Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Mehrin, and I'm really excited to be learning all about environments and seasonal changes of the year.

Let's begin.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit, Living Things and the Environment.

Your learning outcome is, "I can recognise that environments can change as the seasons change." Now, I know that learning can sometimes be a little bit difficult, but that's okay 'cause it just means that we are going to work really hard together and we're going to learn lots of fabulous new things.

Let's begin.

So here are your keywords for today's lesson.

Alongside these are the definitions for those keywords.

Now, I am going to be referring to these throughout today's lesson.

However, if you find it helpful, you can pause the video here and you can jot these down now.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! Now, our lesson is split into two parts.

Let's begin with the first part, exploring environments.

So I want you to take a look around you.

What do you observe? What can you see? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! So the space and everything in it, including all the plants and animals, and the conditions such as the temperature are what we call your surroundings.

So when I take a look around my surroundings, I can see a door, a bookshelf, a picture frame, a sofa, table, and chairs.

Now, the surroundings of any living thing is called its environment.

I want you to describe your environment to a partner.

So I've given you briefly some of the things that I was able to observe about my environment, but I missed out a few things.

So I want you now to describe your environment to a partner.

I'll give you five seconds.

But if you need a little bit longer, just pop the video on pause, and then come back once you are ready.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! So one of the things I didn't tell you about was the temperature.

And currently in the real moment, it is quite warm because we've had quite a warm summer so far.

Now, there are many different types of environments.

So you might have a city or a park or a school, the ocean or grassland.

Now, what other environments can you name? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! So you might have said a town or a village or forests, jungles, things like that.

Now, Laura says, "I thought the environment was just another word for nature." Do you agree with Laura? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Well, Jun says, "There are lots of different environments in the world.

Some are natural, like rivers, deserts, woodlands, or ponds, and some are made by humans, like a playground or our homes." So let's do a quick check-in of your learning so far.

An environment is what? Is it A, your clothes, B, your body, C, your surroundings, or D, your thoughts? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is C, your surroundings.

Now, true or false? An environment is a place you only find in nature.

Is that True or False? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous! Well done! The answer is False.

Now, let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is it because A, an environment is only found in human-made places, or B, an environment can be made by humans and also be found in nature? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fabulous! Well done! The answer is B, an environment can be made by humans and also be found in nature.

Well done! Now, environments must contain all the things required for living things to survive and grow.

Now, what do you think this means? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! So for a living thing to survive, its environment must contain air, water, and the food that it requires, that it needs.

And the spaces within an environment provide shelter and protection for the living thing.

Now, environments may be large like this city, or small like this cage for a hamster.

But remember, for a living thing to survive, its environment must contain the air, water, and food that is needed.

Now, what does this garden environment provide for the plants and animals that live here? While the pond provides food and shelter for fish and water for other living things, and plants and trees provide food and shelter for animals like insects and squirrels.

And what does this greenhouse environment provide for the plants that live here? That it provides light, warmth, air, nutrients from the soil, and water.

Can you think of anything else that this greenhouse environment might provide for the plants that live here? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! It also provides shelter for these plants as well away from wind and rain and anything that might destroy the plant, any animals that might come and eat the plants.

Now, which of the following do living things need to survive? Is it A, air, B, friends, C, water, or D, shelter? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is A, C, and D, air, water, and shelter.

And as lovely it is as it would be to have some friends as well, living things don't need friends to survive, to stay alive.

Now, then which of these environments provide what an alligator needs to live and grow? Is it A, the desert, B, the river, or C, a car park? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is B, a river.

Now, let's take a look at this environment.

So we've got Antarctica here.

Do you think this environment can provide what is needed for animals or plants to live and grow? What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! So Laura says, "Antarctica is a harsh environment, which means that not many types of animals can survive there." And Jun says, "In Antarctica, there are no trees because this environment does not provide what plants need to grow and live there." Antarctica does provide what plants need to live.

The plants are hidden under the freezing snow and ice for much of the year.

And in the summer, when the snow melts, Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort appear.

These plants require small amounts of nutrients and a cool temperature, which the rocky soil of this environment can provide.

And Antarctica also provides what some animals need to live in this environment.

Antarctica's vast ice sheets are where emperor penguins choose to nest, and the ocean is where they hunt for fish.

And floating ice acts as protection for leopard seals, where they can leap out of the water to escape predators such as orcas.

Now, let's do a quick check-in of your learning before we continue.

So true or false? Antarctica does not provide what is needed for living things.

Is that True or False? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is False.

Now, let's see if you can justify your answer.

So because A, only animals live and grow in Antarctica, or B, some plants and animals live and grow in Antarctica.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is B, some plants and animals live and grow in Antarctica.

Now, here is your first task for today.

It says, "Make a list of the different environments you have been into today.

Choose one environment, and then draw or describe what it provides for the living things that live and grow there." So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing this activity.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well Done! So my house, my human family and our dog have food and water, air, a place to sleep, and shelter.

The street on the way to school.

It has air for all living things, plus water from rain for the grass along the pavement.

School has food at lunchtime, a water fountain, air, and shelter from rain.

And you may have described different environments for different living things.

Well done! So now that takes us on to the second part of our learning today, which is seasonal changes in environments.

So Andeep says, "Do you think environments provide the same things all year round?" What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! Well, environments can change throughout the year as the different seasons are the weather change.

So seasons are a natural pattern of change.

Environments can change naturally as the seasons change.

Now, what changes would you observe in this park environment throughout the year? I'll give you five seconds to have a look at these pictures, but if you need longer, you can pop the video on pause and you can come back once you have an answer to this question.

Off you go.

Okay, before we get into those and what you might have observed, let's do a quick check-in of your learning.

So which statement about the seasons is correct? Is A, the seasons change because humans change them, B, the seasons change naturally throughout the year, or C, environments stay the same as seasons change? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is B.

The seasons change naturally throughout the year.

So in the season of spring, you might have observed the temperature starting to rise, blossom and leaves starting to appear, and animals starting to reproduce.

And in the season of summer, you might observe the air becoming warmer and the days becoming longer, trees cover covered in leaves and fruits starting to grow, and animal offspring starting to grow bigger.

In the season of autumn, you could observe the temperature starting to fall, so getting a little bit cooler, leaves starting to change colour and fall off the trees, and some animals starting to store food, ready for winter.

So when they hibernate.

In the season of winter, you could observe nights becoming longer and the temperature becoming cooler, trees with bare branches, and some animals hibernating and some birds migrating.

So going from one place to another environment.

Now, let's do a quick check-in of your learning before we continue with ours today.

So true or false? An environment always stays the same throughout the year.

Is that True or False? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done.

The answer is False.

Now, let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is because A, it depends what animals and plants live their during the year, or B, environments can change depending on the seasons.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is B, environments can change depending on the seasons.

What changes might you observe in your school grounds in the season of spring? Do you think you might see flowers like daffodil starting to bloom, leaves falling from deciduous trees, leaving bare branches, or the temperature starts to get cooler and the day length gets shorter? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is A, flowers like daffodils start to bloom.

Now, in autumn, some birds, including swallows, migrate to Africa where it is warmer, and there is more food to help young birds to survive.

And in spring, the temperature in Africa is too hot for the chicks, so they fly back to the U.

K.

to the summer months.

Now, true or false? Some living things migrate to a different environment to survive in different seasons.

Is that True or False? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is True.

Now, let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is it because A, to migrate means to move to a different environment as the days of the week change, or B, to migrate means to move to a different environment as the seasons change? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answer is B, to migrate means to move to a different environment as the seasons change.

Now, some animals hibernate to survive winter when there is often less food for animals to eat.

So here, we've got a hedgehog preparing to hibernate.

So hedgehogs often build nests to hibernate under compost heaps or under garden sheds and decking.

They hibernate for up to six months from October to March.

How do some animals change their environment to survive in different seasons? Is it A, some animals hibernate, B, some animals migrate, or C, some animals produce offspring.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! The answers are A and B.

So now, we are onto the second task for you today, which is to find out about how these animals make changes to survive in different seasons.

And you're going to have to do some research for this.

So we've got the Arctic tern, the frog, and the monarch butterfly.

Now, you may want to present your information in a table like this, but it's up to you.

So what I'd like you to do now is to pause the video here.

Remember, you can go back in the video as well to have a look at that table.

And I want you to come back once you have completed this activity.

Off you go.

Fantastic! Well done! So the Arctic tern, the change of environment, so they fly 25,000 miles from the Arctic in winter when it's too dark, and then to Antarctica where it's summer.

With more daylight, the Arctic terns can see and catch their prey easier.

Frogs leave the cold water during the winter to find a different environment with a warmer temperature to survive.

They hibernate in logs or underground tunnels where it's warmer.

And the monarch butterfly, so it's too cold in winter in North America for the monarch butterflies to survive, so they migrate to warmer environments like California and Mexico.

So now, we are onto the summary of your learning today.

An environment is the surroundings of any living thing.

Different environments provide the different things that are required for the life and growth of the living things within them.

Seasons are a natural pattern of change.

Environments can change naturally as the seasons change.

Seasonal changes to environments can be observed throughout the year.

Some living things need to change their environment to survive in different seasons.

Well done for today.

I'm so proud of your fantastic work and your critical thinking.