There is a great variety and variation in living things
Living things are adapted to the environment within which they live.
Most habitats contain a variety of living things
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS
What different living things would you expect to find near the school building?
What animal life might be living nearby?
What plants would you expect to find nearby?
How could you observe and record these living things?
LIVING THINGS LIVE IN THE ENVIRONMENT THAT BEST SUITS THEM
Animals and plants have evolved ways that allow them to live in their environments.
These environments are where they can get the essential things they need (food, water, protection from weather extremes or predators).
Some creatures, like houseflies, can live almost anywhere.
Some animals and plants live naturally only in particular parts of the world.
OBSERVING AND RECORDING LIVING THINGS
There are numerous different ways of observing and recording living things.
You can make notes, do drawings and take all sorts of measurements.
How you want to record living things will depend on what you are studying.
With children, a good place to start when observing and recording living things in different environments is to list all the things you can see and then sort them into different groups eg plants, invertebrates, birds.
Once you have done this you may well be able to draw up a food chain of some of the living things in that particular habitat.
You might also see living things at different stages of their life cycles.
Another approach is to divide the habitat you are studying into different areas.
For example, living things in a pond can be divided up into areas such as muddy banks, floating on shallow water and growing under deep water.
Where do you find each living thing?
Make drawings of the different living things.
Discuss how the living thing is suited to where it lives.
