 3 - Minibeasts: Wormery
Earthworms
There are many species of earthworms and they are enormously important animals. They
are found in huge numbers in the soil and help to turn dead plant material into humus,
releasing nutrients into the soil, and helping to create a better texture. Their burrowing
produces holes which allow air into the soil and help to improve drainage.
How to catch an earthworm:
Pour large quantities of water on the ground - or look when it’s raining hard. Worm burrows
fill up with water, so the animal has to come to the surface. Don’t be tempted to pour
detergent and water on the ground as it is poisonous to the earthworms.
Earthworms are found in large numbers in the soil - the children will probably be very
suprised how many there are in just a small area. Mark out a 1m x 1m patch on the grass
and saturate it with water. How many worms are found in this patch? How many might the
whole field contain?
Choose a particularly large worm from your catch and put it on a piece of white paper.
Listen carefully as it moves - you may be able to hear the bristles on the underside scratch
against the paper. Gently rub the worm’s underside with your finger - can you feel the
bristles? Ask the children to look carefully at the worm as it moves. What is it doing? Can the
children draw a series of pictures to illustrate the movement?
Be careful to keep the worm moist at all times!
A simple wormery:
You will need:
2 litre plastic bottle
Plant pot filled with damp soil
Crushed chalk (school chalk will do)
Black paper or silver foil
Damp sand
Damp soil
Dead leaves
Marker pen
Cut the top and bottom off the plastic bottle leaving a tall cylinder.
Put about 10 earthworms into the damp soil in the plant pot.
Stand the cylinder on top of the soil and fill it with alternate layers of damp soil, damp sand
and very thin layers of crushed chalk.
Mark the level of the layers of soil, sand and chalk on the cylinder with a marker pen.
Place some crushed dead leaves on top. Cover the bottle with black paper or silver foil to
make the worms think they are underground.
Keep everything damp (not wet!) and leave for several days. After a few days or at your
next meeting, remove the outer covering and see what effects the worms have had on your
layers.