Key Stage 1 Years 3 & 4 Bugs, Birds and Beasts · – slow, loud drumbeat; frog – two-tone woodblock; snake – maracas/ glockenspiel. Arrange the sounds together in a sequence

Ideas for Connecting Learning (ICLs)

Physical Education

•respondtomusic•exploreanddeveloparangeofmovements

•workingcreativelywithothers•observingandevaluatingperformances

The Arts

•clayanimalsandhabitats•animalmovementsandsounds•movingtomusic•observationaldrawings

Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding

•animalneedsandourresponsibilities

•perfectpets•deathofapet•animalswhohelpus

The World Around Us• interdependence•changeovertime•place

Bugs, Birds and Beasts

KeyStage1Years 3 & 4

Childrenhaveaninnatecuriosityabouttheworldaroundthemandthecreaturesthatinhabitit.In‘Bugs,BirdsandBeasts’theylookatthevarietyofanimallife,theirinteractionwithitandtheirrolesandresponsibilitiestowardsanimals.

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This ICL booklet ‘Bugs, Birds and Beasts’ contains the following:

Suggested Learning Intentions and Activities for: • The Arts 3• Personal Development and Mutual Understanding 7• The World Around Us 13• Physical Education 17

Contribution to the Development of Skills:• Communication 21• Using Mathematics 21• Using ICT 21• Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities 22

Suggested Resources 23

Contents


Children have an innate curiosity about the world around them and the creatures that inhabit it. In ‘Bugs, Birds and Beasts’ they look at the variety of animal life, their interaction with it and their roles and responsibilities towards animals.

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The Arts• clay animals and habitats• animal movements and sounds• movement to music• observational drawings

Personal Developmentand Mutual Understanding

The World Around Us

Physical Education

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Ideas for Connecting Learning Bugs, Birds and Beasts

The Sounds Of Animals

Suggested Learning Intentions• Investigate and experiment with ways of making sound.• Work creatively with sound.• Produce pictures and patterns to represent sounds.

Suggested ActivitiesBrainstorm the animals, birds or mini-beasts that can be found in various places, such as, a farm, a zoo, the jungle, at home and in the immediate locality. Categorise the outcomes.

Describe some of the sounds made by these animals, for example, birds singing, pigs grunting and snakes hissing. Group the sounds, for example, high/low and loud/soft. Use voice and body sounds to imitate the animal noises.

Now use a variety of classroom and improvised instruments to recreate the animal sounds. In groups, compose and perform a sequence of sounds to represent the different animal noises. Draw a pictorial score to represent the sounds created.

Listen to and explore the work of various composers in which animals are portrayed, for example, ‘Carnival of the Animals’ by Saint-Saens or ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Prokofiev.

Discuss and list ways in which animals move, for example, an elephant lumbering (slow, loud, heavy sound), a snake slithering (fast, sliding up and down). Create sounds to represent these movements, for example, elephant – slow, loud drumbeat; frog – two-tone woodblock; snake – maracas/glockenspiel. Arrange the sounds together in a sequence and perform. Draw a pictorial score to represent the sound story.

Listen to various stories about animals and add appropriate sound effects.

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What Animals Live Nearby?

Suggested Learning Intentions• Investigate and respond to direct sensory experiences.• Use a range of materials in a variety of 3D constructions.• Evaluate their own and others’ work.• Communicate their ideas of colour, line and shape using ICT.

Suggested ActivitiesExplore the school grounds or local environment and capture digital evidence of its wildlife and habitation. Collect any mini-beasts you find, such as, woodlice, slugs or centipedes. Use books and ICT resources such as, www.naturegrid.org or ‘Clicker’ to identify the different species of mini-beasts.

Use a digital microscope to observe and record mini-beasts and then make detailed observational drawings of the insects using chalk pastels. Explore and discuss the symmetry of the mini-beasts observed. Make a clay model, using the observational drawings for reference. Paint and glaze the clay mini-beast in appropriate colours.

Discuss the habitats of the various mini-beasts. Make a detailed study of the stones under or near where the mini-beasts were found – note shapes and markings using a variety of media such as chalk pastels. Use clay and modelling tools to create a hollow ‘stone’, under which to place the clay mini-beast. Paint with poster paint and finish with a coat of PVA adhesive. Display the work, placing the minibeasts under or near the clay stone habitats and add natural materials such as autumn leaves or twigs.

Reflect on the activity. How was the minibeast made? What problems did you encounter and how did you solve them? Compare and contrast your work to the work of others.


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Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding• animal needs and our responsibilities• perfect pets• death of a pet• animals who help us

The Arts

The World Around Us

Physical Education


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A Dog’s Life?

Suggested Learning Intentions• Become aware of the diversity of people within the community.• Know about their responsibilities within their community.

Suggested ActivitiesMake a shared list of the ways that dogs contribute to society and brainstorm the different breeds of dogs. Sort the information to compile a list of jobs that dogs do, for example:• farm dogs;• sniffer dogs; • companion dogs;• hunting dogs;• mountain-rescue dogs;• guide dogs; and• guard dogs.

Find out about the safety issues in working with dogs.

Read stories and view footage about dogs helping people. As a class, discuss and organise the information into a report using an agreed shared framework. Make a collage of pictures and newspaper articles about how dogs help people.

Contact support organisations, for example, the Royal National Institute for the Blind or the Royal National Institute for the Deaf to find out about their work. Find out more about how these organisations use dogs to help deaf and blind people. Investigate ways to actively support these charity organisations.

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Animals’ Needs

Suggested Learning Intentions• Recognise the options that contribute to a healthy lifestyle.• Recognise the similarities and differences between animal and human

lifestyles.

Suggested ActivitiesDraw a picture of a boy or girl who is really healthy. Around him or her, draw and write all the things that person needs to stay healthy and safe.

On the other side of the page, draw a pet animal that is healthy. Around it draw and write all the things that it needs to stay healthy and safe.

Examine everyone’s drawings and talk about what we need and what animals need in order to stay healthy.

Make a shared list of the similarities and differences between animals and humans in relation to their care and basic needs. Display the results on a two-criteria Venn diagram.

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Perfect Pets

Suggested Learning Intentions• Understand their responsibility towards pets and other animals.• Become aware of what influences their views.

Suggested ActivitiesMake a collection of your favourite toy animals and compile a class list of the different animals that can be kept as pets.

Using an image editing software package, such as ‘Paw Prints’, place a picture of the pet in the middle of the page. Surround the picture withwords and images representing the different needs of the animal.

Complete a data collection sheet to identify the different pets owned by children in the class. Record and present the data using a block graph, bar chart or using an ICT software package, such as, ‘Starting Graph’ or ‘Counting Pictures’.

Identify the pets’ different needs, and who takes responsibility for them. Use pet care accessories to show how different animals are cared for.

Invite a person who works with animals, for example, a vet, zoo-keeper, dog warden or charity worker, to talk about their role, and the different skills they use in their daily work.

Identify the perfect pet. Give reasons for your choice. Choose a name for the pet and explain why the name is appropriate. Identify the perfect pet for a variety of people, for example:– an elderly person;– a family with two young children;– a young person living in a high-rise apartment.Discuss the factors that should be considered in selecting a pet for each of these people.

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Loss and Remembrance

Suggested Learning Intentions• Recognise the feelings associated with separation, loss and bereavement.• Reflect on loss as part of life.

Suggested ActivitiesRead the story ‘Fred’ by Posy Simmons (Primary Values, page 59) and respond to the issues within the story. Identify and name the range of feelings expressed throughout the story. Discuss the ways in which Fred was remembered by the children and the other cats.

Talk about how we remember people that have died and why it is important to remember them.

What do you know about what people do when someone dies?Who would you go to if you needed to talk about something sad?


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The World Around Us• interdependence• change over time• place

The Arts


Physical Education

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Our Animal Neighbours

Suggested Learning Intentions• Explore and investigate aspects of the immediate environment.• Design and make simple objects and models.• Identify changes that have occurred over time.• Collate and record information using a variety of formats, including ICT.

Suggested ActivitiesMinibeastsInvestigate the locality by keeping a nature diary when visiting woodlands or exploring the school grounds. Include, for example, written records, photographs or sketches. Sort and present the data using two criteria on a Tree, Venn or Carroll diagram, using ICT software, such as, ‘Logo’.

Visit a museum’s collection of real mini-beast specimens and look for similarities and differences. Design and make a model minibeast, for example, ‘Incey Wincey Spider’. Design a new species of bug or minibeast.

Create a minibeast ‘hotel’ and use it to collect minibeasts from the school grounds. Use books and/or ICT resources such as www.naturegrid.org or ‘Clicker’ to identify the minibeasts collected.

Use a digital microscope to observe and record images of the minibeasts (how they move and feed) including the location they were captured and label the body parts. Use a software package, such as, ‘Starting Graph’ or ‘Counting Pictures’ to record minibeast data.

BirdsObserve, describe and use software, such as, ‘Starting Graph’ or ‘Counting Pictures’ to record the birds that visit the school grounds or local area during a limited period of time. Set up e-mail links with schools in other countries and compare the birds that visit their school grounds. Make a list of materials birds use to build their homes and suggest reasons why. Use the software package ‘Through My Window’ to find out about birds.

Design and make a simple seed dispenser to hang on the school bird table. Use your imagination to design a new type of bird feeder, for example, one that plays music when birds land on it.

MammalsBrainstorm the mammals that live in the local environment. Choose one and find out more about its life, for example, its appearance, home, young, shelter, food or seasonal change. Find out about the effects of seasonal change on some of the local mammals, for example, hibernation, thicker coats for protection against cold, shortage of food etc. Interview a visitor in school who works with these animals, for example, a local vet or member of the USPCA.

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Create a list of mammals from other regions, for example, polar or desert regions. Use traditional and/or digital sources (such aswww.enchantedlearning.com, ‘Clicker Stories’ or the ‘Interfact Series’) to find out about a specific mammal from these regions. Identify their home, food and young. Make a list of materials they use to build their homes and discuss possible reasons for their choice. Compare and contrast local animals with one from a different location, for example, a rat and a desert rat or a deer and a reindeer. Reflect on the similarities and differences in the animals and suggest reasons for these. Find out the names for a variety of animals in different languages. How were these animals portrayed in the past, for example, in ancient Egypt or Greece.

Animals’ HomesInvestigate a variety of animal homes, for example, birds’ or wasps’ nests. Explore the effect of cutting down trees and hedges on animals’ lives. Reflect on the dangers of dropping litter for local animals. Design and make a food chain mobile, use the mobile to explore the effect on all animals, of one particular animal becoming endangered (for example, if we destroy all the hedges, mice have no place to live, which means birds of prey and cats have nothing to eat).

Wider WorldVisit the zoo and find out about the variety of living things. Choose one of the animals in the zoo and find out how they grow, move and feed. Make a list of the people who work in the zoo. Talk about the pros and cons of zoos.

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What Do We Use Animals For?

Suggested Learning Intentions• Design and assemble models by exploring different ways of joining

materials.• Identify jobs of familiar people.• Recognise and give simple reasons for change over time.• Explore the role of animals.• Make observations using the senses.• Be able to recognise a fair or unfair test.

Suggested ActivitiesFoodFind out about life on a farm by visiting a farm or devising a questionnaire to interview a farmer or a vet. Record the visit using a tape-recorder and/or digital camera. Consider all the animals on a farm and generate a list of foods that they produce. Follow a food from ‘farm to table’, for example, milk or bread.

Visit the farm area and workshop ‘From Fleece to Garment’ at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. Identify and role-play simple relationships between buyers and sellers throughout this process. Experiment with making a product, for example, soft cheese or yoghurt. What new food products could you make?

Carry out an investigation on a variety of types of milk, for example, goat’s milk, ewe’s milk, cow’s milk, UHT milk, etc. Test them using the senses of sight, smell and taste and record the results. Find out about organic produce. Talk about how certain aspects of farming have changed over time. Use construction kits or found materials to make models of farming equipment.

LabourIdentify working animals and their jobs both at home and in other countries. Find out how animals were used in the past and discuss how this has changed over time.

Working with AnimalsBrainstorm a list of jobs associated with animals. Use books and/or ICT resources to find out about these jobs. Invite a visitor to talk about their job working with animals. Listen to stories about people and their animals, for example, ‘Greyfriars Bobby’ or ‘Black Beauty’.

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Physical Education• respond to music• explore and develop a range of

movements• work creatively with others• observe and evaluate performances

The Arts


The World Around Us

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Mini-Beast MadnessIt is recommended that you complete the activities within The Arts section of this ICL, before beginning this section.

Suggested Learning Intentions• Develop movements progressively, both individually and in pairs. • Understand the need to take turns, share and co-operate with each other.• Be able to respond appropriately to a range of stimuli.

Suggested ActivitiesUse the theme of ‘travelling’ as a stimulus for developing and practising a range of movements. Consider and discuss the movement characteristics of house and garden mini-beasts, for example: • Spiders are shy – they climb up walls, have many legs and weave spiral

webs to catch their food.• Bees fly from flower to flower to gather honey, their little wings move very

fast.• Ants scurry around busily, carrying heavy loads, they sometimes crawl in

long lines.• Grasshoppers jump from place to place, then stop and sing by rubbing

their back legs together.• Caterpillars and worms slide to move forward and sometimes raise and

wave their heads.• Butterflies and moths move their wings slowly up and down, when they

land they close their wings over their heads.

Give the children plenty of time to explore and practise the different movement patterns of a number of mini-beasts, for example, weaving, winding, circling, spiralling, slithering, and sliding. They practise individually at first, using a variety of speeds, levels and directions.

Discuss the range of territories and objects that a mini-beast might encounter in a garden, for example, flowerpots, wooden sheds, hedges, plants, flowers, garden furniture, tree stumps, fences, walls. Think about how these large objects would appear to a tiny mini-beast. Travel like a mini-beast of your choice. Create a simple movement sequence that explores an imaginary garden. Practise and repeat.

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Working Well Together

Suggested Learning Intentions• Understand the need to take turns, share and co-operate with each other.• Identify some of the skills that allow groups to work effectively.• Begin to understand the advantages of working co-operatively and in

groups.• Be able to create, practise, remember and perform simple movement

sequences with a partner.

Suggested ActivitiesDiscuss what you like and don’t like about working in a group.

In pairs play ‘follow-my-leader’, where one person follows and copies the movement sequence of the other, travelling high and low, turning and moving in different pathways. Change the leader frequently.

Each pair should agree on their favourite movements and create a short dance linking four of these actions together. Experiment with different ideas and pathways. Repeat and practise the sequence ensuring it has a clear beginning, middle and end.

Listen actively to each other and share your opinions. Take turns, share and co-operate when developing the dance sequence. Make your ideas real by experimenting with different actions.

Half the class perform their movement sequences whilst the other half observe and comment on the performances – then the other half perform. Discuss how much easier and more enjoyable it is when we all work together.

Teachers’ NotesWithin the creative dance context, children should experience and value the importance of taking turns, sharing and co-operating when working with a partner and small group. Encourage them to recognise and respect other children’s feelings, opinions and ideas when trying to reach agreement, for example, in deciding which movements go into the pair or group dance sequence.

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Contribution to the Development of SkillsThroughout the areas within this ICL there are opportunities to provide experiences which help to develop the skills of Communication, Using Mathematics, Using ICT and Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities.

Communication• Begin to generate ideas by brainstorming.• Use a developing vocabulary to talk about and express their thoughts,

feelings and experiences.• Engage in imaginative activity.• Listen to and explore a range of stimuli.• Organise ideas simply and appropriately.• Listen carefully and respond relevantly in the context of the activity.• Begin to use appropriate form, showing a sense of structure and

organisation.• Begin to talk about and understand different roles in a group or a team.• Use language, senses, movement and gesture when assuming a role.• Begin to comment on the process they have used to develop their ideas.

Using Mathematics• Select and use with help, appropriate forms of mathematical representation

to present findings.• Gather information relevant to a topic and record results in a variety of ways

including the use of ICT.• Explore movement and direction and demonstrate an understanding of

angle as a measurement of turn, in a range of ways including the use of ICT.• Suggest ways of recording information.• Discuss possible approaches to solving a problem, building on one another’s

ideas.• Explore mathematical concepts in other contexts.• Explore different ways of sorting, comparing and recording.

Using ICT• Compose and edit text on-screen to communicate and develop ideas.• Select and use appropriate images or sounds and adding text and/or own

voiceover.• Access, select and use information from a given electronic source.• Collect and enter data, present it in a graphical form and making

observations.• Carry out and edit a series of instructions using digital devices or

environments.

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Thinking Skills and Personal CapabilitiesManaging Information:Asking deeper and wider questions to clarify the task, to plan and to set goals.Having a sense of audience and purpose. Developing methods for collating and recording information and monitoring progress on a task.

Thinking Problem-Solving and Decision-Making:Identifying patterns and relationships. Explaining and justifying methods, opinions and conclusions. Making and testing predictions and linking possible causes and effects. Discriminating between fact and opinion. Understanding more than one point of view. Examining options and weighing up pros and cons. Trying alternative solutions and approaches.

Being Creative:Experimenting in a playful way. Seeking out problems and challenging the routine method. Seeing opportunities in mistakes and failures.Building on own and others’ ideas and experiences, using all the senses.Experimenting with different designs, actions and outcomes. Valuing other people’s ideas.

Working with Others:Becoming independent.Understanding and responding to feedback.Taking responsibility for tasks and roles in groups.Working to reach agreements and beginning to manage disagreements.

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Digital Resources

ICT Software Suggested Websites

Colour Magic – Research Machines

Counting Pictures – Blackcat

Dairy World – Dairy Council

Information Workshop 2000 – Blackcat

Paw Prints – Blackcat

Pick a Picture – Blackcat

Starting Graph – Research Machines

Switch Clicker 4 – Crick

Through My Window – Anglia

BBC Northern Ireland Learningwww.bbc.co.uk/ni/learning

Enchanted Learningwww.enchantedlearning.com

Eteach – Resourceswww.eteach.com/resources/index.asp

Nature Grid – Canterbury Environmental Education Centrewww.naturegrid.org.uk

Tell Us Mission – Agriculture in Europewww.ceja.educagri.fr/en/ac.htm

Sebastian Swan – Interactive Bookswww.sebastianswan.org.uk

USPCAwww.uspca.co.uk

Wake Up to Waste – Department of the Environment (NI)www.wakeuptowaste.co.uk

Suggested Resources

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Traditional Resources

Books/Teaching Materials Audio/Visual (Media Texts)

Active PE: Teachers’ Book 1 Robert Fisher, David Alldridge (Nelson Thornes:1995)ISBN: 0748723978

Apusskidu: Songs for Children Beatrice Harrop, David Gadsby (A & C Black:1996)ISBN: 0713644370

Explore Music Through… series David Wheway & Shelagh Thomson(Oxford University Press:1993)

Fred Posy Simmonds (Puffin:1986) ISBN: 0 0926 4129

Living. Learning. Together. (CCEA:2007)

Mango Spice – 44 Caribbean Songs Yvonne Connolly, Sheena Roberts (A&C Black: 2001) ISBN: 071366097X

Pet Poems Robert Fisher, Sally Kindberg (Faber and Faber:1993) ISBN: 0571168302

Primary Values CCEA ISBN: 1 895885 3370

Taking Care of your Pets Series (Franklin Watts:1986)

Tell Us Pack: European Council of Young farmers with the support of the European Commission. (Publishers: CEJA February 2002)

Science and Technology at Key Stages 1 & 2 (CCEA: 1999) ISBN: 1 85885 210 2(Incey Wincey Spider)

In the Round – 3D Work in Art and Design NI Education and Library Boards

Three Singing Pigs: Making Music with Traditional Stories Kaye Umansky (A & C Black:2004) ISBN: 0713673257

The Birds – The Hen Respighi

Carnival of the Animals Saint-Saens

Le Coucou Daquin

The Firebird Stravinksy

Flight of the Bumblebee Rimsky Korsakov

Jungle Book (DVD) Walt Disney

The Little White Donkey Ibert

Overture from the Wasps Vaughan Williams

Peter and the Wolf Prokofiev

Stones video pack NI Education and Library Boards

Today and Yesterday: BBC Radio, Jobs People Do Autumn 2003 (cassette Order Code 030161) Teacher’s notes and interactive material available on the ‘Today and Yesterday’ website.

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Traditional Resources continued

Books/Teaching Materials Audio/Visual (Media Texts)

Three Rapping Rats: Making Music with Traditional Stories Kaye Umansky(A & C Black:2004)ISBN: 071367315X

Understanding Cats (Animals Around Us) Bridget Gibbs (Usborne:1978)ISBN: 0860201856

Understanding Dogs (Animals Around Us) Su Sparrow (Usborne:1978) ISBN: 0860201872

Organisations

Useful Contacts Places to Visit

Royal National Institute for the Blind 40 Linenhall StreetBelfast BT2 8BATel: 028 9032 9373

Royal National Institute for Deaf PeopleWilton House5-6 College Square NorthBelfastBT1 6ARTel: 028 9023 9619

Belfast Zoo Antrim RoadBelfastTel: 028 9077 6277

Exploris Aquarium PortaferryCo. DownTel: 028 4272 8062

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum (028) 9042 8428CultraCo. DownTel: 028 9042 8428

Ulster MuseumBotanic GardensBelfast BT9 6TSTel: 028 9038 3030

Please note that the above resources are those that have been recommended by teachers who havecontributed to the development of this ICL. At the time of printing, the suggested websites were live.


Physical Education

•respondtomusic•exploreanddeveloparangeofmovements

•workingcreativelywithothers•observingandevaluatingperformances

The Arts

•clayanimalsandhabitats•animalmovementsandsounds•movingtomusic•observationaldrawings

Personal Development and MutualUnderstanding

•animalneedsandourresponsibilities

•perfectpets•deathofapet•animalswhohelpus

The World Around Us• interdependence•changeovertime•place

Bugs, Birds and Beasts

KeyStage1Years 3 & 4

Childrenhaveaninnatecuriosityabouttheworldaroundthemandthecreaturesthatinhabitit.In‘Bugs,BirdsandBeasts’theylookatthevarietyofanimallife,theirinteractionwithitandtheirrolesandresponsibilitiestowardsanimals.

focus

Documents

Key Stage 1 Years 3 & 4 Bugs, Birds and Beasts · – slow, loud drumbeat; frog – two-tone woodblock; snake – maracas/ glockenspiel. Arrange the sounds together in a sequence