Animal habitats STEM teaching pack
Explore animal habitats around the world, from deserts, grassland and rainforests to polar regions and ocean habitats, and uncover the reasons why different animals live in particular habitats. Packed with hands-on activities to explore these complex ecosystems, this teaching pack provides a fun way to approach STEM learning.
Who is this teaching pack for?
This STEM teaching pack on animal habitats is designed for teaching and reinforcing concepts in a key stage 2 unit on biomes and animal habitats. It can be integrated into existing STEM learning units, used in conjunction with existing curriculum materials, or used as a stand-alone unit.
The pack encourages learners to use research skills to investigate different habitats and develop an understanding of their key physical characteristics. Learners will also develop persuasive writing skills by creating an advert to attract different animals to different habitats. The activities also encourage learners to develop collaboration, group work and oracy skills.
What’s included?
A comprehensive teaching pack includes fully resourced lesson plans, with detailed teaching notes to take you through the lesson activities step-by-step, as well as classroom resources, printable worksheets and information sheets for pupils.
For teachers
- Detailed lesson plans and accompanying teaching notes with activity ideas, suggestions for formative and summative assessment, pupil enquiry questions and extension activities.
- Teacher pack with teaching resources, printable worksheets with answers and lesson materials.
For pupils
- Pupil pack with clear instructions and guidance, full colour printable information and activity sheets with quizzes and games all about animal habitats.
How is the pack structured?
This teaching pack is divided into five milestones leading to a final assessment project.
Daily activities are organised as follows:
- Prepare (Starter activity)
- Present (Teach/model)
- Produce (Pupil project work)
- Participate (Pupil/group share)
- Practise (Homework/assessment/independent)
What's inside?
Milestone 1: Connecting prior knowledge of habitats
- Explore adverts.
- Identify different animals’ habitats.
- Explain why animals live in a particular habitat.
Milestone 2: Researching habitats
- I spy a habitat game.
- Research the habitat and explain how living and non-living things in the ecosystem can help or harm an animal.
Milestone 3: Writing a persuasive advert
- Habitat quick quiz.
- Use persuasive writing to create an advert for a habitat.
Milestone 4: Creating visual aids for an advert
- Design and create visual aids to make the animal habitat advert more persuasive.
Milestone 5: Presenting the advert
- Actively listen to other groups’ adverts and evaluate.
- Present an advert, meeting all criteria on the assessment sheet.
How to use this teaching pack
The project is divided into 5 milestones with each milestone including a self-contained pupil project activity, from research to persuasive writing. Completed in sequence, the milestones connect to enable pupils to create and present an advert for an animal habitat as their final assessment activity.
The minimum suggested duration for completing this STEM teaching pack is 5 hours of lesson time. However, it is completely flexible and can be lengthened or shortened as necessary, based on available lesson time and interest level.
Explore more STEM teaching packs and key stage 2 science resources, or browse Teachit Primary’s full range of teaching packs.
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