March - Animals

Habitats and Invertebrates and Vertebrates 

This topic was great because it is all about animals! We used some interactive PowerPoints that the children could use to classify animals as invertebrates and vertebrates. There was lots of verbal communication, as I asked the children where different animals lived and got them to think about habitats. We focused on Mammals the week after, looking at the characteristics of Mammals, for example that they need milk from their mothers. Then the students had to classify the correct characteristic to the correct kind of animal. We did this step by step and they managed to do it perfectly in the end! I also showed them my pets from when I was a child and we talked about our favourite animals! We also did some flashcards where I held up pictures of different animals and my students had to tell me if the animal is a vertebrate and invertebrate. Then we watched some fun video to help them remember.

February - Pollution

Air & Water Pollution

In February, we looked at air and water pollution. I asked everyone to take a deep breath in and out. I asked them some questions about air and if we need to breathe to survive. Then we looked at some photos of clean and dirty air and I asked them, 'is this air clean or dirty?'. They were very good at telling the difference. So then I asked them if certain vehicles or human activities make the air dirty and they had to think about the human impact of pollution. We watched a video too, which you can see here. Afterward, we did a scientific classification activity where the students had to sort pictures of clean and dirty air into two piles. This was a great activity to see if everyone had learned the content. 

The following week, we looked at water pollution in the exact same way. This time, we watched a video about a Whale called 'A Whale's Tale'. This video shows a whale battling polluted water. Showing children environmental issues through animal issues is a really good way of helping them understand the effects of environmental issues and climate change, as they really care about animals.
You can see the video here.