Lesson video

Hi there, everyone, and welcome to today's lesson.

I've been really impressed with your learning so far throughout this unit, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we achieve today.

In our lesson today, you'll be gathering information about tigers in preparation for writing a non-chronological report.

Here are some key words we'll be using today.

Subject-specific vocabulary.

Research.

Habitats.

Adaptations.

Diet.

Great job.

Now, let's look at some definitions for these words.

Subject-specific vocabulary is vocabulary used when writing about a particular subject.

Research is the detailed study of a subject.

An animal's habitat is where it lives.

Adaptations are special features that animals and plants develop to help them survive where they live.

An animal's diet is the food it eats.

In our lesson today, we will be researching tigers for a non-chronological report.

Firstly, we will be learning about some general information about tigers.

Then, we will learn about tigers' habitat, and finally, their adaptations.

Tigers are types of felines that belong to the Felidae family.

Let's practise saying that word, 'Felidae'.

Your turn.

Well done.

Felidae is a term used to describe the cat family.

Felidae are mammals that have patterned fur, sharp, retractable claws, and powerful jaws.

Here are some pictures of other big cats that belong to the Felidae family.

Other members of the Felidae family include cats like some of you might have as pets at home.

Cheetahs.

Tigers.

And lions.

Which of these are members of the Felidae family? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that cheetahs and tigers are members of the Felidae family.

Tigers are types of felines that belong to the Felidae family.

Felidae have common characteristics.

They have patterned fur, strong, nimble bodies, retractable claws, strong jaws, padded toes.

These are all features of animals that belong to the Felidae family.

True or false? Tigers are mammals.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that this is true.

Now, take a moment to read A and B.

Pause the video while you decide how to justify your answer.

Great work if you spotted that the correct justification was A, tigers are mammals.

They belong to the Felidae family.

Here are some photos of tigers in different environments.

Tigers are nocturnal animals, meaning, they are more active at nighttime.

They are solitary creatures that live alone, apart from mothers and their cubs.

Individual tigers roam across large areas known as 'home ranges' in search of food.

In this picture, we can see a mother tiger with her young cubs.

The scientific name for a tiger is Panthera tigris.

Let's try saying that word together.

Panthera tigris.

Your turn.

Well done.

Match the terms to their definitions.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you spotted that nocturnal is an animal that sleeps during the day, but becomes active at nighttime.

Panthera tigris is the scientific name for tiger, and solitary means alone.

Now we're going to look at some general facts about tigers.

Tigers are the largest cats in the world.

A fully grown tiger measures up to three metres long and weighs approximately 300 kilogrammes.

Tigers are very fast runners.

They can reach speeds of up to 65 kilometres per hour when chasing prey.

Each individual tiger has over 100 stripes, and each pattern of stripes is as unique as a human fingerprint.

No two tigers have identical coats.

Tigers have fake eyes called 'ocelli'.

These white spots of fur on the back of each ear scare other animals, because they look like the tiger is watching them even when its head is turned the other way.

It's clear to see that tigers are incredibly interesting animals.

Now, it's time for our task.

Read the information text, and answer the questions below.

Number one, write down three examples of subject-specific vocabulary.

Number two, what does carnivore mean? And number three, what does a tiger weigh? The answer to all three of these questions is in the information text, so let's read it through together now.

The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a very large, nocturnal feline, which weighs approximately 300 kilogrammes.

This carnivore (meat-eating animal) is a member of the Felidae family, and it is therefore a relative of the cheetah, lion, and leopard.

Tigers have a range of adaptations that enable them to survive in their environment.

Pause the video now while you answer the three questions.

Excellent work, everyone.

Now, remember, you only needed to write down three examples of subject-specific vocabulary, but I've included all of the subject-specific vocabulary in the information text.

So I wrote down nocturnal, Panthera tigris, feline, 300 kilogrammes, carnivore, Felidae, cheetah, lion, leopard, adaptations.

If you wrote down any three of those, then you are correct.

Well done.

Carnivore means meat-eating animal, and a tiger weighs up to 300 kilogrammes.

What a great start to our lesson, everyone.

Now, we are onto the second section of our lesson, where we are learning about tigers' habitats.

Tigers live on the continent of Asia.

Here's a world map, and we can see the continent of Asia is highlighted in red.

Tigers can now only be found in 13 countries.

India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Russia, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

70% of the world's tiger population live in India, so out of all 13 countries, the one you're most likely to find a wild tiger in is in India.

Tigers can be found in which continent? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done, you're right, they are found in Asia.

Tigers can be found in rainforests, savannas, grasslands, and mangrove swamps.

Tropical rainforests are very tall, dense forests that receive lots of rain every year.

Hence, the name rainforests.

They also have warm climates.

They're filled with lots of different plants and animals, and this is called biodiversity.

Mangrove swamps are coastal wetlands found in tropical and subtropical regions.

They're very humid, wet, and feature lots of plant life.

Isn't that picture fascinating where we can see all of the roots of the mangrove trees in the mangrove swamp? Such a unique environment.

Savannas are grassy plains found in very hot regions.

There are a few trees found in savannas, but not lots.

And finally, grasslands.

They are areas completely covered by grasses, which you probably guessed from the word 'grasslands'.

They're found where there is not enough regular rainfall to support the growth of a forest, but not so little that a desert forms. They're often found in between forests and deserts.

Here are a couple of pictures of grasslands.

Now, it's time for you to match the habitat to its description.

Pause the video while you do that.

Great work if you spotted that a tropical rainforest is very tall, dense forest that receives lots of rain every year.

A savanna are grassy plains found in hot regions.

There are few trees found here.

Grasslands are areas completely covered by grasses.

Mangrove swamps are coastal wetlands found in tropical and subtropical regions.

They're very humid, wet, and feature lots of plant life.

Great work, everyone.

All four of these environments are places that you might see a wild tiger.

Tiger mothers use rocks and bushes to make dens in crevices, caves, dense grasses, and hollow trees.

This is how they prepare for the births of their cubs.

In this picture, we can see a tiger mother with her two cubs in a cave, that's where their den is.

They are so good at hiding and protecting their babies that few scientists have ever seen very young cubs in the wild.

Now, it's time for your task.

Use these pictures to help you fill in the missing words.

Let's read the scaffold through together before you start.

Tigers can now only be found in, hmm, countries on the continent of, hmm.

70% of the world's tiger population can be found in, hmm.

These felines live in diverse environments including, hmm, savannas, grasslands, and mangrove swamps.

Tiger mothers use rocks and bushes to make dens in crevices, hmm, hollow trees, and long grasses.

Pause the video now, while you fill in the missing words.

Use the pictures to help you.

Excellent work, everyone.

Hopefully, you've filled in all of the missing words.

Let's read through together now.

Tigers can now only be found in 13 countries on the continent of Asia.

70% of the world's tiger population can be found in India.

These felines live in diverse environments including tropical rainforests, savannas, grasslands, and mangrove swamps.

Tiger mothers use rocks and bushes to make dens in crevices, caves, hollow trees, and long grasses.

Excellent work, everybody.

Well done, everyone.

This now brings us on to the third and final part of our lesson, where we will now learn about tigers' adaptations.

Tigers have many different physical adaptations.

Adaptations are special features that animals and plants develop to help them survive where they live.

If we look at the word 'adaptation', we can see the word 'adapt' in there.

Let's practise saying that word.

Adaptation.

Great.

Now, this word 'adapt' means to make something suitable for its purpose.

So when we understand that the word 'adapt' means to make something suitable for its purpose, the word 'adaptation' really makes sense.

Adaptations are how an animal's body or behaviour have been made suitable to suit the environment that they live in, so that they can survive.

Adaptations are special features that animals and plants develop to help them survive where they live.

An important part of survival is being able to eat.

Tigers are apex predators, meaning, that they are at the top of their food chain and they have no natural predators of their own.

So when tigers are out in the wild, there are no other animals that are trying to hunt them.

They are at the top of their food chain.

For that reason, they have quite a varied diet, because they can eat lots of other animals who are below them on the food chain.

Tigers' diets consist of deer, wild boar, fish, and birds, but they've also been known to eat other animals, such as insects.

Tigers' dietary choices really do depend on which foods are available for them to eat.

Which of these are not part of tigers' diets? Pause the video while you decide.

Great work if you spotted that deer, birds, and boar are all features of tigers' diets, but fruit is not a part of a tigers' diet.

That's because they only eat meat.

Tigers have many different physical adaptations, and they're all absolutely fascinating.

There are so many adaptations that it would be impossible to fit them all into this lesson, but I've chosen a few of the most interesting ones.

Firstly, tigers have flexible spines and very long hind legs that enable them to jump up to 10 metres high.

That comes in very helpful when tigers need to climb up tall trees, or when they're hunting very large animals and need to be able to jump on top of them.

They have very strong jaws used to grasp moving prey.

Tigers often hunt animals that are quite fast, such as deer or wild boar, so those creatures are likely to run away as quickly as they can when the tigers hunting them.

For that reason, their very strong jaws come in very important, because they need to be able to grasp and lock onto that quickly moving prey in order to kill it and eat it.

They have long, sharp incisor teeth that are used to bite through their prey's flesh.

They have hypersensitive vision and hearing, which is essential when they hunt at nighttime.

We know that tigers are active at nighttime.

That means they're hunting in the dark, so their vision at nighttime needs to be excellent in order for them to be able to see.

They also need to have excellent hearing in order to be able to locate where their prey is in order to hunt it.

They have striped fur that enables them to remain camouflaged when hunting.

We'll look at some pictures of high tigers are camouflaged against the background of, for example, the forest floor or long grasses.

This means that their prey can't see them as easily when they're hunting them.

They also have extremely strong bodies that enables them to run and swim powerfully when they're hunting.

Tigers are extremely powerful and muscular animals.

Now, it's time for your final task, which is to match each adaptation to its purpose.

Pause the video while you do that.

Great work, everybody.

So the tiger's strong jaw and teeth grasp moving prey and bite through flesh.

Their flexible spine and long hind legs enable tigers to jump up to 10 metres high.

Their hypersensitive hearing and eyesight is used to help see and hear prey when hunting at night.

Their striped fur enables tigers to remain camouflaged when they're hunting.

And their powerful bodies enable them to run and swim quickly.

Great job, everyone.

Well, everybody, that brings us now to the end of our lesson, and I have to say, I am so impressed with our learning today.

I hope you end our lesson today, feeling really, really knowledgeable about tigers, about their habitats, and about their adaptations, which help them to survive in their environment.

Here's a summary of our learning today.

We have been researching tigers for a non-chronological report.

It's important to research a subject in preparation for writing a non-chronological report about it.

Tigers are nocturnal, highly-adapted animals, mammals that live in diverse environments on the continent of Asia.

Adaptations are special features that plants and animals develop to help them survive in their habitats.

Tigers' adaptations enable them to find and hunt their prey.

Tigers' diets are carnivorous, and they mainly consist of deer, wild boar, birds, and fish.

Again, I'm so impressed with all of your learning today, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you again soon.