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Living Things and their Habitats

Pupils should be taught to:
• recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways;
• explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment;
• recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.

Y4 Living Things and Their Habitats; Classifying Animals

Resource Details

A PowerPoint presentation used to introduce pupils to animal classification systems and the reasons for classifying animals. The PowerPoint can be used at the beginning of the topic or during it to stimulate scientific discussions, ideas and theories.

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Y4 Positive Human Impact on the Environment

Resource Details

Pupils learn about the positive impacts they can have on the environment and the impact these can have on habitats, plants, animals, humans and the planet.



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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things
  • NaG - pupils should explore examples of human impact (both positive and negative) on environments such as the positive effects of nature reserves, ecologically planned parks or garden ponds, and the negative effects of population and development, litter or deforestation
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings

Y4 Negative Human Impacts on the Environment

Resource Details

Pupils learn about the negative impacts they can have on the environment and the damage this can cause to habitats, plants, animals, humans and the planet.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things
  • NaG - pupils should explore examples of human impact (both positive and negative) on environments such as the positive effects of nature reserves, ecologically planned parks or garden ponds, and the negative effects of population and development, litter or deforestation
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings

Y4 Destroying Habitats

Resource Details

Pupils learn about the impact humans can have on the habitats of a range of animals and plants. They learn about the need for land, the need to build new factories and how these can result in deforestation, loss of habitat and pollution. They look at the arguments for and against destroying habitats and try to offer any compromises and solutions!


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things
  • NaG - pupils should explore examples of human impact (both positive and negative) on environments such as the positive effects of nature reserves, ecologically planned parks, or garden ponds, and the negative effects of population and development, litter or deforestation
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings

Y4 Can Animals Survive Without Their Habitats?

Resource Details

Pupils learn about how humans can impact on the lives of animals and plants in a range of environments due to the negative effects of population growth, industrial development and deforestation.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things
  • NaG - pupils should explore examples of human impact (both positive and negative) on environments such as the positive effects of nature reserves, ecologically planned parks, or garden ponds, and the negative effects of population and development, litter or deforestation
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings

Y4 Using Keys to Identify Organisms

Resource Details

Pupils learn how to classify both animals and plants using a key. The learn how to construct their own keys to help them group and classify both animals and plants.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment, using classification keys to assign them to groups
  • NaG - pupils learn that plants are more difficult to classify, but can be grouped into categories such as flowering plants (including grasses) and non-flowering plants such as ferns and mosses
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings

Y4 Classification Keys (2)

Resource Details

Pupils learn how to use a classification key to help them to sort and group a range of animals.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment, using classification keys to assign them to groups
  • WS - children should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings; gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions

Y4 Classification Keys (1)

Resource Details

Pupils learn how to use a classification key to help them to sort and group animals.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment, using classification keys to assign them to groups
  • WS - children should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings; gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions

Y4 Classifying Animals Using a Key

Resource Details

Pupils learn how to classify the five main animal groups by using a key.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment, using classification keys to assign them to groups
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings; gather, record, classify and present data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions

Y4 Classifying Animals

Resource Details

Pupils classify animals by matching the animal with their animal group animal definition.


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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment
  • NaG - pupils should begin to put vertebrate animals into groups such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals; invertebrates into snails and slugs, worms, spiders, and insects
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings

Y4 The Five Main Animal Groups

Resource Details

Pupils learn that animals can be sorted into one of five groups, depening on certain characteristics (a cut, sort, group and paste activity).



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Learning Objectives:

  • PoS - identify and name a variety of living things (plants and animals) in the local and wider environment
  • NaG - pupils should begin to put vertebrate animals into groups such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals; and invertebrates into snails and slugs, worms, spiders, and insects
  • WS - pupils should use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings