Young Earth Explorers: Year 5s Journey Through Habitats
Understanding habitats is vital for students as it enables them to grasp the complex connections between living beings and their surroundings. Through habitat studies, students acquire a deeper understanding of the intricate harmony within ecosystems and the mutual reliance among different species. This comprehension is fundamental for recognising the significance of biodiversity and the imperative for conservation initiatives aimed at safeguarding endangered species and their habitats. And our Year 5 students have been doing just that!
The task:
As part of their Earth Explorers topic in Science, students worked in groups to explore a habitat, choosing between the Desert, Ocean or Rainforest. They delved into these environments and, through research, learned about the living things and their structural and behavioural adaptations to help them survive in their chosen habitat. Students created a diorama to display the characteristics of the habitat and showcase the various plants and animals that live there. The final phase of their engaging project was a class gallery walk, where each group presented as scientists and shared all they had learned about the amazing adaptions of living things in these unique habitats.
What the students had to say:
Ivy, Zara and Taylor (Class 5.2) Ocean
What are the characteristics of your chosen habitat?
Ivy: Some characteristics of the big, blue ocean are the ocean takes up 71% of our earth.
Zara: Some of the animals and plants/coral that live there are an orca, a zebra, a seahorse and honeycomb coral.Â
Taylor: Our diorama of the ocean is a marine habitat that supports all marine life. This includes the sea floor of sand, coral, salt water, and shells. The marine life includes fish, dolphins, sharks, seahorses, crabs, turtles, seals, and starfish.
Olivia, Chloe and Chloe (Class 5.3) Rainforest
What plants and animals did you explore and what are the structural adaptations you have discovered for their survival?
Olivia: Frogs have sticky webbed toes which help them climb to high places to hide from predators such as tigers.
Chloe N: Plants and trees: Trees in the rainforest grow long broad roots to collect most nutrients from the soil and to keep them stable.
Chloe D: The Bengal Tiger. The Bengal Tiger has incredible hearing and sight to hunt and find prey. This helps them to survive in the wild.Â
Chanel, Thalia and Olympia (Class 5.4) Rainforest
What plants and animals did you explore and what are the structural adaptations you have discovered for their survival?
Chanel: Water lilies. Water lilies close their flowers at night because the weather changes and it gets cold, it does this for protection.
Thalia: Ocelot. Being nocturnal in nature, ocelots can be safe during the day and then hunt at night
Olympia: Red Panda. Red Pandas curl into a tight ball to keep its body warm in the cold weather.Â
Kathryn, Emily and Allika (Class 5.5) Arctic Desert
What have you enjoyed about this project and why?Â
Emily: We enjoyed working in groups to create an attractive looking habitat out of a range of materials.
Well done to the teachers for making this learning a fun and engaging activity for the students. A big well done to all the girls on their incredibly realistic habitats and great presentation skills.Â
- Curiosity, Featured, learningtolife, Stewardship
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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