Biology • Topic
1
Plants
1.1 Is it alive? Student’s Book pages 2–3
Scientific enquiry skills
Biology learning objective
• Ideas and evidence: Try to answer questions by collecting evidence through observation.
• Know that there are living things and things that have never been alive.
Resources
Key words • living
• non-living
• Workbook page 1 • Slideshow B1: Is it living or non-living? • PCM B1: Living or non-living?
Classroom equipment • large sheets of paper • coloured pens or pencils • scissors • glue • selection of old magazines
Supervise the students when they use scissors. If you take the students on a walk around the school grounds, ensure they are safe and that they stay together. They should not put anything they find into their mouths.
• a doll
Scientific background Everything in the world can be sorted into living or non-living. In Unit 1.2, the students will learn that if something is living it is either a plant or an animal. In Unit 1.4, the students will learn that non-living things can be sorted into those that once lived and those that have never lived. For this lesson, they do not need to know any of these distinctions, but should be able to identify whether something is living or non-living.
Introduction � Use the topic opener photograph on Student’s Book page 1 as a talking point. Ask the students to describe what they can see. Let them briefly discuss in groups what they know about plants and flowers. Tell them that they are going to learn all about plants in this topic. � Ask the class to look at the picture on Student’s Book page 2. Ask: What can you see in the picture? Can you suggest some groups you could sort the things in the picture into? Take feedback but guide the students to select living and non-living as the criteria.
â—? Introduce the terms living and non-living as key words. Ask the students to repeat the words after you. Invite them to give examples of living and nonliving things. This will help you assess their prior knowledge and ability to differentiate between living and non-living. Finally, repeat the key words again.
Teaching and learning activities � Make sure the students understand the questions on Student’s Book pages 2–3. Remind them of the two groups: living and non-living. Ask them to identify all the living and non-living things in the pictures. Then let them discuss their answers in groups. Some students may begin to talk about the similarities and differences they notice between living and non-living things. You can encourage this to develop their interest in the topic but do not correct any misconceptions at this stage. Check the answers as a class. � Ask the students to cut out pictures of living and non-living things from magazines. Allow them time to freely discuss the pictures with a partner, saying which pictures they chose and why. The pictures can be kept for using on the posters the students will make in the first graded activity.
2
Biology • Topic
Graded activities
1
Plants 1.1
Differentiation
1 Give each pair of students a large sheet of paper, scissors, glue, coloured pens or pencils and a copy PCM B1, which shows a variety of living and non-living things. Ask the students to sort the pictures into two groups: living and non-living. Once the sorting is done, ask them to make a poster by sticking the pictures onto the large sheet of paper. Encourage the students to colour in the pictures as this develops fine motor skills and gives practice at holding a pencil. They should write living or non-living next to each picture. Ask: Which things are living and which are non-living? Stick the finished posters on the wall and discuss them with the students.
2 If possible, take the students on a walk around the school grounds. Say: Count how many living things you can see. Count how many non-living things you can see. Encourage them to make lists and to classify the objects as being either living or non-living. Ask: What made you decide if a thing was living or non-living? (Before the lesson you could ‘hide’ some living and non-living objects around the school grounds for the students to find.)
3 Show the class Slideshow B1 of living and nonliving things and ask: Which are the living things? Which are the non-living things? Let them discuss their answers in pairs. Take feedback and invite the class to name each thing in the slideshow, either in English or in their own language. Then ask the students to choose one living thing that they know the name of and to describe it to a partner. Some students may prefer to make their choice from those shown on the slideshow. More able students can choose any appropriate living thing.
All of the students should be able to sort the pictures into living and non-living things. Some will be able to do this more quickly than others, but they can move onto the colouring and sticking. More able students may like to add the pictures that they cut from magazines to their poster and should be able to label these correctly. If some students need support with the labelling, write living and non-living for them to copy. Most of the students should be able to identify a selection of living and non-living things during the walk with a little help. If not, demonstrate by showing them a few examples. Most students should be able to record what they see and to organise the things into two lists: one for living and one for non-living. This is useful practice in a method for recording data. Some of the students should be able to identify the specific examples of living and non-living things and give a detailed description of a living thing of their choice to a partner. Encourage them to describe as many features as possible, for example size, colour and shape. You could turn this into a guessing game by asking students to hide the identity of the living thing they have chosen. Partners should try and guess what it is, based on the description.
Students who have read Big Cat The oak tree may relate the learning in this lesson to the many different types of organism, including plants and animals, described in this book. It provides a lively introduction to the topic of living things.
Consolidate and review â—? Use Workbook page 1 to consolidate the teaching and to check that the students can distinguish between living and non-living things. â—? Show the students a doll and ask them to suggest, to a partner, the ways in which they are similar to the doll and the ways in which they are different. Encourage them to conclude that they are living and the doll is non-living. Some students may begin to discuss the characteristics of living things. They will learn more about these in Stage 3 of this course.
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