Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: What is a species?

20 minutes

Find Out: Species at school

20 minutes

Take Action: Species survival poster

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will:

explore different species and their survival
recognise the National Science Week 2024 theme.

Students can:

know what a species is
understand the importance of species survival
create a poster for National Science Week based on the 2024 theme.

Tune In: What is a species?

Step 1

Begin by inviting students to reflect on the word ‘species’ and to share what they already know about this term.

Through your discussion, explain to students:

The term species refers to a group of living things that can reproduce naturally with other members of the same group but not with those of other groups. Examples of species are humans, domestic cats, koalas, European Honey Bees, River Red Gums, and dandelions. Domestic dogs can’t reproduce with River Red Gums, European Honey Bees can’t reproduce with koalas etc.
Even though one species won’t reproduce with another species, they may be connected in some way and may even be dependent on that other species for survival. For example, European Honey Bees need nectar and pollen from flowering plants, while the plants need European Honey Bees (and other pollinators) to help them spread their pollen. Another example might be the koala, which mostly only eats eucalyptus leaves, like those from the River Red Gum.
Learning more about the different species in our world can help us understand why a species is important to an ecosystem and how we can protect living things.

Step 2

Conduct this Web of Life Game with students to help them understand how species are interconnected and how caring for one species can benefit many others within the same ecosystem.

Find Out: Species at school

Step 1

Share the two images below with your students and explain that they are two of the posters created for National Science Week 2024.

National Science Week 2024 Official Poster - (https://www.scienceweek.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Species-survival-poster-2024.pdf)
Street Science National Science Week 2024 Poster (https://streetscience.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/SOS_NSW2024_StreetScience_Poster_v4_A4-ASTA.pdf)

Working in small groups or as a class, invite students to participate in a See, Think, Wonder (https://pz.harvard.edu/resources/see-think-wonder) task around these two posters:

What do you SEE in these posters?
What do these posters make you THINK about?
What do these posters make you WONDER?

Some points and probing questions to consider in your discussion:

The theme ‘More than just sustainability’ asks us to recognise that we’re all part of the big, interconnected web of life. Every living thing, from the bees to the koalas to the dandelions to the slime and mould, plays an essential role in supporting all life on Earth. This isn’t just about protecting nature’s beauty but also the ecosystems that provide our food, water, and the air we breathe.
‘Our survival depends on theirs’ acknowledges that humans are part of this giant web of life and need other species to survive.
What species can you see in these posters? Why might there be a human baby in one of the posters?
What might it mean that the animals are in a bottle floating in the sea? Could this have something to do with a message in a bottle, and how might this relate to species?

Step 2

Explain to students that they will now make their own posters to share what they’ve learned about species survival. They will do this by walking around the yard to collect leaves of different sizes, colours, and shapes, thinking about the role these leaves might play in the schoolyard ecosystem, and then incorporating these leaves into their poster designs.

Before heading out into the yard, remind students of your outdoor learning guidelines, for example, avoiding insect bites, staying within earshot, and working in pairs.

Step 3

Once outside, each student should aim to collect at least different types of 6 leaves (students can look out for different colours, shapes, textures, or even leaves that have been nibbled!)

As students are sourcing leaves, you could prompt them with the following questions:

Do your leaves come from different species or the same species? How can you tell?
How many different species do you think you managed to find leaves from?
What are the differences between a leaf that has dried out and one that has just been picked? How do they look and feel different?
Can a blade of grass also be a leaf? Why or why not? (Tip: Yes, a blade of grass is a leaf, and each blade grows from a stem - invite students to get down on the grass to get a closer look!)
Did you find any leaves that have been nibbled? How can you tell they've been nibbled? What do you think might have nibbled them?
What does collecting these leaves make you think about species survival?
What is the most interesting leaf you have found, and why is it interesting to you?

Step 4

Once each student has found 6 leaves, invite them to return to the classroom.

Take Action: Species survival poster

Step 1

Invite your students to start designing their posters for the National Science Week theme ‘Species Survival - More than just sustainability.’

Students could spend some time planning their artwork before they start creating. They could consider:

How will they use the leaves? Will they stick them to the artwork or will they draw them?
What else will be in the poster? Will they include animals or other features of nature?
Will there be people in the poster?
Where will the text go?
Will they add any other text to the poster to communicate their message?
What colours will they use?
What type of writing will they use? (e.g. capital letters, joined writing,
Will the poster have a border?

Step 2

Once students have planned their poster, they can begin creating the final version.

Step 3

Once students have completed their posters, work with them to create a gallery walk of their posters. Use your gallery walk format to provide peer feedback on student work. Display the students' work around the classroom and place a piece of blank paper next to each work for writing feedback.

Invite students to rotate around the room and provide feedback on the posters. As groups view the works, they must record one thing they like about the work displayed, one thing they wonder about, and one thing to improve the work or where to go next.

You might invite student feedback before the final work is submitted to the teacher so students can incorporate feedback to improve their work.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to respond to the following:

I used to think…
But now I think…

Thinking Creatively About Species Survival

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Summary

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