Outline of unit
In order for species of plants and animals to survive in particular environments, they have had to adapt to the conditions of the environment in which they live. The adaptation to environmental conditions occurs over many generations. In order to survive in the environments in which they live, plants and animals develop both behavioural and structural adaptations.
In this unit students initially share their current understandings of how plants and animals adapt to particular environments and how adaptations vary between environments. Then they look more specifically at the adaptations of plants and animals in desert and semi-arid regions. Through class discussions, individual work, group tasks, and an investigation they develop an understanding of behavioural and structural adaptations that enable plants and animals to survive. Students engage in a case study on kangaroos, looking at the adaptations kangaroos have made to assist them surviving in semi-arid environments as well as how they can adapt to changes in environmental conditions.
Students look at the strategies that people have adopted to help them survive in desert and semi-arid regions. This includes looking into the part that science played in helping early settlers to make decisions about where it was best for people to establish communities and agriculture. This is done through discussion and reading about Goyder’s Line which was developed to help early settlers in South Australia to work out where it was feasible to live and farm.
Australian Curriculum content descriptions
Year 5
Science Understanding
Biological Sciences
Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (ACSSU043)
Science as a Human Endeavour
Use and influence of science
Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE083)
Science Inquiry Skills
Questioning and predicting
With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be (ACSIS231)
Planning and conducting
With guidance, plan appropriate investigation methods to answer questions or solve problems (ACSIS086)
Decide which variable should be changed and measured in fair tests and accurately observe, measure and record data, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS087)
Processing and analysing data and information
Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS090)
Evaluating
Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a question or solve a problem (ACSIS091)
Communicating
Commnicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts (ACSIS093)
Year 6
Science Understanding
Biological sciences
The growth and survival of living things are affected by the physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)
Science as a Human Endeavour
Use and influence of science
Scientific knowledge is used to solve problems and inform personal and community decisions (ACSHE083)
Science Inquiry Skills
Questioning and predicting
With guidance, pose questions to clarify practical problems or inform a scientific investigation, and predict what the findings of an investigation might be (ACSIS232)
Planning and conducting
With guidance, plan appropriate investigation methods to answer questions or solve problems (ACSIS103)
Decide which variable should be changed and measured in fair tests and accurately observe, measure and record data, using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS104)
Processing and analysing data and information
Construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate (ACSIS107)
Evaluating
Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a question or solve a problem (ACSIS108)
Communicating
Communicate ideas, explanations and processes in a variety of ways, including multi-modal texts (ACSIS110)
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Year 5 Year 6.
Achievement standard
This lesson sequence provides opportunities to gather information about students’ achievement of specific components in the standards (which are bolded in the statements below).
By the end of Year 5, students classify substances according to their observable properties and behaviours. They explain everyday phenomena associated with the transfer of light. They describe the key features of our solar system.They analyse how the form of living things enables them to function in their environments. Students discuss how scientific developments have affected people’s lives and how science knowledge develops from many people’s contributions.
Students follow instructions to pose questions for investigation, predict what might happen when variables are changed, and plan investigation methods. They use equipment in ways that are safe and improve the accuracy of their observations. Students construct tables and graphs to organise data and identify patterns. They use patterns in their data to suggest explanations and refer to data when they report findings. They describe ways to improve the fairness of their methods and communicate their ideas, methods and findings using a range of text types.
By the end of Year 6, students compare and classify different types of observable changes to materials. They analyse requirements for the transfer of electricity and describe how energy can be transformed from one form to another to generate electricity. They explain how natural events cause rapid change to the Earth’s surface. They describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things. Students explain how scientific knowledge is used in decision-making and identify contributions to the development of science by people from a range of cultures.
Students follow procedures to develop investigable questions and design investigations into simple cause-and-effect relationships. They identify variables to be changed and measured and describe potential safety risks when planning methods. They collect, organise and interpret their data, identifying where improvements to their methods or research could improve the data. They describe and analyse relationships in data using graphic representations and construct multi-modal texts to communicate ideas, methods and findings.
Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Year 5 Year 6
Acknowledgements
Wild Polar Bears in Churchill, Alex Berger, CC BY-NC 2.0; Desert plants, Michelle, CC BY 2.0; Red kangaroo, Alikai, CC BY 2.0; Outback Australia, 75law, CC BY 2.0.