Year 2: Animals, including humans
This list contains worksheets, activties and games to support the teaching of Animals, including humans in Year Two. It contains tips on using the resources, suggestions for further use and background subject knowledge. Possible misconceptions are highlighted so that teachers may plan lessons to facilitate correct conceptual understanding. Designed to support the new curriculum programme of study it aims to cover many of the requirements for knowledge and understanding and working scientifically. The statutory requirements are that children are taught to:
• notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults
• find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air)
• describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene.
Visit the primary science webpage to access all lists: https://www.stem.org.uk/primary-science
National SEA LIFE Centre: Key Stage One Resources
Looking at marine animals, page 3 of the Teacher's notes suggests activities which look at the changes which take place within an animal's life and how animals look different to their young. Includes, a quiz and a matching card game of animals and their young.
Children could make a collage of the lifecycles of humans and other animals by cutting up pictures from (carefully selected) magazines.
The slides referred to in the teacher's note may be found in Classroom Teaching Aids in the section on reproduction.
Perfectly Printable Puzzles *suitable for home teaching*
The biology sheet for 5-7 year olds is a puzzle, which can be coloured in, where children have to help the frog, the swan and the butterfly find their way through the pond maze to their babies. Use it to promote discussion about animals and their young and help children recognise that animals produce offspring. Give children further pictures of animals and their young and ask them to match them up.
Stupendous Steppers (Ages 5-7) * Suitable for Home Learning*
Meet the character Fizzy and her dog Dizzy, who want to learn more about the human body and set children a series of questions to investigate. Detailed lesson plans include presentations, activities and games, homework ideas and a reward card.
The lessons are:
Step on it!- carry out a scientific investigation and make predictions.
Quality time- improve reaction times, collect data and draw scientific conclusions.
Stepping out- make and test estimates and compare their results with those of others.
Animals, including humans: healthy animals
This resource provides a selection of lesson plans, worksheets and teacher notes relating to animals, including humans at Year Two. They include activities for discussing the stage of the human lifecycle, thinking about how children have changed since they were babies and finding out about the lifecycles of other animals and what they need to survive. Ideas are also provided for learning about what constitutes a balanced diet and how this, along with regular exercise helps to keep humans fit and healthy. Activities are:
- Hatching eggs!
- Babies!
- Stranded!
- Healthy Hearts!
- Deep inside my lunch box
- Pack a healthy picnic!
How much water do we waste?
This investigation has been designed to make pupils realise how much water they are wasting. The task highlights the importance of teeth brushing and the gets pupils to recreate cleaning their teeth and measure the water wasted during this daily task.
